Deer, Dear.

It was a full day at school for me today.At least it kept me busy. In the afternoon I was teaching my favourite subject -art. The children were looking at and sketching animal profiles and it was satisfying to be able to sit with one lad who had no confidence at all and started by making a quick attempt at copying a picture and then crossing it out straight away but after some gentle coaching in observation was happily sketching and advising others how to sketch.

Before I left for work this morning I went upstairs to brush my teeth and spotted a deer in the deciduous plantation next to the garden. Originally this was a very wet field (Ron next door called it 'a bit o' moor') where a chap who farmed some miles away kept some sheep and cattle. They weren't very well looked after and sometimes strayed into our garden so it was a relief when he sold the land to someone who got a subsidy for planting trees. It has changed hands a number of times but the trees kept on growing, I think the subsidy would have had to be repaid if the trees were removed, and eventually deer found their way inside the deer-fence. There is very little woodland around here as every bit of land is owned and farmed but we do see the occasional deer which have wandered off Exmoor probably by way of the woods around Arlington Court.

This photo is very blurry but when I enlarged it I could make out another white rump in front of the first hind.  (Looks better if you squint.) It's a lot warmer today and the icicle fountain has all but gone.

After work I went into town to sort out something at the Post Office. First problem was that although I had printed off a form from my emails I had forgotten to write down a further number I needed. Well I hadn't forgotten to write it down, just failed to actually put it in my bag. Then I thought 'Technology!', no I don't have an i-phone but I could at least phone Peter at home and get him to find the note and read out the numbers to me. Got the form filled out and took out my driver's license card for ID. Oh dear! it's 2 years out of date and no I don't carry my passport with me (and ID cards for everyone were briefly introduced and then thrown out some years ago). So now not only do I have to find which folder my passport is in because I go on so many foreign holidays (ie never) but I need to update my driver's license pronto.