Duck weather

"It`s been weather for ducks today"... or so people have been saying. I wonder where that originates from, and why do we associate rain with ducks like it? Do they like it?




Anyway, here`s a picture of a pretty duck... wonder if he likes the rain, or if he`d prefer an umbrella to keep him dry!

Animal Roundabout

Driving along a road and you approach a roundabout - what do you expect to see?

Maybe, well almost certainly directional signs, perhaps also flower beds or trees or shrubs or even a work of art. One roundabout a few years ago had hens living on it, but I`ve just heard of another very unusual one, it`s been colonised by a group of rabbits. (What do you call a lot of rabbits together?) I wonder how they got there in the first place? Did they cross all the traffic, or burrow up somehow?

This may take you to a picture of them.
Have they come early for Easter?!

And, I say well done to the lady who braved it to take the photo`s!

The Other Side of the Hill

Walking along the cliffs this afternoon, the sun was out. A nice afternoon for a walk I thought, so I`ll go a bit futher and climb the hill. Reaching the top and looking ahead this was the view. No, it`s not a bad photo - it was very misty the other side of the hill. What a contrast between the two sides. It`s a bit like life too isn`t it?... everything can seem to be going fine then suddenly things are not so clear.



(No, I`m not over the hill yet!)

Writing History

I`ve never been one to like a lot of history. It was my least favourite subject at school because I couldn`t see the point of learning about what happened hundreds of years ago. But, I`ve had an interesting day today with history. A much better day than I`d thought.

Looking through old documents and meeting minutes from the late 1800`s and early 1900`s it was fascinating reading. Getting a insight into the people and situations then, a lot of which haven`t really changed over all those years. I had to smile on reading one particular entry in which it said. "If Mr. X hasn`t done the job by Monday we`ll get someone else to do it". Which had a tone of saying we`ve waited long enough for him and we`re fed up with waiting. And also in another section they were trying to remedy the problem of the draught the organist was complaining about, also a problem I`ve know of here in recent years.

One thing that had changed is the length and detail which we write now-a-days compared to then. The earliest reports I was reading, of whole meetings, were no longer than half the page of an exercise book size, today we type at least 2 or even 3 large A4 pages per meeting, which when hand-written into a ledger cover 4 or 5 pages of A4, and that`s with writing it small.

It started me wondering, what will people in 100 or more years time think about Minutes from meetings that I write in ledgers in this era? What will they make of the things we write about. Makes me think, I should be careful in the way I phrase my writing. Until today, I`d never thought about them being read that far into the future, that what I write could be the Hitory of the future, it`s a scary thought!!

Hands

Idly following some links on here, I came across this light-hearted test, so have tried it to see what it says my hands say about me.

What Your Hands Say About You

You are logical, analytical, and rational. You have good verbal skills. Flexible and broad minded, you can fit in to any situation. There's no telling where your life will take you. Consistent and reliable, you like to count on structure and routine in your life. Your emotions tend to be well though out. You're willing to wait out a bad situation, and you're never too quick to act.

What Do Your Hands Say About You?

Well, some of what its analysed my hands as being is true, but some is far from it! I certainly don`t have good verbal skills (wish I did!). And, I wouldn`t really say that the last paragraph is me either. As for the rest....I`m not telling!!

A Different Sunday

What shall I tell you about my day today?... I`ve done differently today to what I normally do on a Sunday in some ways.

For once, I didn`t go to the morning service. It wasn`t that any of us weren`t feeling well, or weren`t here, but just the plain fact that we didn`t want to hear the preacher. He`s a very well educated chap, no doubt, but being that he`s been into science in his working life all his services seem to be based on the stars, space and the universe, and he goes on....and on...and on, and it all goes totally beyond my understanding. It seems more fit for a lecture hall than a service of worship. To me a service of worship should be teaching on the bible, helping us to understand it and to think of the meaning on what we read there.

It was a strange experience though, staying at home this morning, I couldn`t settle to anything, it felt as if I was "playing truant". I did feel that something was missing about Sunday. Not just in the way of routine, but of a deeper need within me.

So, after lunch I set off out on my own for a walk to my favourite place, the cliff tops. It was a nice afternoon the sun was out when I left and for the time of year it wasn`t cold. All around me as I walked I could hear the sound of bird song. There were only a handful of people about, so it was very peaceful and a pleasure to be out enjoying part of this beautiful part of the country that we live in.

In the evening I went to the evening service, which was just the type of service I like the best and get the most from. It was reflective, quiet and with a very good sermon.
So the day rounded off well.

Yippee!!!

I had a lovely surprise last week. The owners of the establishment where I work asked me if I could change my days of work, and work all day on a day I normally only work half a day and work half a day on a day I normally work all day. When they told me what the days were, I jumped at the opportunity and readily agreed.

So, after over 30 years of working all day on a Saturday (except for holidays), I now have Saturday afternoons off. What a treat!

And, today has been the first of them.

A satisfying afternoons work

Having lost my interest in baking for many years, (I used to do a lot when my Dad was alive, and I`ve not had the inclination to do it since), I now find that I`m drawn back to it, and enjoy having a good afternoon session in the kitchen. Which is what I`ve been doing this afternoon, and here are the results. Cake anyone?

