Valley Of The Rocks.

Peter was off rowing this morning so the rest of us planned to go out for a walk after breakfast. Our original plan was to head out to Barricane Beach so that we could do some rock pooling. Luckily, just before we left I checked the date of this year's sandcastle competition at Woolacombe and it happened to be today. It's a fun event but the problem is that there is only one road into Woolacombe and the traffic jams on sandcastle competition day are legendary. Instead we headed out to the Valley of the Rocks. Driving through the wooded valleys around Watersmeet we had to slow down for a red deer hind who stood in the road for a while before leaping off into the trees. As we arrived it was all looking very atmospheric with low clouds creeping down from the tops of the hills. My friends hadn't been there before and they were impressed with the rugged scenery. At first the only wildlife we saw were the glossy Exmoor ponies that run free in the valley but later we saw the wild goats soaking up the sun on the most treacherous looking ledges. Sam tried to take a photo of a crow sitting on a post but it flew off at the last moment so the picture was birdless.

The views from the cliff path were as spectacular as ever. The mists slowly cleared and we could see right across to Wales. For the rest of our walk there was sun !! and it felt hot !!

We climbed up to the top of Castle Rock, it's a great spot for a picnic so maybe that's what I'll plan for my birthday treat later in the summer. Rain permitting of course.

We ended our walk with a cup of tea in garden of the tea rooms by the car park. I had a chat with a man sitting there with his flat coat retriever, (not as nice as dear old Zulu). Dogs are an acceptable ice-breaker for us reserved Brits.

Back home Peter had prepared a barbecue and we were able to sit outside and enjoy the last of the pleasant weather though clouds had begun to gather in our valley. I've baked a chocolate cake as it is Peter's birthday (he doesn't do birthdays).

Anticipation.

Apologies for the rant yesterday but we were (and still are) upset by the way things turned out. When I tried to analyse why I felt so cross I realised that it was down to anticipation. We had so enjoyed the previous festivals that for 2 years we had been waiting with pleasant anticipation. Then when I checked the dates and found out it was coming up soon that was a time of excitement. There was the set back of finding out that it would cost so much but it gave us something to look forward to at the end of a rather washed out half-term holiday .......... It is quite probable that the new restricitons were imposed by the same group of police officials who when consulting with the organisers of the Green Man Festival, our local street festival, amongst other riduculous stipulations said ' But you don't even have any exit signs, where will people go if they have to clear the area?' Stunned silence from the Festival commitee members who had to point out that it was a street with roads leading off it and people could just .... leave.

But anticipation is a double edged sword, for every degree of pleasure at the thought of things to come there is the possibility of the same amount of disappointment when things don't happen or fail to meet expectations. Holidays are the classic case, months of saving, planning and anticipation can be brought to ruin by airport delays, substandard accommodation, noisy neighbours, tummy bugs etc. (This hasn't happened to us because we didn't take family holidays abroad or even anywhere after we moved here.) There is also the danger of anticipating 'surprises'. Now apologies to any chaps who this doesn't apply to but talking to my friends in general men have little concept of how to celebrate a special occasion. They seem to think that simply remembering the event with a card, maybe some flowers or even ... some chocolates is sufficient way to celebrate a special day - like your 50th birthday! (Not having to do any housework but having it all left for the next day does not count.) I have found that although it takes away some of the pleasure it is best to be very specific eg yes I do expect a birthday cake.

Anticipation is a good way to increase pleasure in an event, think of a child's excitement or an adult's happy planning but how do we cope with disappointment? It takes a strong character to simply shrug one's shoulders and be able to look on the bright side. Me, I have to have a good grumble before I can get back on track but I'm happy to say that I'm not cross any more .... much. And then to top it all I discover that the local 'Stars In Their Eyes' was on tonight. Usually it is a bit later in the year and although tickets are like gold dust Peter has connections so we always get them. Bummer. On the plus side the weather today was dry, windy and frequently sunny. After Peter dropped Linas into town (taxi service starts up again), we took ourselves for a walk at Mortehoe. We dropped down into the little Kinevor valley where it was sheltered and warm in the sun.
Although the bluebells were over there were wild flowers all around, buttercups, violets, wild roses and many more.


We walked alongside the babbling stream, through the sunny meadow and out to Bennet's Mouth. We stopped at the little beach to watch the waves crashing against the grey rocks while we had some coffee and cake. Then it was up the steep cliff paths to walk in the bracing breeze towards the lighthouse at Bull Point.

Looking across to Lundy the sea was a myriad shades of blue. We opted for the longer walk round to Morte Point as I had been feeling quite cooped up by the week's bad weather and needed to stretch my legs.
Back home I had some more time to read and weed. When Linas came back from town he cut all the lawns which is a help.

