Odds And Ends: Newt Hunting, Top Creation And General Stuff

It's been another busy week here.

On Thursday I did another talk on butterflies and Chalk Downlands, this time out on the hills beneath glowering grey skies which held the threat of what turned out to be hail, to a group of students from another college- 28 teenage lads, whom I had been warned would be a pain in the whatsit, intent only on mucking about and pushing each other down the steep slopes of the hill while not listening to a word I said.

Au contraire as it happens. They turned out to be a lovely bunch of boys who paid attention, asked intelligent questions, told me all about the conservation work they're involved with (including one lad who expressed a wish to have his own sheep and another who was off to do his first butterfly survey the following day) and they all said thank you and waved goodbye out of the minibus at the end. So that was All Good too.

Thursday night, the Butterfly Wizard and I met up just before dusk at college to survey two of their ponds for Great Crested Newts, now that we both have a licence to do so....

 

 

 

Despite some Thorough Searching, we didn't find any newts, Great Crested or otherwise although we did see a Froggy, heard a Reed Warbler and saw a Snipe. On the way there a male kestrel was perched on a telegraph pole and on the way home I spotted a Little Owl who swooped down out of one of the farm buildings and up into a tree. I got out to have a proper look at him and he peered back at me in that way Owls have. It's a look that says you think you are looking at me, but in fact it is I who am looking at you.

Yesterday I saw my old friend and colleague Mandy in Bournemouth for a put your bones back in the right places session. As always after one of her treatments I felt sleepy, so I indulged in a sewing afternoon and whipped up a couple of tops. No pattern, because I am lazy and can't be doing with all that painstaking measuring, cutting and pinning :o) As with the jarmy bottoms, I used an existing top as a template.....

We saw old friends for supper last night. We all ate and drank too much and spent most of the evening crying with laughter, and as a result I am dehydrated this morning and not in the mood for Poppy's exuberant HI MUM! LET'S PLAY THAT GAME WHERE YOU'RE TRYING TO WORK AND I JUMP ON YOUR LAP AND OFF YOUR LAP, ON YOUR LAP AND OFF YOUR LAP OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN!

Poor Pop - Ted isn't in the mood for the game either (in the version involving Ted she substitutes my lap for his head), so she's contenting herself with chucking her ball noisily about instead.

There are seeds to sow and seedlings to re pot this weekend; revision to organise for my exam which is in a fortnight; butterfly transect data to enter on line; minutes from the latest committee meeting to write up and email out; new school trainers to buy for L; washing to do and hoovering too; a visit to pay to Gran's to see her and Em, my youngest niece; a trip to the Copse up the lane to see the Bluebells in all their Blue Finery; some sewing alterations to make, and then a Chinese for tea with a chilled bottle of white burgundy (in honour of His Grace, the Duke whom I met on Monday) and a movie on the tele. Perfic. 

Hope you all have a Lovely Weekend,

CT :o)