this is the scene that slowed down my journey home from the butterfly farm the other day. Taken with my macro lens and through the front window of my idling car. Anyone who has ever been in a Landrover Defender, particularly one that hasn't been cleaned for several months will appreciate that these are pretty adverse conditions for photography. The vibration from the engine is terrible and the windscreen utterly filthy. I followed these sheep and lambs for about half a mile down the road until they arrived at their new pasture. It made me smile that most of the time the two labradors observed the scene from the back of the pick-up while the collies got on with their job without a single bit of instruction from the farmer.
Graham got back from Rotterdam yesterday evening. He has had a terrible time while he has been away. He suffers from gout, a condition that often raises a smile in anyone it is mentioned to, probably because it is usually associated with red-nosed, port-swilling, over-fed old buffers of the 19th century. Sadly this isn't always, or even usually the case and he has been in absolute agony with his knee swollen to about twice the normal size.
So, this morning he has got a dentist's appointment for root canal work followed by a trip to the doctors. Poor old devil.
Angus has got three exams today. RS (RE) this morning, followed by two Spanish papers this afternoon. This evening he is representing his school in a design competition which is organised by the Rotary Club. He was only asked to do this a couple of weeks ago, and I have no idea what is going on. I know that his DT teacher is taking him and his GCSE piece to the event, but don't know whether parents attend and it looks like I don't care if I don't, or whether it would be embarrassing for him to have Mummy hanging around. So I am awaiting a call from him when he has sussed out the situation.
You look nice & high up in your Landrover Jan, the reason Harry loves his..he can see over into other farmers fields!!!! Am interested you took this with your macro lens...such a clear shot you got from so far away! I don't think my so called macro lens would have got this in focus...do you mind me asking which lens it is? Great country photo by the way!!! Hope Angus allows you to watch him...he has done well to be chosen so you might as well stand in reflected glory!!!!!
We meet this scene on rural roads here and I love watching the brilliant dogs work! Btw they have great medication now for gout. And it is always so difficult being a Mum to a growing boy into a man!
Thanks Pat, it is is the Canon 100mm f2.8. I absolutely love it, and quite often use it for non-macro shots - it seems to give a really nice quality (much better than this) that I can't quite describe to longer range shots.
@maggiemae Thanks Maggie, he has tried various things, but they often upset his stomach, and the one he has recently been prescribed you need to be gout-free for 3 weeks before starting it, and that hasn't happened yet. It is a terrible condition, you can actually see the uric acid crystals under his skin.
This is a brilliant and funny shot (if your not in a hurry) I had root canal treatment last week & gout is so painful too, my sympathy goes out to him! : (
Your diary always makes me smile, you should write a daily blog. Love how you described the traditional gout sufferer.
This shot is fab, rural traffic indeed. Great photo opportunity
OUCH!!! Gout in a knee - OW! Well I sympathise with your parental dilemma - I hate that when you're banned from going and then you find all the other parents have gone - Adam's Games teachers have told him he's not allowed to ban me from hockey matches any more so that helps - I think maybe because I take the photos - I keep coming across them in newsletters and around the school - keeps me happy! Hope the exams went OK - I'm quite worried about Monday/Tuesday now - it has the potential to mess up 4 exams by a bit of ridiculous scheduling... Good news is that the DT GCSE must have gone really well!
You sound very sensitive to the potential social pitfalls of the parent-teenager dynamic...hope you get it right in the end!
This shot is fab, rural traffic indeed. Great photo opportunity
It's charming, actually. Haha, a charming traffic jam. :-)
Here, it's too many cars, combined with way too many really rude and self-centered drivers.
I pity your dear husband. Not having a good time of it right now. :-(