Living The Dream.

As I stood at the kitchen sink this morning doing the washing up and gazing out of the window I thought of the pleasure I was getting from the view. In front of me was our garden stretching up to the fields. Speedy was meandering up the track until his attention, and mine was caught by one of the ponies in the field having a good roll. Such a change from the 25 years I spent as a city dweller always dreaming of the day I might return to living in the country or by the sea. I lived in central London and my world was bounded by buildings and noise, dirt and traffic. Once I was married I lived an alternative lifestyle, riding a bicycle, working on city farms, being involved in community gardens and riding & looking after people's horses but always there was the need to blot out the surrounding urban environment. Once we had children I gave up most of these activities and concentrated on the children and the garden and looked forward to the 3 weeks we would spend in a chalet set in the sand dunes by the sea. Almost 20 years ago we had the chance to move here where occasional traffic noises drift across the fields from a mile or so away and every view from the windows is of garden, fields and trees. And what a joy it is to stroll up the garden and then up the hill to talk to the ponies and take in the wonderful views. That is what I did this evening after a day spent painting - the back wall of one of the wardrobes and the cupboard doors, and mowing all the grass as we are due for some colder and wetter weather. Peter had to reset the burner again in the rayburn but finally it is burning well and the temperature gauge is creeping up.
By the time I got up to the road the first drops of rain were falling but it was only very light rain and I didn't get too wet by the time I had walked home.

Summer Time.

With the clocks going forward last night we seem to have rushed straight into summer. Another beautiful day today that lulls you into thinking our weather is wonderful. Our 'summers' tend to be so miserable that we intend to take full advantage of every sunny day we get. Peter was up early for a row out on the river and came back thoroughly worn out. They started out on a normal training row but then it was decided to race against the A-team. That's a 3 1/2 mile sprint! Even after that he was game enough to go on a long walk with me. We took our longest route first going down to the little wooded valley that leads out to Bennet's Mouth. It is too early for the bluebells but the celandine's and wild daffodils are being joined by the little wood violets. The warmth had brought out a pair of magical brown butterflies that danced around each other under the trees.
There was a slight sea mist so there were no clear views across to Wales or later on to Lundy.

After a brief stop at Bennet's Mouth we took the high path to the top of the cliffs round to Bull Point Lighthouse and then carried on round to Morte Point. We both found the steep stepped sections quite hard on our knees but managed to keep up a good pace on the more level paths. By the time we stopped for coffee at Morte Point there were quite a few people out enjoying the good weather and lovely scenery.

Back home I washed the large fluffy bed throw that I had left soaking in the bath (it is too bulky to put in the washing machine). It was as I struggled to wring out the water from the throw that I remembered why I had decided last time that it would be better to take the throw into the launderette in town. To add insult to injury as I hung it out to dry I realised it could have done with more rinsing and I am still going to have to take it into town to do the job properly. All that time and effort wasted! Feeling somewhat worn out I then mowed all the lawns before collapsing for an hour in the sun while Peter cooked up another barbecue.

We ended our evening watching the final of Dancing on Ice but it was too warm to think about having a wood fire.

Sunday Stroll.

Today I am thankful for the fact that we live only 5 miles from the coast. Any time we want we can jump in the car and go for a walk by the sea. (Naturally it would be even better if we were within walking distance.) I feel the sea is in my blood perhaps due to the fact that even as a small baby I was taken daily to watch the waves. As a toddler the beach was my playground, most of the houses didn't have gardens so we children roamed from beach to beach, nominally in the care of an older child. How things have changed in the last 50 years. Can you imagine a 3 year old out on the streets on their own in these times?
Peter was out rowing earlier this morning. I thought he had the best of the weather but they did get caught in a couple of showers as well. They were watched by an inquisitive seal that had come up river. However he was still ready to go out for a walk at Mortehoe.

There was a cold northerly wind which made walking in the shade rather chilly but we had wrapped up well. We took the path straight to Bull Point Lighthouse and then walked back towards Rockham Bay. Very few people out walking today.

We found a fairly sheltered spot overlooking Rockham Bay to have our coffee before taking the shorter way back as Peter was tired from his rowing session.

On the way back home we called in at Tesco's and for once got some real bargains. Despite all the advertising Tesco's is not so cheap unless you buy the value range and their reduced section is generally a joke with not much being taken off the prices. Today we got some fresh salads and satsumas for pennies and cheap bread and buns to go in the freezer. These together with a cous cous salad and some lamb's liver were 90% off. There were bags of doughnuts for 3p but they didn't tempt me and couldn't be kept for when the boys come down.

