It was, it appeared, going to be one of those days. By six, Ani and I were on our way to the village shop, grateful for its early opening so I could grab coffee. I had plans for the day… the weather forecast was good, the garden in need of serious attention. I would go to my son’s, then home to get on. Yeah, right. The best laid plans of mice, men and hobbits…
It took the PC monitor half an hour to finally stop rolling this time and four dull patches had appeared round the edges. Not much I could do about it, really, so I had another coffee and got organised. By the time I got to my son’s home it was fairly obvious this was not a day to be doing a lot of moving. Sort the shopping and the daily jobs, sort the pond, make a batch of the vile green sludge he calls a smoothie, cook for the lad’s night, then home and feet up was going to have to be the order of the day. Frustrating, but I have a lot to be working on between the journals that need answering and the books, so that would be okay.
Another half hour for the monitor to warm up…it was definitely getting worse. No question. Sort the inboxes…a job and a half every day… then a break for essential chores. By the time I got back to the PC the monitor had gone to sleep again… and this time it didn’t want to wake up. Under the stairs there was a small TV. If it had an HDMI socket, perhaps that would do as a temporary measure…
It did! Brilliant! Of course, I had done weird and wonderful things with the wiring when I set my monitor and speakers up originally, in order to get all the plugs to where they needed to be. The connecting bits are large… the hole they had to pass through very small… the contortionism involved in getting them all out again probably worthy of an Oscar. The last bit involved scissors… I could always put the plug back on later. Then I realised I would actually need an HDMI cable to connect to that socket…
The contents of the spaghetti drawer were soon strewn all over the living room. You know the one… where you stuff all the unidentified wiring you daren’t dispose of in case it is essential. No joy. A hunt through every other possible hiding place finally brought one to light. More contorting and dismantling half the makeshift desk and I finally switched the PC back on. Nothing. Blank screen. Realising my own idiocy, I dived back under the stairs and unearthed the remote control… this is a TV after all. Then a hunt for batteries. Bingo! One ‘monitor’! No sound. But I can manage without sound. At least for now.
The widescreen format is novel. The desktop took a fair bit of sorting. Then I went online and the brightness of all that white space started to get to me. Sitting a foot away from a TV screen is not a good idea, but it would at least allow me to work. Images look odd, the colours and contrast strange after the muted monitor. I’ve no idea how the photos I post will appear! But after adding darker backgrounds wherever I could to the sites I use, it is a delight to be able to switch the thing on and start to work immediately!
A jubilant phone call from my son brought some fabulous news… of which more later, when everything is in place. The day was looking up… as long as I didn’t too often. I wondered if sunglasses would help? Unable to work more than half an hour in the brightness, I decided to go and get a bath. In fact, I would test the turning tenor of the day and go one further. I would try and give Ani a bath! I had to carry her upstairs… and she is not that small a dog… being setter-sized, retriever weight and wriggling like a worm. Mayhem ensued, but she was bathed… at least from the neck down. I mopped the bathroom walls and the small lake on the floor, cleaned the bath and put the dripping towels in the laundry, watched reproachfully by the small dog. She’d been good. Sort of. A glance through the windows showed a pink sky. Maybe we should have a quick walk… let her run herself dry… And run she did. With me on the other end of the leash, until we reached the fields, trying to get a few photos of the flowers as the light faded.
The lane is lined with a frothy lace of cow parsley. Chestnuts are in full bloom, wildflowers are everywhere, starring the long grass in pink, blue and yellow. The fields are green and the trees, so recently bare, are lush and full. The western horizon was tinged with flame, soft as a pastel painting, and the moon already high as we set off. Five or ten minutes, I thought, then home for a nice, hot bath… for me. But… the birds were coming in to roost. There were deer in the fields. Rabbits scurried out of sight as we approached. Pheasants complained at our intrusion. Bats skittered across the hedges and a huge, sleek fox paused, one foot raised and poised for flight, as we walked through the buttercups. Then, as we passed the place I had seen the pair of red kites, I looked up, so glad I had the camera in my hand as the light finally died, some two hours after we had gone out. We were being watched! The day may not have gone according to plan… but if it had, would I have seen the eyes of a red kite meet mine again, this time over the edge of the nest in the dusk?
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
Wow. This is one of those times I wish we were neighbors. I must have a dozen spare sets of HDMI cables. Our spare monitors wouldn’t do you much good — different standard between USA and UK, but I think the cables would work.
