A boy, a bus, bees, butterflies, bones, Bradford

Yesterday was another sunny day in Ruardean. Fiona and the boys are visiting Mike's mum, so London and Mike and I had the run of the place. London loves little buses, and he enjoyed pushing himself around the back patio.


The neighbors' cat came over to get her belly scratched.


It was pretty idyllic, sitting on warm flagstones in the sun, petting a happy cat, watching butterflies and listening to the drone of bees, with the scent of flowers in the air.


The other night Mike cooked some lamb joints and made stew. We've been cleaning up the bones, by boiling, bleaching, and degreasing in soapy water. By yesterday afternoon they were done degreasing and ready to be dried, so I took advantage of the sun.


These are pretty clean, but bones is bones, and the kitty could smell what marrow is left. I watched her puzzle over the bones for a long time.


She made a big mess of my neat pile, but it was worth it to watch her try to figure out what to do with each one.


Pretty soon she was back to London for a good tummy rub.


Whether we're in Oklahoma, California, or England, the results of London's adventures are always the same.


Ruardean is near the border of England and Wales. This is the view to the west from the back garden. The land falls off in a series of hills and dales, each slightly hazier than the last. There are ruined castles along the Welsh border, defensive positions from before the realms of Britain were united. We're going to try to investigate one next week.


Today we left Ruardean to travel to Bradford and meet Vicki. London was thrilled about riding on Big People trains. And now we're here, so I'm going to stop ignoring my wife and sign off. More to come soon!