Flower Schedule.

Another sign of trust?

Last year I managed to get my name onto the Make Eisenberg's Gardens Beautiful Club list and had two separate weeks to prove my worth. Simple tasks only. Keeping flowers alive by giving them ample water for each day. Quite daunting when you know my track record of keeping flowers alive. But, alive and thriving they were.

Somehow despite living so central in such a small village, I never got any feedback about my help so I took it to mean that I perhaps didn't pass muster...au contraire! A new list has mysteriously appeared in our post box with my name on it. Granted, they still misspell it but hey, I know they meant me.

Another two weeks under my tutelage for a new lot of flowers and plants. They will have to bloom to my begging and shine for all and sundry driving past in order to be admired. Yes, I do talk to them and thought that during my weekly stints they looked more alive than normal. Delusional or not, but bloom they did.

Tomorrow is my first day and as luck would have it, the weather has aided and abetted me in my labours. It has been raining on and off all day today and by what Bob tells me, it might be the same tomorrow. No watering required but I think I will walk past my new flower class and introduce myself...

Biggi

Affordability Of Lentils & Co.

A natural way to veganism.

Corona, as bad as it is has one good aspect to it. People are cooking their own food again and thankfully using less and less animal protein for it. Not necessarily out of conviction but more because of price. Meat is too expensive when jobs are not secure anymore or have already been lost.

The eternal questions posed to us vegans tend to be about our source of adequate protein. Yes, we do have those and contrary to popular opinion, our source has a high percentage of protein. Pulses or beans, although I tend to think of beans as the long stalk green beans which they aren't.

Lentils, chickpeas, black beans or white beans are all part of the pulses that we vegans live on and love. They are so tasty even when just eaten with oil, salt and pepper but just as nice as hummus, part of a burger or a scrumptious lentil curry.

Pulses can be bought as dry beans or canned and are extremely cheap. In the beginning we bought the canned lot as it was less fuss but now we buy the dried beans and batch cook them ourselves.

So easy; Apart from lentil or mung beans ( they can be used straight away without soaking them overnight ) I soak 500 g of dried black beans ( our favourite at the moment ) overnight and then in the morning cook them in water with a dash of salt for an hour. Once they are cooled, I put them into a Tupperware container and straight into the fridge. This 500 g portion will provide us with at least 4 salads as part of Bob's lunch and 2 stir-fries for me. The beauty is that they are full of protein and have lots of fiber to feed our inner microcosm ie. our gut. Did I mention that 500 g of dried chickpeas / black beans or lentils costs anywhere from 1,5 to 3 euros? Can you buy meat for 6 meals for that price?

The best of it is how healthy pulses are for us and how less harmful the growing of them is for our planet and climate...

Biggi

Time For Change.

Our world is in the process...

" The only people who can change the world are people who want to.
And not everybody does. "
Hugh MacLeod

" The world is changed not by the self-regarding, but by men and women prepared prepared to make fools of themselves. "
P.D. James, The Children of Men

" You may not be able to change the world,
but you can change the world around you. "
Frank Sonnenberg

" You are an ordinary person till the day you realize that you have the power to change the world. "
Mehmet Murat ildan

" If we want the world to change, the healing of culture and greater balance in nature, it has to start inside the human soul. "
Micheal Meade

" Be the change you wish to see in the world. "
Mahatma Gandhi

" Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. "
Leo Tolstoy

" Let him who would move the world first move himself. "
Socrates

" Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes. "
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Biggi

A Bit Of Floral Wilderness.

Burgenland, as natural as can be.

Wherever one looks fruit trees abound. They are so stunning when their blossoms are set against a perfectly blue sky that one can't help but stop to take a closer look.

The cherry trees are almost ready to steal from. Don't they just look scrumptious even though they aren't quiet ripe yet? Jams on the horizon...

The wild meadow in stark contrast to the freshly mowed one. What a delightful mingling of flowers and grass. A buzzing too with numerous bees and insects.

Another meadow a bit further down from the first one. Splendid in its composition and very worthy of being painted by an artist.

There usually has to be a diva and this yellow dandelion is it. If this meadow were mowed, where on earth would all those insects go for their meals? Let's leave nature alone...

Biggi

Let The Summer Begin.

A new norm.

Finally the tourists can come, if they want to. Yes, on Friday that last hurdle will be lifted and hotels and such are allowed to open again. A scary time ahead for them as they don't know whether and how many people will come.

