Best of both worlds

Thank you for all your kind 'Welcome Home' greetings! We may have been reluctant to leave the warmth of Madeira, but we've had a lovely homecoming. Remember the 'will it, won't it?'  question of my orchid in full bud? Well, it did! That is to say, the first two fat buds did open while we were away, so they welcomed us home with their smiley faces. Meanwhile, there are still lots more promising buds to watch.

Then this morning, soon after I opened the bedroom curtains, look who appeared on the nuts! It's the first time I've seen a woodpecker in this garden. (We used to see them on the nuts at the old house.) You can imagine how chuffed I was! (And glad that I'd left the nuts well topped-up so they didn't run out in our absence!)

And even the talking fridge-walrus (a prezzie from the Christmas before last that we'd forgotten about) surprised us with a cheery 'Hellooooo!' as we opened the door.

Mr PP's gone off to his U3A group this morning, and I have line-dancing tonight. I suppose it's not so bad to be home.

The Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dedrocopos major), by the way, is an adult male; only he has the red mark on the nape.