Sea Mist.

The conditions were mild, grey and damp this morning as drove to school for a full day's work and it seemed to stay overcast for the whole day. It was only as I was driving home that I saw any variation in the sky. When I stopped to take some photos I realised that there was a heavy bank of sea mist coming right up the estuary and blanketing the whole town.

Just before I turned into the top of our drive I stopped to talk to our neighbour Sarah. She had 2 children out riding on lead reins and I was taken aback for a moment when I saw that one of them was a girl I had in my class last year who I know to be a capable rider. Then Sarah pointed out who she was riding. It was Persy, one of the Dartmoor pony foals that was born here in 2008 and this was the first time Persy had been ridden out on the road. Sarah is a very gentle person and I'm sure that Persy will take to being ridden in a calm fashion. She has been used to being around people and being handled since the day she was born and Dartmoor ponies are known for their good temperaments.

Still Weeding.

The day started grey and mistily damp, almost a fine drizzle. By the time I had my breakfast, checked emails etc and solved an online jigsaw it was at least dry. By the end of a day of digging up roots the weeding is almost done. It's too early in the year to clear last year's foliage so there may well be weeds still lurking but the garden looks so much better. I almost can't wait until I can get the mower out, at least for the first time. I do have the very top of the bank still left to do but that almost counts as a separate project because the soil is so full of weed roots. I shall have to dig up the London Pride that is growing there and then replant it when I have cleared the ground. I may have to do the same with some of the Golden Marjoram which has a fine grass growing through it. It wasn't until the end of the day when I was taking my tea break that some blue sky began to appear. The forecast is for colder weather to come in tomorrow. It has been very handy having this mild spell during the half-term holiday giving me the chance to spend so much time outside.
As I bent down to turn on my PC I glanced out of the window to see the sky on fire. I grabbed my camera to take some photos and 5 mins later the sunset had faded to a dull pink.

Another Early Start.

It had been a clear night so it felt a lot colder this morning and we had to pour water on the windscreens of our cars to clear the thin layer of ice there. The sun was just coming up as I set off for a full day's work.

There were quite thick areas of mist nestling in the valleys. It was an exciting start to the day, especially when driving down the side of the long valley that leads into Barnstaple. In places the mist rolled across the road but for a lot of the time the road was higher than the fluffy mist banks. Unfortunately there are no safe places to stop and take photos there without having to walk some way which when it is cold and you're on the way to work is not really an option.
I had a fairly hectic but fun day with the children as they all designed and made rockets from a mountain of junk material.

The day itself was bright and sunny, typical that I was working for the whole day. That's twice in one week. Returning home I was nearly blinded by a golden sunburst in my rear view mirror and by the time I turned up the back roads the sky was looking, not spectacular, but pretty.

Here's hoping that we will have some good weather this week-end as well.

Back To The Grey.

The weather had changed back again today, grey and miserable once more. Luckily the rain stopped by mid-morning as it is difficult when the children spend all day cooped up in the classroom. I didn't teach in the morning which was a good thing as I was rather tired after yesterday. We had a good afternoon looking at pictures of rockets, mainly Apollo 11, and labelling photos in preparation for tomorrow's rocket making day. Coming home the clouds had started to disperse bringing a little colour into the sky.
There were some unusual low clouds drifting across our valley.

From the same spot I turned around and took this photo, no filters or special effects but the camera did its own thing and made the sky a little pinker than it really was.

Golden Light.

My reward today for getting up early and driving off to work before sunrise was to see the dawn come creeping up. I stopped at the same place as yesterday but it was a bit too dark to capture the mist that was sitting on the fields. The day itself turned out bright but I was rushing around all day long; year assembly, lunchtime staff meeting and a whole day's teaching, and didn't get a chance to appreciate the lovely weather.
It was so sunny on my homeward journey that I drove along with my car window open and my sunglasses on. The sun was casting a deep golden light over the landscape though our valley was all gloomy in the shade as usual. (Highlighting the importance of location when you live in a hilly area.)