Each tranche of openings from shops, schools to restaurants was eagerly awaited but has left a bit of a sour taste in many mouths. The rush didn't happen apart from hair salons. Those poor stylists had to work around the clock and seemingly 24/7 to fix up all those homemade hair disasters and cover many a grey top. Amazing how people will face the virus head on in order to have a glorious head of hair.

So, back to the tourists. Austrian tourists mostly and about time too. Austria is such a beautiful country but was often left at the airport in order to fly anywhere but Austria for the annual holidays. Well, not this year. Local is on the cards and I have a feeling that many will be pleasantly surprised at how wonderful each and every corner of Austria is...and many will fall in love with it again wondering why they had forgotten the sheer awesomeness of it.

Of course I am biased about Burgenland and in a way hope it doesn't get rediscovered as the quietness and slow pace is part of the charm. We have wine, forests, bird life and many walking paths suited to whichever way you want to traverse them. Jogging, cycling, walking or sitting on a bench beside it, glass of wine in hand. Tranquil, soothing and reflective, like a holiday should be.

All of us have been affected by the turmoil of the last few months and need time to readjust to this new way of living daily life. Hard it will be but nothing we can't handle...together we can move mountains!

Biggi

A Morning's Catch.

Walking into a bracing wind amid a chorus of birds and being able to catch some flowers.

For some its plain old red roses but for me they signify abundance, beauty and continuance.

They do have the most interesting interpretations of light. Against a blue sky they are unbeatable. In case you want to see them first hand...they are outside a local holiday rental cottage.

The wind was blowing gales this morning and these poppies were buffeted by blades of wheat waltzing in step with the wind. A fabulous sight.

Outside a house on the verge of our main road another hidden in plain sight treasure. An ordinary shrub-shrub Buddlehia- at its annual blooming prom.

The dancing wheat performing encore after encore...

Soon these beauties will be gone but in the meantime I will get them ' airtime '...

Biggi

A Bit Of Peacefulness.

Tranquility and peace, much needed for all.

" Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquility and happiness we all seek. "
Dalai Lama

" It is in your power to withdraw yourself whenever you desire.
Perfect tranquility within consists in the good ordering of the mind,
the realm of your own. "
Marcus Aurelius

" What comes, when it comes, will be what it is. "
Alberto Caeiro

" People often give us a piece of their mind with the intention
to take away our peace of mind. "
Mokokoma Mokhonoana

" Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings;
it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility. "
William Wordsworth

" The pursuit, of even the best things, ought to be calm and tranquil. "
Cicero

" He who is contented is rich. "
Lao Tzu

" Learning to ignore things is one of the great paths to inner peace. "
Robert J. Sawyer

" To bear trials with a calm mind robs misfortune of its strength. "
Seneca

Biggi

A Sunday's Encounter With Burgenland's Beautiful Nature.

A feast for sore eyes...

The poppies are still front and center wherever one tends to look and they do know how to pose to advantage.

A bit of fence'd floral jewelry along the top of Deutsch Schützen's vineyard looking mighty pretty.

Intricate and reminding me of ballerinas pirouetting in front of the green blades.

Lights and shadows bring the majestic details and awesomeness of sheer blades of grass to the fore. Isn't nature amazing?

Atop of the verge bordering the main road between Eisenberg and Deutsch Schützen is a lovely stretch of grass still being left alone to sprout and shout about the beauty of wildflowers...This ensemble of daisies was particularly fetching and eye catching when I walked past them. A sheer pleasure to be able to do that...

The red sirens gracing a garden along the way. Perfect setting. Perfect morning. Perfect life.

Biggi

All Thoughts Lead To Food.

A comforting exercise...

" Once, during Prohibition, I was forced to live on nothing but food and water. "
W.C. Fields

" The most dangerous food is wedding cake. "
James Thurber

" So long as you have food in your mouth,
you have solved all questions for the time being. "
Franz Kafka

" Instead of going out to dinner, buy good food.
Cooking at home shows such affection.
In a bad economy, it is more important to make yourself feel good. "
Ina Garten

" Get people back into the kitchen
and combat the trend toward processed and fast food. "
Andrew Weil

" Food is celebratory. People who don't cook
don't know how much fun they are missing. "
Leo Buscaglia

" If you go back to the Greeks and Romans, they talk about all three
- wine, food, and art - as a way of enhancing life. "
Robert Mondavi

Biggi

A New Shopping Normal.

When an itch doesn't get scratched.

