Sandra and I discuss ideas, people, concepts etc. Sometimes the conversations delve into complex and deep places. We’re both interested in the world around us, although we often come at that subject from different perspectives. I’m the more touchy feely person who relies upon intuition, but occasionally that doesn’t work out so well. The other day we were talking about different personality types and having a bit of a laugh about one such who apparently can break out into impromptu song and dance routines. Surely this was pure hyperbole?
The ancients knew that hubris turns to its dark companion, nemesis. On Saturday I went into the city to catch up with some friends and enjoy a decent feed accompanied by a good long chat. The centre of the big smoke is about 65km / 40 miles from here, and so it takes a while to traverse that distance. Lunch was an excellent Hawaii Five-0 burger, probably so named after the TV show. Crunchy chicken breast, cheese, greens and a pineapple slice in a bun, what’s not to like about that?
Had a drink of some sort of passionfruit soft drink. I rarely if ever drink such fizzy concoctions, but when in Rome they used to say. An hour went by and the food and chat was going down well. Another hour. Consumed liquids of course don’t evaporate, even when in the presence of most excellent conversations, and after a while the bladder was alerting the brain as to the need to go to the toilet. Fortunately one was near to hand.
A clever person, somewhere, who knows when, but possibly long ago, suggested that the true wealth of a city could be measured by the number of facilities it has for residents and visitors to err, void their bladders and digestive tracts. When I was younger, there were a lot more public toilets than there are today. In these more enlightened times, I dread the public experience mostly because I wonder what horrid mess will affront my senses.
Fortunately, on this occasion the bathroom was conspicuously clean. However it was a small space with a long bench including two hand basins and a baby nappy changing station, which I doubt had ever been used. The opposite had three stainless steel urinals one of which was remarkably close to the ground, whilst over to the side was a single cubicle. The decor was enlivened with brown tiles, of about the size you’d see in a subway station. The colour choice was very appropriate and would have made a small fortune for the designing consultant.
A bloke has to stand at the urinal and do what needs doing whilst admiring the neat tiling job. And so there I was, minding my own business. The door to the room swings open, with authority. In strides a well dressed young bloke with a natty duck egg blue jacket and sharp haircut. Does he proceed to the urinal or cubicle like a normal person? No. He stands there in the middle of the room grooming himself whilst assisted by the reflection in the wall length mirror. A big personality has been known to take up a large footprint, and such was the case here. My tension levels went right up.
I glanced around to see what was going on to the side and rear of me. Dear reader, you have to understand that deep in my internal wiring lies the caveman. Threat, or not threat? The Neanderthal screams when confronted with unusual circumstances before deciding whether to attack or flee. The turned head and eyes imparted information to the brain: Who wears a duck egg blue suit jacket these days?
This all occurred within seconds, and um, yeah, the young bloke was admiring his look in the mirror whilst posing. Hmm. And that was when he began busting out some smooth dance moves all in front of a panel of one: himself. He even managed to make his jacket produce a loud crack sound. Prayer seemed like the only option at this stage: Lord please spare me from a certain type of extrovert! Sadly where is divine intervention when you really need it? It seemed like the wisest course to finish up, before I was finished, wash my hands, and return to the friendly discussion. There’d be time to go again later.
Events run their natural course, and another opportunity (after a respectable delay) presented itself to go to the bathroom again. What a relief, the bladder was distinctly uncomfortable by that stage. As happens even with the best chats, the day eventually wound up. Thus it was heading that home I noticed more than a few people along William Street in the big smoke performing impromptu dance routines, often with cameras. An eerie thought popped into my mind.
It’s been an odd week for human interactions and their technology. Earlier in the week I noticed that the locks and latches on the machinery shed weren’t in the usual arrangement. Hmm. Then on Friday morning, Ollie and I discovered a chunk of what looks like either thick bread or banana bread way down below the house on the forest edge.
Last I checked, the forest plants do not produce such tasty morsels. Being the observant type, I decided to leave the food scrap where I found it for fifteen to twenty minutes and just wait and see what happens. My thinking was that if it was a bird or animal which had dropped it there, they’d quickly come back for it. The local birds are not wasteful when it comes to food. But no, the food scrap remained. Bagged the chunk up and froze it. It might come in handy.
Unfortunately I have had to install several trail cameras (which are remarkably cheap items) and notify all of the neighbours that strange activities are afoot in the area. We’ll see what turns up, at the very least the footage of the wildlife at their antics and activities will be interesting.
It’s been a very busy week with paid work. Tomorrow (Monday) is the last day of the financial year, and so people are getting their ducks in line. Earlier in the week we had an hour spare which was used to top up all of the steel round raised vegetable beds in the kitchen garden. Heaps of compost + coffee grounds + garden lime + blood and bone meal, were added to the beds. It’s a heady mixture which will grow most vegetable varieties reasonably well.
Then it rained, heavily. We’re still well behind the more usually expected annual rainfall for this time of year, but rest assured dear reader, that it is no longer dry outdoors.
The decent rainfall caused a little bit of erosion near to the raised garden beds. I’d describe that as an early warning sign, yeah.
Establishing a rock wall near to all that soil would stop the erosion, but we’d only put the soil down there in that location last week. Getting a rock wall in place was simply too much work for the time available.
So a few days ago we split a few boulders into large rocks, and then brought all those back up the hill in the yellow power wheelbarrow.
The new rock wall has now been completed and tested by more wet stuff falling from the sky. The soil surface also received additional crushed rock with lime, and so the rain has worked wonders to set the lime.
In between the many raised garden beds, we’ve now added a much larger rock wall as well as additional crushed rock with lime. The rain was good in that it showed some low spots, and those will be topped up and brought back to level.
The area near to the two large house water tanks has not yet been finished, but depending on the weather that will be done over the next week or so. Basically, more soil needs to be added and that requires a brief run of dry weather. I’ve got this notion to add rocks to the soil surface so that it ends up looking like what is known as crazy paving. That should provide a solid all weather surface which won’t wash away if the tank inlet filters block up and water spills out everywhere.
This week’s video is on the work performed to relocate the raised vegetable beds:
In other work, two timber posts were cemented into ground near to the two new water tanks installed only last week. One of the posts will be for a garden tap, whilst the other will be a quick release for a water pump attachment should the water need to be moved uphill, as it eventually will be in the summer months.
In breaking produce news…
Earlier in the week we purchased a hand of Cavendish bananas and came across another example of the dreaded (I believe) Panama Fungus. It’s remarkably unappealing looking:
The fruit on the Pomello (a form of grapefruit) citrus tree has nearly ripened. Some of the fruit are almost as big as Ollie’s head!
A couple of Raspberry canes produced some way-out-of-season berries. They tasted as bad as they look, but it was intriguing that the earlier unseasonably warm weather produced this result. I suppose given enough global warming that many varieties of plants will adapt to the new circumstances.
Despite it being in the depths of winter with frozen over night temperatures, the garden still produces edibles.
The earlier dry and warm weather in the year has motivated land holders to clean up their act. The other day looking into the valley, a person would swear that they were viewing the mythical land of Mordor. Smoke clouds were billowing up into the air right across the valley. Far better to burn now, than wait for extreme summer weather to do the job.
Sadly, it appears that the many tree ferns planted many years ago in the fern gully died during the hot and dry start to the year. Presumably in earlier years I’d allowed the soil there to become too damp, and those ferns simply hadn’t put down deep enough root systems to survive the months of unseasonable weather.
It’s not all bad news though on a fern front, the mother shield ferns survived the weather and are doing pretty well. Those plants are more prolific in the surrounding forest than the tree ferns which tend to cluster around creeks.
And almost to the day of the winter solstice, the daffodils broke ground. It’s uncanny, and I believe that they are early this year.
Onto the flowers:
The temperature outside now at about 11am is 5’C (41’F). So far for last year there has been 326.2mm (12.8 inches) which is up from last weeks total of 300.6mm (11.5 inches)
Comments
38 responses to “Distant Strangers”
Yo, Chris – That sounds like a tasty burger. Tweek it a bit, throw it on a crust, and it would make a fine pizza.
Obviously, you have no children. The low urinal is for ankle biters. Or, as an accommodation for dwarfs and midgets. 🙂 But, I feel your pain. Due to OMB (Old Man’s Bladder) and being fairly neurotic about unknown public spaces, I tend to go through a drying out period, before venturing into unknown public spaces.
My Dad remembers very little about his six day liberty, in Paris, after VE Day. But he had a clear recollection of the French street pissoirs. How civilized.
Well, if you won’t go to the musical, the musical will come to you. Even in a public restroom. Which makes about as much sense as the instances where people burst into song and dance in a musical.
Ducks in a row, raised beds in a row. I detect a theme here. 🙂 A little erosion now, a lot of erosion later. Best nipped in the bud. Very observant of you.