A Little Ditty

"Fish make brains,
Brains make money.
Children do the work,
and teachers earn the money!"

Don`t know where this came from originally, but something I was doing today reminded me of this ditty which I heard years ago. Strange isn` t it how something from years ago will suddenly spring to mind like that.

Give away sign?

Walking the same six streets of our town on my way to and from work each day, so am quite familiar with them, and mostly notice if there is anything different about them, like a house newly painted etc..

On Monday of this week, as I was striding out to work in the morning I spotted that each house had a large yellow item on its door step. Obviously they had been delivered early before anyone was up, (I do go to work early). At lunch time some of them had disappeared but many still remained, so I assumed that the residents hadn`t been outside their front door and seen them sitting there. When I wandered home at tea-time there were still a lot of these big vivid yellow items leaning against front doors of the houses as I passed.

Next morning, they were still there, and so they continued to sit there all week and were still there when I came home today. Some places I know are holiday homes and maybe others have their owners away on holiday, BUT...what a give away sign to any villians wanting to break in to rob homes they must be to the fact that the house is empty.

How irresponsible of BT to deliver and leave their Yellow Pages phone books on doorsteps so obviously visible to all who pass by

All Change

After resisting changing to the new Blogger, and keeping signing in under the old one, yesterday the screen gave me no option, but to change it to the new one. I can`t at the moment see any differences between this and the old one - so why the need to change? And instead of being able to sign in with a short word I now find I`ve got to use a whole email address to sign in - I don`t call that progress.

Still, like everything, I suppose I shall get used to it!

Mmmmm....

I`ve been having a cooking session this afternoon, so there`s now tantalising aromas circling round the house.

Now-a-days, and perhaps its partly being lazy(?), but when I decide to do some cooking or baking I like to do a batch, rather than just make one item, saves on the washing up!....so... there`s a steak and kidney pudding steaming away on top of the stove, 3 large meat pattys sitting on the work top all cooked and ready to go in the freezer, and a sausagemeat plait baking away in the oven.

Hope there`s room in the freezer for them!

Mind Reading

Can anyone read your mind? Have a go at this, which I came across the other day and see if they can.

Aborted Journey

Well, what a lot of pictures I`ve given you to look at this week. But, sorry, none today.

I set out for a ride this afternoon, taking ofcourse my camera with me, the sun was shining brightly in a clear sky. I got a couple of miles along the road, and what did I find?
It was foggy! and the futher I went into the countryside the foggier it got. So after half an hour, I headed for home again my purpose for the ride unfulfilled.

Isn`t it strange how different the weather can be in such a short distance.

"Follow my leader"

I stood watching these geese yesterday afternoon, as they trotted - do geese trot?, I know ducks waddle, but what is the gait of geese called?... still I digress - they were coming along the path towards me with a very purposeful look about them, so I got my camera out and waited to see what they did.













They seemed to be almost playing "follow the leader", as the whole while they stayed in formation, one behind the other, right across to the other side of the wide lake. Not one of them made any attempt to change position, nor to break the straight line.
Was it that only the one in front knew where they were going?!, or was there some deeper purpose behind their behaviour I wondered. Either way, it was amusing and entertaining to watch.

Peace, Beauty & Tranquility

It was too nice to be indoors this afternoon, the sun was shining and it felt more like a spring day than a day at the start of February, and I felt the need for some "space" and time by myself, so I went to a nearby nature reserve

It was so beautiful walking the paths between the different lakes, stopping to look at the many ducks and wildfowl (more on them tomorrow). It was quiet, the only sound was that of the quacking of the ducks and the song of birds.

I walked, or rather I should say I ambled for almost 2 hours, stopping at times to stand and look up into the bare branches of the trees to find out where the bird that was calling was, or to watch the antics of the swans and geese. And all during that time I didn`t see another person! I seemed to have the whole place to myself. It was a real treat.

It was so great to feel at one with nature, and to have time to think, and I came home feeling so much better for my "stolen" afternoon away from home.


[And, if you want to know where I was look here]

A Thoughtful Gift

I share with you a picture of a surprise gift that I received today, which I very much appreciated.

It`s very rarely that I get given flowers, but the person who came to see me to do some work with me this afternoon knew that it was a poignant day in the year for me. It is 15 years since my Dad died. I found her gift so very cheering and thoughful, and especially so as it`s also a sad time of year for her. It was strange, but for the first time I found myself able to talk easily about some of the things that I`d kept to myself all those year. Not big things, but just silly sentimental things - like the fact that the hymn book I use was his, but that I`ve never moved the ribbon marker from the page that he last put it in.

It was so good to have someone who wasn`t afraid to talk about him. Why is it I wonder that people are (or seem to be) afraid to talk about a person who has died? It makes it seem as if they`d never existed. I am always so pleased when an odd (and I don`t mean odd in the peculiar sense of that word) person occasionally will say something like, "I remember your Dad" or "I remember when your Dad......." It`s comforting to know that others do recall him.

The beautiful chrysanthemums stand now in a vase on my desk beside me really appreciated.