I have had two months to get used to the new way of shopping. Single file, uniformed and silent...reminds me of those days of yore at school! Most shops have stuck bright tape on the floor to help us stay the distance from each other ( don't worry, some of the masks will do that anyway ) and every major shop has disinfectant and paper towels at their entrances in order to disinfect hands and trolley. Masks are non negotiable and that's just the way it is.

Today my Schatzi came along for a drive, shop and I thought my company which I soon realized was more a way of ensuring his treats would end up in our car. Lidl for their vegan chocolate biscuits ( I only noticed at the checkout when it was too late to cause a row!!! ) and Hofer for their vegan Hummus chips. Of course he also came for an outing but, suspiciously, his favourites ended up in our trolley as per usual hidden under the veggies. When I voiced my usual veto at home about the prolific appearance of chips in our cupboards, he told me with a straight face that this stash would last at least a month. Yeah right, heard that before!

But back to the new etiquette of shopping. Bob was far from happy having to don at first a tight orange scarf, and then after it got too hot and bothersome he changed into a black face mask, one that has elastics behind the ears. Walking around like that in a shopping center was new for him and strange too. One thing to wear a mask of sorts when encountering someone among the vines and another to walk among hundreds of fellow maskers. Again, this too shall become normal for him and ironically, most of us will miss them once masks aren't required anymore.

Perhaps the Asian countries whose norm it is to wear face masks regardless of corona or not have a point. It wouldn't harm us to use masks during those winter months when coughing and sneezing in shops seem the norm...

Biggi

Unmasking A New Reality.

A look beneath.

Isn't it funny how our habits have changed? Take the fact that our new make-up is made of cloth and quite comforting. Comforting for many reasons to do with corona but also a nifty way to circumvent lipstick and co. Going out in public only really requires our eyes to be made up although I doubt that anyone takes the time to look at them. Social distancing etc.

Bob and I have two different styles. One for going into town, and one for local meanderings. Town means many more encounters and thus a proper handmade mask replaces our usual neck chiefs. Those sporty things that can be used as a headband or now a facial covering. I must say I feel naked without it.

We have a stash of five, ranging from bright orange via camouflage to a dull black. Each evening I hand wash the two we've worn for the day and let them dry on the rack overnight. A new routine. A new reality. Stepping outside of our house without a mask of sorts is not on.

Wearing a mask signals that we care. Not just about ourselves but also about those we encounter along the way. Wearing masks gets some eyebrow raises from those ' it's just like the flu ' but one can tell that they do feel self conscious being the odd ones out with their bare faces. Stupidity and selfishness knows no bounds.

Our new reality has changed priorities and is teaching us humility. In the great prophetic words...

This too shall pass.

Biggi

My Marvelous Kitchen Blender.

Discovering new joys of cooking and baking.

I was meant to motor to Güssing today to stock up on our larders ( mum's too ) but as Bob has a yearning for mango chutney and this only being available at an Indian Grocer's in Oberwart, he decided to join me on a sojourn into town on Friday. His day off. Also he can smuggle many contrabands into the trolley which I have to be cajoled to via sms when on my own. His latest are Hummus chips from Hofer and the odd chocolate. Yippi, I am happy when the two of us can shop together, albeit covered in face masks and scarves.

Our larder is shining in its bareness again thus making meals is more of a challenge, a happy one though. I love nothing more than to throw a meal together with odds and ends and having it turn out fab. Empty larders are really mostly in our minds I think because I am again surprised at how many suppers I am able to make from a seemingly empty larder.

This afternoon I have had the yearnings for a homemade biscuit and have decided on an oatmeal variety. Oats, are so cheap. A packet of 500g costs less than 50 cents and are healthy to boot. So, I took the rolled oats and used my blender to whisk them into smaller particles, oatmeal. So easy, so effective and so versatile. Oatmeal looks almost like wholewheat flour and holds everything nicely together. Everything being coconut chips, flaxseeds, bit of leftover hazelnuts, dash of oil and cup of water...seasoned with a liberal dashes of sugar.

Either the oatmeal or the flaxseed made it extremely pliable and sticky which made it easy for me to parcel out in little dobs on the tray. As I am writing this the aroma of freshly baking biscuits is circulating around me and the house instantly creating a happy space and mood. How easy is it to make treats ourselves?

Being stuck at home is rather nice, isn't it? So many new ways to relive life, so many opportunities to recharge and so much insight at what's important in life...

Biggi

Odds And Ends.

