A breath of fresh air

Yesterday it was a bright sunny morning for a change, so I thought we would go out and get some fresh air, vit D and feel less SAD, as the majority of this winter has been GREY. Alhamdulillah it has been v mild, so it’s possible to be outside for more then half an hour before your toes freeze off. We took a little outing to Hammar’s park which is towards the coast. I thought I would take the disposable bar b q we had left from the summer to do some sausages on, but it had been taken down to the cellar which should be a synonym for black hole. So had to coax them out by offering to let them take some photos with the digital camera, and to make it a little educational, we were to take photos of winter berries, buds etc. It was so nice not to have to be somewhere at a particular time, everyone enjoyed the woods, improving on someone’s attempt at a house made of sticks, spotted a few berries but not as many as I expected (photos to come, inshAllah!). Several birds, including wood pigeons and jackdaws (Admittedly these can also be seen from my kitchen window as well as rabbits) and some sort of wagtail but I’ll have to look it up. S wanted to take a photo but I said it would be hard to catch as it was so small and quick. Had a picnic in my favourite spot, played Frisbee and football. Also played pooh sticks at the little stream that goes through the park which has several little bridges which makes it ideal. Passers-by probably wondering what they were doing, peering anxiously over the edge of the bridge to see who won, but Winnie the Pooh is maybe less popular here (Nalle Puh in Swedish) and I don’t know if this game has been lost in translation or not! Then headed for the boat playground and had a bit of fun there. However I was so glad to be out in nature with the kids, it was so peaceful, and I think we’ve had our fair share of plastic indoor playlands for one winter. The kids enjoy them but there’s too much noise in too little space for my liking.