Yesterday Fo went down with a bug returning from school early so today just me and the lads had a 2 hour walk through the Durham Woods. To ring the changes and to spend more time looking at wildlife without slowing the lads up I sent them on their own around a circular route into Durham center and I was to meet them at the Cathedral 90 minutes later . The River Wear was in full spate and I could smell the peat in the sediment, a smell usually found when we are next to the peat bogs and rivers on the moors . Nice memories. Because of the River level I knew there wouldn't be much chance of seeing any waterfowl but I was wrong : there were a pair of beautifully mature Goosanders riding the current downstream and I could barely keep up with them without running . Durham Uni were having a boat race day and as soon as the Goosanders sighted the boats they paddled over to an eddy next to the bank and went through an amazing grooming routine where they were scratching themselves with their deep orange feet, burying their long beaks into their feathers and best of all sipping water and tipping their beaks up until they were nearly vertical . I was only 50 metres away and could easily see the black tip on their beaks. I'm not sure how old these two were but they looked young , capable and well in there prime . The female was bigger than the male which made me think that the male was younger. I've always thought the older female members of our own species are pretty impressive so I know where the lad is coming from! After I got to the boats there was no more waterfowl and I met the lads in town as planned for biscuit break. On the way back the students were still boat racing and one boat in its enthusiasm to win tipped sideways as it was going to the finish line and filled with water . What a hoot . When we walked up to the start it got even better because two boats were just starting but one of them steered immediately towards the bank and crashed into it , first with the oars and then the tip of the boat . What a laugh . I'm always impressed by peoples propensity to make a fool of themselves . Including my own I might add. There were a lot of angry words which quickly changed to laughter . Good fun. When we got back Fo was better , had been out in the back doing the Garden Goddess bit and got Clifford to leap over the neighbors fence , the neighbor being away in Angola doing security work , to retrieve a greenhouse panel that had been blown off overnight . A good day and I excelled myself with cooking spaghetti, tomato sauce and meatbals for the family which I'm convinced is the only reason they just don't kick me out like some unwanted dog. But there is the fact that I've (with help from Fo) inadvertently created two maths whiz kids and I've to proudly say that Miles got his first assignment back today , he got 99% but what was more impressive was that he posted it on Wednesday , his tutor lives way up in Swaledale right at the top near Keld , the tutor must have got it on the Thursday and today its back marked. Open university and the Post Office system are two institutions that we should all be very proud of . A great day.