Recently, we had a hawk descend one Sunday at the beginning of the month, tightly clutching a pigeon in its talons. We then all watched enthralled over breakfast as it proceeded to devour it piece by piece – leaving just a carcass for the flies a few hours later. Other birds have fared much better – and we’ve been known to have flocks of 10+ goldfinches at our bird feeder as they stock up for winter. Then there's been our annual influx of thousands of geese arriving for their annual winter vacation in the warmer climes of Scotland - they "summer" in the far North. They fill the skies night after night, making a wonderful cacophony whilst practising their flying.
We’ve also been to the safari park where we had an excellent day visiting all the animals. From lions to sea lions, elephants to lemurs, rhinos to meerkats – the safari park had nearly them all. But bless Niomi though – she kept asking to see a hippo – but no hippo could be found. The day was a real treat for the kids and they both definitely got loads out of it. To top it off the monkeys paid a visit to DDU’s roof which slightly panicked the kids but made for some great roof drumming.
There’s also been a fair amount of double trouble as the kids have been great at spending time together. Mutually fun activity is now a regular occurrence and they seem to be forming a very strong bond. A recent conversation before visiting the neighbours who have a dog called Blue went something like…
Niomi – Emily, I’m scared of Blue
Emily – Don’t worry Niomi. I’ll protect you.
Niomi/Emily - (Give each other great big hugs)
Mummy/Daddy – (Watch on - tear in eye)
Not just that they’ve both been independently thriving at school and nursery. Two recent parents evenings generated two equally lovely reports. And it was particularly gratifying to see Niomi really settled in at nursery as she didn’t find it the easiest at first.
They've also been spoiled rotten in Banchory for a week whilst staying with Nana and Baba (some of us had to work).
And all this has been topped off by their hippy father, who now has Niomi repeating his family mantra that the “most important thing is love.” That said, coming from Niomi it sounds more like “dove”, which causes a little amusement – and quite possibly that’s what the hawk was also thinking whilst he munched his way through one.
The most important thing is dove
Videoclip: Geese
Hello beautiful
Playing hard to get
Old orange eyes
Nice stripes
Cheeky monkey I
Cheeky monkey II
There’s also been a fair amount of double trouble as the kids have been great at spending time together. Mutually fun activity is now a regular occurrence and they seem to be forming a very strong bond. A recent conversation before visiting the neighbours who have a dog called Blue went something like…
Niomi – Emily, I’m scared of Blue
Emily – Don’t worry Niomi. I’ll protect you.
Niomi/Emily - (Give each other great big hugs)
Mummy/Daddy – (Watch on - tear in eye)
Not just that they’ve both been independently thriving at school and nursery. Two recent parents evenings generated two equally lovely reports. And it was particularly gratifying to see Niomi really settled in at nursery as she didn’t find it the easiest at first.
They've also been spoiled rotten in Banchory for a week whilst staying with Nana and Baba (some of us had to work).
And all this has been topped off by their hippy father, who now has Niomi repeating his family mantra that the “most important thing is love.” That said, coming from Niomi it sounds more like “dove”, which causes a little amusement – and quite possibly that’s what the hawk was also thinking whilst he munched his way through one.
Bathtime!
Storytime!
Playtime!