P.S.

I will not be defeated by Blogger so here is the final picture in a post of its own. It's a view of Morte Point taken from down on Rockham Beach.

Enjoying The Weather.

It was so lovely this morning that we abandoned our plans for doing household chores and instead headed out for a nice long walk. We went to our favourite place, Mortehoe, and taking advantage of the free winter parking up on the road we set off towards Bull Point lighthouse.
From the main path we then took a small track that leads steeply downwards towards Kinnevar. (I'm not sure if the name refers to the stream or the whole valley.) The sun shone down through the trees and and it was peaceful walking along the babbling stream. Eventually we emerged from the trees into the wide grassy valley that leads to the beach at Bennet's Mouth. This is the start of the half-term holiday so there were more people about including some large teams of youngsters out orienteering and learning about survival on the moors.

Despite the increased numbers of people it was still very restful to sit near the waters' edge watching the waves crashing in on the rocks and marvelling at the lovely blue colour of the sea.

But by the time we had gone back up onto the cliffs and walked round the coast to Rockham Bay the clouds had rolled in and the sea had changed to a steely grey colour. Today we climbed down the steep wooden stairs to the beach so that we could sit there and enjoy a cup of coffee. We had forgotten to put sweeteners in the coffee but we did had a couple of small slices of cake to go with it. Then it was back up the stairs and more cliff steps till we were back at Mortehoe once more. Logic tells me that there has to be the same amount of ups as downs on such a walk but why does it always feel as if there are far more ups? I was so hot on our return to the car that when we dropped into Tescos to buy a few things I walked around the supermarket in walking boots, jeans (with a big hole in the knee), and a vest t-shirt though I kept my fingerless gloves and wrap around sunglasses on. That's what I'm like.

Just deleted my final picture and now it is refusing to load any more. Aargh!

Sunday Stroll.

Woke up with quite a lot of twinging in my back so the jury is still out as to whether gig rowing will be for me. Maybe it was simply too much after the mowing. I'll have another go and then see what happens. It was beautifully warm today. Shh, perhaps we're having an Indian Summer. Anyway, I was glad with my choice of shorts for our stroll around Morte Point. With the bracken dying back everything looked very autumnal.
The waves looked good for surfing in the strong wind. The wind was still coming from the south and I nearly was blown into another walker when a gust caught me as we rounded the point. The walk got rid of the cobwebs and it was good to stretch our legs. Back home I finished off the day with some gardening. My first job was to sit with a cup of tea and prevent Speedy from eating butterflies by sending him to sleep with some cuddles. It was a good thing he had his eyes shut when a butterfly landed on his head. There were also quite a few dragonflies around. It looks as if one of the hens has decided to go broody. She was very free with her pecks when I lifted her off the nest only to discover zero eggs. Our 3 hens give us 1 or 2 eggs a day which is more than ample for our needs.

Sports Day At Last.

We finally had our Sports Day today after 2 cancellations due to the wet weather. Because a parent complained that we cancelled the last time in the morning (even though the weatherman accurately predicted that it would pour with rain at lunchtime) we held off making a decision until lunchtime. We had light showers and sunshine but we went ahead anyway. We have a mixture of flat races for each class and team activities where each team is made up of children of all ages and the activities graded for the different age groups so everyone has a go until the whistle blows and you move onto the next activity with points being totalled to find out the winning team. 

On the way home I always enjoy watching the changing palette of the wildflowers. Right now the Rosebay-willow-herb (fire weed) is blazing in great swathes alongside the roads while many of the other flowers have set seed and are more muted browns and golds. The broken telegraph pole has been repaired and more and more wind turbines are sprouting from the next hill top. Now it's back to those reports as I've been told that I have to fill in everything on the pupil tracker asap. Just as I'm beginning to get to grips with the Tracker I'll stop using it as I return to part-time teaching.

Sunny Sunday.

It has been a beautiful day again today. Unfortunately I had to spend a lot of time hunched over the PC first doing my planning and then more work on the reports. I did a quick tally and on each report there are 39 boxes to be individually thought about and filled for each child. That's not counting the precis for each term and the targets for the core subjects. No wonder it is taking so long. This lovely weather will probably be around for the next 3 weeks and then as soon as our summer holiday starts it will revert to miserable grey weather. I may sound obsessed with the weather but last year I kept a record and over the 6 weeks of our summer holiday we had just 4 good days. Peter went rowing early in the morning so we were able to go out later for a walk at Mortehoe. We went along the track to Bull Point before turning and heading back right around Morte Point.

This is one of the older benches along the way. I stopped here to get a stone out of my shoe.

