I love having my son home; we miss him so much when he is away at varsity. He is home on a 6 week break 10 June – 25 July.

I have been cooking and baking – all his favourites, trying to fatten him up. Needless to say not a bit of sewing is being done, enjoying him while I can.

My Raggedy quilt top is done

And I tried the Saral tracing paper – so much easier! Love it!

Its winter here, cold in the evenings and this afghan that I crocheted years ago is my favourite to use while watching TV.

 With so much going on while my son is home I have a huge backlog of blog reading to catch up on -so off to do some reading:)

Monkey business...... in my garden

A troop of vervet monkeys regularly visits my garden. I love watching the cute babies and their playful antics. They're inquisitive and love exploring. The adults constantly groom one another, a sign of affection and respect. They're friendly and intelligent, only spending time where they feel safe and where they can expect to find food.

Our property borders a nature reserve and I’ve gotten used to the noise of monkeys running across the roof,  it’s the route they have taken for years, they cross the road to other properties roaming the area searching for food.

Monkeys are actually very good for the garden eating insects that can become pests such as termites, moths, worms, grubs under the bark of trees and many others that the birds can't get to. They also eat fruit from indigenous trees ensuring seed dispersal and many seeds rely on the monkeys digestive system to break down the hard outer cover allowing for easy germination, they brush against flowers assisting with pollination and are natural pruners playing in the trees breaking dead branches.

They are wonderful creatures; I consider them my garden helpers!