In which a tree eats my children, giddy dog spreads her toes and Eldest carries a heavy heart.......and I make biscuits! (14/52)

A brisk spring breeze cuts my cheek as I pull my hat down hard to just above my eyelashes. High above our heads a curlew screams a courting song while his mate whirls and wheels around echoing his every cry. The hump back hills beckon as we follow a centuries old grass-gentle path through the field. Each step takes us further into the view as we leave the car behind - it is Saturday and we are breathing - after the week I have just had, I need to breathe.

I can feel the earth beneath my feet and hear the giggles of my boys as they, like me, experience the release that only walking can bring. The dog, ball in mouth and wag on tail, trots around us, her eyes full of expectation and excitement as she invites the boys to play.

We reach our chosen spot and shelter out of the breeze while we eat sandwiches and cradle cups of tea in cold fingers. The still weak spring sunshine gently teasing us with shafts of light between the wind blown clouds. In the far far distance, almost too far to be clear, we can just make out the main road. Full of cars. Full of cars going somewhere, no where, any where.

Sheep bleat reassuring replies to their lambs as they call out incessantly. Small cat sized lambs on wobbly knobbly kneed legs. Still bearing umbilical cords, still placenta stained they lean against their mother's legs as they warily watch us as we stride by.

We reach a field we last visited several years ago. A sentinel tree stands tall and inviting. And, like they did last time we were passing through, the boys listened to the invitation - this time, it was a bit of a squeeze as they pushed into the open mouth. The last time, they both fitted into the cavity. How they have grown........

The tree had regurgitates the boys and we walk down into the valley,  slipping quietly in then out of a sleepy hamlet where we are escorted by what appeared to be the only living creatures. A rather handsome cockerel and his henny harem watch us with intense beady eyes. 





We leave the village and it's feathered bouncer and find ourselves alongside the River Wharfe. Although, today it meanders lazily over water worn stone slabs, the evidence of winter storms is everywhere. Our gritty pathway continues riverside where our previously delicious solitude is now interrupted by other walkers. Old dodderers to fleece-clad yompers, family groups nattering to serious booted and suited walkers striding self-importantly as they clutch walking poles and water proof maps. We retreat from the massing humanity and find ourselves a quiet shore edge where we eagerly drink  tea and munch on much needed chocolate biscuits.






Ahead is a narrow wooden suspension foot bridge that will swing and bounce with every step we take. We laugh as we anticipate giddy dog's approach to crossing this strange moving bridge. She lowers her head, spreads her toes and shuffles wide legged across.
















We chat, the boys play, giddy dog gets tired, she is getting older, as we all are, and her muzzle bears the tell-tail (sic) signs of greying. We stop so the boys can skim stones on a stretch of almost mirror calm water when after a while, Eldest who is now sitting on the river's edge finds a stone he wants to take home. He calls me over - it is more akin to a fossil filled boulder than the 'stone' he hints about and I am suitably impressed with his find and take a picture in lieu of taking the boulder as it seems far too large and heavy.

We set off, Eldest lags behind as Youngest skips ahead full of energy and chatter. I look behind and see Eldest is still lagging, I call. He smiles a reply and speeds up a little. Our walk continues away from the river, back into fields and farms. Back up hills and towards the car. Eldest is now struggling to keep up. We investigate.............the 'stone' now nestles happily in his haversack. We carry on up the rutted track, Eldest doing his best to seem unaffected by the huge lump on his back. I can not bear it any more and swap my pack for his and instantly wish I hadn't.

I now trudge.

As we walk through the final fields and farms, I feel relief as I can see in the not too far distance the car parked patiently waiting for us.

Later, now the boys have gone to bed, the house has taken on that  satisfied semi-sleep state, Himself takes the heart stone upstairs to weigh for me. It is 6kg (over 13lbs) ...........an awfully heavy stone heart for a slight 13 year old to carry.

It now sits on my dining room table...............



It is time for me to go to bed and I see it is no longer Saturday and is now Sunday - Don't forget that we change to British Summer time this weekend - Summer is on its way!

walking weekend, 9/52 and 10/52

Right.

You are about to go on a walk and you have been asked to get together all the stuff you will need. Bearing in mind that there is about a 20 minute car drive first

  and  you are a 10 year old boy. 

Ok? Ready? well off you go............

• Did you remember to take your toy car? 
• And that large TransFormer and his mini-me side kick? 
• Oh yes don't forget you need to take your camera (sans batteries) 
• And your GPS (plus flat batteries and then ask mid way to walk if any one has any spare batteries..)
• And for good measure - would you have remembered to take....(wait for it....) your guitar?... I thought not.
• You would have, I suspect, not taken your gloves, or found your hat, or collected your scarf or even begun to look for your walking boots or coat.  For which, as your mother, I would have said a thing or two about your choice of equipment.

Having addressed the balance we would have got in the car, you would have a cross face and a restricted toy collection and I would have a furrowed brow. Then on the journey to our walk, our collective grumpy demeanour would have evaporated with the miles and by the time Himself had parked the car, we would be ready for our walk :)

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While we were out, I took some photos, and I thought I'd share them with you...............

