A Tenacious Tulip ...And a Marauder

Meet my favourite snazzy tulip which hung on for a long time despite..

 A sudden influx of the biggest, fattest rabbits I've seen here for years. All I can say is..

 

Uh-oh.

Bittersweet Day at the Post Office

I went into the Post Office the other day to find a table in the lobby with an array of goodies. All the customers were invited to join a party for Sharon, who's retiring. A pity - she always dealt with my peculiar British questions with grace and patience. I shall miss her, as will everyone.

And how's this for an amazing cake?

Cattaraugus County Quirks

A day wandering around our neighbourhood can yield all sorts of interesting sights.  One local farmer has a sense of humour. 

 And I bet you didn't expect to see a Highland bull in western New York. I expect he enjoys the winters more than the summers. Och Aye the Moo! (Interestingly, another local farmer has French Limousin cattle.)

 Meanwhile, our neighbour up the lane is sporting a new titfer. But it seems he met with an accident some time during the winter and his antlers now appear to be growing out of his jaw. Or perhaps it was the weight of all that snow we had.  Perhaps he needs an operation, or, as the Americans say, "surgery". They can do wonders these days.

Meanwhile,Back Home

Let's take a break from the road trip because....

In western New York

Things have started happening ..

The maple tree budding (and you should see it now, a few days later)

Tulips

Putting on

 A brave show

All sorts of sweet little things in the grass

And tiny cones on the trees

And there's actually appleblossom (but heaven help it as we're in for a frost tonight)

It looks as though

Spring has sprung at last

..And Surrey

.....or Berkshire or Herts perhaps.

Well, whatever, Aiken, South Carolina, could almost be in the English home counties. The bridle path might be on Esher Common. .

As could the house, flanked by azaleas,  

with its English-style stables

(most American horses live in barns and look out on the inside).

Aiken has polo fields and a race track and steeplechasing which is very unusual in America. And horses in every nook and cranny.

Not tacky or flashy like some Florida gated community...

Well, all right, not too flashy. There were plenty of smaller houses too, along the leafy lanes. A place that makes you think rainy rides and barbours and pony club and slightly muddy green wellies. Though the sign does give it away.

As do one or two other touches.

While I was taking photos,in a quiet street, a lady pulled up. I thought she was going to tell me I was trespassing but no, she enthused over sister-in-law's Vermont numberplate - she had some relations there. Aiken, she said, is a hidden gem. And she was right. If she didn't have to go to a boring meeting, she added,  she'd have invited us for coffee. That's America for you.
  Plus we found an interesting restaurant,  Davor's. From the name, I guessed it was owned by a Croat and that proved to be true. But the best thing about it was ...

...something called Tuxedo Cake. Now I know that I'm too prone on my road trips to gravitating towards decadent desserts then regretting it but this one proved to be a sweet surprise, as was Aiken.

On the Road 5: In Ireland

There is one important way in which America differs from Britain....

You can visit several countries without leaving its borders.

Why, even here in western New York, we have Holland, Sardinia, Cuba (might have saved yourself all that hassle, Mr President), not to mention Yorkshire. This probably explains why 75 per cent of Americans are said not to have passports.

On the Road 4:Pecan Paradise

 Who can resist a sign like this?

I didn't know much about pecans but it seems they, rather than peanuts or peaches, are Georgia's real pride. And there's pecan pie of course.  And they weren't lying about the truckloads.

And when you looked the other way there was pecan oil and pecan brittle (which is extraordinarily good, until you accidentally splash water on it when it liquidises in a sticky mess) and pecan nougat bars. And these places always sell jars of pickles and jams with amusing names like "Good and Evil Pickles". . I'm always tempted to buy another jar - hence we've got so many we could open a shop. There's only so much jam and pickle you can get through.

There followed an attempt at lunch at one of the South's grimmer picnic spots. It looks picturesque enough, the trees draped with Spanish moss but you could only see the river by standing on a steep boat ramp ...

and goodness knows what lurked in that water.

Above the river was a dingy looking campsite - deserted at this time of year except by hordes of pugnacious mosquitoes. We snatched a sandwich at a grimy picnic table and hit the road again.