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| ten babies! |
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| rain garden - looking aptly green |
1. Still in a state about the referendum result. So angry. Every day. Won't bang on about it, I know many of you are feeling the same. So much to be furious about. I do feel that I shouldn't harp on about it, but it's taking up a lot of my thinking time.
2. There's a very active running club here in our little town. Very active. Every other person on the school run is wearing lycra, it's most intimidating. Recently I've noticed that a big group of pigeons have started a flying club. Every few hours they suddenly appear and fly round and round in manic circles. Then they suddenly change directions, all at once. It's beautifully synchronised. How do they do it you suppose? Is there a lead pigeon that they all follow? Or are they all copying the one in front? How do they decide who's in charge? I have a theory that they are trying to slim down after eating all the thousands of fat balls that are left out for them. Have you seen how many they sell down at the garden centre? You can buy them by the trug. I like to yell "Flying Club!" every time they shoot past. Never gets old.
3. The littlest boy won an award at Beavers the other night. Three years ago the middle boy won the exact same award. Except that the littlest boy's is bigger in size. You have no idea how much satisfaction he gets from this. When I got up the other day I found he'd positioned his directly in front of his brother's so that his brother's was completely obscured from view. It's the little things that give us pleasure no?
4. Last weekend we went to the end of season night for the football club. It was in a big hall and everyone sat round quietly listening to the speeches and watching the presentations. The middle boy asked in a slightly weak voice if he could pop outside for a breath of air. I said yes. Before I knew it the littlest boy had shot off as well, and somewhere along the line the biggest boy managed to escape too. I slid quietly out to round them up. By the time I caught up with the littlest boy he was sobbing hysterically. Apparently a tree had hit him. The fire door had slammed behind us and we couldn't get back into the hall. The littlest boy had worked himself up to ear-splitting volume, what with the pain and the outrage about the tree, or at least I think that's what it was, most of it was unintelligible. All of the windows were open and I honestly could not get him to calm down. The middle boy had to go all the way round the building and all across the hall to let us in again. You can imagine the spectacle we made on re-entry after ten minutes of high-pitched shrieking outside the open window. Why me?
5. Leafing through the little local magazine today I had a bit of a shock. They have a habit of interspersing news of what's on with snippets of news from 200 years ago. In amongst the toy sales and yoga classes a headline proclaiming "Cholera is here!" caught my eye. My initial thoughts were something along the lines of "WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT'S HOLY NEXT?" Then I saw it was dated 1832. It appears we are all safe. From cholera at least.
I am entirely with you on point one. I SHOULD just relax and wait to see what happens - but frankly I am scared for my future, and everyone else's. I will look at your cute duckling photos and try to calm down.
ReplyDeleteAs for the pigeons, they have discovered that flocking birds follow the ones around them, hence the speed with which changes of direction happen. One bird encounters something that makes it change and then each one around it copies, then all the ones round them do the same thing, etc. You can get computer programs that mimic it. http://www.red3d.com/cwr/boids/
I feel the same about the Referendum - I still cannot believe it! Anyway, congratulations to your little one. I am always intimidated by Lycra too and given that I invariably end up injured whenever I take on a new sport, I have come to the conclusion that it is very bad for my health ha!I love your pictures, the ducklings are so cute. I am so relieved we are safe from Cholera ha!Have a great weekend xx
ReplyDeleteI cried on and off all day last Friday, not particularly helpful as I was at a uni open day with my daughter. Sure everyone thought I was crying about the impending empty nest syndrome, but no it was because of the EU result. Just Can't Get Over It I had to smile at your football scenario, felt for you x Wonderful top duckling photo too x
ReplyDeleteOn .1 another thing that makes me angry about that whole thing is that Young people are blaming the older people for letting them down. I object to that as I wasn't one of those and I am older person. Anyway enough of that.
ReplyDeleteThose little ducklings are beautiful.
I love the top photo, those little ducklings are adorable. I did smile about your football club its the sort of thing that would have happened to us when the girls were small. You will treasure all of these moments when they have grown up and left and have a good laugh I know we do. Have a great weekend.
ReplyDelete1. I'm with you there. 2. Lovely analogy. 3. My children take enormous pleasure in outdoing each other too. 4. Quite funny in hindsight? 5. This made me smile – it's been a crazy week. Have a good weekend. Sam x PS Those shelduck chicks are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteDespite living in France I agree with you on #1 regarding the referendum result.
ReplyDeleteThe ducklings are very cute but not as cute as your 3 I'm guessing? Great story about the Beavers award!
Hey CJ,
ReplyDeleteI've decided I'd make a great MEP, but as with most things in my life it's all rather too late. And if it makes you feel any better, you are not alone when it comes to fire escapes and little boys. Have a lovely weekend.
Leanne xx
I love the duckling picture - especially the first one. That is just so cute!
