St. Valentine

It is St. Valentine's Day on the 14th February. Saint Valentine, according to romantic legend, was a kind-hearted Roman priest who married young couples against the wishes of Emperor Claudius II, and was beheaded for his deeds on the 14th of February.

It is believed that the custom started in France and England in the middle ages because it was believed that half way through the second month was when the birds started to pair.

For this reason it is also thought to be a good time to send love letters, cards and presents.

In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"

Why not try designing your own love spoon for St. Valentine's Day. They were always carved out of one piece of wood, and the symbols had special meanings for the couple.

One for the teachers - The boots

A teacher was helping one of her reception students put on his boots. He asked her for help and she could see why. Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots still didn't want to go on. By the time they got the second boot on, she had worked up a sweat.

She almost cried when the little boy said,"Teacher, they're on the wrong feet. "She looked, and sure enough, they were. It wasn't any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as, together, they worked to get the boots back on, this time on the right feet.

He then announced, "These aren't my boots."

She bit her tongue, rather than screaming, "Why didn't you say so?"

Once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off his little feet. No sooner had they gotten the boots off when he said, "They're my brother's boots. My Mom made me wear 'em."

Now she didn't know if she should laugh or cry. But she mustered up what grace and courage she had left to wrestle the boots on his feet again. Helping him into his coat, she asked, "Now, where are your mittens?"

"I stuffed them in the toes of my boots", he said!

Jokes for Jessica

I am not very good at remembering jokes, and Jessica keeps telling me hers, so here are some I found on the Internet.

Q. Why won't banks allow kangaroos to open accounts?
A. Their checks always bounce.

Q. How does a mouse feels after it takes a bath?
A. Squeaky Clean.

Q. What kind of horse makes you wake up scared?
A. A nightmare.

Q. What do you get when you cross a sheep with kung fu?
A. Lamb chops.

Q. Where did the sheep go after high school?
A. To the ewe-niversity.

Q. What do you call a go-go dancing pig?
A. Shakin' bacon.

Q. What do you get when you cross a flea with a rabbit?
A. A bugs bunny.

Q. What do you get if you cross a Jedi knight with a toad?
A. Star Warts.

Q. What goes zzub, zzub, zzub?
A. A bee flying backwards. (zzub is 'buzz' backwards)

Q. Why is six afraid of seven?
A. Because seven eight nine.

Mrs Santa Claus wanted a divorce. The judge asked her to explain why.
"Judge, it's that happy jolly stuff all year long," she said. "It drives me CRAZY!"
"All year? Why I thought Santa's work was only in the winter." said the judge.
"Yes, but in summer he takes up gardening," Mrs Claus replied, and then...it's hoe, hoe, hoe, all over again!"

Lincolnshire has a flag

I have seen a few of these flags appearing recently, and wondered why. It turns out that it is the new Lincolnshire Flag.

The flag features a red cross with a gold fleur-de-lys in the centre on a blue and green quartered background. A gold border represents the crops grown in the county. The blue on the flag represents the sea and sky of Lincolnshire and the green symbolises the fields, while the fleur-de-lys represents the City of Lincoln.

Feeding the birds

It's winter, and although it has not been a hard winter yet, we have started to feed the birds again. Not only does it help them to survive the winter, but it also encourages them to come closer to the house. We put out fat balls, peanuts and mixed seed, this helps to encourage different varieties of birds.

Here is a Great-tit enjoying the peanuts.

Here is a Blue-tit enjoying the peanuts.

Find out more about birds at:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/

Willow

Whilst we are still at the start of winter it is nice to see that the willow is starting to think about spring already. The willow has started to produce its catkins and they looked lovely in the low winter sun today.

Fungi

We have a lot of different types of fungi on our land. Here are some I found today.

Plane trails

We have a lot of planes travelling over this part of the world. Sunday was a lovely sunny day and this plane trail was making lovely shapes whilst it was evaporating.

Tuberolachnus salignus, the giant willow aphid

These are Giant Willow Aphids. They live on the sap from the willow trees. I am not sure whether they will be a problem yet, since they have lots of natural predators.

Fox paw print

I found this fox paw print whilst out walking around our willow field. We know foxes live close by and sometimes we can smell where they have been walking.