Birds

July 31 2016. The title of this post is for my daughter Mette, who just loves birds in all their flavors and sizes, just for you. It will be evident from the pictures. As I write this post, it is 40 degrees out and with the humidity, just lovely to be outside-not. Our little air conditioner is working hard today, to keep part of the apartment tolerable. We were in the piața a couple of days ago and the people were all under tarps, but it felt as pleasant as a canvas tent in the heat. Imagine. We were buying fruit for putting on ice cream, strawberries are back, blackberries are on and the peaches are now from 6-9 lei a kilo or about 15-30 cents a pound. And they are delicious, I might add. But the country is drying quickly in the heat. We had a dog this week take a dislike to us and give chase, just for fun. Irritable just like the people in big black German cars. Heat does that to things and people. Our first group of youth is on their way to Hungary. On Friday I was trying to get tickets with one of our youth, what was supposedly a 30 minute job took 2.5 hours, trying to find one place with no number, and a high steel fence. It was a bus yard and I have seen prisons with less fence and defence perimeters. The road in would have been a challenge for my 4x4. My Opel was crying in pain. Ah, the patience testers. Lots of teaching this week again, and a wonderful baptism, I will have pictures. It is summer and many youth are away, still had 35 for our FHE. It was a good day for ice cream and fruit toppings.

 A final picture of Elder Sparhawk, who goes home in a week. He is finishing his mission in Bălți, we have grown very fond of him.

Elder Paterson and Adrian Tudos, a new member and a wonderful man.

Lots of fruit in the piața, see all the corn and peaches. The corn looks good, but is not sweet. The peaches are.

Between the potatoes and peaches are the Moldovan peppers. There are literally tons of these.

The pavement in the piața is watered down so people can walk on it, it gets very hot.

We took a drive in a village on the way to Bălți the other day, just for pictures. A flock of geese taking over the road.

Billy and his chain, escaping the heat.

Missed the head of the horse, but caught the farmers expression

Turkeys in a yard, all that hay was cut and piled by hand. Scythe and rake.

There were geese everywhere in the village, occasionally they even had herders. Great job, herding geese.

Turkeys also were everywhere. Maybe we will have Christmas turkey

Fancy church in a poor village
So we survive the heat, and will prepare for a trip next week, a bus ride over 2 days. We hope there is air conditioning.