New letter July 2011

It is some time since I posted any news. This is largely due to my indifferent knowledge of this technology! I hope to over come this deficiency by more regular use of the site!
This must surely be the coldest winter since we have been living here, which is I am surprised to note, some fifteen years. Despite the cold the garden is looking fair but cold winds and light frosts have reduced the poinsetias to a few bushes still in the full glory of their brilliant crimson show. The aloe blossom this year has been less spectacular than usual and many of the plants have already lost their blooms while other have had a delayed start. This goes for the kalenchoe as well. They are just starting to flower now, almost three weeks late.
We are re-thatching the cottage and office this year and will have to live with the mess and inconvenience for the next few weeks but it will be worth it if only to reduce the dust when it's dry and the leaks when its raining.
We keep busy. The nursery takes up as much time as Jill can spare from marmalade making. I manage to bring up a few pockets of citrus from my consulting work in the low veld, so this year we will have a generous supply of grapefruit (my favourite) and orange marmalade as well as a delicious three-fruits mix Jill contrived with oranges, grape fruit and lemons.
An exiting new development is the plan to develop an arts centre here. With Tutani and his sculptors, together with a new "partner"involved in promoting traditional drama and dance. We are contemplating the idea of a combinatin of attractions using our garden and spare a spare building to provide a venue for school children and adults' productions. In addition we are thinking of building a traditional homestead complex of kitchen, meeting place and bedrooms, where we hope to display many of the fast disappearing household items such as wooden neck rests (pillows) foot stools, carved doors, drums and the like. We will be seeking more partners in this venture as our ideas become firmer.