Dormant . . . but soon awakening

This blog has been hibernating.

Well, that's not quite right. It hasn't been sleeping for months, though there has been a fair bit of energy conservation. Perhaps I could spin it as cocooning, but the blog's not a chrysalis that will metamorphosize into a butterfly.

In truth, my blogging energies have been *temporarily* wrenched away toward other things. For example, I present Exhibit A:

Sleeping, and arrayed with pretty colors, but not becoming a butterfly. Though he seems occasionally to metamorphosize into a Sour Patch Kids sorting table.

The lil' scribbler has reached four months of age and he is, to put it bluntly, a time-suck. When awake he demands our attention. While his naptimes might provide good time for blogging, his are short and irregular catnaps. Someday in the future he'll undoubtedly trend toward a single morning nap and a single afternoon nap, but that day has not yet arrived.

Admittedly, the burden of baby care falls more on Kate because, y'know, breastfeeding and stuff. And let's face it, who do you trust more to trim tiny fingernails and toenails? But I can't really sneak off and leave her alone for the drudgery joy of entertaining an infant. Hey, keep that screaming kid away while I sit here and . . . blog.

That's not a good look as a father, I've found.

Along with the new kid comes the usual nesting and organizing. New drapes for the baby's room. New cabinets and bureaus to stash the big kid's toys and make room for the new kid's gear. Of course, with those quasi-necessary things Kate has we have somehow also snuck in new baker's shelves for the kitchen, new plants for the garden, and so on. The to-do list grows, never shrinks.

The photo we used for Jackson's birthday party invitation.

Just because we have bright and shiny Exhibit A doesn't mean we can neglect Exhibit B, the older kid. Jackson started school in January when we moved from Scotland to England, and school-age children seem to multiply the number of activities and overall busyness of afternoons and weekends (a.k.a., my prime blogging times).

Playdates, birthday parties, field trips, and PTA. We got our act together to produce a kick-ass birthday party for Jackson's fifth birthday (his first-ever birthday party) at a climbing gym, but wowzers did the planning/invitations/fretting/gift bags/cake/thank you cards/etc. gobble up time. And let's not forget the least favorite time-suck: homework.

(Ed.'s note: Who gives homework to kindergarten-age children?)

England, that's who. Not all the time. But every so often the kids get hit with six pages of work for a weekend. Or ten pages due next Wednesday. Or even eighteen f$!*%@ pages over a vacation week.

Nana and Grampa Bill take Jackson to school.

I mean, isn't the point of the vacation to be a break from schooling?

But I digress.

What else has wrenched away my blogging hours? We've had the requisite visits with the grandparents (Exhibit C) for the new baby, with some de rigueur sightseeing thrown in.

Nana and Grampa Bill explore the grounds of Berkeley Castle, north of Bristol. Grampa Bill, our genealogy buff, informs us that we have ancestors who once lived in the castle.

Similarly, Exhibit D: travel and sightseeing eats up a fair bit of our time. We've tried to put Kate's maternity leave to good advantage by exploring southwestern England, whether around town in Bristol or nearby in the Cotswolds, or even further afield in Cornwall.

The captivatingly beautiful Kynance Cove in Cornwall, England.

On a beach in St. Ives, we learned he can levitate!

But all those things — new baby, older kid starting school, visitors, and travel — pale in comparison to the giant time-suck time waster recipient of my devotion. Exhibit E is . . .

Kate, of course.

Who, me?

Now, I'm not saying she doesn't allow me to blog while she's home. That wouldn't be accurate.

It's not quite true she would frown upon it.

But let's say that life goes more smoothly if I'm putting my full efforts and energy toward her the baby and our chores and our family activities. Fewer eye rolls and sighs.

(Ed.'s note: She will deny this. Vociferously.)

Ohh, I know.

And so, until Kate returns to work from maternity leave in September, things round these parts may be scarce. I'm gonna try to eke out a post here and there, but no promises.

Then in September, I'm sure I'll have oodles and oodles of time for blogging while taking care of an infant all day. Right?

Favorite photos of places we visited our second year

Although it has been a long time coming, I'm finally wrapping up my photos from our second year living abroad. You can see some of the previous posts from the links at the bottom. These are of places, not people, though a couple shots have folks in them. Also, shots of domestic and wild animals caught my fancy this year, so I've thrown in a few. (If only you knew how many photos of puffins I have . . . )

As always, I agonize over selecting my "favorites" when some of the nearly favorites woulda coulda shoulda been chosen instead. But I'm stuck now, so I need to stop whimpering and get on with it.

These photos aren't all from 2015, mind you. Rather, these are photos from June 2014 to June 2015. Yes, I'm that far behind. {shrug}

As a final word, I'll note that the places depicted aren't necessarily my favorites of the year. Instead, they're the favorite photos, not the favorite spots or buildings or vistas. That said, some of the places are pretty damn awesome.

Enjoy!

