A few of my favourite things.....

What is there not to love about living in Tahannaout?

Here's just a few of my favourite things......

• Waking up to the sound of birdsong at dawn when the world is coming alive and a new day is dawning....
  

A beautiful Roller

• Opening the wooden shutters of the bathroom window to allow the sunlight to stream in...
• Looking out across the tiered garden over the heads of the silver birch and olive trees towards the village of Derb Chems (meaning 'Sunshine street' - very apt)....
• Hearing the cat miaowing on the patio to be let into the house for her breakfast...
• Opening the blinds of the salon to reveal at least two of the four guard dogs running around the yard playing together, then suddenly stopping as they see me and start running towards the door to be made a fuss of, tails wagging profusely....

Hello, we're here....

• The other two dogs sprawling somewhere in the vast garden stare up at the window as the blinds go up, then roll over before running to the house...for them, all is well with the world...there are people here who feed them, pet them and love them...
• I can see from my window the High Atlas mountains standing majestically, towering above Tahannaout village and mosque...will they have another dusting of snow today?

Snow on Oukaimeden

• What amazing formations are the clouds making today as they float effortlessly above in the baby blue sky?

Beautiful cloud formations in the mountains

• Builders singing as they hoist buckets of cement up to the roof of the neighbouring house...at this rate it'll be years before it's finished...but who cares?
• The smiling face of Said, the guardian, as he parks his bike and greets us with freshly baked flat bread he has fetched for us from the nearest village..."Hello Mr Martin, Mrs Kathy...How are you, fine?"
• The humming sound of the aeroplanes circling above and performing aerobatics, weaving in and out of each other and leaving trails of smoke in the sky...
• The haunting call to prayer from the mosques situated all around the valley...
• The storks circling far above our heads in the evening light, higher and higher till they are only a small dot in the sky...

Storks landed in a neighbour's field

• The swarms of egrets that fly low past the windows and land on the telegraph wires or the highest trees, all seemingly vying for the best position...

Egrets sitting in a tree in the garden

• The deafening cacophony of the birdsong as I try to read my book whilst lounging on a deckchair in the garden...
• The sound of the sheep bleating in the neighbouring field and rustling in the hedges...

A local shepherd boy with his sheep

• The bulbuls chasing each other from tree to tree in courtship...
• Butterflies, geckos, frogs, skinks, shrews, crickets, locusts, bats, owls, all manner of birds....

Goldfinch

Scruffy playing with a locust

Gertie Gecko

• The snorting of the elusive boar who hides somewhere in the bushes...
• The family of mongooses we caught sight of once as they ambled along the piste to our house...

• The snakes who managed to find their way into our courtyard last summer...
• Hanging washing on the makeshift clothes line, tied between an olive tree and a silver birch and propped up with a piece of wood complete with hook - and knowing that by evening it will all be dry...
• Sipping strong morning coffee outside with my hubby, sitting on the low raffia stools so popular in Morocco...
• Hearing the ee-aw-ing of the local donkeys and mules as they carry their loads along the piste...

Mule at work

• The sight and smell of the lamb tagine as it sits on the flame, crafted by the hands of my wonderful hubby...and the sizzling and bubbling as I lift the lid to get a peek of the evening meal...

Yummy tagine with Moroccan flat bread

• Beautiful sunrises, sunsets, stars and full moons as viewed from our roof terrace...

Sunset over Derb Chems

A full moon

• The warmth from the wood burner on a chilly evening after the sun has gone down...

Keeping off the chill

And all that's BEFORE we leave the house....