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend
We're waiting to see what happens after Brexit here, too. Our retirement fund has taken a huge hit. We're ten years from retirement so I try to not think about it too much, just keep doing what I'm doing to keep us as self sufficient as possible, and enjoying all we can.
ReplyDeleteThe ducks and ducklings are beautiful. I've never seen them before, even in photos until now. Lovely! I'm gathering ideas for my new gardens and landscaping project on my homestead and enjoying your garden photos very much.
Oh I did laugh about the hall escapade and the windows being open and the fire door! I feel totally the same about the EU and all the subsequent fall out. I have had to stop watching and reading.
ReplyDeleteI love the wildlife photos.
Years ago, we had a thrifty vacation renting a room for a week at a university in Toronto. Very early in the morning I went to go to the bathroom and found a student(sleeping (probably after a riotous night) outside my door.I stepped over him and thought I'd better tell reception-ufortunately I went through a fire door, and got locked out, fortunately no one was around to see a then middle aged woman wandering around in her pj's in some distress, trying to figure out how to get into a building. My husband was blissfully snoozing away.
That's very funny about the cholera announcement. I would have panicked too. Have you considered running for public office? I think you'd be an excellent candidate.
ReplyDeleteI'm finding it really hard to move on from the referendum result too CJ and I don't think we're alone there. It was my birthday last Friday and I spent all day feeling emotional. The pigeons bought a smile to my face, do you suppose there's a pigeon leader rather like the Red Arrows' red leader giving instructions for each aerobatic manoeuvre? Those little ducklings are just too cute. Have a lovely weekend xx
ReplyDeleteYou have such an exciting life, always something happening! :-)
ReplyDeleteAn enjoyable post and lovely pictures. Number three had me laughing out loud. Enjoy your weekend. Flighty xx
ReplyDeleteOh gosh it sounds as though you are in a lot of mental turmoil right now. I hope that things get easier for you. I love the idea of flying club for the pigeons, do you think they are trying to get away from CT's Teddy and Poppys pigeon watching club! I hope that you don't have any more incidents chez football club! Thank you for joining in with Five On Friday. I hope you have a fun weekend! xx
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of discussion and pondering on this side of the pond about the referendum, too. So much uncertainty. Love the idea of the Flying Club shout out. Number 3 had me grinning, as did number 4. So glad cholera isn't an issue!
ReplyDeleteoh those duck babies. they make everything ok. and sooooo relieved cholera isn't here after all.......
ReplyDeleteOh Lordy, I think a cholera epidemic might literally finish us off this week...what cute baby ducks though! I completely understand .3, I hope the middle boy wasn't too cheesed. How mortifying the football club episode must have been :-/
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely weekend, CJ xx
What a week, congratulations on your son's win and oh the pain of inanimate object getting us.
ReplyDeleteOh, the little ducklings are just adorable--their markings are unique.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite news clippings from our local rag are the "handbag stolen from car" or "porch given the go-ahead" types. An outbreak of cholera wins hands down :-). Hope everyone cheered when you got back in to the hall. You probably enlivened the event significantly. Love those little babies xx
ReplyDeleteGorgeous ducklings and no cholera outbreak so it's not quite all doom and gloom. I agree about no. 1. What an absolute mess! There should never have been a referendum in my opinion. Your boys sound terrific and never a dull moment it would seem :)
ReplyDeleteYou make me laugh because I have so been in your shoes and well with a five year old I still am! Little Buddy almost hit his therapist yesterday and I just about wanted to die, now I am a therapist and I get hit all the time but that is not the same thing is it?
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Meredith
Ohhhh, it makes me annoyed too. Living in Northern Ireland there's really a feeling that separation from the republic is going to be so noticeable again, like the bad old times.
ReplyDeleteSo many friends are getting Irish passports, are sense of identity is missed up right now - aarghh.
Anyway teeny tiny duck babies are a beautiful distraction - thank you xx
As a Canadian I have to confess that I don't understand all the ins and outs of being part of the EU, or the issues that surrounded the Brexit vote. But it seems to me that part of the problem was due to the way both sides presented things, through no fault of their own the citizens of the UK had a hard time getting the facts as well. Also, with a referendum vote I think a 60% majority should be required for it to pass. With a mere 50% required, in a close vote such as you just had you end up with almost half of the the population being against what just got voted for. This is not a situation a country wants to be in.
ReplyDeleteThose ducklings are adorable, and the story about your son strategically placing his award so it hides his brother's is hilarious! :-)
That proud mother duck and her babies made my day. Also, enjoy just reading about your experiences. You make everyday things exciting and/or enjoyable. Still smiling over the shrieking incident.