The video was quit good. Though the asparagus made me queasy. I hope I never have to move mine. Although the half barrel its in, sits on a concrete slab. Although given its … vitality (?), I wonder if the roots would push right through.
I don’t think I’ve seen any Panama banana fungus, here. Yet. Let’s hope none of the wildlife develops a taste for Pomelo’s. I realize that there are several varieties of mustard. Mine has a flat leaf. Still on the zesty side, but not overly so.
“Australia’s unofficial national sport.” Soon to be an Olympic event, I’m sure. Makes about as much sense as some of the other official sports.
Oh, that is sad about the tree ferns. Maybe there’s still a spark of life in there, somewhere. You might give them a shot of worm juice. I’ve seen it work wonders.
I does seem early for your daffodils. The raspberries are just bizarre. I’m sure we’ll see more weirdness, in the plant world. Given the weather.
I heard the first fireworks, tonight. Here we go … Lew
age and shy bladders- Normally not a problem for me, but what happens sometimes, is I sorta, kinda need to go, like preparation before a movie or something, and then the shyness kicks in because not enough urgency from the bladder. Kinda awkward to stand there waiting, so yeah, best avoided when possible.
rain and lushness- The rains are back for now, even more has fallen since my last note- things are so lush and verdant it is in invigorating just to see the nature going at full throttle. I might have dosed some of the garden rows with a bit too much composted poultry manure, the brassicas are putting crazy energy into leaves. Hopefully the cabbage will head properly.
wariness- The configuration of our property just happens to be such that someone would really have to bushwhack to come toward our house from an unexpected direction. Maybe the only saving grace of multiflora rose.
As we don’t get into the big smoke that often, it seems my head is really on a swivel if we are in particular situations.
berries- last year, a friend and I dropped a few trees ( box elder, a weedy tree) to open up sun to more desirable trees, and thus introduced sunlight to a part of the woods that had been shady. Well, the walnut and hickory are happy I’m sure, but all manner of small plants sprung into gear. Get that sunlight while we can! Anyway, now this year there is a nice black raspberry patch, and with the rain, we should be getting a nice forager’s harvest.
Which reminds me- have you read “The Light Eaters”? I’m thinking of doing so, just to see what the author has to say. I gather she pushes the science a bit, but maybe still worth a read?
Hi Lewis,
Only a true purist could be upset by a pizza with pineapple and chicken. Fortunately purists are avoided here, by necessity. That’s the plan anyway, reality may well intrude and events go askew.
Was it? I thought that the urinal was close to the floor because the plumbers had stuffed up the job and installed it at the wrong height. 😉 Candidly, the other urinals were also very close to the floor as well and were possibly all easily navigable. I don’t see the big deal as the older school designs were usable by all, regardless. Perhaps the older design wasn’t innovative enough? Anyway, given I’ve upset people at Mr Greer’s and ruffled feathers merely for speaking my mind, I probably should keep all my other opinions to myself, but the older style urinals simply worked better and didn’t require height differentials. Oops, broke my own rule there. No doubt I’m going down to the underworld…
Man, it’s not neurotic if it’s true. 🙂 Over the years I’ve had some unusual situations in public toilets, and so would prefer to avoid them if at all possible – which sadly is not always the case.
Those French street pissoirs used to be more widely available in Melbourne. In fact there are still some in operation even today. They look like they’re made of cast iron and have an indestructible sense to them. There was a fad a few years ago for installing very high tech single cubicle street buildings in the big smoke, and the last one I attempted to use was a horror story of vandalism, graffiti and faeces. The electric door smoothly opened upon what looked like a crime scene. Didn’t even venture in.
Dude, I’m just not wired for impromptu song and dance sessions. It’s nice that people are all so different, because if it was just my personality type roaming the planet, musicals would never be. 😉 I was moderately pleased with the humour inserted into this week’s blog though, but is it art? 🙂
It’s awful isn’t it? Most of the systems here get tested, and then made better so that it mostly survives the worst case scenario conditions. Fixing up potential erosion and any erroneous storm water flows is a major consideration. It was OK before the minor landslide, now such possibilities are not OK! 🙂 Speaking of testing things, today a sharp stick punctured one of the tires through the sidewall. That’s probably a write off and full replacement. I was surprised at how light the tire and wheel felt. Hmm.
In other news of the day, we had some errands to run in the big town nearest to the big smoke – the electric train services ends there, so it’s really the outer big smoke. Bought a replacement car battery and discovered that the terminal sizes were larger than the clamps. Turns out they gave me the wrong battery. Who knew that could even happen? Have to take the thing back.
When in that township we went looking for some more stone circles, and missed one by about a 100ft. The site was unmarked and surrounded by houses, as you do. Oh well. We did however discover the site of the famous Sunbury music festival which ran between 1972 and 1975. It’s a beautiful location, but quite difficult to find nowadays. The international music act Queen played there. Can you imagine what Freddie Mercury would have made of Melbourne in 1974? 🙂
The asparagus was not harmed in the filming of the video, maybe… My suspicions says that they’ll push through to the ground, if possible.
Hope you don’t get to experience Panama fungus and it’s a bit of a worry. Nowadays we buy the more expensive lady finger bananas, and this latest batch was an exception to that. Most of them have been fine, but you can’t tell based upon the external appearance.
That’s a good idea, and I might try giving the tree ferns a bit of a seaweed solution. Can’t hurt them worse than they are now.
Global warming will be stranger than any of the predictions. Presumably plants have been through many challenging climactic shifts over the millennia. They’ll be fine, maybe, dunno.
How’s the fireworks situation today?
Man, the older varieties of wheat were taller than the ones grown today – which I believe is the case because they’re easier for the harvester machines to process. The taller varieties presumably had deeper root systems. It makes you wonder about all that stuff doesn’t it? Just on the other side of the mountain range and heading further north, there are old substantial mill buildings. Clearly wheat and other grains were grown in this area as well, and for a long time too.
Interesting about the loss of access to the weather data. Seems they plan to continue collecting the stuff, just not sharing it any more. Hmm. Doesn’t mean nothing.
I can’t afford that lot, sorry. No funds, no representation, no win. 😉
Go the dragonflies and it would be an instructive class if those critters were hunting and consuming butterflies? And those insects are a good sign as to the health of the gardens. I worry about the lack of observed insects when in the big smoke. Probably not good. At least when the butterflies do turn up to your garden, they’ll have something to eat.
Aren’t ladybirds great little workers? And they do the hard yards too. Take that ya pesky aphids.
In this circumstance go back to old school 1970’s source material: Cookery the Australian Way. Let’s see what they say about the berries… … Both red and black currants are rich in pectin and acid. Whoa, that’s a good combo and are generally all round awesome for jam making. Now blueberries the book was quiet on. Let’s see what the interweb says: I can’t confirm this, but a few sites suggest that blueberries are high in acid, but sadly very low in pectin.
To your question, the master jam maker here says proportion to taste, but she’d skew it towards currants mostly because they require no acid or pectin, but the blueberries probably require the pectin addition otherwise it may end up runny. We can source pectin from citrus zest and pith and don’t have experience with the commercial stuff.
Exactly! As a species, we’ll forget at a huge cost.
🙂 Glad to hear you enjoyed the film and are now seeking an emotional support penguin. The Editor loved that film, and sadly like Old Yella, it didn’t end well for the bird.
Very good, your book sounds weighty and knowledgeable, with a dash of John Hughes. Far out, I’d not seen that film either, although knew the title. The plot rang no bells whatsoever, and I struggle relating to such carefree existences. Probably missed out! 🙂
Hope H continues her stoic run in the face of sudden loud noises.
Cheers
Chris
ok, gotta share, as it’s come up:
http://viridviews.blogspot.com/2021/01/return-of-pissoir.html
Yo, Chris – Years ago, I think, we had a discussion about why one might wake up, just minutes before the alarm goes off. Finally, an answer. Or, three answers. 🙂
https://www.realsimple.com/why-you-wake-up-just-before-your-alarm-goes-off-11759265
Go ahead. Express your opinions. Any we don’t agree with, we’ll ignore. 🙂 Feel free to ignore any of mine you don’t agree with.
I think a porta potty played a major role in one of the short stories by King, I read. By the way, I finished King’s “Never Flinch,” last night. It’s due day after tomorrow, and people are waiting. So, I can’t renew it. I noticed something about King’s writing. As he gets closer and closer to the end, the chapters get shorter and shorter. It creates momentum as the story thunders to the denouement. It was a good read. Back to teenage movies.
External appearance is tough, with some vegetables. Garlic. No matter how carefully I inspect the bulbs, I get a bad one, every once in awhile.
