Wandering.

No Bike ride this morning. Instead I am filling in job application forms for submission tomorrow. They are enormous! A huge amount of information is requested and I need to make sure I include all the necessary buzzwords amongst my waffle. In Scotland, on completion of a teaching course you are eligible for a probationer teaching position which is basically a job for a year with support from an assigned mentor at the school. Sometimes you're lucky and the school you are in has a vacancy when you complete your probationary year, Usually though there isn't one so it's a very competitive job market at this time of year. There are so many different types of teaching contracts too. Most are temporary. At this stage I'd be delighted to end up with a teaching position of another year at a school not too far away. Failing that, there is supply teaching, both have their positives and negatives. I feel I'd rather have my own class for the year though and be able to get to know the children as I think that makes life a lot easier. We'll see what happens. Anyway, it's all on top of a busy week at school with two parents evenings added to the usual mayhem. I'm looking forward to the school holdays starting in four weeks time!

I'm procrastinating somewhat by blogging first. I wanted to make sure I posted the photos from our village and woodland walk which was two weekends ago. The bluebells were just starting to flower. They're still flowering now as May has been a cold month so nature is taking her time. That's actually fine by me as May is my favourite month of the year and I feel it has gone by far too quickly for my liking and I appreciate the opportunity of a little extra time to enjoy what May usually has to offer.

Before I finish, I'd just like to thank those who commented on my previous post. I very much appreciate every word that was written. I have been visiting your blogs but in the main I've not had the time to comment properly, I hope to do so sometime soon.

  Enjoy your weekend!

Saturday Morning Bike Ride

An early start yesterday morning, off at around 6:30am.

A pause for breath and a look back down the hill.

Gorgeous, fresh, green leaves.

 A horse amongst the beech trees.

A view over fields to a distant hill.

Grazing cattle with the folly beyond.

A favourite tree.

The cow parsley is only just starting to flower.

Pheasant.

 I love the swirly coulds in this shot, as well as the fence and the sheep!

 Red campion.

 I've forgotten the name of this one, any ideas?

 Wild garlic.

Looking back to the little hut I'd like to have in my garden.

 Mossy steps nearby lead to...

 ...the weir. You'll need to imagine the sound of the rushing, tumbling water.

Green bike.

 I then visit the bird sanctuary to try out my zoom lens, this was the best shot, most were blurry. Great tits!

A view across the loch from one of the bird hides.

 Reflections in the loch create an interesting symmetrical effect.

 Loch, swans & folly.

 A last view of the loch before heading into the woods to see the bluebells...

You can't beat woodlands at this time of year, especially early on a sunny morning.

Bike detail from a rusty sculpture.

Bike shot. It's a steep climb to reach up here, I only just manage to push my bike up the hill never mind attempting to ride it up!

 Badger and toadstools.

 Buttercups and the 15th century church.

Fences and folly. Then home.

I'm still pondering a recent event which I'm still not sure whether or not I should mention here as I usually keep my blog for happy things. But I will. Last week, the lady who runs my daughter's after-school club was killed in a violent knife attack. She was a lovely woman, always ready with a smile and a laugh and with time to listen. She was only 33 and had a daughter. The full story is not yet known, but that someone should so cruelly take the life of another is just so wrong. To try to focus on the positive, the local community has rallied round to help with the running of the club, and friends who I am so grateful for have also stepped in to help me out. I do so wish it all hadn't been necessary though.

April Garden

I'm a bit late with these photos. April is when there first seems to suddenly be lots to see in the garden so I've always done an April garden post. Opportunities to get out in the garden are more limited these days but I did manage several attempts...

 

  

It's the first time the little purple magnolia has flowered and we've also had the largest number of camelia blooms ever.

I like when the cat follows me round the garden.

There's a reason why there are no whole-garden photos - it's a mess overall, but beautiful when you look closely.