Today’s picture shows the skier himself ready to shoot off down a hill.
There was no chance of any skiing in our garden today as the snow had almost disappeared. It was freezing but pleasantly sunny but sadly I didn’t have the opportunity to make good use of the day because I still haven’t finished my talk and as it is due to be delivered next week, I had to get on with it. You wouldn’t think that a short talk would cause so much hand wringing but it seems that like everything else, getting mentally organised has got harder with the passing years.
Anyway, we got up for a late breakfast and just managed to get that cleared away before Dropscone appeared for coffee bearing improved scones with him as he had put aside the inefficient flour he had used before. A busy morning already! Once he had left us, I sat down at the computer and didn’t rise again for more than a few moments until six o’clock. The time was divided between getting more piano accompaniments for the choir onto my laptop and pushing the talk forwards. I have got five tunes ready and about seven and a half minutes of finished product for the talk which leaves me with two more tunes and another seven to ten minutes to go on the talk. I wish that I had stuck with the piano lessons that I gave up when I was ten.
There was a moment here and there to gaze out at the sunshine. It wasn’t very useful for taking bird photos as the contrasts were too strong but I didn’t have time to go for a walk so bird photos it was. Either they got part of themselves into the shadows…
…or they hid behind poles..
…or they slipped in flying sideways.
I just didn’t have the time to wait for the killer shot.
In a cloudy moment, I caught one standing still.
Just before I stopped working, I poked my nose out of the door to see how cold it was. It was quite chilly but the moon was very clear as a result. I couldn’t resist the temptation to pop back in for my camera.
I was very pleased that I had stuck into my work because Mrs Tootlepedal had gone off in the afternoon to see Les Miserables at the pictures with a friend and wasn’t there to cough in a pointed manner if I slacked off.
Before she came back, I went off with Susan to play with the recorder group in Carlisle. I think we passed on the road. We played some enjoyable stuff with the group as usual but it was one of those evenings where we never seemed quite to be perfectly in tune. The biscuits more than made up for any disappointment that the tuning caused.
The temperature sank to -5° C on the way home but the road was well salted so we had no trouble in arriving safely. Mrs Tootlepedal had enjoyed the film and will probably take me with her when she goes to see it again.
Another session at the computer beckons tomorrow.
I did find a flying greenfinch among all the chaffinches.
its amazing to me how you photograph a bird in flight every day..
I’ve got them on a piece of string. No, it is just because they are right outside my kitchen window and the feeder is busy all day so I have lots of opportunities.
Your talk preparation reminds me of how I used to spend several hours preparing to deliver a one-hour lecture. I do not miss this job!
Properly prepared teaching is a lot of hard work which was why teachers liked the old days so much when they taught the same lesson year after year.
What a very profitable day, you even managed a perching bird for my delight. Glad the roads were safe to drive on.
I like the bird slipping in sideways. Very comical.
I admired his style.
It’s quite a bit chillier here this week! I thought it only fair to report this just in case you were upset to think we were basking in a heatwave. We are also off to see “Les Miserables” this afternoon. I hear very good reports about it.
Thank you for your consideration. In fact, although the weather is cold here, we don’t mind because it hasn’t rained for several days so we are all whistling in the street as we stroll along.
Congratulations on working so hard on your talk. Glad to hear Mrs T enjoyed Les Miserables
Lovely picts! We saw our first chaffinch for the season today, which is very early. So probably it is one of the few that has acclimatized to the cold Swedish winter and stays instead of migrating south.
As you can see we have got hundreds round here. They seem to stay all year.