Xmas was now upon us, and the fruit was ripening, with the apricots the first to be ready. I have been trying since I first tasted the apricots to cultivate a tree for myself, as all the trees were on the kid's homestead. I got one going, and it was doing well indeed, when Sheila's cows broke into my place, and ate it up! Oh I was so cross, and wished kind of everything that was bad onto the cow who did it,but as nothing bad ever happened to any of the cows, I never found the culprit to give her a piece of my mind.
The little piglet, who by now was not quite so cute anymore, as he had this very small, pink rimmed eyes that looked at you as if he was contemplating devouring you as a small titbit, and as he grew bigger and bigger, I went to see him less and less with a special titbit from my kitchen, although he still got the left-overs.
The apricot trees were struggling under the weight of this years crop, as they have outdone themselves in giving us once again the most delicious fruit. Of course the birds once again tried their luck, and we again hung old cd's on the branches, leaving the tree with the least amount of fruit guardless so that the birds whose food sources were destroyed all the time in the name of  vooruitgang, could feed on the juicy fruit!
We again made jams, chutneys, and dried fruit, but it was just too much for us, even after we gave away some to visitors, so Kevin Bacon, the piglet, had a wonderful meal of over ripe apricots every day, and according to his grunts and snorts, he was a very happy porker!
My plums, the ones that were left over after Randy tore my trees down, were also extra delicious this year, dark purple, and as sweet as honey. I made lots of jam, and gave some to the children.
I was very worried about Skramunkel, as it was becoming quite dry, with no rains for the passed months, and the grass in the grazing camps had become brown and scarce. All was well at first, as Haarlem has a huge dam up in the mountains, but as Uniondale had already ran out of water, they had to get some from our dam, and soon we got notice that we could only irrigate two days per week for about an hour. That gave the grass a bit off a growing spurt, but then it was announced that all irrigation water would be stopped until further notice.
The roaming cattle became thin and gaunt, as they live by grazing on the grass on the verges, and with no grass left, they walked around aimlessly, looking for somewhere to fill their tummies, and also water, as the river had also dried up. Also the beautiful horses were loosing there beauty, as they also become emaciated, the owners just not able to buy food for them. Skramunkel was a lucky little horse, as around the sewerage area, the grass was still green and lush, and I cut her a bunch every day, but also bought hay from the co-op. I put a bucket with water outside the gate for the animals that stood looking into my place with their soft eyes, but it broke my heart to see the look of calm acceptance in their whole demeaner.
Of course with everything so dry, field fires flared up, and many nights I would stare out of the window at the flames stretching their fiery arms heavenwards, and I would have a pain in my heart for the many small and slower animals that would again be maimed or killed!
A lot of the fires are started by people making fires to cook on, and not putting it out properly when finished, and with he Haarlem breeze that came up every afternoon, that is a sure no-no!
But inbetween all this misery and hardship, my roses bloomed and bloomed, lifting my spirits whenever I felt a bit down looking at my world!