Our high yesterday was 82F (27.77C). Our overnight low was 55F (12.77C). The forecast high for today is 90F. Then we’ll see a cooling trend, for the rest of the week.
The Master Gardener’s were here, this morning. They had a light turnout, for the butterfly seminar. 9 people. But enthusiastic people. They thought whoever does the PR for these events, doesn’t give good enough directions.
I picked more current, before it got too warm. Thanks for the jam info. I’ve decided to go with three cups of crushed currents and one cup of plumped up and crushed cranberries.
Bad news for the solar and other alternative power industries.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/last-minute-changes-to-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-stun-clean-energy-industry-and-elon-musk-124435832.html
President Carter put solar panels on the roof of the White House. President Reagan took them off. Sort of set the tone that endures, up to the present day. Lew
Hi, Chris!
First of all – please may I have a Hawaii Five-O Burger? It sounds delicious. I used to watch that show a lot when it premiered, and the reruns, too. Steve and Danno.
There not only used to be more toilets (and I probably know most every public one in town), there used to be payphones. I kept using them even after I got my first mobile phone in the early 90s. It came in a briefcase.
Well, now – that was one eccentric fellow in the bathroom. But after you mentioned people dancing in the street, I wondered if that was not a flash mob and he was having a bit of a practice before joining in.
Oh, no! Not erosion again. You have more than your fair share of erosion. You never know when it is going to pop up (or run down?) on the side of a mountain. It’s a good thing that you still have some boulders. The rock wall looks good.
I enjoyed the video. It is so nice that you have worked so hard to have a kitchen garden so close to the house. Mine is down the hill a ways because that is where the sun is. Did you use a string to get the metal beds all lined up? I remember how the instructions for planting asparagus are very precise about how to position the crowns. They never mention that you will never be able to get them out again. It reminds me of a weed here that I call “Down Under Vine” because its roots go down to Australia. I have never gotten all the roots of one out of the ground. And it climbs just as high as its roots go down, and then it chokes everything. Well, the beds are all “super neat” now. Thanks for all the photos, also.
You and I have already discussed your trespasser so I willl just wait for further developments.
Yeah, I run into that banana fungus every now and then though usually I can can just cut out the bad spots. Your banana had a bad case, though.
That is a bit unsettling, all of those plumes of smoke in the valley. I guess you are used to it. I am so sorry to hear about the tree ferns; I certainly enjoyed seeing them. I would say that those daffodils are early.
The first roses are the ones I think of as antique-looking; so beautiful. And there is the lonely Yellow Rose of Texas – on the wrong continent, in the wrong season. Who would have thought that Rhodies liked chicken manure so much? Azaleas bloom in mid-spring here, all over town. Thanks for them all.
Pam
Chris,
What an interesting incident with the Preening Dancer. However, I, too, would have felt uncomfortable, to say the least. Some people just don’t understand boundaries. Of course, part of me wants to say something along the lines of “Mumble mumble zarking EXTROVERTS mumble mumble.” You know I feel strongly about something when I pull out a Douglas Adams swear word like zarking! 😉
There was the time the Princess and I went to a large billiards tournament on the Rez. Her brother and some friends were entered in the tournament. The only non-Native present other than me was the bar owner. I entered the men’s room to use a urinal. Chap at the next urinal said, “Hey! No white guys allowed in here. You gotta use the tree across the road.” I quickly replied, “I’m from the city. You have to show me which tree and how to use it.” Only time I’ve ever heard that much laughter in a public loo.
I see that you have an invasive plant now. It is native to Panama and other areas of Central America. Must have gotten to Australia in a shipment of bananas. I speak of none other than the Dread Banana Bread Plant. It grows along forest floors much like any ground cover such as thyme or periwinkle. It does produce poisonous fruit that looks suspiciously like small bits of banana bread. It can be hard to eradicate, but the best methods include trail cameras and talking with neighbors. Getting word out that total eradication is in the works can work wonders with the Dread Banana Bread Plant.
Speaking of thyme, mine is currently in peak bloom. The bees are happy. The pale lavender flowers are always a treat to see.
The bird life was fascinating this evening. I looked out the window to see that one of the small sharp-shinned hawks was at the bird bath. A sprinkler was going, spraying the bird bath about 4 times a minute. The hawk enjoyed getting sprayed. Eventually, having drunk and sat enough, the hawk jumped in for a proper bath. It appeared to be enjoying this when a crow decided to jump into the bird bath also. However, the crow took one look at the hawk and rapidly turned about in midair and frantically flew away. Words might have been exchanged. The phrase “beat a hasty retreat” came to mind as an apt description of the crow’s departure.
In bug news, I watched a spider Sunday while outdoors drinking my coffee. It was on the side of the garage. About 10cm in front of the spider was a tiny bug. The bug moved and the spider followed. The bug stopped, so the spider stopped. This went on for a bit. Finally, the spider snuck in closer and leapt for the bug, which nonchalantly flew away. I’ve watched spiders with their prey caught in a web before, but never have I watched a spider actually stalking its prey.
Far out! Trail runs of eroding soil around the new planter locations. Trial runs aren’t always possible, so you’re lucky that you got to see the erosion and have an opportunity to remedy the problem before something nasty happens.
That’s sad about the fern gully.
DJSpo
Hi Steve,
Well done, and thanks for the link to your blog. The device your using is a most excellent way to capture resources which may otherwise go to the ‘road to nowhere’. Rest assured Sandra and I get every single chunk of organic matter which ever dares enter the property, into the soil. The house uses a very large worm farm to treat urine and manure – plus kitchen scraps, dead chickens etc… It does not surprise me at all that the largest and healthiest looking marsupials in the area consume the vegetation here. Ollie and I almost crashed into a massive wombat this evening, and it was more exciting for the lunging dog than it was for me I can assure you.
Yeah, what you wrote about happens to me too. Nowadays I don’t go in public spaces unless I need to go. Pre-emptive clearing of the bladder is a young man’s game. 🙂 Exactly, the whole awkward mess is best avoided if at all possible. When I was younger and knew less, there was arrogance, now knowing much more and having at least some wisdom to draw upon, I’m far less sure of myself.
Go the rain! And man, there are just some growing seasons where everything works just right. Those are a pleasure, but also rare. Ah, tweaking the soil fertility to get the right result with plants is always difficult, and there is little you can do about the weather. Cabbage moths destroy Brassica species here in summer, so nod for your superior plant growing efforts.
I like where your brain is going with that natural fence, and it’s been an idea I too have pondered. I’ve been speaking with another neighbour about the issue, and who knows where this all may lead?
Hehe! Dude, I head regularly into the big smoke, just to keep myself acclimated to the conditions. It happens, and there I times it and the constant change can be confronting.
I’m quite the fan of Box Elder trees, although over in the more fashionable western end of the mountain range, they’re also a touch weedy. And that’s exactly how the forest here works as well.
Thanks for the book recommendation for ‘The Light Eaters’, and I’d not heard of it before. Interesting indeed. I’m currently reading The Seed Detective by Adam Alexander.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Pam,
“Book ’em, Danno!” 😉 I grew up watching that show. The theme song had a great drums and brass section, along with what sounded like some dodgy synth instrument thing. Instantly recognisable.
I wasn’t kidding around, and that’s the case in the big smoke too. Lot’s of public toilets have been removed to shopping centres and stuff, and those are heavily used – and occasionally strange. Bizarrely around these parts the local council provides plenty of facilities, with soap and paper towels, all very civilised. But then it is a rural area. The leaf change tourists can easily overwhelm such meagre facilities whilst the locals pick up the tab for the clean up costs. Hmm. Oh well, that’s progress for you.
There are a few payphones around these parts, and I believe that they are free to use. Mandated, of course. Well done you, and I recall those briefcase sized phones. Respect, and that was the bees knees back in the day. Had a friend in those days who was always pushing the boundaries with that technology and stumping the mad cash for smaller and smaller devices. Remember the ones which looked like two way radios with their resemblance to a brick with a chunky aerial?
It’s possible that the dance moves were being filmed, and the thought alone filled me with an existential dread. And that was that, thus why I casually washed my hands and walked out all unfinished and stuff. The people doing the spontaneous dance moves on the busy city street involved cameras. People can be strange. I’ve heard of some stories of people doing odd things.
Boulders are great things, as long as they’re not too big. Fortunately there are only a few of those sorts. The rock walls prevent erosion by dispersing water which gives the clay / loam time to rebind, as it does eventually. Do you ever get any erosion at your place?
🙂 Many of the old hill station gardens in the more fashionable western end of the mountain range also have kitchen gardens at a distance from the house. You’re in good company there! On a practical note, a house does throw shadows onto a kitchen garden and that is the case here with the morning sun, so best to plant stuff where it has the very best chance of growing. Everything is a compromise and we must avoid the idea of perfection at all costs.
