Home or home?

Well, we did get to fly out and reached Ascension Island about 2.30am. Will blog about our 4 days there another time. Then on to UK and spent 4 weeks visiting family, shopping, tackling Hannah's garden, travelling alot and relaxing a little.

It was lovely seeing all the family but I found the traffic, shops and general busyness of everything hard to cope with. I think I was considered at least strange and probably insane when I spoke to strangers in shops.
I was thrilled when Amelie, our youngest grandaughter, ran up and gave me a big hug as soon as she saw me. I was afraid she would have forgotten who we were. We had some fun times with all three of them.Time went very quickly and Hannah was soon taking us back to the airport to fly back out here. Had we been home or were we coming home? When we arrived back in the Falklands it certainly felt as if we were coming home.

So, what has been happening since and why haven't I blogged for so long? Well, I have worked a lot, at first on the district and then back on the ward. We do now have several new nurses so I am getting rather less shifts.
I have also continued to work in my garden extending my vegetable patch. This has involved digging out several tons of rock, stone and clay so the rockery has been considerably extended again and there is a large ammount waiting to be transported to the tip. The original rockery is beginning to look quite colourful. I have also collected several loads of horse manure from the common which I am gradually digging in. I have lots of seedlings growing on windowsills and in the polytunnel and the earwig population is multiplying again.
On 12th September there was a fur seal on the beach at Surf Bay but it looked very skinny and was probably not well. These are much less common than the elephant seals and sea lions and are usually quite shy.
On 18th September we saw the first penguins returned to Gypsy Cove and felt as if spring is here. It is strange seeing the seasons coming round for the second time. It was a calm evening and a beautiful sunset over the harbour as we drove home.
On 26th September I saw an elephant seal at Surf Bay but am not sure if it was a female or a young male.
September's ramble took us to Wall Mountain and one of the Two Sisters. Both these hills have large rock slabs along their summit ridges.
On Simon's birthday (30th Sept.) we drove out to Gypsy Cove again to see the penguins, and lots more had arrived by then. It was blowing a gale and hard to stand up. As we drove back past the Lady Liz the waves were crashing against her.

The weather continues to be very variable. Sunday we rambled in Tee shirts in brilliant sunshine and no wind. Yesterday saw snow driving horizontally!