Elephants

 Been a couple of weeks since I last posted, so here goes.

Because it's cute - have a baby elephant.




He's celebrating the fact that China is shutting down it's ivory trade - http://www.itv.com/news/2017-03-31/china-shuts-down-a-third-of-ivory-factories-and-shops-ahead-of-formal-ban/
There's a risk that the trade may move underground, but this is still good news.  Reducing demand is likely to have more long-term effect than catching poachers (though both are necessary)

Health improving

 Fingers crossed,  I seem to be getting better.

I've had a lot of problems since my last bad asthma attack  (you have to be me for a bad asthma  attack to be an automatic forerunner to pulled muscles)

Firstly, the weather is getting warmer and that means fewer people burning wood in their stoves, so that pulls the air pollution down a bit.

Second, the pulled muscles are healing up - stretches help, and I'm now well enough to start exercising to build up my strength again.

Thirdly, I've been trying iron tablets to see if they help with the feeling of total exhaustion - I know I have low iron levels as I frequently got turned down as a blood donor (though I was told that I wasn't anemic at the time).  They may be helping, or it may just be the reduction in pain that's making me feel more energetic.

I managed three dances last morris practice (at intervals, not one after the other), before feeling wiped, and that's better than I've managed in quite a while.

I'm also making progress in the garden.  Several beloved plants are being rescued from a sea of ransoms or celandines.