The school run from Jayac to the bus stop in Archignac is a very comfortable 8 minute drive. I can do it in 4 and a bit – if needs must.

This is not so much a testament to my competent rally driving skills ( panic not – I know this road like the back of my hand , rarely, if ever break the speed limit &  I’m sure that if I sat my advanced driving test based on this stretch of road alone, I’d pass with flying colours!) as to the fact that we are usually the only ones there – us and the wildlife. And most of the wildlife are astute enough to get out of the way when they hear us coming.

Occasionally a lorry delivering pigs or hens or someone else rally driving in the opposite direction will come hurtling around the corner and you have to be alert & ready to pull over on to the grass verge just in case they don’t but for the most part our school runs have provided us with lots of wonderful & interesting moments which have made the early morning starts all worthwhile…

Stunning sunrise on the way to archignac 7.15am

We often have to stop for this pheasant when it refuses to move for us. I’m sure certain others would just carry on and enjoy a delicious roast dinner but he’s always in that same spot with his mate hovering nearby on the edge of the field so they must have set up home there.

I let him make us late.

Carefree pheasant !

We were once treated to a huge low-flying buzzard which decided to cruise ahead of us just inches away from our windscreen. Emma & Alistair were fascinated, convinced they were extras in a scene from some alternative Harry Potter film. This was one of the rare days I didn’t have a camera with me to capture a memorable photo of the day…

Quick digression –  last year my sister took a photo every day to represent how she and her family spent their daily lives & at the end of the year they had a wonderful time looking back at 365 special moments which made up their “ordinary” lifestyle. I loved the idea & decided to do the same this year. In our household this has become known as “Photo of the Day”. The kids are sick of me snapping everything and anything & it’s still only June! But, I’m sure that if I’d managed to snap that buzzard, come the end of December when they’d long forgotten about that morning, they would have been delighted to have been reminded of that special moment. I’ll keep on snapping.

Yesterday's photo of the day - Emma making cupcakes & caught licking the spoon!

We have seen all sorts on the road over the years driving back & forth – hares as large as small dogs, deer ( a few  have just bounded out of the woods straight in front of the car which we have miraculously managed to avoid- rally driving skills do come in handy at times!!), badgers , weasels and even the odd wild boar, all of which have eluded my photographic prowess ..not easy to be poised for taking photos & drive at the same time!

Early morning rays on the way home from Archignac

The journey home rarely takes less than the full 8 minutes. With no need to rush back there’s so much to enjoy about the school run. In a few days time school is finished until September. Although it will be good not to have to rush out in the morning I’ll miss these daily outings.

Emma also starts Lycée in September which means she’ll go in one direction towards Terrasson & Alistair in the opposite which logistically won’t be so easy. However it also means there will be a whole new school run to discover which can’t be bad!

View over Terrasson & the river Vézère