Images of tranquility.

A mere window yet enough to let one's thoughts run wild. Dots of strong colour make such a difference be it to a house or a field.

Who wouldn't want to sit and read surrounded by sunshine, pink roses and endless possibilities...

Our little Tigger when she was still full of beans. Always such a tranquil expression on her face.

Dots of colour yet again. I was going through my files and found this one. It must have been the successful shape of our homemade bread that made me take this photo. Regardless, a soothing image.

Stones and daisies do evoke a feeling of relaxation and for some reason a Buddhist retreat I went to many years ago.

A wonderful piece of visual art outside a door in Welgersdorf. Creativity, ingenuity and a lovely example of how to reuse stuff.

Biggi

Monday Again.

A hint of summer in the air.

Even though we are steering towards summer it doesn't really feel like it. The lock-down of course and the uncertainty of how our summer will actually be like are hovering on many of our peripherals. How could it not, although on the other hand, there is a certain amount of joy in contemplating a summer harking back to our childhood.

A time when for most of us a summer holiday constituted staying at home with perhaps the odd visit to the public swimming bath or local lake. Ordinary times but looking back, most wonderfully extraordinary. There are those odd moments from back then that I happily reminisce about. A great time which most of us are now able to enjoy yet again. A summer without all that added pressure of having to go somewhere, having to spend oodles of money and being at the end of it in need of a holiday yet again.

When only a t-shirt suffices then summer is really here. Today I drove leisurely to my parents one village over with trailer in tow. Their lawns were due and that was on my morning's to do list. All good intentions...the mower decided to go on strike and would rather visit the local mower mechanic instead of starting up. Fair enough, I left the mower in my parent's garden and was about to drive off when out of the corner of my eye I noticed a ' stranger ' motoring on the sidewalk with the help of a stroller.

Gosh, a new oldie I hadn't met before? I hovered about until this lady caught up with me and actually greeted me by name. Suddenly it dawned on me that it was the neighbour three houses down from my folks who due to the lock-down hadn't been to have her roots touched up and sported a grey and light blonde do. Isn't it funny how we all are in the same boat when it comes to hair? Only this morning I was ' jokingly ' telling Bob that he would have to do my highlights soon and you know what, he might just have to as I don't want to expose my favourite hairstylist to any risk...

Biggi

A Sunday Spot Of Reading.

The universal love of reading.

" Books are quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers. "
Charles W. Eliot

" There are two motives for reading a book; one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it. "
Bertrand Russell

" A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. "
Franz Kafka

" To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from all the miseries of life. "
W. Somerset Maugham

" What we find in books is like the fire in our hearths. We fetch it from our neighbors, we kindle it at home, we communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all. "
Voltaire

" If you want to reduce the rats, use the cats! If you want to reduce the fools, use the books! "
Mehmet Murat ildan

" There is no mistaking a good book when one meets it. It is like falling in love. "
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

" In an established love of reading there is a policy of insurance guaranteeing certain happiness till death. "
A. Edward Newton

" Every true reader could, even if not one new book were published, spend decades and centuries studying on, fighting on, continuing to rejoice in the treasure of those already at hand. "
Hermann Hesse

Biggi

An Apple Saga.

Or rather a tale of apple woe.

Apples, love them or hate them but eat them we do. Strange how we go through phases of likes and dislikes. I can be addicted to apples for literally years only to stop eating them from one day to the next.

Well, I haven't stopped eating them, especially since we live in an apple producing country and have our own apple trees in the garden. Of course having apple trees isn't a reliable way to eat them all year round. Storing apples is a lost art that the ' elders' in our village have honed to perfection and we have not yet succeeded in. One year they all turned rotten mere weeks after picking them despite having pride of place in our earth cellar.

Back to eating apples and the taste of them. Most of you will recall the absolutely divine taste of a proper Granny Smith, Red Delicious, or Royal Gala and inversely, most of us can attest to biting into a sour apple which in itself is at least a sign of flavour. Yes, apples need flavour because there is nothing worse than eating a good looking apple which has zero taste. Usually the cheap specials on offer.

The other day I went for the cheap special as they looked amazingly nice but now I am paying the price. Yikes, is there anything worse than eating a bland apple? In my case a bland apricot...yes, yes, fell for the cheap special yet again. A punnet of apricots that will need a pound of sugar to sweeten them!

