Monday, January 8, 2018

And so normal service is resumed.




The schools started again today. The little lane suddenly alive with traffic. The farmers in their white vans, the young garagiste on his motor bike and the gentleman in his large green Toyota with the excitable Westie in the passenger seat all wave as they pass by. The morning rush hour lasts from 7:45 until 8:00. At 8:00 the  woman with the four year old twin boys hurtles along the road driving with one hand while combing the boys hair with the other. She's followed thirty seconds later by the school secretary in her mustard coloured Renault. After that silence. 

Lots of fallen branches around today. There was a brief but ferocious thunderstorm at one o'clock. The whole house shook and the rain was torrential. Usually, thunderstorms  amble down from the mountains. This one just arrived, unforecast, lasted three minutes with a peculiar intensity and was then gone. Bob and Sophie slept through it.


Bob and Sophie spend much of their day at the front gate monitoring the comings and goings of the school buses. The tykes are not happy at going back to school. They drag their satchels on the ground behind them and look sullen. The smaller of the two rattles a stick against the metal bars of the gates and whistles. To make triply sure that the PONs are annoyed he also goes ' woof-woof'. Bob and Sophie are spurred , as they are every school day morning, into a flurry of activity.


All those little things too unimportant for a diary but which make a dogs owners life - a dog owners life.

Einstein writing to Marie Curie about 'trolls'. Plus ca change : https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/04/19/einstein-curie-letter/





8 comments:

Taste of France said...

What a storm! Thunder and lightning in January. And hail. And the firehose turned on us from above. I haven't been out to check the level of the river, but considering I don't hear it from inside the house it must not be at flood level.
Your description of midwinter back-to-school is very accurate. The faces at the bus stop this morning were the very definition of long.

Lisa in Tokyo said...

Bob really does look deeply offended in that last shot!

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari om
...and which make life so interesting to watch! YAM xx

WFT Nobby said...

So much happening in one small village in France profonde.

Coppa's girl said...

I'll bet no one is more relieved that school has started again than the little tykes mother ! The only consolation for her is that they will eventually grow up, and hopefully, leave home !

Angus said...

Taking their trombones with them !

Coppa's girl said...

Indeed, they won't be allowed to leave without them !

BaileyBobSouthernDog said...

Thank you for bringing to our attention the letter written to Marie Curie by Einstein. Very appropriate for me to read on this day.