From one Turkey to another

Our first Xmas lunch done and dusted already, the sky was an azure blue with swirls of clouds travelling languorously across it, there was a breeze, but it was a warm and sunny day, a harbinger of summer which is just round the corner. Our gardening group enjoying a lunch in a sumptuous garden. Not a hint really of Xmas in the air other than the festive ham and the turkey salad, talking of which, this is the one I came across today on my walk, more colourful then the ones which are about to be consumed in most US households for Thanksgiving on Thursday. Males are busy courting females and building bigger and better mounds to attract them. The heat emitted by the decaying foliage helps incubate the eggs. Dad even drills holes in the mounds and inserts his bill to check the temperature in the mound. Now that is what I call a well regulated home. Happy Thanksgiving to all - a lot to be grateful for in our lives. 

As the year draws to a close I look back on it and realise how radically life has changed in these two years of the pandemic. There may be a wave round the corner but the sting has hopefully gone out of covid and we can hug and kiss family and friends. It feels unbelievably comforting to be here now, though the pain and suffering of many cannot be forgotten. 

Time to bake a Xmas Cake and think of a few presents for the family. Xmas takes on a different feel in the sub tropics as it is stripped of the conventional, but looking at all the beauty around me I am happy to embrace new and exciting ways of looking at this time of year. 

A pot of dancing orchid Ladies 

Gold tipped decorations wouldn't you say? 

Queens Wreath draping delicately 

Monkeys tails planning their escape 

Matchsticks ready to light up the night 

The colour of Xmas in our trees - the Poincianas ready to burst into colour - coming soon.