Seeing a beautiful sunset or the golden light makes the journey home such a pleasure though I have spent many , many hours crammed on the tube staring at the back of people's heads or cycling between lorries on the city roads travelling to work in London. I am so glad that we chose to leave all that behind. And for a bonus when I got home all the birds were singing in the trees around the garden.

Happy Feet.

It was a grey morning so I was quite happy to be indoors making phone calls and getting on with some paperwork. Then it was off to school for the afternoon. We start every afternoon with a phonics session and I was due to have mine observed by 2 colleagues today. My confidence was severely hit at the end of last term and although I feel I am a good teacher I find being scrutinised stressful, even to the point of dreaming about the stupid thing. So I was quite relieved to be getting it over and done with today. All started well, (we mix the children up from different classes for phonics), and I got the children started on an initial activity. No one arrived, I carried on, and on to the end of the lesson - no observation. Apparently something had come up so now we have to make it another time. Bother! The rest of the afternoon was spent very energetically teaching the line dance and our surf/Hawaiian dance. The children took turns to dance or be the audience but I danced every dance so felt a bit worn out by the end of it. It was another pretty sunset tonight. First picture taken from the lay-by where I stopped to post a letter.
And these views across the sea were taken from higher up in the hills.

Skyscapes.

There are days such as today when I feel like doing nothing more than laze around, read a book and do some cooking. Today I had to remake the flapjacks because I got 2 recipes mixed up and used the wrong amounts of ingredients. It was only when the flapjacks were cooling that I realised I had used too much golden syrup which was resulting in soggy flapjacks. A quick remix with extra oats, back in the oven and job done. I don't like making flapjacks simply because I find them too tempting but they are the only sweet item that Peter asks for so how can I refuse. He doesn't eat cakes or any desserts which keeps those temptations out of the house but he does like a slice of flapjack either to take to work or to have at bedtime.
I finally motivated myself to get out into the garden which is silly because it is always much nicer outside than it is indoors at this time of year.

No sun in the garden but above were some lovely skyscapes. Most of the time my attention was on the ground searching for strands of moss in the stones so it was a surprise to look up and see that the sky was turning pink.

I grabbed my camera and rushed up the hill to try and get a better perspective,

only to have my battery run out after a few shots. Now at 5.00 it is pitch dark, hopefully the pink sky foretold a good day tomorrow.

Sunrise, Sunset.

I had an early start this morning, off to school as the sun rose to teach the youngest children for the morning.The outlook was much nicer today as the blue sky was filled with all types of clouds making interesting shapes. After a fun morning with the Reception class making clay pots my afternoon with the Year 2 class was also peaceful as they had to design a Christmas card for a school fund raiser. I was assisted by 2 teaching students who had also been down in Reception earlier observing my phonics lesson and seeing what the younger children do.
I stopped on the way home to take another picture from the same spot as the sunrise pictures.

The sunset itself wasn't overly spectacular but pretty enough.

More Tidying.

This morning I made a start on tidying the back room. This is where we store coats, boots and tools and over the years anything else that people can't be bothered to put away/sort out/throw. There are times when it is difficult to get to the big chest freezer that also lives in this room. I've made a start by sorting through the 'stuff' in one corner. I prefer to have an initial sort out of each area though Peter keeps suggesting that we pull everything out and then sort it out. But pull it out to where? I certainly don't want to put junk in one of the tidy rooms 'cos I can see a horrible mess being left because we've run out of time or can't think where to put things. I think I'll just keep on with my method and I expect the tools and materials we want to keep will fit in the existing cupboards. That is if we remember not to keep dumping things in there or storing useless items. When I finished work at school my car was prettily decorated with autumn leaves.
It rained quite a lot in the afternoon but I had to walk into town to do a few jobs before driving home.

And on the way home I stopped to take a few pictures of the pink sunset.

Sun!

