Walk, watermelon, grooming time
1. To walk further into the woods than we’d gone before and find exciting things. 2. The newly exposed seeds glisten as I walk down the garden. Russet heads peck at the garish pink flesh. 3. The rhythm of combing sends us both into a meditative state. The Simpsons run unwatched in the background.
Office humour, passing over, step by step
1. Sometimes our banter is so perfectly timed that it sounds almost scripted (in a good way). 2. A flash of red reflected in the stream as John steps from bank to bank. 3. The design evolves step by step until it’s just right.
Spotted, nearly kisses, hen friends, up there with laughter
1. I find a polka dotted feather on the ground in the woods – black with white spots. I show the boys then keep it tucked in my hand, to take it home and add it to my collection. 2. “Well, that was nearly embarrassing,” I tell one of my colleagues over IM, “the cat [...]
It wasn’t even that cold, busy buzzing, perfectly put
1. Conscious of a distance chicken announcing she’d just laid an egg, I wake up earlier than normal. Carla is nestled in my arms like a teddy bear. When I’d woken through the night, she’d been there too – a sleepy purr starting whenever I brushed her silky soft fur. (She’s with me now too, [...]
3BT – keeping separate, worth the work, evening walk
1. The clear oil cuts through the beetroot-stained vinegar on the plate. 2. I’m re-reading ‘I Capture The Castle’ by Dodie Smith yet again. The introduction to my edition tells me: “[Dodie] rewrote every line, under [husband] Alec’s critical supervision, hearing every line of dialogue in her head and unable to stop thinking about it [...]
3BT – found heaven, I’m not THAT lazy, surprised to love it
1. I call John when he’s on his way home. “I’ve found heaven,” I tell him. “Really?” he asks, “are you phoning from there now? How’s the mobile reception?”. In fact, I’ve found yet another new part of the woods – daily walks for over three months and we’re still finding new bits – and [...]
3BT – nice weather for water birds, fab cats, ugly Google, happy hound
1. We’ve been avoiding the muddy woods and walk to Apperley Bridge instead. We watch the swans and their perfect reflections in the marina, then the ducks squabbling on the canal. 2. It’s 11th years to the day since Carla & her late brother Carbon came to live with me. Throughout the day, I sing [...]
3BT – glare of the glade, happy Carla cat, new to the neighbourhood
1. We happen upon a sunny clearing in the middle of the wood but quickly retreat back into the leafy shade. 2. We worried how Carla – once the most scaredy of scaredy cats – would handle the move to the new house, after the death of her brother, after the arrival of Lily – [...]
