Wednesday 20 April 2016

Up To You, Porky




 





Marc, my nephew and sister in law on Sunday. So proud of them all, but especially Karen. She's an inspiration.

thought you might like this, CT x




Above is a selection of snaps from this past week.

There has been a lot of outdoors action. Today I saw my first hummingbird moth. I've also seen small white butterflies over the towans. There are baby animals everywhere. I have to dodge the teeny rabbits as I drive along the back roads. They have no road sense whatsoever. I stood at the utility room window this evening, and watched my blackbird pair in the garden. He has a raggedy wing, and a kind of lop sided hop to his gait. She is very plump indeed. They make a lovely couple.

We have put up some bird feeders in the garden. Again. We have a go occasionally, by are inundated with crows who scare the little birds away. I seem to have struck gold this year though. We have had all different kinds visiting us. It has become a very absorbing pastime for Olly and I. We sit in the conservatory eating our breakfast watching the birds eating theirs. We are keeping a log of the birds that we see. It's important for me that Olly (like Alf and Sam before him) keeps his toe dipped into the natural world. Lately he has been going off the boil, which is fine really. Lots of children wax and wane. Besides the time travel project at school is fuelling his imagination no end, and he is entitled to choose where his interests lie.

But garden birds are seemingly ubiquitous, and I love that he recognises most of them. I love that he told me about the white flutters that he saw during his play time at school. I love his fascination for wood lice, and how he is often found lying on his side, watching them scuttle about the garden. He has no fear of bees, but is very wary of spiders. That's okay too; there's nothing wrong with a certain wariness of the natural world. It fosters a healthy respect for all that's out there. He sees me happily pick up and deposit spiders outside the house. They just make him shudder. In the same way that I'm not too keen on earwigs.


This evening you find me feeling very sad. The news of Victoria Wood's death today has knocked me sideways. She was my heroine. There isn't a day that passes that I don't quote something of hers. I discovered her when I was fourteen, and would avidly watch her television show every Tuesday evening on BBC2. It was laugh out loud funny. I loved her use of language, and how she could make the most ordinary word incredibly funny.  I shall leave you with this. Her acidic comedy is unsurpassed, and Kitty was my favourite.



Leanne xx

(my blog post title is actually the title of Victoria Wood's sketchbook published in 1985. My friend Claire bought it for me for Christmas that year. We used to act out some of the sketches before school, and even wrote some dreadful skits of our own inspired by it. In fact I remember one called 'At The Bus Stop' It brought the house down when we performed it to 5E)





14 comments:

  1. Oh Victoria - not meekly, not bleakly .... I adored Her way with words and she was my inspiration too. I like to think this beautiful blue sky day was for her. Nothing more to say except I saw the first baby rabbits at the allotment this afternoon ...

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  2. So sad; we've lost too many beloved people this year and many far too early. Great photos - well done to Marc and your nephew and sister in law. I love my bird feeders too and we also have breakfast 'together' as it were. Love the thought of Olly lying down watching the wood lice - I'm with him on the spiders though! xx

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  3. Lovely that you and Olly have had lots of birds to watch. My littlest boy always surprises me with his nature watching. He came home from school yesterday and told me that he'd seen a brimstone, and then he spotted a V of geese flying over. I think he has been inspired (trained..?) by his biggest brother, the birdwatcher. I'm envying you your hummingbird moth, I've never seen one although we do have elephant hawk moth caterpillars here from time to time. Well done to your sister-in-law, that's a great achievement, I'm so glad to see her do it. Love the table in the grass and the insect hotel, what a great one.

    I'm also very sad about Victoria Wood, she had such a magic way with words and her comedy was perfection. A truly inspirational woman. 72 baps Connie - you slice, I'll spread. CJ xx

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  4. Very sad to read about Victoria Wood. My eldest son adored her. My bird feeder attract crows, rooks & starlings. It doesn't put my little birdy visitors off though. Lucky you with the humming bird moth I've never seen one in real life before. Well done to the runners, a lovely photo. Wishing you a lovely week xx

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  5. I went birdwatching this morning. I am complete beginner but I did see a chaffink, a red headed woodpecker and a wren. I think it was a wren, it was fast moving faster than my eyes could focus. I am learning to recognise the songs, too. Feeling like a little child, so exited. Have a lovely week. xx

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  6. Great news about the hummingbird hawk you've beaten me to it this year ;-). Love the badger gate. Wonder what mine would make of one here :-). Fab on the bird watching front too. I am cuckoo chasing today. And well done to all on the running effort. Sad about mrs wood here too. Xx

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  7. I have been introducing our grandchildren to birdwatching, but I'm afraid I'm a bit useless when it comes to recognising them. Think I'm going to have to up my game as when they get older they will get a bit bored of nanny just pointed out robins. :)

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  8. A bird feeding station is one of the things we don't have in our garden. I'm wary of inviting birds to be snacks for our cats (they are b***ers). I'm sure there's a way of doing it that makes it safe for visitors but I need to suss out the best place. Such sad news about Victoria Wood. I was stunned. She gave us all the enormous gift of her writing, observation and comedy. Xx

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  9. Lovely pictures, Leanne. An outdoors kind of week is the best kind! I have to confess as a clueless North American I had never heard of Victoria Wood until the news of her death popped up in the news today. It seems she was loved by many people.

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  10. So many untimely deaths this year, and it seems like so many are our childhood heroes too, or at least people I associate with my childhood.

    Do you realise what a huge love of and respect for nature you've passed on to your youngest? :-) xx

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  11. I was sad too when I heard the news about Victoria Wood. All these deaths of my teenage heroes making me aware of my own mortality - she was only 63.

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  12. sad times.

    congrats to the runners xxx

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  13. Very sad, she was so inspiring, so tear inducingly hilarious. The world is a sadder place without her. we were listening to "I can't do it' in the car yesterday and crying with laughter. Happy memories.x

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  14. Is that first picture the head of a clematis? I love that shadow created from the vase. We gave up too feeding the birds, I should try again too.
    It was so sad to hear about Victoria so many celebrities seem to be dying this year. Sarah x

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