14th August 2020 Mailer

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Look .... by Carol Clarke

.... Who we got in the sea for a paddle!!! Weve not long returned from a lovely summer holiday at seaside where as this photo evidence proves we managed to get my hubby Terry to remove his shoes and socks and have a paddle!!! Not a big deal???? I beg to differ! lol On every other holiday hes never even removed his shoes and socks let alone ventured down to the sea! lol

cup1060185_359 by Carol Clarke

cup1059929_359 by Carol Clarke

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow by Janice McFarlane

Well as lockdown restrictions ease, and the country is thrown into total confusion of what we can and cant do or see, people have been longing for hair salons to reopen their doors, so those who were starting to feel like cousin It from the Adams Family could have their hair cut. Whilst I am in the category of cousin It with my hair, I still havent been brave enough to make an appointment to have my own locks lopped off. My grandson however, was in desperate need. He had put up with his hair long enough, and whilst at some stage his longer hair may have looked quite trendy, it was certainly getting in his way. Especially when gaming, he ended up having to put a hairclip in to keep his fringe from flopping in his eyes, which he found frustrating. So my daughter decided enough was enough and as he would be going back to school in September, he definitely needed a hair cut. I think we have one happy little boy now.

cup1064343_905 by Janice McFarlane

cup1064485_905 by Janice McFarlane

Winter birdseed blooms by Judith Henry

Last year I had 3 big beautiful sunflowers. This year we feed the birds a mixture that included safflower seeds. The smaller birds do not like them so it was no surprise that they scooped the larger seed out. The rabbits, squirrels and I think a chipmunks or small voles eat what has been discarded. Today the safflower bloomed which has a smaller flower then the sunflower. It will be interesting to watch it go through the seed cycle. We have already enjoyed the chickadees bobbing around the cone flowers picking the seeds out. Hard to believe its already August

cup964137_2228 by Judith Henry

cup714650_2228 by Judith Henry

Community Education Day by Vicki Avcin

Last Sunday I had the pleasure of presenting a Prepare Act Survive (PAS) presentation to the members of our community. I did this in the capacity of being a Volunteer Community Educator (VCE) and at the request of our local Community Association. Education is a passion on the other side of being a firefighter whether it be training new members or educating people in the community. Last year after the big fire we had on the southern end of our community, people were really worried what would happen if there was a fire in the two environmental parks we have in the area. One park is 120 acres and the other is 40 acres. As there is only one access road into and out of the community people were worried that should a big fire happen they had nowhere to go. So I was asked to do this presentation. The main message I delivered was about how residents can best prepare their properties well before any fires that may happen. The focus is how to prepare, how to act if and when there is a fire in the area so that they have the best possible chance to survive, not only themselves but their houses/properties. We also explained the different fire danger index levels and what the standard emergency warning advices mean as well as identifying the areas that were safest to go to should homes have to be evacuated. We had a great rollup throughout the morning and residents had lots of questions which we were able to provide answers to help them make the best decisions for them. I have been doing community education for many many years now, but usually on a face to face basis and Sunday was the first time I had to stand in front of a crowd and do a full presentation. It was quite daunting but I got through it and Im happy with the fantastic positive feedback Ive received. As a VCE I will work with many different communities, not just our locals, so I was glad to do my first presentation in front of familiar faces, hopefully future presentations will be less daunting with people I dont know. I think the locals would be my harshest critics!!.

cup1031501_543 by Vicki Avcin

cup1031497_543 by Vicki Avcin

First crop! by Sue Way

Our first crop of tomatoes has finally ripened! During lockdown, hubby had to get inventive with growing. As we didnt have any seeds & couldnt get any plants, he started saving seeds and pips from anything that had them. He has an apple tree growing from a pip and lots of tomato plants grown from slices of tomato. We have big red ones and yellow and orange plums ripening so far. I am surprised they have survived as they have been moved several times while hubby prepares the site for his bigger and better greenhouse. I am excited to see what he will grow in that! Even though we are having a heatwave in the UK at the moment I know some of you are already making a start on your Christmas cards, so here are a couple of my favourite Christmas designs.

cup558121_38 by Sue Way

cup568197_38 by Sue Way