ReplyDeleteYes I am extremely bleeeep with the referendum result too. Best to get on with it I suppose but yes it is all quite frightening at the moment. That kind of thing happens to me all the time by the way, I was virtually shouting may day! the other day as accidentally locked my kids in the car xx
ReplyDeleteYes I am extremely bleeeep with the referendum result too. Best to get on with it I suppose but yes it is all quite frightening at the moment. That kind of thing happens to me all the time by the way, I was virtually shouting may day! the other day as accidentally locked my kids in the car xx
ReplyDeleteFor a minute there, I thought that first picture was a tarantula! Just shows the state of my post referendum brain. I'm glad your week included an award ceremony. No such luck here.
ReplyDeleteI for one I am glad the cholera has not arrived. Although, I am not sure what is worse, cholera or the clownish politicians in Westminster. At least, cholera can be controlled with good water hygiene and is also somewhat treatable. Not much we can do about the politicians I often think, or people who do not engage their brain in constructive thought. Did you know Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium causing cholera is bioluminescent? This might come in handy one day at a quiz night. I have a lecture on cholera if you are interested.... actually, it is about diarrhoeal disease in general. I hope you all have overcome the trauma of the football presentation night and I also hope you have kicked that ghastly child attacking tree on your way home. Well done to your wee man for winning a beaver prize! Have a lovely weekend my friend. xx
ReplyDeleteAwww, cute babies. There is something right with the world.
ReplyDeleteI really love your blog but really have had it up to here with the referendum, I don't wish to cause you more stress but I voted out, making a considered choice after hearing what a broad selection of politicians, financial experts etc had to say on the matter. I am no more certain if I have made the right decision than you, or anyone else can be that I have made the wrong one. It is my opinion no more no less. I have found the anger and hatefulness of many of the remain camp truly shocking, in fact as shocking as some of the ignorant racist idiots who used their misguided views as the only reason they wanted to leave. Sorry to have my own little rant but to leave on a lighter more positive note, I love reading about your family and their antics, as a mum of two young children it always makes me smile.
ReplyDeleteIn a world fraught with real and potential dangers, your photos of the ducklings sweet cozy huddle and their carefully herded adventures coupled with your lively narrative about your recent days experiences is heartening, CJ. We are challenged to "keep our ducks in line" whether we are Mr. and Mrs. Duck, or moms whose offspring spring off to wailing wanderings, or countries who change alliances. I am so grateful that you are not having to cope with cholera, too! xx
ReplyDeleteStill reeling from the result. It is the first thing I think about as I surface from sleep. On the remain side I think it is incredulity and sorrow rather than hate that are being expressed. Deeply, catastrophically worried about what will happen in Scotland now. I worked on an EU project in Kosovo and experienced first hand how Spain blocked visas for Kosovans to visit Spain on a study visit, because the Spanish govt is afraid of encouraging its own separatists. So of course they'll block an independent Scotland’s application for EU membership, and we will be shut out, an impoverished country no longer part of the UK and unable to get into the EU.
ReplyDeleteBut I have enjoyed your duck pictures.
oh lord, CJ, cholera is the last thing you need after all this!!!
ReplyDeletejust look at your lovely pics. those little duckies are too cute for words.
Cholera! Our local booklet doesn't have exciting revelations like that. This post was a joy to read my little boys are big boys now although the youngest has started football training again. I chortled at the trophy and the presentation evening. Pure class x
ReplyDeleteOh CJ, I so love the pigeon story. Hilarious, and I know all about those lycra clad folk.
ReplyDeleteI'm a good few stones overweight, ever since I started with adult on-set asthma I've been piling the pounds on.
I do try to get out and about walking and I do pilates, but I will never look good in lycra!
Next time I see a flock of pigeons overhead, I shall think of your little story about them, and giggle...
Hope you're week is better. :-)
Cholera made me laugh and not much does at present. My sense of shock is fading but I am angry and likely to be for some time. Being a Scot living in England married to an English chap I fear losing not just my European identity but also my British identity. I agree that a simple majority was not enough to take enough people willingly into this massive change. So as a result I think there will be distress and anger for some time to come. Change is hard and change you didn't want is even harder.
ReplyDeleteSo many good stories in this list. My favorite is the one about the screaming and the window. Children put us in the most awkward situations, I swear. I guess it's humbling, which can be good, but also causes unnecessary sweating and stress! Avalon accidentally knocked an entire case of baby "puffs" (essentially cereal) all over the doctor's office floor today and I was running around like an idiot collecting them while also trying to keep her from eating the germy pieces. I love your families love of football. I wish it would gain some more traction over here (soccer that is, our football has enough!) I'm glad cholera is not on the loose again. With Zika out there I worry it would be too much to bear. I hope your week is off the a good start!
ReplyDeleteI've missed your posts. You're always so personable. I love it. Really those duck pictures are just the cutest. I'm not super precious, but they make me want to speak in a high pitched voice. ha! Everyone of these stories were great. Your boys keep you on your toes. Who needs to join a running club? Wishing you the best.
ReplyDeleteGlad you sorted the cholera thing!! Happy relaxing!
ReplyDelete