Monday 11 April 2011

Monday Musings...

Oh, to be in England
Now that April's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England - now!
(Home Thoughts from Abroad, Stanza I, by Robert Browning)

Glorious weather again this weekend, Ben was out in the garden, the cats were being sloths, and Cath and I took it into our heads to try out our new Nordic Walking poles at Bradgate Park.  Oh my!  If you want a good workout whilst going for a walk then this is what you need.  It was like being on a cross-trainer for an hour, although with much better views than you'd ever get at the gym.  We'd both stiffened up so much by the time we got to Starbucks on the way home that Cath was walking like John Wayne.  Oh how we laughed!  Nordic Walking also has the added benefit of making ordinary power walking feel like dancing on air, so we'll be definitely be doing it again.  (Talking of walking... we may be doing another walk for charity in May, this time for Rainbows Children's Hospice, as the half-sister works there as an Events Fundraiser.  What is worrying is that there is a super-hero theme for anyone who wants to dress up for it, and Cath's mind is veering towards Wonder Woman at the moment.).
  
Later on David and I went out for lunch (Nordic Walking gives you a heck of an appetite), and passed some newly erected wind turbines which I had to take a pic of.  They seem so incongruous set against the fields and pastures of rural England, and yet are so awe-inspiring.  The sheer size of them takes the breath away.

On the cat front... Mrs Pod found a filthy piece of string in the garden with a short stick attached to it.  This immediately became an object of desire for her.  Charlie wanted to get involved but was rebuffed (he then sulked and pretended he wasn't interested in it anyway), then Posky came out and started chewing it.  What is it with cats?  They have a basket of toys that they ignore and yet the smallest, most obscure thing can grab their attention for hours.

By the way, if you want to challenge your photography skills try taking a photo of extreme sunshine and shade, especially if a cat is involved!  I tried various exposure modes to get the pics of the cats in the garden - these were the most successful.  We won't talk about the others.

Oh to be in England #2...


Mrs Pod's paws
'String Theory - I haz it'.

Mrs Pod in profile
Mrs P shows how clean her ears are now...

Mrs Pod and flowers
Mrs P and the flowers...

Charlie and flowers
Charlie trying to show how he's not really interested in the piece of string...
it didn't work, we all knew the truth.

Mrs Pod in the sun
Mrs P demonstrating how our lawn needs mowing.

8 comments:

Barbara said...

Your lawn needs mowing already? Ours is barely turning green, but today is supposed to get very warm. Great pictures of the cats. As for the wind turbine, I really don't see why people complain that it ruins their view. I only worry about how many birds and bats they kill.

Anonymous said...

Our 'lawn' is more bare earth than grass at the moment, after our terrible winter + dogs romping on it, but I'm working on it! I'm actually looking forward to having to mow it!

You're far too modest! Your cat pics are wonderful, as always!

I'll need to take my 'homework' photo tomorrow. How are you getting on? May I be your e-mail study-buddy please? :)(Winning smile...)

Penny

Barbara said...

Barbara - I have a strange fascination with wind turbines. They alway seem to me like some giant modern sculpture, I saw a wind farm in Cornwall which was amazing, so many of them!

Penny - our lawn seems to be mostly clover with rough grass in between! I don't like mowing it simply because I hate the fight I have to get the mower out of the shed, then find the extension lead, then untangle it... etc etc etc. I did take a photo for my 'homework', which was pretty boring really, a black oil lamp against white card. I'd love to be email study buddies! Are you on Flickr? You can Flickr mail me there and/or I'll send you my home email. Talking of study - I so miss doing it... am even thinking crazy thoughts of putting a PhD proposal together. Memo to self: get another hobby!

Anonymous said...

Ah! I have a push mower! I LOVE it! It sounds so nice and old-fashioned. :o)

I THINK I'm on Flickr, but haven't got to grips with it. Maybe best to send me your e-mail address instead. I'm at pv47@live.co.uk We can chat and send photos!

I can't afford to do another OU course at the moment, but have most of the stuff for the Children's Lit course and am doing the TMAs just to keep my hand in. (Well, I'm working on the first at the moment.)

A PhD would be great! Doctor Barbara! :o)

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Barbara said...

Hi Penny - well done on the homework! An email should be on its way to you as I type. I actually miss doing TMAs although at the time I used to get so stressed about them. The frightening part of the PhD is the 'original contribution to knowledge' criteria... am still pondering.

Anonymous said...

Great! I'm excited about this! (It doesn't take much... :o) )

I see my previous comment has been deleted. I did wonder about putting my e-mail address here, but wasn't sure how else to go about it. Glad it's been taken off, though... :o)

Bree said...

Cats and string, kids and boxes. Same thing. Simple things bring great pleasure. Now if we could just remember that when we are at the store ready to plop down big $ for something.

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