flower crowns and forty in the shade

This is the biggest of the crowns in question - it keeps blooming ring after ring of these tiny little pink beauties. All our cacti are going mad and flowering more than ever before. I think it has something to do with the fact that we are becoming a desert here in Valencia. By forty in the shade I do of course mean forty degrees centigrade, not forty fat men or forty garden gnomes, although there seems to be a trend in modern Alcúdia for fat garden gnomes complete with barrows, beards and all. Oscar suggested, and I tend to agree, that it is because the Spanish in general watch too many American films and think that all they see is desirable...not everybody of course, but certainly the ones who put the charming little creatures on their totally climate mistook lawn do. I find myself digressing...

We had a nice weekend with Italian Valerio and Joe and Helen from England. Really great people and I was able to girl talk with Helen as if we'd known each other for years. Love it when that happens. The fellows got some wing wall tyre pounding done too and the weather behaved itself nicely enough to fire up the oven and roast some organic chook (and eggplant for Helen).

Oscar and I mudded the inside end wall today. It looks so BROWN and CHOCOLATEY. I love mud. Must have a mud party soon and get some friends down. And dirty.

Photos to follow...thinking about going digital but just never seem to take the plunge.
lj