Happy Father’s Day on a Beautiful Sunday

What Makes a Dad
God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it ... Dad
Author Unknown

On a lovely, sunny Sunday, I called Abah to wish him Happy Father’s Day. May Allah blessed us always. These beautiful Common Spotted Orchids are for all the fathers out there.

I began this lovely morning with my usual walk around the block. Although it was a bright sunny morning, there was a chill in the air from the northerly winds. There were a few traffic markers being set up. What’s going on? Oh, Pink’s having a party at the Ricoh this coming Thursday. I remind myself to leave work early or else I’ll get stuck in traffic.

I then had a leisure breakfast of mushroom omelette with toasted bagels, reading the Sunday papers and listening to Steve Wright Sunday love songs on BBC2. Soppy huh :-) We then checkout some hard-drives at Staples, Currys and PC World but didn’t buy any. We did a bit of shopping in Morisson and head back to the casa.

We’d burgers in a bun for lunch while watching Paraguay taking a big step towards a place in the last 16 with a stylish victory over a sluggish Slovakia. Then a trip to Brandon Marsh again. We were greeted by this beautiful Greenfinch who flew in to have a drink from the pond. What a lovely sight.

We walked towards the hide and decided to check each one. From Baldwin Hide, the terns were still nesting. We saw the sedge warbler warbling away among the reeds in front of East Marsh Hide.  At Carlton Pool, this reed bunting was busy feeding her hungry chicks. We met Andy and Kay and had a little natter.

From the Teal Pool hide, we saw Redshanks busy feeding among the mudbanks. We then walked through the forest and came across this beautiful female Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) basking in the warm sun. What a magnificent specimen. We were serenaded by beautiful birdsongs but the foliage was too thick to see them.

Back at the casa, I made fajitas for dinner. Then spent some quality time with my plants. Everything just suddenly whooshed and the garden looked happy (?). The potatoes are growing beautifully in its bag (below). I’ve got figs sticking to the tree and blueberries popping away. The sweet-peas are beginning to climb the wigwam and my pak choi needs harvesting ASAP. 

After watering the plants and transferring plugs of salad, it was time for the next match. Brazil progressed to the knockout stages of the World Cup sans the vintage Brazilian sparkle against a subdued Ivory Coast. The 2nd half was a bit of a letdown. They looked like a kids brawl in a playground.

Yesterday we popped to the reserve quite early cos rain was expected later. We saw lots of blooming Common Spotted Orchids by the sheep field. A juvenile Red Spotted woodpecker was seen and heard calling at the New Hare Covert.  As we passed by the golf course, we again saw/heard lots and lots of wrens, Cetti Warblers and Whitethroats. They were really doing well.

At Wright Hide, the cootlings (?) have finally arrived. They have that fuzzy, wrinkly and bald look only a mother could love. But very adorable. A family of Redshanks with 3 juveniles flew in and started feeding. 2 fluffy lapwings chicks were also feeding by the mudbanks. They looked so vulnerable out in the open.

Then we quickly made our way back to the casa before the heavens opened. It didn’t!!! We finished the portion of fish and chips for lunch. Babe was busy uploading the photographs while I sat for another game. I watched Australia overcame the first-half dismissal of Kewell to battle for a draw against Ghana.

Then decided to pop into the Arena for some serious window shopping. I browsed in M&S, Next and Tesco. I tried a lot of clothes but came out with nothing!!! I must have lost my touch. Tesco was buzzing like the vuvuzelas and there were long queues at every till. Kerching…

I bought a few packs of British strawberries at half price. Summer and strawberries…hmm yummy with lashings of cream. That means Wimbledon is just round the corner. Will it be Murray’s year??? I’ve also bought a carton of double cream cos I planned to make some strawberry shortcakes. Now, to find the time…

At 7.30pm, I got ready for my next match. And oh what a match. The Danes came from behind to defeat Indomitable Lions in a pulsating match that ensured the African team became the first to be knocked out of the 2010 World Cup. I bet there’s going to be a party at SH’s cos his missus is Danish. We will have plenty to talk tomorrow :-)

I hoped you too had a sun-shiney weekend enjoying the sun and also the football.