Snakes Alive! · Thursday May 17, 2007 by Abbie
After reading we went into the bathroom to do toilet, teeth and hair. Ram got into the window for his hair to be done and excitedly called me to see a snake! From our elevated position of the first floor, we had a wonderful view of a mature grass snake sunning himself! We worked out that it was at least a metre long.
Ram watched it for about 10 minutes. It moved about a few times, and we even saw a flash of its tongue. It didn’t seem to react to any of the birds in the garden, and was quite happily sunning himself until Arrow went into the garden. She wasn’t even anywhere near the snake, but nevertheless it slithered straight between the bricks that make up the edging to the flower bed.
By watching nature live like this, Ram will remember it all much longer and with more detail than if he just read a book. It is wonderful to be able to take the time to watch wildlife like this as we don’t have to rush off to school. We also have binoculars in the bathroom, and luckily the people at the farm we face onto know that we are not really spying on them, but just checking out the wildlife.
Speaking of which, we have noticed the ducks are still hanging around. Actually, it is the drakes that can be seen wondering around the farm yard, so we can only hope the ducks are busy keeping the nests warm.
The day was pretty relaxed, as Ram needed the time to chill out after the home education meet yesterday. We talked again about it and he definitely wants to have some Warhammer figures, and definitely wants to go only to the quieter meeting, and not the main one.
I was feeding a bit down and tired today, and I think I hit rock bottom around 4 when Ram was on the computer and I said I needed to go outside to water the greenhouse. I realised that some of the plants really needed to be planted out. The mange toute were starting to bloom!
So I went back in and Ram agreed to me doing it. He came out a few minutes later with a stick and went around knocking down nettles, but wouldn’t help me as such. In fact he wanted me to pull the nettles up and hold them out for him to whip with his stick! I asked him how that was going to help me with the gardening. He stomped off without answering!
The veggie patch is just completely overgrown with grass and weeds already. I can ask the gardeners to dig it over for me, but last time they were in there I pointed out to them that they couldn’t step on a certain bit because I had just sowed some seeds there. When I came down with a drink for them, they were standing right on it!
We came in to watch Blue Peter then Ram wanted to go out side and bounce and play, but I had to get supper ready, not to mention washing some pots and pans and getting the dirty dishes in the dishwasher! So then he was in a bad mood.
I hate it when he won’t go outside in the morning or even the afternoon, and then in the evening when I am really tired or need to make food, he suddenly expects me to drop everything and go out with him!
Anyway, we went up to bed at 9.30. I liked it all winter when I could get him up to bed at nine, taking into account the time to get ready and reading, it would be lights off at 10.30 latest. But now it is too light and he doesn’t want to go up at nine, but if we go up at 10 it is more like 11.30 when we turn the lights off, and then Arrow still gets me up at 5.30!
Never mind, the days will be getting shorter soon, once we are past June 21, and that is only just over a month away!
