Three helicopters clatter over. The military out on some start of day exercises. Sophie stops her exploration of the grass verge and watches them fly by.
Between clattering helicopters and broken down tractors the morning has been a maelstrom of excitement. Sophie opts for a quick recharge of her batteries at the front door. Chin out, rump in/ No one will get by her unchallenged !
The farmer with the red face and the bulbous nose drives past on his tractor. It chooses to break down on the speed bump on the lane. Sophie is transfixed by the excitement. She stands on her hind legs at the gate and offers encouragement.
I forgot to mention that on our walk down the hill we saw that there's been a small landslide by the onion field. There again how much excitement can you pack into a blog ?
How would you know ?: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/did-viking-woman-named-gudrid-really-travel-north-america-1000-years-ago-180977126/
All PONs know this intuitively :https://gizmodo.com/cats-are-just-as-disloyal-as-you-suspected-new-study-s-1846379601
3 comments:
I really like that second photo of Sophie - it seems to highlight her engagement and intelligence (when she is not snoozing in the doorway). The article about Gudrun reminded me of book my son is reading in his class on Ottoman Piracy (very practical kid!), written by a Princeton historian about a 16th century Muslim who somehow ended up working for the Pope in Rome and also wrote the first geography of Africa in English: https://www.amazon.com/Trickster-Travels-Sixteenth-Century-Muslim-Between/dp/0809094355. In Japan we had William Adams, a 17th century English navigator who ended up in Japan and became an advisor to the Shogun. He later became Lord Miura and there is an entire peninsula still named after him. (This is the true version of James Clavell's "Shogun".) The drive to travel cannot be overestimated!
What an exciting time you've had this morning - we are green with envy! The third photo of Sophie makes me laugh - she has that "Don't bother me now, I've got a headache!" look about her. If she were human, I'd say that she was nursing a monumental hangover!
All is not without what passes for a smidgen of excitement here. We've already been into town to check for post from the Post office (nothing), then on to the beach for a quick walk along the promenade - it looks like rain - so not our usual leisurely stroll. Popped into one of the supermarkets for some of Inca's food and were home again just after 9:30! Things really have changed since the virus, haven't they - we seem to remember that life was so much more exciting, and far more sociable, than it is now!
Hari OM
Having the time, and inclination, to note a shift in the earth along one's walk speaks to the basic need for change. Change, it could be said, is the only constant in life. It is that need for change which drives the travel instinct, as noted by Lisa. We are not a species content in just being... Is the tale of Gudrun plausible? Absolutely. Could she, like "Eve" be a vessel for 'all women', quite likely. We know of shield maidens, so why ought there not also to have been explorer'esses'! YAM xx
Post a Comment