The beds were lined up by eye, and most excavations are done by eye and feel too. Forget about those planting instructions. 🙂 Did you see how huge the root systems of that plant are? Like an upside down tentacled Triffid monster. Yikes, your weed story scares me a bit. Wild thorny blackberry canes can be like that and are almost possible to ever remove.
Thanks for understanding. And I truly don’t know about the trespasser. There are many theories, some action, but no real details unless someone wants to stump the mad cash to do DNA testing on the edges of the bread?
Interesting. Pam, some of my friends believe I’m making up the story about the banana fungus, but it may equally be likely that they’re eating overly green bananas, or simply not chomping down on as many as is consumed here? Dunno. It’s not appealing that fungus is it?
Far from unsettling, seeing all that smoke at this time of year is reassuring. Yup. Far better that the landowners clean up when the weather is cool and damp than when the hot winds are blowing over dried vegetation. I’m sad about the fern gully too, but it’s also an instructive lesson and I just didn’t have the water for those plants.
Yes, I believe the daffodils to be early too. Mind you, it was a cold and wet day here today. Brr!
🙂 The flowers are odd to be doing so, but they’re also a pleasure and glad to hear that you likewise enjoyed them.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
15 million copies, is notably more than just a few. A zarkingly good author, who being English, would probably comprehend the concept of social boundaries in public spaces. Before then destroying the very same to make way for a hyperspace bypass. 😉 Dude I was concerned the dancing guy was filming the incident for a laugh, and the breaching of social etiquette terrified me. Thankfully on over five decades of existence on this planet, it’s the first such encounter. Fingers crossed that it’s the last too.
That’s a pretty funny way to defuse an otherwise escalating incident, and build rapport. Nice one. Sadly, I’m still lacking an assertive response to the funky dance move dude. Not sure there even is one. And respect for the billiards tournament. Did you ever play? Bizarrely I played my best game after a beer, and can only imagine that the brain slips into a sort of auto-mode.
Thanks for the laughs. They were very much appreciated. And that’s the plan, which is maybe-surely effective (whatever that means). There are some other steps too which I may do tomorrow, and a person must stack their various banana bread defences up in random sort of way. It’s a wily plant that one.
Always good to hear that bees are active in your area. The insects do it tough.
Brave Sir Crow flew away,
flew away, away.
When danger rears its ugly head,
brave Sir Crow shakes the tail feather and fled!
Brave, brave, brave, brave, Sir Crow
Absolutely pilfered those lines and meter, but whatever! It works. Hey, I spotted Ruby faced with that a similar predicament the other night. She ran back to the perceived safety of the house and waited for me to let her in. Some of those late night marsupials calls are spine tingling.
Oh yeah, huntsman spiders down here are so named because they hunt their prey. Of course they’re also large, scary looking – and fast. Long ago I watched an old timer pull a large knife on one of the huntsman spiders. It was dark and the spider was on the ground in front of him at the time. And despite the lethal steel with the sharp side exposed to the arachnid, the spider reared up threateningly. Whoa! Some memories remain… Talk about brave.
Thanks, and yes, it would be far worse to discover the erosion in a heavier storm. Speaking of such things, the east coast of the continent is copping a walloping from an east-coast-low storm. Not much impact this far south and west, but still today was wet and cold.
The tree ferns in the fern gully had been in the ground for many summers. This last one was bad, mostly due to the lack of rainfall.
Water sets the upper limit for population in this country. Always been, always thus. Your rivers are the gift of life.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
It’s an enduring mystery that, and glad to see that our finest minds have bent their wills to the problem. Because it really is annoying to lose that last couple of minutes. Despite being a night owl, I do try to keep a regular sleep schedule. Although I’ve observed that too much paid work in too short a period of time disturbs my sleep more than any other factor. The profession can work strange effects upon a persons psyche, although I believe that is the case with many lines of work. How’s H going on a sleep front?
Exactly, and thanks. Yes, feel free to ignore, support, or challenge the stuff I write about. I can assure you, there is far more that I don’t know about, than subjects which I feel sure of. A robust discussion can get to the core of matters. And on that note…
Early this morning in the rain, I picked up the replacement, replacement, car battery from the store. This time around, the young lady who served me was remarkably attractive and total no-nonsense. As a complete gentleman I was very polite and deferential. This time around the right questions were asked, and the correct battery was sold. Learning? Oh yeah, turns out car batteries have different sized terminal posts. Like how hard would it be to produce a single standard size? But no, our species revels in waste. It’s a real achievement that. 😉 That was for the Dirt mouse Suzuki.
And the other car, the Dirt rat Suzuki, well that got a puncture yesterday. A sharp stick stuck right into the sidewall of the tire. That’s a complete write off, and whilst they can be fixed, there’s a strong possibility they’ll blow-out. Not good. Anyway, waste, yeah, yeah. Except the local supplier had an exact sized near almost brand new but second hand tire. There’s a story to that. People apparently buy new cars, then upgrade all the standard tires. Who even knew that was going on? Far out. I must live in bubble land, it’s such a wonderful place. Anyway, saved me heaps of mad cash. Absolutely, yes I’ll take that tire off your hands. It looks brand new… What the heck?
Do porta potty’s even take offence? I’m getting this strange notion of such a toilet item leading into another world. And curiously, does the word ‘potty’ have it’s origins in the word ‘pottery’? Well done, and that book is on the too-read list, yes. Always a treat a new Mr King book. Lovely stuff. Plus Holly. Nuff said. No spoilers please. 🙂 It does create pace and tension, plus also narrative room for the next book. It is a physical act to write which takes time and energy. And the world is full of potential stories.
Breakfast Club. Sorry, where did that come from? 😉 Any astounding insights into the genre?
Ook! I’ve read that some folks aim for prize winning vegetables, I just want good food. The standardisation applied to the grown stuff presented at supermarkets is way beyond my pay grade. And I get that, sometimes bugs, bacteria, fungi, plant viruses, weather just do what they’re gonna do.
Ignoring the 90’F, well it can’t really be ignored can it? Fortunately H was groomed recently, and that’ll assist her on the hottest days.
Hehe! The master gardeners need a PR arm to the group. 🙂 Dunno why, but the thought of that makes me chuckle a bit.
Oh yeah, last night was brain cooked situation number six, or maybe it was level seven. Hard to gauge for sure. Total done. You may have noticed? 😉 So you wrote ‘cranberries’, and even after reading the word multiple times, my tired and over worked brain focused instead on ‘blueberries’. My brain has upper limits as to the number of different issues it can deal with, and err, reaching those yesterday. Oh well. Many things were resolved today, freeing up capacity. Just going back to the local authoritative ‘tome’ in a now clearer frame of mind, cranberries are both rich in pectin and acid, so basically it doesn’t matter with the mix, and I’d go with taste. Did you end up making any today? A 90’F day would be unpleasant for jam making.
Oh yeah, that article suggested things. Well, it doesn’t surprise me at all. I really wanted this renewable energy technology to work well, and it does, but sadly, it ain’t cheap. You know what cheap is? Coal. If you burn coal for electricity, you’ll have a manufacturing sector again. That’s what it will take. Don’t stress, the powers that be down here will get to that same cross roads too sooner or later. I wish it were otherwise, but wishes don’t cook the rice.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – H sleeps pretty well, other than the occasional nightmare. I just reach out from under the covers, and give her a few reassuring strokes, and she settles back to a more less frightful sleep. She’s been displaying some odd behavior, the last couple of days. Out for a walk, our usual path, she’d plant her little feet, and refuse to move forward. Four or five feet later, same routine. Feet glued to the cement. Didn’t want to go up the stairs, the other day. Usually, she bounds up like a bunny. When we got upstairs, she planted herself, again, and didn’t want to go into the apartment. That’s a first. Incipient earthquake?
LOL. That’s quit a flame war, you have going, over at Mr. Greers. I had to laugh when you zinged him on his “handle.” Probably the same sort of person who plants a permaculture garden, so they never have to lift a finger again. They wish. Probably a devotee of the garden author, Ruth Stout. 🙂
Re: Batteries. (et, all.) There’s too much choice, in the world. or, companies who want to make their product “unique” to keep you coming back. “Have it your way.” Well, I did my bit to keep stuff out of the waste stream. I got a wild hair, last night, and decided I had way too many canning jars. So, I pulled them all together from three different cupboards, where I had them stashed. I filled two boxes, some quarts, mostly pints. Oh, I kept enough to get me through this canning season. I took the boxes to the Op-shop, this morning. They were glad to get them. I shudder to think of those who would have just tossed them in the dumpster.
Ding! ding! ding! ding! ding! You are correct sir! Give that man a cigar. Potty is derived from chamber pots, which were made out of … pottery.