Apples and for that matter any fruit should be bursting with flavour and wholesomeness but with the lure of a quick profit, they too are mass produced for volume sadly wanting for sweetness and flavour. It is my own fault by voting with my purchase of the cheap variety. Less is more and I have to get used to that.

As for our own homegrown apples ...at the moment they are still ripening on the trees and even if I have to make oodles of apple sauce or stewed apples, I will try and have our own apples for longer than before. At least they are without even a hint of chemical additives and should again taste out of this world. Hold thumbs that my culinary enthusiasm holds up!

Biggi

Simple Tastes Best.

And amazingly cheap too.

I do try and cook with a big variety of vegetables for their flavour, colour, taste and of course health benefits. Through trying out various vegan options I have kind of created a envelope full of meals that I tend to rotate as the mood fits. It isn't unheard of to make curry twice in a row. Thankfully Bob loves it.

The texture and look of mince as in spaghetti bolognese has often been a comfort go-to choice to cook and since we don't do meat anymore, I have discovered the versatility of soy mince. In looks it mimics mince, in taste it is bland until spiced up and in price, gosh golly, so much cheaper that I often wonder why I have never cooked with it before.

A bag of 500 g dried soy mince costs about three euros and when soaked in water, makes at least six ample portions of pasta sauce. I usually fry up onions, garlic and chili add the soaked soy mince, a can of tomatoes and if on offer, fresh or canned mushrooms. Seasoned it can taste out of this world. Sometimes my seasoning skills are absent but luckily Bob tends to take over and add the perfect dashes of spices.

We had pasta and soy-mince last night and coupled with the wholewheat pasta, the whole supper couldn't have cost us more than two euros to make. For the two of us with leftovers in the fridge. And, both of us love to eat it. How amazing is that? And healthy too.

Somehow I have a feeling that many more people the world over are going to become part time or full time vegans if for nothing else than to save money on food. With the added bonus that eating that way is healthier, cheaper and saves parts of the rain forest from being decimated for growing soy.

P/s: Don't be fooled by people saying that vegans eat too many soy products and thus are responsible for the rain forest being burnt...Not at all. All those soybeans grown in the rain forest are used as feed for mass produced cows, pigs and chickens. So, buying cheap meat products causes more of the rain forest to be destroyed, not us vegans!

Biggi

The Luxury Of Holidays.

Discovering where we live...

Holidays, what are they for? Taking time out from work life and taking the time to recharge one's batteries. Relaxing and resting, which in the last decade or so has been taken out of context for and by so many. Exacerbated by the plethora of cheap flights and all inclusive packages, holidays for most meant anywhere but at home. Even one's own country seemed to have been out of bounds and tres yesterday.

Holidays spent clocking up those all-important social media accolades must surely have been exhausting and anything but relaxing. Well, now the powers that be have changed the agenda and for a while at least holidays will be spent at home instead of abroad.

How marvelous to be able to explore one owns backyard, not having to spend two stressful days at airports but rather taking advantage of the whole time off. Either re-discovering the stunning beauty of one's own country or even enjoying the comfort of your own four walls. A breath of fresh air indeed.

Even being able to have a holiday and to be able to afford it is a sheer luxury in these uncertain times. Many don't have that luxury, many don't have jobs so that the concept of holidays is last on the list of needs.

We have all seen how in the space of a mere few weeks life has been turned upside down and thus we should be extremely grateful to have holidays at all. Let's enjoy this luxury at home or close to it and who knows, we might just all learn to appreciate in what beautiful parts of the world we all live in...

Biggi

A Greenish Sort Of Day.

The colour green in many shades.

And to think that mere months ago these branches were as bare as can be...

A green that portends great vintages.

A green oasis that lends itself for a spot of relaxing and living the simple life.

At water's edge...a slightly greenish tinge to our pond but otherwise a nice ensemble of green shooting stalks.

A tranquil setting for a bench on which to ponder the questions of life or feel gratitude for all of life's blessings.

The best green of all...new beginnings of another vintage of god's nectar...

Biggi

All About Our Cats.

The trusty ferals.

Isn't it strange how quickly a habit forms in animals? Show them once and they never forget especially cats. They even set their internal clock by it and oh boy, woe be the person who doesn't repeat the treat in question. Even our little darling can turn into a moody teenager who does nothing but irritate her father. Meouw-ing an hour nonstop will test the best of nerves.

But what is even more funny is the newish development of our feral contingent outside. The two boys, tomcats and dare I say brothers, have decided to become landed gentry in our garden. The garage has turned into their castle and I into their personal food dispenser. Yes, they are as punctual as clockwork and as choosy as our moody teenager inside.