The oh-so cute fisherman's cottage with it's snowdrops and daffodils. 

The happy giddy dog smiling for the camera as we walked towards Elbolton Hill (where we stopped and had lunch)

The wonderful view were we lapped up the sunshine. 

The nip in the air just about bearable as we sat eating our sandwiches 

minus our usual layers of fleeces.

Meandering drover's tracks gently falling away from the hills

leading us to quaint little villages, 

where time appears to have stood still - 

the only hint of modernity are the expensive looking shiny 4x4s littering the driveways.

A strange earth working machinery rusting quietly next to a rickety shelter, 

the vehicle reminded me of Scoop from BoB the Builder

The sunshine bright enough to gift us strong shadows which kept us company all day

Two lovely days of walking.

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We have a book club at work, where a company comes in and drops off a selection of books for us to look at and potentially buy.  I flipped through a cook book idly on Friday evening as I waited for the last patient to leave, when I spotted a couple of recipes that looked quick and easy. After further reading I found several more that really interested me, so I have put my name down for a copy. The first two recipes that caught my attention I wrote down on a scrap of paper to try this weekend and both got the thumbs up from Himself.

One was leek fritters and the other was a very quick lentil dhal - which initially tasted rather dull but with a bit of tweaking, soon improved. I will make them again I am sure, but until then I now have numbers 9 and 10 to add to my 52 recipes I've not tried before. 

Quick, easy and cheap = excellent in my book!

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Time for me to finish waffling, I am sure I could say so much more but it's getting late. So I wish you a good night and hope the spring-like sun shone for you this weekend :)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Oh - and before I forget, I have been doing some crochet but I can't show you just yet - no, it's not a surprise, it's blogger stopping me downloading any more photos until I pay them some money!!

Ha!

11.04.10 - weekend round up

Today - well today was 'an at home day', pottering around, planting out, weeding, cleaning, mowing the lawn and just generally enjoying the gentle spring warmth and quietly recovering from yesterday.

Yesterday?  - yesterday was brilliant. We took the bikes and set off for a ride along the Lune Estuary. Once again we parked at Glasson Dock which was heaving with day-trippers, icecream eaters and pram-pushers. We peddled out of the village as quickly as possible and soon we were flying along the cycleway with that wonderful clear coastal air all around.

The last few days of warmth has brought on the may blossom and the air was filled with it's gentle sweet scent.

We saw our first butterflies of the year, loads of ladybirds and bumblebees.

We rode on, up to some pools that have been created  from old clay pits and turned into a wild life area.

We stopped at the view point where the boys just had to have an emergency snack and their sandwiches were scoffed in record time.

We cycled on, into Lancaster and over the Millenium bridge - built at a cost of 1.8 million pounds on the site of a Roman then a Medieval bridge. Out of Lancaster and on and on, when suddenly we realised how late it was and how far we'd gone and how far we had to go back!

31.8km later, we returned to the car - saddle sore and creaky knee-d

.

Tired - but a good tired

Definately worth it.

06.04.10 - my sort of normal

There are things that occur (on a regular basis) that appear quite normal in our household but I feel that in any one else's eyes look just plain rediculous.

• Youngest crawling around in his PJs claiming he is a hedgehog whilst squeaking to the tune of 'Stars and Stripes'
• Me, armed with a torch and wellies heading off to the chook pen to put Tatty-bird to bed. She stays out long after the others have snuggled down and tries to perch on the fence, I call to her and she croons back, shuffles over and allows me to pick her up and tuck her up with the rest of the hens
• Himself coming to collect me at the end of the day on his bike and bringing mine at the same time whilst a precious cargo of our hen's eggs are tucked safely into his panniers (oh dear - that sounds a bit odd in itself! I mean his bike's panniers!)
• Knowing which door the cat will use - despite there being 3 doors out of the house, she only uses the one - why?
• Opening the doors to hear the rain when all our neighbours shut them tightly. Where I come from - rain is a gift.
• Eldest proclaiming himself a vegetarian despite his obvious dislike for anything remotely vegetable-like.......
• Naming inanimate objects and giving them characters and traits - Evelyn, now there's a good example, but the list goes on - Garden tools called Keith Moon and Timmy Mallet or Eldest's GPS is affectionately known as Rupert, even the car has a name.....
• Regular hunting for the remote controls for the digibox or TV (usually last seen in the hands of Eldest)
• Finding the missing socks whilst looking for said lost remote control..........

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Latest update of: 52 things I have never cooked before .......

18. Chickpea cakes

19. Old Nicks Ginger and Apple cake and yes it really does have coriander and cumin in!

20. Sweet Potato and Lentil curry - delish!! I had made a fair bit, so next day, I whizzzzzed it up and added to more vegetables and made an extremely tasty soup

21. Orange Muesli muffins - these improved with keeping and are definitely going to be made again

Another sign that spring is here.