Yes, I’m deep into the section on Hugh’s movies. My, he did have a string of, if not exactly hits, movies that made a good return on investment. He sure did launch a number of young actors, into substantial careers.
Our high yesterday was 90F (32.22C). Our overnight low was 55F (12.77C). The forecast high for today is 85F. And more cooling after that.
Oh, I figured the blueberry snafu was a momentary lapse (brain fart.) 🙂 I’m still picking currents. I almost think I have enough for the jam. And a few more to freeze.
I discovered, yesterday, that there’s a new documentary out on MAD magazine. If the library doesn’t order it, I’ll put in a request that they buy it. It sounds a lot like that book I read. Interviews with writers, cartoonists, etc.. on how the magazine influenced them. Lew
Chris:
There are zero payphones in my area; they’ve been gone a long time. A couple of times in the past I have had to ask a store manager if I could borrow their phone, but not for a long time; I am always sure to keep mine charged. Yeah, the phones that looked like walkie talkies? I actually have a set of walkie talkies. There is a great movie from 1963 starring James Garner called The Wheeler Dealers. It’s a comedy, and one of my favorites. In it, he talks on a mobile phone in his car. It was the first time I had seen a mobile phone and I thought it was incredible.
I’ve heard of people doing odd things, too. This fellow seems to have put his finger on it: “When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.” Mark Twain.
We get lots of erosion because we don’t often use rocks to hold soil back. Then again, we might have hit peak rocks if we did so . . .
Am I assuming wrong, that the hill station gardens had hired gardeners to keep things up? The distance from the house wouldn’t matter so much then. “Macintosh! Bring me 12 carrots, 26 potatoes, and 3 heads of lettuce!”
Pam
Chris,
Those pesky hyperspace bypasses indeed. Thanks for the laugh. Perhaps if another such dancer appears in a public loo, well, tell him that you’ve got a terrible pain in all the diodes down your left side and that he is being recorded by a porn tv channel via hidden cameras.
I was rarely good at billiards. A girl that I hung out with some was very good. Twas in my undergraduate days. She coached me a lot when I was playing. I made a few shots made that I couldn’t believe I even tried. However, I never really played regularly enough to be good.
My response to the other guy? Had I reacted in anger or frustration, the resulting teasing from everybody would have been unbearable. I’m just fortunate that I thought of something funny in the moment. That was a rare thing for me to accomplish at that time.
Brave Sir Robin and Brave Sir Crow,
A huntsman spider they did meet.
Frightened and scared were both and so,
They turned away and both did go
Away, away, away.
And bragged about how brave they were.
Brave Sir Robin and Brave Sir Crow.
So were the late night marsupials singing about Brave Sir Ruby by any chance? Also, I enjoyed how you kept the meter and “penned” a nice rewrite of the original lines.
Today’s big bird event, no not the Big Bird from Sesame Street, was the visiting raven. It was as hot as by 10 a.m. A raven flew into the cherry tree near the bird bath. Dame Avalanche was near me in the shade. I was on the patio with my coffee. Whenever Dame Avalanche moved, the raven watched her. It was obvious that the bird was hot and thirsty, so I gathered Avalanche and went indoors. Watching from the kitchen window, I saw that it took the raven mere seconds to understand that the coast was clear. He took a long drink, several of them, and stood in the water for about five minutes before flying away. That’s the first time a raven has alit in the yard, at least with me watching.
And yes, it got HOT. First of July, first 38C day of the year. It clouded over this evening, promising a rather nasty night that won’t cool down. It’s still 28C at 11pm. Should be 33C Wednesday, then cool a bit for a few days. The 33C and hotter weather will return within a week and last indefinitely.
Officially, this was the fourth driest June on record with a mere 3.3mm of rain officially. We received a bit more here, but not much. April, May and June combined to be one of the driest on record also.
Meanwhile, the collards and chard continue to thrive. We are enjoying eating them. Killian’s human and Young Neighbor were gifted some of them, also. It seemed more important to share than dry it for now. There’s plenty left and these should produce more throughout the summer.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
The profit motive can put an end to pay phones, and that would also be the case down here, but the major telco used to be entirely public owned and somehow retains a few rural phone booths. I’ve seen them in use, and basically they’re free to use, and marketed now as an emergency service. Apparently there are 15,000 of them in the country, although spread out over the entire continent, so that’s not a great number. Way back in the day they were coin operated, but presumably the cost of collecting the coins perhaps exceeded the costs of operating the machines on a for-profit basis?
🙂 Nice one, and they still sell walkie talkies down here too and they’re amazingly useful devices. Does your device still work? Not sure what those devices are like in your country, but nowadays here they seem to be UHF devices on the CB band, although it’s hard not to recall the old busy AM days of the 1970’s and 1980’s. I’ve read that the radio frequency spectrum has been mostly gobbled up, so at least there are a few ‘free to use’ frequencies for the public.
The film trailer looked like a hoot, and quite racy for the times if I may say so. 🙂 The lady has a powerful aura and eyes that look deeply into a person’s soul, and of course anyone brave enough to do so, may find themselves lost in there. Hmm.
My brain has now been exploded. Hang on a second, the chunks of consciousness have to be gathered and pieced back together again… … Ahh! That feels better, although with splattered brains the re-connecting biz might not have reproduced the beforehand situation, or at least it may not work as well as it once did. Hopefully nobody notices! 😉 Trust the author Mr Twain to be one step ahead of us all with that quote. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, and amusement. Yes, as usual the most astute observer of the human condition is correct yet again. Can you imagine having the author over to liven up the conversation around the dinner table? It’d be like a game of mental gymnastics!
Yes, it cannot be denied, Peak Rocks is real. It’s in the here and now, and also at your place, although I get the impression you are alluding to the fact that it is not wise to relocate every and all rocks? Pam, think of the rock work here as concentrating the rock energy. Thus it may be said that in addition to delaying erosion, we’re also focusing pure rock energy. From a perspective of deeper time scales, the rocks are merely being borrowed.
🙂 Lovely, and McIntosh is a solid name for a gardener. And of course that call would have been made by the household cook – such wealthy folks as owned those hill station gardens would have only the vaguest of notions as to the dark inner workings of the kitchen / kitchen garden. Anyway, if the kitchen gardens were located in a far corner of the property, awkward interactions with the owners would have been much reduced.
More thick cloud and rain today. It’s candidly quite cold outdoors, but nothing like your winters.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
How good a fictional character was Marvin the Paranoid Android? Your plastic pal, who’s fun to be with – except he wasn’t all that much fun. 🙂 The series of books provided a delightful insight into a sense of the absurd, in an otherwise serious time. Anyway, I like how your brain works, but the dancing guy sadly would have been dumbstruck by the reference – him being too young.
The game of billiards isn’t played as much nowadays as it was when I was a younger bloke. So maybehaps if you’d developed supreme skills in the game (and there’s a bit of luck to that outcome, don’t you reckon?) the practice time and energy would have been mostly wasted. They used to televise such championships, way back in the day, and the crowd was required to be silent.
Sometimes a person runs hot with clever comments freely flowing. 🙂 Alas, what you say is true, that outcome only occurs every now and then for me as well. You’ve got me wondering though, would someone who can deliver smarty-pants lines on cue, just be better practised than us mere mortals? And total respect for your clever win. I’ve got a small whiteboard to the side of the desk here which has several useful one liners, so that from time to time I read them, impress them to memory, and so have the words ready to hand if required. Sadly I’m not wired to do spontaneous!
And in an interesting side story, have been criticised by friends in the past for not be spontaneous. Big deal, that’s how I am. Someone long ago threw a surprise party for me, and um yeah, not a fan, although acted as graciously as I could. Internally though was a touch of panic.
Lovely words. Thanks. 🙂 There was some good fun with your lines. Hmm, let’s see if I can butcher another set of famous verse, with a nod to your crows (whom surely must caw to the efforts!):
The crow perched on the burning deck
Wondering when it would be best to have fled;
The shore stands still far away, heck!
Human folly caused this avian inconvenience, instead,
Best to depart now, this sinking wreck!
The last line got me, and I was trying to work out a sentence that made sense and ended with a word containing the syllable ‘eck’! This stuff is super hard.
Marsupials are usually grumpy creatures, but also many of them produce the most horrendous blood curdling calls usually delivered in the wee hours of the night. Man, it’s like the snake poison extremes, a person has to ask the hard question: Need the sounds be so horrid?
It’s always the extreme weather when our bird friends seek assistance, such as your bird bath. It was most thoughtful to remove the otherwise well fed Dame Avalanche so that the raven could get a drink. Very needed in hot and dry conditions. Yup.
Now that conditions are wet and cold here, the place teems with bird life from the surrounding forest. As with your area hitting the hottest part of the year, it’s now the opposite being the coldest here. Not much food around, and yet there is here so they’re descending.
