Watching Springwatch and uploading photos to my Around the Way album on facebook, shots of the local area this spring/summer, around Brockwood Park where I live and work. It’s a public album that can be viewed here.

Springwatch. I like Springwatch. It’s so low key and real. Animals doing their (often odd) animal things. Lots of egg-stealing today and a grass snake gobbling a young bird. The others hopped out of the nest to escape. And kites back from the brink.

Earlier, to Southampton to pick up hire vehicles for some end of term school activities. U-Drive. I don’t mind driving their large 17-seaters: they’re already so beat up that the pressure’s off.

Walk then snooze after a silent lunch. We don’t do that very often and today was a welcome surprise, to be able to sit in the sun, eating fine wholefoods, with people but with no chit-chat. Some students couldn’t handle it, giggling from time to time. It reminded me of the 10-day Vipassana course where of course all the meals were silent apart from the first and last days. Allows for proper chewing. Going on the course again in the autumn.

Here’s a scene from the after lunch walk, looking north towards Woodlands, the unexpected greys of the beeches backed by the rape crop brightness.

Woke at 4 then slept again, resting deeply until towards 8, a four hour spell disappearing in a flash.