Footloose and fancy-free

First of all I was thinking of 'Waiting for the other shoe to drop'. Brene Brown introduced me to this saying. I don't really know what it means of why... it seems to be used when someone is waiting for something bad to happen. Better Google it...

Thank you, Wikipedia:

A common experience of tenement living in apartment-style housing in New York City and other large cities during the manufacturing boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Apartments were built with very similar designs, with the bedrooms located directly above and underneath one another. Thus, it was normal to hear a neighbor removing their shoes in the apartment above. As one shoe made a sound hitting the floor, the expectation for the other shoe to make a similar disturbance was created.

1. (idiomatic) To defer action or decision until another matter is finished or resolved.

2. (idiomatic) To await a seemingly inevitable event, especially one that is not desirable.

That's pretty helpful... But it makes me wonder about footloose and fancy-free.... Oh... Rod Stewart's 8th album.... just means no responsibilities and tends to mean unmarried. Not so interesting.

We volunteered at a place called High Wood, a rather charming reserve. I helped Dave fix one fence and take down another then cut willow (!) with Caroline.

The ground was covered with these huge bumps. I thought they were mossed over tree stumps. But it turns out they were anthills. There were loads of them. Apparently, according to Jane, some ants will live on south facing sides, others on the north - they're not just inhabited by one species. And they remain as the land had never been ploughed. Incredible.

Now I was thinking, there must be gazillions of ants here! But it seems that not all of them are still active... in fact, maybe only a very few were.

One more thing. I did see a kestrel today - always makes me think of Mary Midgely. In addition, I heard this factoid:

Tinnunculite is a naturally-occurring form of dihydrate of uric acid that forms when droppings from a European kestrel react with the burning dumps of coal mines and quarries. The name tinnunculite is derived from the kestrel's binomial name, "Falco tinnunculus", which is itself derived from the Latin word tinnunculus, meaning "kestrel", from tinnulus, meaning "shrill".

How the hell did anyone discover this??