Technology and its minions seem to be defeating us at the moment. True, I managed to fix the washing machine by flushing through the inlet hose and so far 2 washes have gone through without a hitch.But ... heavy rain wiped out the Internet, and the drive. Peter had a few serious words with BT and the Internet was working again this morning though that may simply have been because the rain had stopped. Also the man from Sky who was supposed to come in the morning to replace our ailing box with a brand new HD Sky+ box simply didn't turn up or even phone. More stern words from Peter and they are coming on Sunday afternoon. This morning the weather was lovely and it was so warm, 14C, that I was able to have doors and windows open to air the place. A man came from British Gas to talk about putting in free cavity insulation but he wasn't very knowledgeable and they only seem to have very basic training. And no they can't do it because his pipe/drill wouldn't be long enough to go through the stone facing as well as the blockwork. Never mind, next year the govt are bringing out a lot more schemes for free or subsidised insulation.
It was a day of sunshine and a few sudden showers. I cleared the tomato plants from the conservatory. Raked and shovelled up the gravel drive which had been washed down once again and got out the drain rods to clear the land drain under the back lawn which in was waterlogged.

A busy afternoon at school helping my children to follow instructions to make Dream Catchers. There were 6 knots to be tied in each one and hardly any of the children could tie a knot so it was a bit frantic.

Funny moment from yesterday. We start each afternoon with a 20 mins phonics lesson. At the end of the lesson one of the children asked me "Who is the vomit star?" At least that is what I thought he was saying. It took a few moments before I realised that I realised that I was supposed to give a sticker to the Phonics Star.

Owl Viewing.

"The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their troubles." I've just read this quote on a friend's Face book page and thought it very apt. I'm dreadful for moaning on about all the things that are going on and making myself more miserable in the process. So today was good in that all my parents turned up on time and I kept each meeting to the required less than 10 mins. Also when I found out that my poor TA (teaching assistant) has laryngitis and won't be in for the rest of the week, I was 'lent' a capable student from another class and was able to get on with sorting out books for the parents to see as parents would be arriving almost as soon as the children left the classroom.

Driving home with the gentle rain obscuring the hills, I didn't even bother to look in the mirror to see what was happening with the sunset. It wasn't until I was on the last stretch that I spotted the break in the cloud cover with the setting sun highlighting the tops of the clouds.

Too wet and a bit too late to finish the mowing tonight. I've eaten some of Peter's sausages which turned out well, will do a simple plan for tomorrow and head for bed. Currently my class are getting very excited watching a pair of Barn Owls on the Internet. I've found a nest cam (Barn Owl Trust nest cam)and for the last few weeks we have been forlornly looking at an empty nest box with just a few owl pellets. Yesterday there were 2 owls in the box which caused a great amount of excitement. Hopefully we'll get to see eggs and owlets in the future though owls do have a tendency to finish off the weakest chick.

Hare, Hare.

Both my journeys today were very similar. This morning the lack of cloud cover meant the temperature had plummeted and there was ice on the car windscreen but this was balanced by increased light levels. Venus was living up to its alternative name The Morning Star or Eosphus and shining brightly in the deep blue sky. To the east the deep blue was lightening to a royal blue with the first streaks of turquoise on the horizon. It was so good to be able to see where I was going and not be blinded by the car lights bouncing back off the rain or fog. Just after Ashelford Corner I came upon a hare running down the road. I slowed down and gave it the chance to jink sideways into the hedge. Coming home tonight it was another clear night and this time my way was lit by the full moon. Once again the deep blue sky shaded down to a dirty turquoise changing to orange brown shades on the horizon across the sea. Small grey clouds could be seen scattered in the evening sky over the dark hills dotted with lights from homes and villages. Down at sea level the town of Appledore was a mass of orange lights on the far side of the estuary. I stopped by a gateway to take in the view with its subtle beauty. Then blow me down as I continued on my way home what should be running down the road but another hare, maybe only 100 yds from the morning sighting. Same hare or just lots of hares about at the moment?Evening sky at school.

Play Time.

Evening sun at school looking towards the junior school with the corner of my classroom/hut in the foreground.

The school play is now taking over our lives, long rehearsals started in earnest today and next week's timetable is mainly rehearsals and singing practice. At this stage it seems to be going well, only 2 more weeks and we'll be doing it for real. This year we are doing 2 evening performances to fit in with parents' schedules. It would be nice if we had a couple of hours later start on the following mornings to fit in with our personal schedules. Dream on.

