The end of the week is cold and blowy. It’s been a whirlwind in a good way.
I went on a wet school trip to the fire station with the small class. Such excitement and glee was seen in their faces. Hosing the fire engine, looking through a thermal camera at our handprints on the wall and going on a double decker bus! It doesn’t really get much better than that when you are 4!
I was back in time to see sharp sunshine and go see the possible wind damage. It seems my perfectly laid fire was still intact. A small hazel tree fell on our handmade coat and bag rack. The handsaw was easy enough to use to clear it ready for the next day.
The hazel was dripping in catkins. I spent a few moments looking for the tiny delicate red star shaped hazel flowers. They are a jewel of colour when they arrive at the end of the buds. You need hawk eyes to spot them. Either these alluded me or it’s too early in the season.
The tree fall disturbed some leaf litter. Underneath are 2cm shoots of the bluebells. I love the small signs that show the promise of spring and growth to come.
There is time to sort out insurance, joining the Forest School Association, send some emails to potential projects, make some appointments and do some further paperwork. Currently it is a pleasure to do in the comfort of my kitchen with the radio on. I hope to myself that this gentle satisfaction and pleasure in work admin continues. I make a mental note to remind myself that it’s a treat being able to work from my lovely home and potter in and out of the house and garden between phone calls, research and emails.
I spend two days teachering in between meetings and paperwork admin which feels like a large part of the role. The bonkers class are still bonkers, but in a brilliant way.
We spend the afternoon on the muddiest walk to the woods to date. Thankfully they are distracted by a breeze and I lead them through the fields away from the mud pits. We discuss mole hills, flooded rivers and the olden days of the railway line amongst a myriad of other things. We spot daisies and dandelions in flower. This seems unusually early.
They climb and clamber at any opportunity and spend a few moments of the walk sitting on many mossy tuffets left from previously fallen trees. We have to climb over one tree which fell across the path we take. We spot a birch fallen in the distance and investigate a chain sawed oak. One small person explains to others that the rings inside are ‘the wooden clock of the tree…it says what time old it is”.
They light the fire, snack and climb the ropes and follow a ‘great mud river’ which is flowing down the hill as we walk up it at the end of the session. Another 2 meetings at different locations follow and the day turns to night.
The week ends with more potential work opportunities. I talk to my own boy child about his summer exam schedule and how I can fit possible jobs and parenting around it. The small girl child wins a quiz at school. The boy gets positive exam predictions. The middle girl has her international boyfriend flying in tonight for the weekend. She’s such a copy getting a boyfriend that lives in Espagna. I wish her love and excitement for her 36 hours with him.
And so the children continue to grow.