ANYONE FOR CRICKET!

Defending my heritage and ethnicity has never been something that I have never really had to do.  However, when constantly asked, by the same person, a person whose high intelligence is obvious, if I am Australian, it can be a little warring, but offence is not really my thing.  

My afternoon, last Sunday, was very pleasant.  One of my neighbours had a couple of friends over 'to play' and said intelligent male was quite chatty.  I have met him many times before, and he apologises profusely, each time he asks from whence I hail.  He has decided that it is the long vowel sound that has made me sound more Texan, and therefore, hinting Antipodean, rather than my explanation which is more relaxed and, therefore, more cockney!  I did not feel the need to expand on that line of thought, as I thought he would have a fairly indisputable rebuttal, and as I was enjoying my Sunday afternoon, I was not up for a debate.  We chatted about Elizabethan England, the first Queen rather than our newly departed monarch, and laws etc.  As with a lot of Americans whom I have encountered, his heritage was from Scotland, and as with a lot of Americans whom I have encountered, he believes his heritage is royal, from the bloodline of the House of Stuart, (albeit the other side of the family,) but as not with a lot of Americans whom I have encountered, I have a tendency to believe his claim!

I departed from the area feeling rather intellectually stimulated, and with a sense of anticipation that this was a chapter, rather than a completed version!  It is rare that my knowledge of my heritage is equaled, in this part of the world!

The crickets have also come to play! Every year we have a visitation! Some years, however, it becomes more of an 'infestation'.  Although their sound can be somewhat melodic, they are a far cry from sounding like the Texan who became famous with his group of the same name.  Peggy Sue is definitely not on their repertoire! Whilst it may seem that they are of cataclysmic proportion, in fact they are just here as part of the change of season.  When the crickets come out, it is the start of autumn.  New England has the changing of the leaves, Florida has the changing of the leaves, the West Coast have minimal change with a bit of colour difference in the leaves, and Texas has crickets!  Perhaps the former would be preferable, but then Texas would not be Texas if it was not so independent!  

The first few calls of the morning are always, without exception, 'spam risk'.  My age is of no relevance to a stranger.  How many cars I own is of no relevance to a stranger.  My health issues, or lack of them are of no relevance to a stranger.  I do not want new windows. I am not in the market for additional solar panels and I do not discuss my finances with anyone whom I have not made an appointment to do so!  I am sure there are many more options that have been put to me, but these are the primary reasons for the calls.  Some are polite, and some are quite sharp and rude.  Admittedly, many sound as if English is not their first language, and my envy of their ability to speak to me in my language, with such clarity is quite profuse, but that does not make me want to help them further in their endeavour to perfect their skill!  I do not mean to sound judgmental, but when I am already faced with a pile of work upon my entrance, the call that tells me that my (my!) clients cannot find me because I have something wrong with my Internet presentation, not only takes me away from my work but also stops the other work calls from coming through!  "You found me and you were not looking!  What makes you think my regular clients with have a problem?"  Rant over!

I stopped to talk to my neighbour on my way back from my constitutional, and mentioned that I had enjoyed myself immensely on Sunday.  Apparently, his friend had also commented on the 'good' conversation that had taken place with 'the pool lady'.  Perhaps his one downfall is the ability to remember names.  "We call him 'The Professor', as he talks at you rather than to you!" was said by my neighbour, but he was glad I enjoyed myself and did not feel too harassed!  

Peggy Sue, or at least a modicum of a chant, was going on every afternoon when I arrived home.  I did have to avoid a few flying objects but it is autumn, and fortunately for me (although unfortunately for the cricket population) this epidemic will be short lived!

Although the heat has not been as bad, the humidity has been quite high.  However, much as New England, The West Coast, and Florida are seeing signs of this year's ultimate departure, we are seeing signs of new life!  It's Texas!  New shoots are showing on my plants, and Edgar, my somewhat elongated 'miniature' moringa tree, has new foliage, and appears to be quite happy.  

Apart from the slight drop in temperature, the sun is rising later and setting earlier.  As I walk outside just before seven, to take care of those plants that have actually survived the summer, I can hear the distant chirps that make up the beginning of the overture of the dawn chorus.  It is not quite as loud as I was used to in England, but the very sound makes me smile.  Life continues on!

I watched two squirrels chase each other up and down a tree this morning, before they took off and despite not being able to see them anymore, I heard them as they jumped from branch to branch, and tree to tree, and eventually out of earshot.  At seventy degrees, it felt lovely and cool.  Clouds started to roll in but rain was not in the forecast.

"The water is cold!" said my neighbour's grandson, as he jumped without hesitation into the pool. At eighty two degrees, 'cold' was an overstatement, but in comparison to the past couple of months, 'chilly' would be a more accurate statement, but that would also be a little over zealous.

October has arrived!  The crickets tell us that!  I did not have any in depth conversations today, although I did enjoy a bit of company for about an hour.  The clouds kept most people away from the water, and the fact that the sun leaves the patio much earlier this week than last.  For England, the cricket season has been over for a while, but for Texas it is just beginning! 

With no current plans on the horizon, I have no idea what excitement next week will bring, but I hope it will be worth a few lines to create .....another story!