I've been so focused on my Flickr project that I haven't had time to write about my first grandchild. She's now two weeks old and she's such a darling. She's a familiar baby - the same beautiful smooth head that all my children have had and that same delicious baby skin smell!I found it quite an anxious day when Fer was induced. It was not that I was worried about her or the baby but rather that I was more or less imagining and following the whole labour process all day. It was a relief to get Ant's progress report and then, finally, Fer's phone call as she nursed her little daughter. We visited the next day for our first cuddle but hospitals are not the best place to get to know the new little person. So on Sunday we took the new change table in to Howick Street and had our first afternoon with Tamsyn. We might have had to share her with other people but who cares!
We've got the dearest little grandaughter!
The starlings were gathering in Gormanston road! 
For our return trip, we travelled through Bothwell and on to the lake country on the old Lake Highway. The countryside is so different that way with its sweeping plains rising up to sub alpine forests and moorland. We stopped at The Steppes for a break and our first look at the famous sculptures. 
A path led through the bush to the old settlement of The Steppes, an old complex of cottage and sheds once used as bakery, school and post office and now preserved. We had a lovely prowl before returning to the car to complete our journey home to a pair of ecstatic cats.
