Bomble soaks up the sun

Helena returned home from her Cretan adventure yesterday and I have put work on hold for a short while. She was very tired and I expected her to drop off to sleep at anytime, but she managed to keep going till quite late in the day. But this morning she was worried about her aching leg and we had to get it checked at the hospital's minor injuries unit where she got an appointment for 9-15am.

An hour later we were home, and as she had to stay at home, all plans for a jaunt went on hold. Luckily it has been a lovely sunny day so pottering about at home was very enjoyable. I had a good sleep in the afternoon and then instead of going searching for a kingfisher to blip down by the river, which had been on my mind, I took my camera the few yards out into the garden, with a gin and tonic each for company. While Helena sat in the warmth of the cabin, which had soaked up the sun all day, I took a few rather poor pictures of tulips and the banana plant.

Our neighbour's cat called Illium came round to play with Bomble, which I was pleased to see. While Helena was away Bomble had become listless and I had found his front tooth, one of the few he has left, had become very loose and was troubling him. I had to take him to the vet, who quickly removed it and then pumped him full of antibiotics. After twenty-four hours he began to be more like his normal self.

By today he was playing with Illium once again, who had just run away up the nearby steps to prepare to mount another playful 'attack'. I spotted Bomble rolling on his back on the patio absorbing the heat stored in the flagstones. I couldn't resist taking a picture and I was glad to find that the lovely brown colour of his fur had been illuminated by the setting sun, although most people would say he was a black cat. We call him Bomble, as he is a Bombay, and we preferred it to the name he came with when we took him away from the rescue centre all those years ago.