England: white dot country
Flying into England on a clear day is quite beautiful. And, I can tell you from experience, it’s also somewhat unusual as that beautiful patchwork of lush greens results from a lot of rain. A lot.
The first time I came to England, I sat next to a man who asked me where I was from. I said New Jersey. “Ah, American,” he said. He went on to tell me how “unusual” Americans are, the amusing things we ask and say while on a plane. He pulled out a notebook with pages of handwritten scribble. He told me that he writes down all types of things he hears Americans saying with the intention on writing a book about it. Knowing my ability to put my foot in my mouth, I thought it would be best to keep it shut or his notebook would be overflowing. Each time he’d ask me a question, I’d politely smile and nod my head yes or no. For those questions requiring more, my answers were very nondescript — a shrug of the shoulders, an “I’m not sure,” or other colorless responses. When we started to get closer, I keep seeing the white dots. You can see some on the lower left of the above picture.
I was so tempted to ask, “What are all of those white dots on the ground?” But there was no way I’d ask as I knew he’d fling open his notebook and jot down my question. As we got closer and closer, there were more and more of the white dots. It took a lot of effort for me to keep my trap shut.
Eventually, as we were nearly on top of them, I realized what they were: Sheep! I am so glad I didn’t ask that question! Now, every time I fly into England and see sheep, I always smile. I photograph them all of the time and buy little stuffed ones to take home with me!
Just about landed in Birminham Airport and heading to Festival of Quilts on Saturday.