Look blue skies! makes a nice change. This morning I had the Headteacher and one of the Literacy co-ordinators come to observe my guided reading session (where a group of children read the same book not together but at their own pace.) I do my guided reading out in our cloakroom where we sprawl on a couple of PE mats that I have stashed away in there. The fun part of these sessions is that we do a lot of talking about the book, predicting what will happen, looking for information, delving into characters and their motives/feelings. The children enjoy our reading sessions and we have already had 3 1/2 hour sessions on a book they would normally have raced through in one go without taking in what it was all about , and we haven't got to the end yet. I was pleased to get very good feedback as this is a lesson I do enjoy and feel confident in.

By the time I had put up one small display after school (clay cobras) and written notes home about costumes for the play the sun had gone. Tonight's full moon made for some interesting and dramatic cloudscapes. Poor old camera goes back to the shop tomorrow. What will I do without a camera ? Mine accompanies me at all times, it's part of my life. All I can say is they had better repair it quickly ............ or else !!!

Being Thankful.

I've got into the habit of watching tv late in the evening and generally that means some sort of crime drama set in British cities. This has brought home to me how lucky I am to be living here - simply in visual terms. I lived for many years in the heart of London and the lack of beauty in the environment was one of the things I found so depressing. You could if you narrowed your focus find beautiful things to see but you had to look really hard and develop tunnel vision to filter out all the crap around. There are magnificent buildings but for the most part everything is drab and dirty and the sky is generally only glimpsed above a nondescript sky line. And out in suburbia (which thank goodness I only passed through) there is the added unremitting monotony. Here I am fortunate enough to have beauty at every turn. Tonight the sky was that lovely mix of high cirrus clouds with lower fluffy cumulus clouds.
I wasn't too pleased with the blurry foreground in these shots when I saw them on the pc so I grabbed the camera and took a walk up the hill.

And was rewarded with yet more fascinating skyscapes,

and far reaching views. I love the way the light is constantly changing and only minutes later the sun was dropping and the pink tinge had gone from the clouds.

An Unexpected Bonus.

I have to admit I wasn't too thrilled at having to leave my cosy home at 9.30 last night to drive into town to pick up Linas from the train station. However I was rewarded with the sight of a blazing sunset, and the pink glow of the sunset reflected on the clouds to the east. Now that I've worked out how to use the manual settings on my camera I have a better chance of capturing the true colours of the sky.

It was still light and warm at this late-ish hour reminding me that we've just passed the summer Solstice. I try not to think about this as now the nights are getting longer. I don't really want to focus on that as it's still another 4 weeks until the school summer holidays. As my life's rhythms have always been dictated by the academic year, ( my school days, uni, the boys' school days and now my work), for me summer starts at the end of July when the school summer holidays start.

Driving into town in this soft light I saw buzzards, rabbits and something that was either a giant hedgehog, small cat or rabbit with short ears sitting on the verge in Shirwell.

On our way back it had finally started to become dark and wisps of mist were streaming over the gaps in the hedges and across the road. This was our valley at about 10.45pm. (Apologies for the blur but it was a hand held 2 second exposure.)
This morning the mist had thickened and one minute I was driving in bright sunshine and the next in swirling mists. That quickly burnt off and the rest of the day has been rather hot.

Welcome Sun.

It has been a gloriously sunny day today. Cold but sunny. I didn't get a chance to work outside today as the piano tuner was coming to tweek the piano back into shape. It's been 18 months since he last came, (he rings me when he is working locally) , but he knows this piano stays in tune quite well as it is in a cold room. (The far end of the sitting room, well away from the wood burner.) Instead of stomping about in the garden I tidied up the place and even washed all the blue glass on the kitchen window sill as the sun was shinning through and highlighting all the cobwebs in the window. Now the window and all the glass are sparkling in the welcome sun. Well not right now 'cos it's dark but you get the picture. Then it was off to teach for the afternoon and earn some pennies for the bank. A little shopping after school and home with a few stops to capture the afternoon sun.