Youch, and that sort of weather hits New Years day here as well. It’s a turning point of sorts which goes on for 8 weeks, before modifying the intensity a bit. Stay cool, especially the husky who is wearing a thick woolly jumper.
That’s not much rain at all for a lead in to the summer. Keep an eye out for fires. The flip side of such weather is that if you do have access to water, the plants grow super fast. Nice one sharing the harvest, always a wise move.
In an interesting geological issue up in the arid lands in the far north west of this state: Mildura’s mysterious big boom has experts and residents searching for answers. Nobody seems to know what the cause was.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Never seen a dog do that, unless they were very old and crunchy and in some sort of pain. H is a bit young for that. At least she’s sleeping well.
I tell you who’d not be feeling well today: NSW man in hospital with state’s first confirmed case of Australian bat lyssavirus. I rarely see fruit bats here over the years, but if the climate warms, I reckon they’ll travel south into cooler country. One of the undocumented side effects of global warming. It was of interest to me that the concluding sentences of the article provided the appropriate medical response. Time would be of the essence in such situations me thinks, much like snake bite.
Lewis, I was so embarrassed that I ended up in that hot mess and – well you called it correctly – flame war. Like how did it escalate so quickly? All I said was… Oh well, lesson learned and I put a stop to it all in order to maintain general levels of harmony. The problem with encountering deeply held beliefs, is that they’re deeply held. Nothing I can do or say will make the slightest impact on those thoughts. My error was not realising quickly enough that the conversation could deteriorate so rapidly. Yes, it was rather ungentlemanly of me to hold up a mirror, but symbols really are powerful. Candidly the conversation reminded me of the time the troll put his head up to say the solar power system here was faulty because he had this ‘ere model which said so. Dunno about you, but I’d not want to experience -20’F in winter without serious heating capabilities. And Ruth Stout’s activities may work in her well summer watered part of the world. Elsewhere things are different, but people so want to believe. This stuff usually takes lots of work which is why not everyone is doing it.
Yeah, what you wrote is like being confronted by the toothpaste aisle and wondering what to do when confronted by the sheer psychic wall of choice! I suggested to the Editor who was complaining about the loss of her favourite toothpaste, that the stuff could be made at home. Frankly speaking, she was dubious, but at least it did stop the complaints. 😉
Those canning jars will disappear for sure. Two decades ago, a person could buy a box of second hand canning jars for next to nothing. Nowadays, they’re a bit more pricey. I dunno about you, but to make our lives easier, years ago we standardised all of the canning / bottling containers so that the components are interchangeable. Did a similar thing with the jam making apparatus too. The Editor occasionally reminds me that before we got really serious about that activity, I gave some of the jam making jars away. Hindsight is a wonderful tool, which was unavailable at the time. 🙂
Anywhoo, we’ve all had regrets, but your stuff will go to a good home for sure. Respect, and it’s a thoughtful donation.
Ah, thanks very much for that. 🙂 You could see the word hiding in the name. Etymology is very much a study of our history, as is Mr Alexander’s seed detective book. The colour annual seed catalogue turned up in the mail, and the book and catalogue are equally bad influences, of a good kind! 🙂
Earlier today I read that Mr Alexander also would not enter into vegetable competitions, for much the same reasons as my own – which I mentioned a few days ago. A world raised on a diet of what stuff looks like, may miss out on the finer points, like taste.
Many of Mr Hughes films were fun, and kind of silly in many ways. He was very much into the soundtracks too, and some songs have formed associations with the films Like Simple Minds song: Don’t you – and the Breakfast Club film. And oh yeah, the brat pack. Yup. Hope the book didn’t overly delve into the land of serious and earnest discussions on the films?
Two steps forward, one back so it goes – and that seems to be the case with your weather. Here today was filthy. No getting around it. The east coast low is pummelling the err, east coast of the continent, and today the wet cold weather far to the south and west of the worst of that storm came from the south east picking up moisture from the Tasman Sea, which is so unusual. The weather rarely arrives from that direction. Oh, it was cold too. Began at 39’F. The day maxed out at 45’F and it’s now back to 39’F again. A good day to spend indoors doing paid work.
It was a fine snafu of the first order! Hey, if I were being cheeky I’d suggest that I was merely testing you, but no, I just messed up. 🙂 Knocked over more hurdles today, and have created additional breathing room for the ol’ brain. If it cools down, that might be a good time for you to make some more jam?
Hope the library orders the book. The magazine has warped all of us, but in a good way. 🙂 And if it’s in a bad way, well, what me worry?
Cheers
Chris
@ Pam & Chris – And who can forget the famous shoe phone (and other gadgets) from the TV series, “Get Smart?” Good ol’ Agent 86. What a send up. Lew
Yo, Chris – H dreams a lot. Always has. She has happy dreams, too. Makes the oddest noises. Sometimes, she mumbles and talks in her sleep. I can almost understand what she’s saying. 🙂 Once, she howled and I shot about three feet in the air.
That was quit the article about the bats. It does seem that there’s a vaccine. If you get more bats moving into your area, you might consider getting the jab. Every once in awhile, we have a report of a rabid bat bite, here in the county.
Yes, trying to change deeply held beliefs is a fool’s errand. Mr. Greer addresses that, in his rules for conduct. I run into that, at the Club from time to time. I usually can smoothly change the topic. If that doesn’t work, I leave. OMB (Old Man’s Bladder) can come in handy, at times. 🙂
Mind boggling? Check out the pen aisle at your local big box office supply store.
I’m sure the canning jars will go to good homes. Maybe I should have done a home visit? 🙂 Just to make sure they’re well cared for, and not abused. I’m waiting for the chorus of “I could have used them!” “I would have taken them!” I asked a couple of the caregivers, but they weren’t interested. If we still had a swap table, for stuff other than food, I would have put them there. But, the commons were abused, so that ended.
Etymology can be fascinating. One of the caregivers mentioned the other day, that she’s getting a divorce. And I thought of a phrase I heard a time or two, when I was a wee small lad. But haven’t heard in decades. “Grass Widow.” Or, widower, if you like. A divorced or separated person. It’s been around since the 1500s. I thought maybe it comes from the idea of being “put out to graze,” but could find no reference to that.
I wonder if food stylists have a side gig, doing the photos for the big colour seed catalogues? 🙂 I love the Nichols Garden Nursery catalogs. No photos, just black and white print. On newsprint paper. Although there web site is quite colourfull. Plenty of pictures.
Hmmm. The “Hollywood High” book has quit a bit of depth, but the author has a light touch, and a real sense of humor. And, decided opinions. He brings up some concepts and ideas, that are interesting, and maybe something people haven’t thought of, or seen, before.
With the Hugh’s movies (and, “American Graffiti”), some of the character, realize, on some level, that high school may be the high point of their lives. And, some have an inkling that they created these surrogate families, in high school. And that on graduation, that all ends. And, some are undecided as to which course to take, after graduation. You can almost pick out the boys (it’s usually boys) who will never grow up, and enter a kind of extended adolescence.
Our high yesterday was 84F (28.88C). Our overnight low was 52F (11.11C). Forecast high for today is 76F. It was overcast this morning, so after walking H I went out and picked some more currents. By the time I was finished, the clouds had started to burn off. I think I have enough, now, and will make jam, tomorrow night.
I plucked the first yellow cherry tomato, from the garden, last night. Oh, that was tasty!
I put in a request for the library to order the MAD magazine documentary. I’ll hear back in a couple of days, as to if they’ll order it. The upcoming holiday slows everything down.
I didn’t hear any fireworks, last night. I suppose, since they come from the Land of Stuff, what with the tariffs and all, they may be very expensive. Demand destruction. Lew
Chris:
I don’t know if my walkie talkies work because I have never used them. I bought them when we moved my parents here, for my dad to use if he went walking around the property and happened to get lost; he had pretty severe dementia by then. He was also wont to take off down the dirt road on foot, but he had no way to remember how to get back. I thought he might find them fun, and useful, but since he couldn’t handle a cellphone anymore, I had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to use those.
Mr. Twain wrote some memorable, and humorous, books. One I enjoyed a lot was “Roughing It”, travels in the American West in the 1870s.
No, we don’t have Peak Rocks yet because we don’t have the time or energy – mostly the energy – to gather and move all those rocks.You and Sandra are a wonder.
I assumed they would have had a cook – and who knows what else!
I am calling my vertical zucchini tree a failure. I have to, because it is. It started out so well and had squashes very early, but then the rats took over and now squirrels keep climbing it and breaking off all the “branches”, so I don’t see much hope. I will leave it for now, just in case. Anyway, squirrels have taken over and are now rampaging daily through the garden. I met one the other day with a huge green tomato in his mouth and he just stopped, stared at me, got a better hold on the tomato, and walked (not ran) away. Umm, am I doing something wrong here? It does no good to throw things at them. Maybe a slingshot . . . Hee, hee . . .
