visitor from СПб

[OT from cottage renovations]

one is never quite sure what impression the Grove makes on visitors.  for most, what they notice is how different it is from the surrouding area, or region, or from the rest of the country; whatever their frame of reference happens to be. 

one of the offshore software developers has been visiting the office before we close it, trying in 3½ days to get a feel for the results of more than ten years of systems development.  this didn't give him much any time for sightseeing, but there was no reason for him to come this far without getting the chance to look around at least a bit, so as part of a quick lunch break he received a ten minute walking tour of the Circle and environs, and a chance to come in and meet Meg (Peake was off somewhere doing whatever it is that cats do). 

we tried to impress upon him that the Grove is not a typical residential neighbourhood. 

(click on these thumbnails for higher resolution images)

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arrival recorded on catcam

the visit was so brief there wasn't enough time to explain the presence of stick horses on the porch. 

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Платон

welcome to Bittersweet  Cottage Дача (Dacha). 

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porch swing

he left with at least some exposure to, and appreciation for, the Grove, and I gave him a calendar to take back to Санкт-Петербург.  I don't know when he will get the chance to come back to the Grove, but he can visit this journal any time to keep in touch with what's going on.  I hope he does.