A Rainy Week

There wasn't a day last week when we didn't have at least some rain. Several days saw a quick succession of sun, clouds, rain, sun again and then some more rain, and by the weekend, we had much milder temperatures than at the start.

Monday (16 February) was one of those April-like days; the weather changed from one minute to the next, and I didn't go for a walk but went only outside for a quick food shop at the ALDI a few minutes from my house.

Shortly before finishing work - the light was beautiful but I did not trust those fast-moving clouds!

It wasn't much different on Tuesday (17 February), but I felt the need for some leg-stretching and mind-airing and managed a bit more than an hour, although most of it was with my hood up and rain being blown in my face.

It looked great for a walk at lunch time...

...but not quite as sunny by late afternoon.

I was under thick grey clouds, but further afield there was some blue left.

Returning home, as I stood by the front door fumbling for my key, I heard meowing from the shrubs behind the cherry tree. I bent down to have a look, and a black cat was staring back at me, still meowing. 

A few times over the last two weeks or so I had spotted an unknown black cat crossing my neighbour's back garden, and I was pretty sure that this was the very same one. Because it was now yowling (responding to me talking to him or her), I was worried that something might be wrong with the cat, and moved away from the shrubs, hoping it would follow me so that I could see it better. It did, and it was obviously a young-ish, slim cat in good condition, no injury or anything visibly wrong.

We "talked" some more, but it would not come near enough to be touched, and eventually disappeared through the hedge into the next garden.

I had managed to take a photo with my mobile phone, and that same evening posted the photo and the description of our encounter on the neighbourhood platform where people can offer or ask for all sorts of neighbourly services, lend and borrow or donate anything from clothes to croissants and much more.

After less than half an hour, the owner got in touch: The cat has not been with them for very long and has only been allowed outdoors since the end of January, which explains why I didn't know him yet. His name is Neo, and on that day, for the first time he was on his own all day, with the mother and children being away for a brief holiday and the father working at the office instead of from home. Neo probably felt a bit at a loss with nobody around to play with, and when he spotted me, made himself noticed for a bit of a "chat" :-D

We have now arranged that I am going to go over for coffee some time soon to meet Neo properly, and I have offered - if it fits my schedule - to occasionally cover for them when they are away and need someone to feed the cat. Their house is really just across the garden from my house, but with a fence in between, so that to reach each other's front doors we need to walk around the corner into the next street.

Wednesday (18 February) was uneventful; I worked at the office and afterwards went to my Mum's. We ate together and pleasantly chatted about this and that.

Thursday (19 February) was a thoroughly unpleasant day in terms of weather:  Cold, wet, grey and windy. No walk; I only left the house to have my customary weekly massage around lunch time.

It was still rather cold but not quite as bad on Friday (20 February). On the fields where I often walk is a dairy farm; the family have been farmers for 12 generations. Some years ago, they have added a small farm shop to the front of their farm, but although I have only heard good things about their products and pass there often enough, I have never bought anything there. 

Now they offer home delivery, and my Mum had placed a test order with them to see how good and reliable they are. She invited my sister and me to order along with her, and the delivery arrived Friday morning as scheduled.

I quickly walked to my Mum's in between work and picked up my small order of two different cheeses, a half pound of their own butter and a tub of their own crème fraîche.

After work, I went about my usual weekly household tasks and then packed my little red suitcase. Two weeks ago, my train to Offenburg had been four minutes early - this time, it arrived there SIX minutes early! O.K. picked me up as usual, and we were joking that if this keeps happening with two minutes earlier every time, I'll end up arriving mid-afternoon instead of the evening.

On Saturday (21 February), we cleared out a few things from the attic of O.K.'s Mum's house and took them to the recycling yard. Back home, we had a quick bowl of hot soup and then drove into town. I wanted a new pair of jeans, and found one that I am really looking forward to wearing. Very soft, with a wide leg as opposed to the stretchy tight ones I have come so used to, and in a lighter blue that looks better for spring and summer. 

In the evening, we were invited to a gathering of four couples; we all live within a radius of maybe 150 m in the village and form an informal group who gets together on a more or less regular basis. There was plenty of food and drink, and of course much talking and laughing, and before we knew it, it was midnight. Our hostess complained that we should have all eaten more - they had some leftover, but it wasn't for lack of trying; there simply was too much, and all eight of us are now at an age where we're watching more or less carefully what and how much we eat and drink... At our age, our bodies don't forgive us as easily as it does when you're in your twenties.

Sunday (22 February) was grey and windy, looking like rain but only producing the odd sprinkle at a mild 12C/53F. After a late breakfast, O.K. and I went for a good long walk of about 14 km, seeing and hearing many signs of spring approaching. It was most enjoyable, and I could have photographed snowdrops left, right and centre!

Diersburg, one of the neighbouring villages. The hills at the horizon are the Vosges mountains in France.

Still Diersburg, looking the other way with the Black Forest rising behind the village.

We ended the week with a delicious meal and relatively early bedtime in view of Monday's early start.