Pam
Hi Pam,
Ook! What a difficult situation you had to navigate there, and from my experience of people with dementia, there is no easy answer. You’re lucky that your father was not an angry dementia person, because I’ve seen previously sweet natured people flip to a darker persona. Dunno whether they were frustrated with their new circumstances, or what, but that was an odd thing to observe. It was such a lovely thing you did bringing them both back from Colorado.
Thanks for the laughs, and yes, who else could pen a story: dedicated in Memory of the Curious Time When We Two Were Millionaires for Ten Days” 🙂 Might have to check that out. I’d read his travel diary from the Hawaii sojourn.
Ooo! Lucky you to have avoided the dreaded Peak Rocks, and if I may say so, avoiding committing the energy to recover the rocks in the first place, does reduce the dastardly: ‘Rocks returned for energy invested’ dilemma. An enviable estate. Here, where Peak Rocks looms over every landscape project, we may work wonders, but lo! Them boulders be gettin’ further away.
Makes you wonder doesn’t it? 😉 Probably a butler who would have been chief of staff for the male domestic and garden workers. And I forget the exact title (please do let me know if you know?) a housekeeper was chief of staff for the female domestic workers. When we visited that now state owned manor house over in Werribee a year or two back, I read that the butler and housekeeper wore the hand me downs of the aristocracy, and so they would have been turned out nicely. All very proper and stuff. I still reckon the fictional Jane Eyre had a rough road, but eventually triumphed over events.
Oh poop! Well it was worth a try, and now you know. Hang on a second, didn’t the formidable Charlene the white squirrel keep all other squirrels in line? Alas, where is her type today? I don’t recall you having troubles with the squirrels in the past.
You know my thoughts about Mr Baby, and he may have to make accommodations. Pam, it maybe time to introduce another feline. Sorry. I wish it were not so.
Even the possums pushed us to the limit last year, and the owls only swept in after every single kiwi fruit was munched. I had a stern talking to the owl union, and there was a touch of militancy, but if they wish to stay on the payroll…
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Aren’t dogs transparent as to the nature of their dreams? When they’re having nightmares, I tend to soothingly wake them up, and it’s difficult for a canine to express ‘dazed and confused’, but yeah they do a good job of expressing the emotional state at that time. Now howling is right off the scale, and that’d make me jump three feet into the air as well. Far out. Probably ancestral memories, especially the Spitz breed lineage that she has.
For sure dogs can communicate with us humans, and I use hand signals and commands, and you can see that they comprehend the abstract ideas. They in turn tell me when they need to go to the toilet, or their water is empty etc… I’m not entirely convinced that I’d want to know the rest of their thoughts because a lot of the time I can see that they’re doing and playing stupid games with one another. Like power plays, dunno about you, but for me it is best if I can pretend that such nonsense is beneath my dignity to observe. 🙂
Anyway, they’d probably spend most of the time asking for stuff…
The dogs are knocked out tonight. Mostly had the day off paid work, and was able to get out into the midday sunshine (yay! it was super foggy early this morning, far out!) and connect up the plumbing for those two new water tanks. There is now a garden tap and a quick connection for an electric water pump so that water can be sent back uphill if needed. It was a complicated job, and the dogs were running around in the sunshine enjoying themselves. Took them for a long walk earlier this evening too. All asleep now.
I noticed that too about the vaccine and that there are a number of handlers who can apparently do that work with the bats. Doesn’t help you if one randomly bites you though, does it? The winters here are a bit cold for those marsupial winged creatures, but they are moving south. No getting around it. Hmm. Another issue to contemplate. Vaccine and the immunoglobulin are probably more widely available in your country.
I’d completely missed the rules of conduct on Mr Greer’s blog. I’ll check them out, and have a similar thing in place here, mainly because of the crazy defarmation actions in this country. No point beggaring the kingdom from an act of silliness is there? I’m embarrassed about that episode because I’d not realised at first that the claim was a statement of belief. That was an error on my part. Strangely I’ve heard that claim made in certain well heeled circles over the years, and the results never quite stacked up to the hype. Still, it was nice that people gave the idea a go and put their mad cash where their mouths are. I can respect that.
Hey, does anyone know where the loo is? Thanks, and I’ll have to add that to the list. 🙂 Yes, extraordinarily handy.
Ha! Like your style, and yeah I wonder about where stuff goes too. I know you’re kidding, but once things are gifted, they’re gone. Sadly commons in that instance were abused, and by folks who no longer resided there. Possibly an example of: Dump and run?
It happens, and life can go in unusual directions. Never heard of the term ‘grass widow’ before, but if I may dare add a more literal and up with it interpretation of the old timey saying, which kind of works in the same context and result. Here goes: The longer term result of a wife who was too stoned to get off the couch for any great period of time. Grass widow, just sayin’, but updated for the yoof of today. What do you reckon about my twist on the subject? I’m sure decorum would have been more err, serious, in the 16th century. But then the other night I was reading about some silly poetry movement in the 17th century, so maybe people are the same as they ever were?
No way. You’re probably right because the photography in the seed catalogue is really pleasing on the eye. The logo for the Nichols Garden Nursery is really very charming, although the local gardening club discovered that thatched roofs were a nightmare in a bushfire. 100% looks, but very flammable. As someone of distant Scottish heritage, I already knew that and could have told them if they’d asked. 😉 Hehe! A black and white news sheet catalogue hints to me that the business has a desire to keep costs down. They’ll all get there again in time, and who can forget the days of the old classified advertising? The bread and butter of the newsprint biz.
Ah, peaking at such a young age would be hard, and yes, it’s also a bit tribal really. Relationships which are not familial get formed. Although candidly, at that young time, my family moved around a bit and so my recollections of those days are different again. The ladies also fall into that trap too you mentioned, it’s just differently expressed. Western culture is notable for its prolonged adolescence.
Lovely weather you’re having. By way of contrast, the fog this morning was pretty bleak. Then it burned away during the late morning. By midday the cool and bright sunshine, sort of felt feebly warm on the skin, if you know what I mean. Not unpleasant really.
Go the currant jam! Hope the cook up goes well.
Whoa! Yummo! The first ripe tomato of the season is a true gift from the garden. Almost forgot to mention, now that the most recent winter solstice is in the rear view mirror, a chicken laid an egg yesterday. It was a blue egg, so I know it was the bantam Araucana.
Oh yeah, the 4th holiday. Hope the library puts in an order for the book. Any update on the fireworks from today? I hadn’t considered the demand destruction aspect of the story, but yeah. Hmm.
I loved that show. So funny and utterly irreverent. Missed it, by that much!
Cheers
Chris
Chris,
Yup, Marvin the Paranoid Android is one of the best fictional characters ever. It was brilliant the way Douglas Adams used Marvin’s character to use humor to make points about various things. Marvin’s diatribe about “Marvin, can you pick up that piece of paper?” struck home with me on a job once. After a year of physics graduate school, I was back at my undergrad institution working for a professor. Research project with a government grant. There were 5 of us working for him. I had had the best record in his classes and had the graduate level experience. Most of my job consisted of waiting around for him to show up so that he could give me a stack of 15 or 20 pages to photocopy. My brain, the size of a small pebble, felt rather underutilized. 😉
That’s the thing. I had some talent at billiards. Ditto various sports and other things. However, I never wanted to take sports or musical instruments so seriously that they became obsessions. Our neighbor’s granddaughter was a concert pianist. She visited the neighbors for two weeks once. She had to spend a minimum 3 hours per day, without fail, practicing on our piano so that her skills wouldn’t erode. She didn’t seem to be enjoying herself either. Being in my early teens, that was a lesson that I never forgot.
Dude! A white board full of witty quotes to memorize and use? I’ve been known to use a similar prop, although it was more pen on paper than a white board. I think it’s more how people are wired rather than experience. My mind just isn’t geared to the witty comebacks. It takes a lot of energy for me to engage that way.
The whiteboard at the old job? I used it more for fun quotes I’d found (and written down to learn for future use). And to recycle some of them when necessary to creatively say things that management wouldn’t like in a manner that kept me out of trouble. Or to suggest that a certain point of view was getting to be required. Hence, my favorite quote: “We need more Wednesday Addams”.
Spontaneous? What’s this spontaneous thing whereof you speak? I’ve heard of such things, perhaps, but, again, how the brain is wired. Fortunately, I have learned over the years to be flexible with events and situations, to adapt to changing conditions and schedules. But the spontaneity thing? I’m finding that my closer friends who are also extremely introverted are about like me on the spontaneity spectrum. I think it has to do with most spontaneous activities involve being with people or in crowds, and it takes me time to work myself into being able to be in certain settings. And then the amount of time to recover from being around groups of people enters into it. If I’ve already “peopled” enough for a day or three, spontaneously doing more “peopling” would be very difficult.
