Marching ants

'The ants went marching one by one.  Hurrah, hurrah.'

One by one, my fat aunt!
They only ever come in their billions!

They certainly look well organised.  See how they are all lined up?

Note to self:  ALWAYS carefully wash/wipe any spills or drips from the outside of jam jars.

I took the camera back to where I bought it yesterday and it will be fixed under warranty.  It is only about 5 months old...but I must admit it has had a good workout in that time.

So that is three things!  You know how things seem to happen in threes?  The first bad thing was my broken fork which, as you know, was replaced by the manufacturer.   The second thing was the water pump burning out.  I was right, it was expensive but the good news is that it is covered by insurance.  The third being the camera which is still under warranty.

In the meantime my dear, darling sister has lent me her camera.  She can never say no to me.  Being the youngest is ace...especially when you know how to milk it.

Anyway, I spent quite a while last night perusing the photo archives in an effort to find something to post about today.  

A couple of things struck me 
as I was looking through the photos. 

One was how everything has grown and changed in the last couple of months: goats, chicks and the veggie garden.  You don't always notice it when you see it everyday.

The second thought I had (yes, I am capable of more than one thought at a time) was that photos can be deceiving.  I always pay careful attention to what is in the background, crop photos and take lots of macro shots. Such carefully composed photos together with viewers' imaginations may create a false image of the place.

In fact, I think a couple of my visitors have been a bit disappointed. Well maybe not disappointed, perhaps surprised, that the reality of this place doesn't fit their impressions from the blog.  

One said, "Oh, the potager is quite small!"  I greeted another lot of visitors at the door to find that possibly only seconds before, the geriatric chihuahua had left a smelly calling card and one of the cats had thrown up on the front step.  When you have animals you roll with the turds...but I think they seemed a little perturbed (or perturded).  Likewise, the chickens looked soooo cute on the blog but they smelled.  We became used to the odour in the house (the geriatric chihuahua is a constant source of smells too) but visitors seemed a little surprised by the pong and I couldn't help but notice them recoiling a little with their hand automatically going to their noses.
Mind you, I was extremely glad to get them outside as soon as they didn't require artificial heat.

I suppose, because of the goats and the chickens people may assume that we have a fair bit of land...a farm even. Well it's only one third of an acre or a good sized house block in a street with other houses.  Most of the land is taken up with the ornamental front garden and the house.  Behind the house (outside of the property) is a wide strip of crown/public land and then the creek.  I take lots of photos out there but it isn't our land. 

I hope you will continue to read and enjoy the blog and not start examining every photo
with a jaundiced eye!

You are welcome to visit in person too...
but don't expect too much.