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.

'String Theory - I haz it'.

Mrs P shows how clean her ears are now...

Mrs P and the 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 P demonstrating how our lawn needs mowing.