Having a real soft spot for them ( of course I can't yet tell them apart ) I do try and feed them nice enough morsels, which in this case is the generic version of wet cat food and a few handfuls of dry cat pellets. They fight over one brand and leave the other. Keeping track of purchases gets rather complicated as our princess will only eat one luxury brand and those two outside are suddenly discovering their taste buds, now and again leaving food they don't like for whoever. Laugh, but once you'll have a cat you'll know!

As I am only going shopping tomorrow, the only food left for the boys is of the dry variety...food is food and in any case, there are plenty of rodents about, cat sushi! Well, so much for that thought...one of the boys has taken to positioning himself in plain view outside our kitchen window so that I can be guilted into giving him his usual for dinner...as if!
Eh, I nearly weakened to open a can of Miss Mausi's best, but that would seal my fate and that of all the generic food they would never touch again.

Biggi

Some More Reflections.

Love to read these thoughts and musings.

" You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. "
Buddha ( 563 BC-483 BC )

" No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else. "
Charles Dickens ( 1812-1870 )

" While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. "
Francis of Assisi ( 1182-1226 )

" Every man is surrounded by a neighborhood of voluntary spies. "
Jane Austen ( 1775-1817 )

" There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort. "
Jane Austen ( 1775-1817 )

" My greatest strength is common sense. I'm really a standard brand - like Campbell's tomato soup or Baker's chocolate. "
Katharine Hepburn ( 1907-2003 )

" Blessed is he who has found his work; let him ask no other blessedness. "
Thomas Carlyle ( 1795-1881 )

" Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness. "
Lucius Annaeus Seneca ( 5 BC-65 AD )

" Not a life, but a good life, is to be chiefly valued. "
Socrates ( 469 BC-399 BC )

Biggi

A Bit Like Musical Chairs.

Where has all the money gone?

A lay person's musings, mine. Opinion and observations one can't help but form. The other day I was wondering where all the world's money had gone to. By all accounts far and wide, the economy in many parts of the world was thriving and being profitable. For who, begs the question.

Two months of the world being at a standstill shouldn't have wiped out all the money that was created over centuries, or should it? Take America, touted from the highest rooftops as having had the best economy ever...surely the money must still be in the system albeit somewhere not in use. It can't have evaporated or is the lack of help offered to so many a sign that money is actually a pretend object, only given value by believing in it? Or has the money gone back to its preferred home, the comfortable bank vault?

Most of the world economies seem to have run a game of musical chairs with sadly, the lowest on the economical ladder having found themselves sans chair. Not good at all.

A couple of years ago the concept of basic income for all was touted as a vehicle for making people lazy and not wanting to work. Imagine how easy a world wide shutdown could have been if everyone had been on enough basic income to cover the bills and thus still with a job on the other side of it? If for two months or so the whole world would agree to halt any payments to and fro people ( apart from this basic income of course and food banks when needed ) Wouldn't it have been much cheaper than all those stimuli and more importantly, the money would have been spent on consumables.

We have had a big shock worldwide with this closure of our way of life, coupled with the loss of earnings and specter of worse times ahead, but somehow governments the world over must work out a system to handle future shutdowns...because this virus is small compared to the awaiting climate crisis shutdowns...

Biggi

Reflections On Life.

How strong they were.

" I was born in London in England in 1934. I went through, as a child, the horrors of World War II, through a time when food was rationed and we learnt to be very careful, and we never had more to eat than we needed to eat. There was no waste. Everything was used. "
Jane Goodall

" The guys who won World War II and that whole generation have disappeared, and now we have a bunch of teenage twits. "
Clint Eastwood

" Even during the rationing period, during World War II, we didn't have the anxiety that we'd starve, because we grew our own potatoes, you know? And our own hogs, and our own cows and stuff, you know. "
James Earl Jones

" I remember World War II when there were very few books, very little paper available. For me to walk into a shop or look at a list and see anything that I want, or almost anything, is like a kind of miracle. "
Doris Lessing

" My mother lived in Holland, and during World War II was incarcerated in a Japanese camp for three years. "
Jane Seymour

" World War II affected the male population in a very detrimental way.
They were happy to be home, happy to be alive, happy they won, but they could not express to anybody the horror they had been through. "
Nick Nolte

Biggi

A Bit More Of May's Splendour.

