Well, since we’re in Las Vegas, we thought we’d go and see a show. It’s something we didn’t get around to last time we were here, and it seems a waste … anyway, by the time we got around to it this time, we were exhausted with the heat and the walking - and while I’m on the subject of walking, why doesn’t anyone tell you how much walking you have to do in Vegas? Listen, people, if you’re going to Vegas, take comfy shoes, and start training a few weeks beforehand, you’ll be glad you did. Um. Where was I? Oh yeah - we were so tired with all the walking that we decided the show had to be very, very local. As it happens, Elton John was doing his Red Piano thing in Cesar’s Palace, which is the hotel right next door to where we are staying, so we thought we’d go see him.

First let me say, the guy can still belt ‘em out - he was in very fine voice indeed! I was impressed! But bloody hell! Did it have to be so LOUD??? Did he really need two drum kits? Yes, really. Two drum kits, amplified, and manned by two guys who had obviously had their ears surgical altered to cope with the decibels they were inflicting on the general public. Still, I got used to it, sort of, as the evening progressed. And I even stopped laughing at the giant inflatables after a while .. that is, until the thirty foot* tall disembodied breasts began deflating and then I had a fit of the giggles. It was all very … um … Vegas, I suppose. Fifteen foot high bananas, flanked by six foot tall cherries, oh yes, very amusing. Tee hee. And what else did we have? Oh yeah, roses which must have been ten foot across, the bottom half of a woman wearing high heels - all of twenty-five feet long, that one - and then they tried to spell out the word ‘love’ in fifteen foot high red cushiony letters, only they couldn’t get the ‘O’ to inflate. Never mind. As I remarked to OH, a lot of men have trouble with providing the big ‘O’ from time to time. And they were very inventive and filled in the gap with a pulsating heart. If you can’t have the whole deal, I guess a little romance is always good, huh?

All joking aside, the show was very good, and fun to see, although I bet the cleaners curse the inch-deep drifts of rose petal confetti on a nightly basis, never mind the elusively bobbing balloons. And I’m just waiting for my ears to stop ringing and for the feeling to come back into my coccyx. I have a suspicion that it’s going to be painful when it does - and I also suspect that the seating in the Coliseum was not built with old fogeys in mind. I feel kinda battered and shell-shocked, but I guess that’s the idea, isn’t it? I mean, let’s face it, Vegas never intends to be forgettable on any level, and at least I know I’ve been somewhere!

* All dimensions are approximate, and I’m not very good at estimating measurements, but believe me, they were BIG and they were suspended from somewhere up on high. They’d probably have taken out ten men if they’d fallen.

Apparently, the most dangerous animal in the Grand Canyon National Park is not the elk, or the mountain lion - not even the rattlesnake. It’s the humble squirrel.

Just after I snapped this little fellow, he was preparing to launch himself at me, presumably in an attempt to rifle my pockets and bags for food. But although the tour guide’s flippant comment was that they’ll take the food right out of your mouth, the real reason they’re the most dangerous is that they carry rabies, hanta virus and bubonic plague, and they’re not afraid of people.

Yikes! Get away from me, you tree rat, you!

Cute though, ain’t he?

Well, the time has come, and after weeks of stressing about it, the cases are packed, and we are off on holiday. I’m going to visit my Depp friends in LA for a week, but there’ll be time for OH and I to do other stuff too - like that famous Bryce Canyon ride I’ve been getting in shape for.

Since we’re going abroad, I’ve just taken the dogs to their boarding kennel. Why does it rip your heart out to leave them, even though you know they are safe and well-cared for? They’re going to a lovely man and his sister who run a luxury boarding establishment for all small animals, and they really are lovely people. He remembered my dogs and what they were like last time they stayed with him, even though it was six months ago. They have their own beds and the Pirate has his beloved yellow stuffie, and they’ll be fine, I know they will. I just hate to send innocent dogs to jail.

Our son is looking after the house for us while we’re away, so we’re just waiting for him to turn up to give him the last minute instructions (there are always last minute instructions) and then we’ll be off.

Anyway. The next blog might be from the airport. Or it might perhaps be from Las Vegas. Of course, if we’re unlucky, it might be from Denver. We’re actually not supposed to be going anywhere near Denver, but it happened before, and we were stuck there for ages, so I can’t rule it out. We got landed at Hawaii once, too, when we were supposed to be going to LA, which would, of course, be far better, but we were coming from the other direction at the time so I think it’s probably unlikely to happen again. Do you detect a trace of hysteria? Yeah, I’m always like this before I fly anywhere. It’s nothing to do with being nervous of air travel, it’s just that I’m convinced I’m not ready and that I’ve forgotten something important. Once I’m in the air, I’ll be fine, but until then, stress rules. So you’d better just hope that the next blog is from somewhere - anywhere - on the other side of The Pond, because if I’m posting from Gatwick airport, it will only get worse.

I’ve always loved it when I come across an old wall, because they look so much nicer than new ones.

They may be crumbling, and in need of work but there’s something very peaceful and attractive about them, don’t you think? I love the way time softens and enhances the colours of the stone or brick, and it’s particularly nice when the wall isn’t made all of the same colour materials.

And I love the way, as time passes and cracks and chinks appear, and the surface flakes, plants find a toehold and take root. I suppose mostly it’s down to seeds carried on the wind, or birds dropping them as they pass - or even mice letting one or two slip on the way to wherever they’re going.
Whatever the reason, you see a surprising variety of plants living in whatever tiny space they can find between bricks or slabs of stone and I thought I’d take a few pictures.

All these have been taken over the last week, just out and about around the village while I’m dog-walking.

The plant at the top with the yellow flowers and ferny leaves is Corydalis Lutea, which originated in Southern Europe but which now grows wild in many places here in England. I’ve seen it in gardens, where it grows into quite a nice cushion-shaped plant, but I think it’s actually a wildflower.

Between the kerbstones, right down there on the ground, the fleshy leaved ’succulent’ type plant with the pointy yellow tips (on the right here) is Sedum Acre, otherwise known as Wallpepper, or Biting Stonecrop. The pointy ends will open into star-shaped yellow flowers very soon. Again, it is used as a garden plant, but this one is a bona fide wildflower.

Another escapee which now grows wild is Ivy-Leaved Toadflax. As you may have guessed, that’s the one up there with the .. um … ivy-shaped leaves! The flower is almost like a tiny viola - very pretty.

Lastly, the ferns growing in the wall - this was in someone’s property, not quite a garden area, but not accessible from the road. I’m not good at identifying ferns, so I have no idea what it is, except to say it looks a bit like one of my houseplants, which is a Nephrolepis.

There used to be a wall in dire need of maintenance which we passed on the way back through the village after our field walk. It supported an amazing variety of plants from mosses and lichens to tufts of grass, all of the plants shown here, and even snapdragons and wallflowers. Sadly, last summer, the owners did re-point it and now it’s fairly barren.

Oh well. I guess the plants will re-establish over time, and meanwhile, we don’t want the wall falling on anyone, do we?