The Kelpies are the largest equine statues in the world. (Falkirk, Scotland)

Inverary Castle, the ancestral home of the Duke of Argyll (and a filming location for episodes of Downton Abbey). (Inverary, Scotland)

You'll find nowhere in the world with better access to puffins and other seabirds than the Isle of Lunga, part of the Treshnish Isles on the west coast of Scotland. (Lunga, Scotland)

One of those elusive pots of gold can be found in Castle Trim, Ireland. (Castle Trim, Ireland)

A fantastic hike of the Quiraing on the Isle of Skye ends with a view of the "Table." That's my bro-in-law, David, at top right. (Quiraing, Isle of Skye, Scotland)

I love the juxtaposition of tiny Jackson with the monumental Temple of Olympian Zeus. (Athens, Greece)

Another great hike on Skye is to the deserted Neist Point Lighthouse. (Isle of Skye, Scotland)

In nearly three years abroad, we've only returned to the U.S. once. We love the snow in Colorado, where Grammar and one of Kate's sisters live. (Mesa, Colorado, U.S.A.)

I try to snap a pic of the ceilings in all the churches, abbeys, and cathedrals we visit. Sometimes, the best ceiling is no ceiling at all. (Jedburgh Abbey, Scotland)

This exhibit, Floating Heads, greets visitors at the U.K.'s most visited museum outside of London, the Kelvingrove Museum. (Glasgow, Scotland)

The Jacobite steam train, also known as the Hogwarts Express, huffs and puffs across the Glenfinnan Viaduct. (Glenfinnan, Scotland)

People aren't the only ones who enjoy the beauty of the Crossraguel Abbey ruins. (Maybole, Scotland)

What can I say? I lurv me some ruins. This tower fragment stands in a village outside Dublin. (Trim, Ireland)

The most scenic lake in Scotland, as viewed from the summit of one of its islands, Inchcailloch. (Loch Lomond, Scotland)

Did you enjoy those? Here are more favorite pics of our second year in Scotland:


 

(Nearly) favorite photos of places we visited our second year in Scotland






Favorite family photos of our second year in Scotland







(Nearly) favorite photos of our second year in Scotland





Want to see more? Here are the favorites from our first year in Scotland:





Favorite photos of places we visited in our first year







(Nearly) favorite photos of places we visited our first year






Favorite family photos of our first year in Scotland






(Nearly) favorite family photos of our first year in Scotland

Last week, the Cotswolds; this week . . .

The village of Snowshill, in the Cotswolds.

Last week we explored the quintessential English countryside of the Cotswolds. Idyllic farms, rolling hills, quaint villages, creamy stone cottages, and everywhere you look: sheep.

For centuries, wool was the lifeblood of the Cotswolds.

Inside the Great Hall at Blenheim Palace.

You might think the arrival of a new baby would pause our travel itch. Heck no! When traveling with young children, the newborns and infants are much easier — much more compliant — than toddlers and preschoolers. You need to stop every so often to feed them and change diapers, but mostly they sleep all day. Easy peasy.

The lil' scribbler celebrated his first month anniversary in style at Blenheim Palace. But, of course, he dozed through nearly all of it in his baby carrier. Typical.

The 4¾ year olds . . . those are the ones to whom you have to cater. It's like they've actually become little people, with real wants and opinions. 

Fortunately, this 4¾ year old was happy to explore Blenheim Palace inside and out.

Our cottage.

We rented a lovely cottage in the even more lovely village of Lower Slaughter. Quite a name for a town, don't you think? If you're like me, your first thought was about slaughtering the ubiquitous sheep. But apparently the "slaughter" part derives from an old Anglo-Saxon term ("slough" or "slothre") for mud.

Which makes sense for the village, given its position on a low-banked river that runs through it. In truth, the "River" Eye looks more like a stream, crisscrossed by bridges skimming the surface.

Lower Slaughter cozies up to the low banks of the River Eye.

Jackson biking through the village of Stanton.

From our central location we crisscrossed the Cotswolds, trying to do more than merely skim the surface. We rambled through castles. Delved into ruins. Petted farm animals. Reconnoitered old villages. Chugged on steam trains. Investigated neolithic barrows. Strolled through gardens. Climbed up towers.

Hiked.

Biked.

Drank coffee.

A mid-morning refueling.

Charging up to see Broadway Tower.

Sometimes Jackson grew bored exploring yet another village (e.g., Bibury) and the silliness overtook him. And his grandmother.

Hidcote Manor Gardens were gorgeous even in early spring, before most of the blooming.

The Cotswold Farm Park provides plenty of hands-on experiences.

We searched for hidden gems, like this ancient Templar parish church in Temple Guiting.

Have Kate and baby Finley grown to giant size, or is this the remarkably (and painstakingly) accurate Model Village in Bourton-on-the-Water?

Our train-mad boy steaming along the vintage Gloucester Warwickshire Railway.

'Twas a full week.

For the new baby we've had Kate's mom (i.e., Grammar) staying with us since mid-February. This week we've been joined by my parents (i.e., Nana and Grampa Bill), and the explorations continue. Over the next couple of weeks we'll ramble through Bristol, head south into Somerset for awesome places like Wells, and take a quick jaunt or two across the border to Wales.

Grammar on the steam train.

But I promise, no more month-long breaks in posts around here. Check back next week for more traveling and photographic goodness!

Nana and Grampa Bill amidst the ruins of Tintern Abbey in southeastern Wales.