Another fantastic summer on the cards.

The blue ( having searched everywhere I have yet to find their name ) beauties holding on to nature's teardrops. A typical spring morning.

The lilac never disappoints in either looks or perfume.

The white snow balls appear each and every spring, often setting nice accents against a blue sky or a dark beam of wood...

A chorus of daisies serenading the burgeoning day. Never fails to cheer me up.

Another example of nature's ingenuity. Imagine one tiny seed developing into such a stunning wild flower.

Aren't daisies just too marvelous? A fabulous group of friends hanging about on a perfect spring morning...

Biggi

Hitching My Trailer....

A mother's confidence is not to be underestimated!

The last few days of intermittent rain were lovely but it has turbo charged the growth of grass. Ours doesn't matter that much ( imagine, the other day our new neighbour dropped by and literally enthused about the romantically wild state of our back lawn, even going so far as to ask us not to cut or neaten because of them...double entendre? ) until Bob puts his foot down! But, the folk's lawn was again in need of trimming and understandably so as they do live on main street.

Mowing it hardly takes time at all ( luckily I finished today's mowing with a minute to spare before everyone's lunchtime, when it is frowned upon to make a noise ) so that was part of my to-do list for today. After sorting out a bout of shopping this morning I exchanged the parental shopping bag ( still on corona shopping lock-down ) with mum atop one of the vineyards where they were sorting out vines, but keeping ample distance and wearing a mask. Hopefully I managed to get everything on their shopping list!

Well, mum reminded me about their lawn and offered to come and help me hitch the trailer because she thought I wasn't up to the task. Usually Bob does the trailer hooking making it look as easy as 1-2-3. Last season I did most of the lawns on my own including hooking up the trailer which for some reason mum had forgotten...

" Mamma, what do you think of me? Of course I can hitch it on my own!!! "

" No, it is too heavy and difficult for you to do on your own. "

Yikes, what must mum think of me...never mind that she is at least a head shorter than me and also much slighter. Even though I wasn't too sure if I could hook it up by myself especially since Bob left the lawnmower atop of it the last time we used it, I drove home more determined than ever.

Granted, it wasn't easy to pull the loaded trailer out the garage and manoever it so that I could hook it onto the tow hitch, but manage I did. Mum was surprised to say the least when she heard me mowing outside their front door later on and did manage to look a bit sheepish. Never underestimate your child...

Biggi

The Sheer Seductiveness Of The Home Shopping Channels.

And the cookie crumbles...

During the day I like to have the tv on mostly for background noise, often for the news or to see a series or program. The news does get a bit much after a while and to switch my brain from disaster gear into a more bland neutral one, I like to now and again go to the home shopping networks. Cunningly they are bunched one after the other on the cable network.

It was a sheer relief to hear really normal soothing words to do with feeling good. Feeling good about oneself, a point these presenters have mastered to perfection. This morning I almost ordered that perfectly fitting pair of designer jeans marked down to a snippet, designer coat and the most funny of all, designer cleaning rags. Yes, unbelievable how close one gets to having to have whatever they are peddling.

A lot of it makes sense, after a while seems cheap and only the logistics of ordering it kept me on the straight and narrow. Yikes, how good are these sales people? And how many products do they sell via this medium? I do know of several local ladies that have fallen hook line and sinker for their lure and have cupboards full of stuff ( some never worn or used ) to prove it.

As torrid as the times are at the moment, as calming and soothing these sales programs are. They take us out of our current reality and transport us into a realm of perfection geared for us and of course thousands of others. Look, it can be more fun to shop visually for an hour at a time compared to the dry and dusted Amazon and co platforms. Of course, the best platform of all is the high street and their perfect little shops and boutiques...

Biggi

Facial Eloquence.

The simplicity of life.

Often it is the unexpected that makes an impression. Take yesterday for example; I was about to drive off from the local shop, waiting for oncoming traffic ( here it is mostly only the one car or the bus see-sawing between Güssing and Oberwart driven by our neighbour ) when a friend drove past. She didn't see me but she and her car made an impression on me.

Life isn't always as groovy as we'd want it to be and the odd touch of melancholy can wiggle its way in. So there I was awaiting my chance to turn into the road when I saw a red car with a most amazing passenger drive past. The passenger was in the backseat with his head out the window, blonde mane emulating a BeeGee's style blow-wave, tongue casually stuck out coupled with a carefree and happy expression. Wow, what a sight.