It didn't feel too hot as there was a cooling breeze.

As we approached Morte point the coast guard helicopter circled and then hovered over the rocks at the highest point.

We saw a winch man going down but we couldn't find out if they were rescuing someone or simply on a training exercise. When we got round the point we could see the beach at Woolacombe was full and the car park at Putsborough was also packed.

Back home I carried on working on the PC before finally taking a break to pick a few more lbs of blackcurrants. Peter cooked up another barbecue and we had a pleasant meal outside. Now it's back to the grindstone for another week (or three).

Friday's Post.

Last night's blogging was interrupted by a power cut, it was only brief but as a precaution the pcs were unplugged for the rest of the evening. Friday was looking good, a whole morning in the staffroom sorting out final inputting onto our on-line pupil tracker followed by a relaxed afternoon in class, handwriting followed by Golden Time. Instead it turned into a frantic nightmare. Half-way through the morning I found out that I had missed out large sections on the tracker so that was more work piling up. Then at 11.30 we were told that our end of year data needed to be on the tracker NOW. Got that done before rushing into town at lunchtime as I had to go to the bank. Had just settled into class with the children when a series of messages came about missing data. I thought that maybe in my rush I had forgotten to press the save button but then I got suspicious. When I checked the tracker using my log-in the data was all there but for some reason the office couldn't pick it up on their log in-so I had to write it all down for them. For something that is supposed to make life easier the on-line tracker is generating hours of work.

Life in the countryside is also quite frantic at the moment. In our current dry spell the contractors are out cutting and transporting silage. Someone must have come out of a field too sharply and snapped this telegraph pole right off.  It's a mile away from home and not our phone line so I don't think it had anything to do with last night's power cut.

The distant hills are the cliffs on the North Devon coast.
It had been another sunny day ending in a beautiful evening so my evening stroll in the garden turned into a walk up the hill and then along the road to Ashelford Corner. It was simply too nice to sit at home.

For anyone living in the UK The Co-op (once Somerfields) continues to be the best place to buy reduced price food. While the other big supermarkets take off 20p or 50p at the Co-op they regularly reduce perishables by 50-75% at round 5.00. Yesterday I bought cherries, blueberries, pears, chicken breast fillets, lamb's liver, yoghurt, lime cheese cakes and coronation chicken all for 25% of the usual price and some of them had been on special offer in the first place. We get to eat really nice food at a reasonable price and our freezer is once again filled to the brim for when the youngsters come to visit. My al fresco breakfast this morning was oats & sunflower seeds with blueberries and yoghurt.

I let the kitty out for a run in the garden last night which he loved, whizzing round the place excitedly. He may end up being called Speedy unless we think of something better. He has been spending the day in the conservatory and yesterday when I returned home there had been a bit of mayhem inflicted on my puzzle with some pieces even looking chewed! Never mind, it was soon fixed and now I put the trays over the vulnerable sections.

Phew!

Summer has arrived, for one day at least with the temp going up to 27C. The change in weather is not due to last but perhaps we appreciate it all the more when we have just had a cool wet week and we know we could return to that at any time. It was so nice to find the air lovely and warm at 8.00 in the morning. We went out for an earlier walk than usual as Peter was rowing in the afternoon. (They got stuck on a sandbank!)

The cliff path was very busy as there was a marathon being run along it. Not good to be running in such heat and we could see lots of sweaty faces as they pounded their way up the steep path. We were sitting on a bench enjoying a cup of coffee when a friend ran past. He didn't notice us but we shouted some encouraging phrases as he went past which made him smile.

The sea was an amazing colour and far below we could see (centre of the photo) a fat seal watching all the people up on the cliff.

When Peter went rowing I conscientiously worked on some reports (we have to fill in 13 individual sections for each child as well as the class comments) before deciding the day was too special to waste sitting indoors. Instead I picked 3lbs of juicy blackcurrants and mowed all the grass before ending the day with another of Peter's barbecues.

Butterflies.

Still struggling with Blogger. The PC sits there ticking at me with a blank screen when I try my usual route which is rather irritating. Almost as irritating as waiting to talk to the student loans company to find out how I complete Romas' application for this year's loan. I had a helpful email directing me to a web site but when I got there I needed an special number ??? or if I had forgotten that I could give my secret answer. Only helpful if I knew what the secret question was. It's a good thing they don't record your comments while the cheery muzac is playing or the soothing tones of a recording tell you that they are very busy and you could go to the web site instead. I'm afraid my comments ranged from the not very polite to scathing sarcasm and finally inane babbling. When I finally spoke to a real person she helpfully agreed to resend my secret number and another secret question as well as sending me a paper form to fill in.