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All good this morning, Marilyn, thank you! I even have sound, apparently! I just hope the photos are displaying okay. With the unaccustomed colour and brightness, it is hard to judge from here.
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As they say in US military recruiting language “it’s not just a job, it’s an adventure!”
As I say “I hope to Goddess you’ve backed up all your stuff!!!”
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I need to update that backing up 🙂 Thanks for the reminder! There’s just so much of it…
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What a lovely day!
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It ended up that way, for sure 🙂
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I love these photos!!!!!!
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Thank you 🙂
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A lovely and enjoyable post…splendid photography!
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Thank you 🙂
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I’m lost in awe of you being able to convince the TV to serve as monitor. Well done! (And of course I’m dying to know about that still-secret fantastic news.)
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Dead simple. Barb… just plug the TV in and link to PC via HDMI cable. This morning , I even have sound. I have no idea why, but it took me by surprise when I switched on 🙂 🙂
For the rest… I’m dying to tell, but I have to wait a bit….
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Some things are just meant to be!
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We were out for ages… perfect 🙂
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I wonder if there are eggs in that nest…
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Well, if you look carefully… and if the pic is displaying right… to the left in the nest, there is a red kite.. And they only roost in nests when they are breeding 🙂
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Ah… baby kites on the way then! Yaaay!
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Looks that way 🙂 And this is the same pair I was blessed to get close to for those wonderful pics a while back 🙂 I feel like a grandma… Oh wait .. 😉
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Lol! 😀
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You had my sympathy all the way through until right at the end when I thought “Why, the jammy so and so. Red kite’s nest” after that it was pure envy.
I’m glad to hear you have both sound and picture now and I hope you’re soon back to normal.
Hurry up and share the good news from your son, it’s twice recently you’ve hinted at it and left us on tenterhooks.I could do with a boost.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
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Oh no… this is aother lot of good news 🙂 Annd I’ll share as soon as he lets me 🙂
As to the kites… in vulgar parlance..pure awesomeness 🙂 xxxx
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Reblogged this on oshriradhekrishnabole.
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Fabulous post – and what a wonderful end to what was not such a great day!
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You just never know what the day might hold 🙂
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you are one resourceful woman, Sue. I admire your tenacity
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Just stubborn, Judith 🙂 It’s those northern genes 😉
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So glad you fixed your monitor problem, Sue. I hate it when equipment goes on the blink. I have a question, how on earth do you manage to cram so much into your day? No sooner do I get under way, than most of the day is gone, almost like magic!
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Time seems to be obliging these days somehow… which is just as well really 🙂
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Reblogged this on Anita & Jaye Dawes.
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Set aside the tech issues and stop to admire the beauty in those pictures. Fabulous. And, your descriptive prose is just beautiful. A lovely post. ❤️ Van
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Thanks, Van. The colours display so oddly on this I had no idea if the pictures would work.
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Lovely pictures! Lovely ‘make do’ attitude! And then…the good news! 🙂 YAY! Whatever it is. If it’s good for you and your son, than just YAY!
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Oh it’s a definite YAY moment. I believe I whooped when he phone me with the news 🙂
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Well then! A whoop is a sign of excellent news indeed! 🙂
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That may even be an understatement 🙂
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😀
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You have had a week of it – office chairs, work arounds with computers, one would be forgiven for thinking mercury was retrograde…. Great dusk shots Sue..
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Those are dirty words, Sally 🙂 Mercury retrograde… Hrmph! 😉
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But great to have something to blame…one of my husband’s drives failed this morning and I did not dare mention that little fact…hugs
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As long as nothing else goes ! 🙂
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Beautiful writing, Sue. You live in paradise! The pictures are gorgeous! Your day may not have gone as planned but it was wonderful nonetheless. 😀
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It was 🙂 The countryside around here… just at the end of my street… is really lovely and teeming with wild things 🙂
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Your days may not turn out as you plan, but they are NEVER dull. Ani helped of course! Lovely photos and a great way to end the day!
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No, they are never dull… and Ani is always part of that 🙂
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Beautiful photos. Everything looks so lush. You accomplished a lot in that day. 🙂
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It is.. England at he green best 🙂
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Great post, Sue! I could envision this in my mind with your words 🙂
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Thank you, Patrick. It was a rather strange, rollercoater of a day 🙂
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It’s that magical kind of light.
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I love that time between the worlds. You just know that anything could happen… 🙂
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