I could swear that I actually saw him grinning at the sheer pleasure of driving with his head out the window, catching flies and bits of the neighbourhood. Instantly everything shifted back into normal for me again. No more melancholy. If he could find such sheer and utter happiness by sticking his head out of a car window whilst it was driving ( I wish you could have seen his blissful expression ), then there was nothing standing in the way for me to find those little seemingly unimportant things which really add up to be life changing buttons in our dashboard of life.

The mane I do have, and it might just flick back in that famous 70's do if I were to stick my head out of a moving car window, but I leave that to the professionals, in my case a most wonderful, loving and loyal Labrador who enjoys nothing more than going for a ride with his owner...Dogs, men's best friend and in my case, a great teacher of life's lessons.

Biggi

Monday Humour.

A day in need of laughter.

" Women and cats will do as they please,
and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. "
Robert A. Heinlein

" At every party there are two kinds of people-
those who want to go home and those who don't.
The trouble it, they are usually married to each other. "
Ann Landers

" A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it. "
Bob Hope

" As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it. "
Buddy Hackett

" You're only as good as your last haircut. "
Fran Lebowitz

" My wife Mary and I have been married for forty-seven years and not once have we had an argument serious enough to consider divorce;
murder, yes, but divorce, never. "
Jack Benny

" Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint. "
Mark Twain

" Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of a snakebite
and furthermore always carry a small snake. "
W.C.Fields

" You have enemies? Good.
That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. "
Winston Churchill

Biggi

Poppies Delight.

The darling buds of May?

May seems to be prime time for these divine sirens. They are eh, popping up all over the vineyards and are a delight to behold.

Each has a similar shape yet all look different. However they are framed is a perfect sight.

A poppy collage...happy mingling in meadow.

These colours and wildflowers couldn't be any better to dispel negative thoughts and emotions.

A whole entourage supporting a bunch of red beauties...one of the reasons why a walk in nature is so vital in times like these and actually, at any time.

Biggi

A Morning Of Sunshine.

Appreciating nature.

Is there anything more special than witnessing the early morning wake-up call that sunshine brings after a night of rain? The gentle raindrops changing shape as they are steamed up by the burgeoning sun. Almost ethereal and definitely magical. Seen against a backdrop of lushious green hedges, the rising mist is outed in its minutiae of atoms.

Almost overnight the crops have grown, the greens have strengthened in intensity and the air has become crystal clear. See-through if it weren't for the rising pockets of mist everywhere.

We desperately needed and need rain thus making it okay to be hibernating indoors while the sky is gushing its blessings but there is nothing so divine as greeting a sunny day afterwards. Walking onto a freshly washed landscape, feeling the still slight chill in the air that usually follows a rainy night and appreciating the sheer pureness of the air around.

One would imagine that lawns have grown an unwanted inch overnight judging by the sounds of lawnmowers chuckling back and forth on the major neighbourhood lawns. The neat-as-a-pin-garden-cliques who somehow have chosen the road taken by those who love to ignore the signs of climate change, or more bluntly, the hungry buzz of bees, bugs and birds. I live in hope that they will change lanes in the not to distant future.

At least some parts of our garden still provide a bountiful buffet for bees, bugs and birds. Will it help the world at large? Perhaps not but at least it will provide amply for those thousands of animals that make up our garden ecosystem.

Biggi

A Bit Of Austria.

Some interesting insights...

" ' Emergencies ' have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have been eroded. "
Friedrich August von Hayek ( 1899-1992 )

" If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music. "
Gustav Mahler ( 1860-1911 )

" When we dream alone it is only a dream, but when many dream together it is the beginning of a new reality. "
Friedensreich Hundertwasser ( 1928-2000 )

" I listened more than I studied...therefore little by little my knowledge and ability were developed. "
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809 )

" I have a feeling I was born in Vienna in order to live in Paris. "
Romy Schneider ( 1938-1982 )

" After the verb ' to Love ',
' to Help ' is the most beautiful verb in the world. "
Bertha von Suttner ( 1843-1914 )

" Peace is when time doesn't matter when it passes by. "
Maria Schell (1926-2005 )

" Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of a genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of a genius. "
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ( 1756-1791 )

" I absorb the science section of ' The New York Times '. You know, I have a degree: I'm a A.A.D...Almost a Doctor. "
Evelyn Lauder ( 1936-2011 )

" The great question that has never been answered, and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is
' What does a woman want? ' "
Sigmund Freud ( 1856-1939 )

Biggi