An Oasis

In a week of feeling really, mostly, out of my depth, we can make these little pauses, breathing spaces. Seeing Roland was hard, talk turned often to Nadia, and he seemed to find it hard not to have just space to talk to Martin. I felt like a spare part. Which I worked hard at not resenting, and tried to turn to an oportunity to make some memories with the girls.

Morgan borrowing Martin's coat.


Fairy feast, left at the corner where Jenna always leaves an offering for any passing fairies. She told me a bit further along, laughing, "I found a fairy playground, but I slipped in the mud, that's why they have their playground there though - they can just fly over the muddy bits but it puts grown-ups off."As well as all the usual wonders of such a great returned-to-nature habitat, we were impressed to find a large number of poisonous plants that we could identify, too! The children take a great deal of relish in being able to identify plants and their uses, even less helpful uses... We thought these fungi might be edible though, shame we didn't have a book with us to check.Still-fluffy babies.Swan feather fished from one of the flooded gravel pits.More blackberries.Jenna's favorite tree, the majestic and beautiful-in-all-seasons willow outside the visitor centre.

A place to stop, feed the ducks some bags of corn, and pop in to the visitor centre to eat a fantastic local salad (and some free-range egg sandwiches).
It was a wonderful day in the end, but by the end of it we were all very tired, and another night of Rowan wanting mostly comfort and milk and NOT sleep, I was ready to cry. But today turned itself around. I went back to bed when the children got up. I took a walk on my own. I henna'd my hair. I took a bath (on my own) and finished a hot cup of tea and a book (all events unheard of in the normal run of things). I refuelled. :)