Props and Well-Being

When I'm out and about walking alone I prefer not to see anyone.  I always get a general sense of unease if a man is walking the same paths. But if the chap has a pair of binoculars, or a map and stout walking boots, perhaps a dog or a camera then I'm perfectly happy.  It's just if he has no clear purpose I feel uncomfortable.  And yet I carry no props myself.  Today I stopped to talk to a guy photographing birds.  He was mainly talking about the number of snakes he's caught in the area recently (yes caught, not just seen) and also I learnt about tree felling and why the patterns are carved into the stumps.  It was an interesting 20 minutes and I learnt so much, but without his camera in hand I would have scurried past him.

I still don't get why cows are so dumb.











COG returned home from 5 days in Germany on a musical tour. I am a firm believer in the importance of residential trips for children but as a mum I still worry. It was the long overnight return coach journey that held that knot in my stomach for a while.  She was home in the morning but she hardly spoke about it all day.  In the evening we went for a walk across the fields and out it all poured. She had a wonderful time. They played in a Schloss and in an open air bandstand amongst other places.

She had a fantastic time.  Given the gel of the music between them all and the enthusiasm and brilliance of the particular teachers that went I suspect she'll not have another this special, but who knows.

It gets harder to know what to give teachers to say thank you and I recall one teacher telling me that you can rarely go wrong with alcohol so I popped this note with an appropriate amount of wine buying money into the medical forms to be found by them once they were on their way.  They really appreciated it and it made them laugh. 

The day ended with a lovely sense of well being.