Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Join me?

I thought I'd do a bit of imagining. After another day of staggering home through alternate slush and hard-packed, icy snow, I've picked this picture at random from Google images (it's a garden in South Africa) and am about to enter into it. Care to join me?

The heat is soaking into my back and starting to tan my wintry skin. I'm just going to wander down that little path, admiring those flowers - not sure what they are but probably something exotic that enjoys sunshine and dry earth. Look - a pool. I don't think I can quite be bothered to put on a swimsuit, but I'll sit on the edge and dangle my feet into the cooling water. Ah, that's so soothing. Now I'll stroll over and sit in the shade on one of those white chairs. I'll just read my book and wait for someone to bring me a drink - fresh orange, perhaps, with ice. Delicious. And so refreshing.

Bright-plumaged birds are carolling foreignly. Crickets - or the South African equivalent - are chirping. Can you hear the comforting buzz of non-bitey insects? Can you smell that newly mown grass? - not mown by me? The sky is a deep, uniform blue with threads of wispy clouds. There is the very tiniest of breezes.

In the far distance, I can hear the roaring of lions....

I have no real idea what South Africa is like (oh, you noticed?) and am sure I'll never be able to go there. But there's something about that picture that makes me think that it might be a tiny bit better than here, now, where the temperature is claimed to be -13 C (unheard of for Edinburgh), the buses are on a restricted service, the car is snowed in and the house is still quite chilly despite the central heating.

And meanwhile that sunshine beats down, the flowers bask in the heat and the giraffes look thoughtfully over the garden wall...

12 comments:

  1. Great post...:o)
    Mary
    visitswithmary.blogspot.com

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  2. I might join you in your garden in SA. Temps here in North Carolina are 20F with a wind chill of 8F. Also unheard of this time of year for us. Fortunately, it's just cold, no snow to deal with.

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  3. Wow Isabelle -- you're actually colder than we are -- we're at about -9C. Still, I wouldn't take sunny South Africa over Edinburgh. Even at -30C!

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  4. great imagery, i can feel that breeze

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  5. Pull yourself together, woman - you're Scottish, after all, and meant to suffer! Throw another thermal vest on, make yourself a bowl of porridge, and be thankful you weren't dragged off to the snowy wastes of Canada by emigrating parents! I'm going to send you some photos shortly to prove this point.....

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  6. You've got to get yourself to SA one day (if only to correct some of the inaccuracies... he he). It's a great place to visit. Thanks for the virtual trip via Isabelle Air though. x x

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  7. I am trying...very, very hard...but my right hand is cold and I might just have to scurry down to the more realistic woodburner before my extremeties drop off!

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  8. Ha! You had me at "the comforting buzz of non-bitey insects" - you are a woman after my own heart!

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  9. It has to be Pimms. Orange juice? Orange juice?

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  10. How lovely... ahhh. I would just be happy with sunshine. The grey sky and constant clouds are a bother. The nonbitey insects are a bonus, as are the birds and time to read a book! :)

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  11. You've been admiring my photos of sunny Melbourne lately, but that all changed this week and much of the Australian continent is now under water. After reading your blog though, I'm glad it's just water and not snow.

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  12. hahaha Rachel!!! don't you dare make fun of us Canucks. My Mum dragged me to Canada when I was not a year old.... and I love it here.

    We don't have big ugly deadly spiders...well, if you don't count black widows..and only in certain areas... or big ugly snakes...if you don't count rattlesnakes..but, you know what I'm saying... and ..and.. and.... no weird jungle parasites, deadly viruses or is that virii?...hmm... well, anyway....

    I like our changing seasons...even the snow and cold. It kills off lots of ugly stuff... and is pretty and is fun and ... I don't bother with porridge..I just have egg on toast and a glug of Tia Maria in my morning coffee and I'm good to go...

    okay...off out to shovel snow......4 more inches overnight and we live on the end of a crescent..so I have all the city sidewalk (it's the law, we have to shovel every 48 hours at least... or face a fine) and a double driveway and a large sidewalk and landing area on the front of the house... ......and it is -16C with a whipping wind... wheeeeeee....... so it feels like about oh....-24C.... put on my parka and get out there....

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