The weather today has mostly been rather stormy. Broken branches lie on my newly mown lawns and it feels quite cold. In class we have had great excitement over the last few days as our Painted Lady butterflies emerged form their chrysalises. Just 23 days ago they were 5mm long caterpillars that grew at an amazing rate before turning into chrysalises. It was a race against time to see if they would hatch before the half-term holiday which for the children started today (we have another morning of something? tomorrow). Of 15 caterpillars only 2 did not turn into a chrysalis and by the end of today 11 butterflies had emerged. It is wonderful for the children to be able to watch this happening. The other class haven't had any butterflies emerge, maybe due to the fact that their classroom is not as sunny as ours. So the children all came over to my class to have a look at our butterflies instead. (They have had much better bird watching opportunities as their hut faces bushes and large trees on one side and their many bird feeders are also visited by cheeky squirrels.)

Tarka Tennis.

A very pleasant day today. The weather wasn't so good but our morning was spent under cover at the local tennis centre where the children did all sorts of tennis based activities. There were plenty of youngsters there to run the activities and we just escorted the children around. In the afternoon I gave my class some handwriting to do before they had 'Golden Time' . Coming home tonight the lanes are full of flowers and looking lovely but when I stopped to take some photos I was quite shocked to see how the new wind turbines are marching across the sky line spoiling the rural beauty of the landscape. The 6th turbine is in construction and when finished they will stretch for 10 miles.
I suppose we will get used to them just as we don't really notice the telegraph poles that run along so many of our lanes.

This evening I pricked out some seedlings and planted a few more seeds before cooking an easy meal of mushroom and cheese tortellini with a fresh mushroom sauce that I bulked up with chicken and baby sweetcorn.

Back To Work.

The world has turned green in the space of a week. Everywhere the bright green beech leaves have brought life to the countryside. The hedgerows are now a riot of cow parsley sparkling against the new green growth with the blue haze of bluebells beginning to appear. It makes my daily commute a total pleasure.

This week at school we are in 'wedding mode' and the children spent their day making flags, painting commemorative plates, rehearsing their dances for Thursday and writing invitations asking the parents to come and join us in our celebrations. Despite the relaxed day I felt quite tired by the end of the day. I still managed an hour's weeding at home while Peter barbecued some lamb for our al fresco supper.

Finally more photos from yesterday's walk.

A new path to explore.

Heading out across the fields.

Signs Of Spring.

The day started off wet and windy but somewhere along the line, without me really noticing, the sun came out and we ended up with a lovely warm afternoon. In the school grounds the blossom and daffodils are already past their best,

..... while in the Secret Garden the big old weeping willow has turned a delicious shade of green.

Driving along the country roads I have been noticing more and more trees and bushes breaking into bud. Already the hawthorn is covered with tightly curled green leaves and there are more subtle colour changes in other species as the new buds impart a pink or yellow tinge to the branches. The biggest and most looked for change will be when the beech trees/bushes/hedges open their buds. The bright lime green of the new leaves is such a refreshing change after so many months of dusty browns and greys.

This morning I played a mild April Fool on my class asking them in the most upset tones I could muster why I didn't have any birthday cards or flowers. They looked shocked for about 30 seconds before laughing at being caught out. A couple of their mums had tried exactly the same trick on them.

As it is Mothering Sunday this weekend my class have been busy making cards and gifts for their mums. Their cards included a description of their mum which they had typed up and printed in different colours and fonts. Most of them chose to write similes (I so wish I had kept a record) which were so personal and lovely that I'm sure their mums will love them. Some that I remember are;

My mum is as brave as a hamster.

My mum's hair is as smooth as a bit of wood.

My mum's smile is like mine when I'm eating cakes.

My mum is as strong as a gorilla.

My mum's skin is as soft as 10 kittens.

The cards were all watercolours of spring flowers but the children had mounted them in different ways and they had thought carefully about the colours and materials they used so each was unique. And to finish them off they made giant decorated envelopes. We have been told (well it was discussed at a staff meeting) that we are not making Easter cards. Some people felt strongly that every class should be doing the same thing and with it only 1 week until we break up it is quite close to the Mothers' Day card making. I would have liked to make cards because I feel it motivates the children but I can sympathise with those who find it stressful having to make sure that everyone has made a card by the end of the week. None the less I have got some small polystyrene eggs for the children to decorate and take home and I bought enough for the other Year 2 class as well so I can't be accused of going off and doing my own thing. I even have coloured Easter Eggs hanging from some branches in a jug alongside a display of books about Easter. True most of my children do not follow any religion actively but I told them that even if they only have chocolate Easter eggs then in a small way they are still celebrating Easter.