Pear down

At last the final pear has fallen, and when Bean and I came across it there were signs of bird-feasting. Of course Bean finished it off.

I had an oddly unmotivated morning, feeling listless. But a walk in the sunshine and a long natter with a neighbour along the road perked me up no end, and I swung into action as soon as we were home.

Line-trimming was the main activity. I try to get most of the longer grass trimmed at this time of year; it won't grow much again until spring. So it is the final big effort of the season.

The same can't be said for the mowing, which I foresee going on and on this winter. (One winter I never stopped.) The grass is still growing, so hopefully I'll be able to cut the main lawn tomorrow.

I dashed into town at lunchtime to post a birthday gift to my sil in Finland, and to talk to the Council about the information they need in order to assess my eligibility for a rates rebate. 

Oh my goodness, I know that front line staff must deal with idiots at times, but I didn't appreciate being treated as one. Nor did I appreciate the lack of any eye contact, let alone a smile. The result was that I found myself getting testy and had to bite my tongue. 

I left having gathered that I need to get some information from the IRD, but no detail about exactly what that should be... despite asking for guidance. Fortunately a few minutes on my personal IRD page resulted in complete clarification, but I suspect a lot of people give up pursuing a rates rebate before getting that far (even if they do know where to go online).