“The crow perched on the burning deck”…That could be the wonderful first line of many a good story. I like the way your poetic side is appearing. That attempt at poetry I made this week was the first since my good carving friend died last fall. Good sign that my grief cycle is moving onward, albeit slowly. The Princess was exceedingly happy that I was able to do any poetry already.
I saw Paul Simon, the singer, on a talk show recently. He was asked what was the best first line of a song that he wrote. He thought a bit and said, “When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school.” Kodachrome. A song that might totally mystify the younger generations, with such talk of Kodachrome and Nikon cameras. My favorite opening line from any of his songs was “The mama pajama rose out of bed and she ran to the police station.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rlDTK6QI-w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=JVdlpZ4M-Hw&t=2m17s
Whew, cooled off some. But it got windy Wednesday and today. Sucking the moisture right out of everything. It’s amazing how comfortable 28C is after 2 days near 38C.
Fires? Yeah. 400 acre fire yesterday south of town a ways. They got that out quickly. Oregon, Washington and Idaho are all so dry right now that if you sneeze wrong, a brush fire will start. 😉
We get mysterious and unexplained booming sounds here, too. However, many of them seem to be near the railroad yards just east of downtown Spokane. Moving the rail cars around, I think, and sometimes they get loud. When I worked as a night security guard at the horse racing track eons ago, I was just east of the railyards. Sometimes there were booms. Loud. Always woke up and spooked some of the thoroughbreds.
After 10 weeks of working there 2 or 3 nights per week, I knew the train schedules well. There were 4 parallel sets of train tracks that went by me. A kilometer to the west there were 6, but two of them were switched to the south. One night, a car zoomed into the parking lot and flew onto the nearest track where it got stuck. Yes, it had been stolen. Tow truck operator was rather inept. The operator and the car owner panicked every time a train was to the west and moving our direction. I told them “No, that’s switching south”, or “That one’s okay, it is on the far track.” Things like that. But I did tell them when the Amtrak passenger train would be on the track with the wrecked car at 90 km per hour. After 2 hours, they finally realized I knew what I was talking abou, but the tow truck guy still putzed around ineptly. Finally I said, “Dude, Amtrak coming by in 5 minutes and when it hits that car, it will be a fantastic crash and all of you gonna die from the debris.” Miraculously, he figured out how to move the car off the tracks. Pronto. Rapidly, even. With 2 minutes to spare. Then came the Amtrak at 90 km per hour, looking like a passenger train from a Coyote and Roadrunner cartoon, only the Coyote (car in this case) had got out of the way.
DJSpo
Yo, Chris – Let’s hope the bat telegraph (similar to the bush telegraph) doesn’t send out the message, “Fruit at Chris’s place!” I wonder if they’re using fiber optic cable, these days? 🙂
On reflection, I was thinking about the riff Mr. Greer writes, to kick off the monthly open post. Which I find amusing, as do such miscreants read or comprehend such warnings? Oh, well. The delete button is handy.
Yes, it was sad the swap table for stuff, went away. I found a few little gems, there. It was particularly bad when someone was cleaning out an apartment. Besides overflowing the dumpster. “Someone will want / need this bit of broken tat!” Or, clothes. Well, no. We have a landfill, people! Or, an awful lot of op-shops. Though I hear they fight a constant battle, not to become a landfill, themselves.
I finished the “Hollywood High,” book. Final thoughts of the author? Fiction, movies and books, no matter the genre (sci-fi, horror, mysteries, etc.) reflect the times they’re written in.
Our high yesterday was 70F (21.11C). Our overnight low was 48F (8.88C). The forecast high for today is 75F. It will be pretty much like that for the next week, then we’ll bump up against 90F, again. Speaking of weather, you may find this article interesting.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/02/climate/great-dying-extinction-tipping-point-tropical-forests
We got a food box yesterday. Sort of unexpected. First Wednesday of the month, but if that falls so close to the first, it’s touch and go. Nothing too startling. A dozen and a half eggs (two broken) that I took down to Jane for the funny farm. I replaced the broken one’s with two from my stash. A pound each of frozen ground beef and pork. A pound of pretty good cheddar cheese, and the usual two pound brick of processed cheese “product,” that won’t melt. There was a really nice stalk of celery, some apples and potatoes. A small head of cabbage. If I can snag another, off the swap table, I’ll make sweet and sour cabbage soup. I’ll freeze most of it. Otherwise, the usual suspects.
Speaking of food, I saw an interesting article on “old school” breads, you won’t see anymore.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/11-old-school-breads-wont-154000836.html
The fireworks were pretty lite, last night. Tonight is 4th of July eve. We’ll see how it goes. Lew
Chris:
Yes, but we may now have Peak Silt, and I have to see if that is a fair trade since so much of our dirt ends up at the bottom of the property. And yet – could that eventually add up to a spot of level ground? Such a thing happened at the bottom of our driveway.
I think it is just “housekeeper”. Anyway, that is what Jeeves says.
Queen Charlene the White Squirrel, though diminutive, was a squirrel with a fiery temper. It was her territory, and the rest were made to obey. Of course, I didn’t mind her having a tomato now and then. Ahhh . . . she did love Larry, though.
No, Mr. Baby says it will not be so. No cats. No dogs. Birdies and mice, yes. He was after a bird today, so he was having a pretty good day.
I wish you might send a telegram to our Owl Union. I hear them every night, but what are they up to? I can’t much blame the squirrels on them, as squirrels are only out in the day.
Okay, Chris – ’tis done. I went with my son to Fredericksburg (a lovely drive by the way, and very historic, an hour and 20 min) and we are now proud owners of a white 2007 Chevy Malibu, 75,000 miles. The price was so low (shall I tell?) that we never dreamed of it, and the car and interior are almost spotless. Now – will she keep running? Anyway, it is almost a replica (with a lot less miles) of my son’s car that he loved so much that was totaled by that fellow at Christmas. It only took 7 months to find it, thus showing that persistence counts. I hope.
Pam
Hi Pam,
Always possible that the silt could build up – kind of like how beavers create dams, a little bit at a time. I’m envious of flat land, and if it is created by the actions of the environment, who is to say that this is not as things should be?
Jeeves would of course be on top of such curly issues, and Bertie was way out of touch. 🙂 Fun stories, and over the years I’ve roamed through that delightful world (and have a stack of them). Do you have a favourite book?
RIP Queen Charlene the squirrel, may her legacy live long and be fondly remembered, but you’ve introduced an entirely new squirrel mystery! Who the heck is Larry? Although there are progeny…
Of course, Mr Baby knows his business and his feline wishes must be respected. Such things are known, but I was wondering if his concentration occasionally lapses and the cat brain wanders into far distant fantasy realms where cat’s minds dream. Slip another moggy in to the household at that point. Would he even notice? And it may be beneath his dignity to consider the newcomer… 🙂 OK, I get it, one cat at a time, but you have to understand, at one point there were four dogs here…
Alas, I’m having bad enough troubles with the local owl union, and they’re demanding stuff, like frozen rodents from the farm supply biz. Reptile owners apparently buy them. Who knew? Anyway, the demands went unmet and I suggested they get back to work. See what I’m dealing with here? You’re local avian night time mob were even more militant in their demands. Frozen squirrel was part of that, sorry to say. Negotiations continue.
Oooo. Nice score, and may the venerable beast delight for many years to come. Whoa! Pam, that machine has a seriously grunty motor as standard, and the performance models, the ‘SS’ would be a lot of fun. In many ways it looks like the equivalent of the Holden GM Commodore which was locally designed and produced back when we manufactured complicated stuff. Hope it’s great, and what a fine pedigree.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Well, there’s always hope. Reality? Might not work out all that great. A year or two ago I discovered a fruit bat in the orchard at night, and at that time the lyssavirus was known about – you and I having previously discussed this matter. Sorry to say, things did not end up well for the bloke, and that was reported upon in the news today. Condolences to the family. Anywhoo, the bat took off back to warmer climes, but if there’s been one, there’ll be more in the future. As the climate warms, I have observed that the bats are moving further south. One benefit of very cold winters (relatively speaking) is that the pest cycle gets broken. A mate of mine grew up in the more northerly Queensland which is way warmer than here, and he tells me that things like the insect cycle are unrelenting in the garden. A bit of a nightmare.
You know, the next end of month open forum discussion, I’ll ask Mr Greer about that question. It’s a subject which baffles me as well. I have this vague hunch that there are a portion of the community which push at boundaries for their own gain, all the time. When I was a young bloke I had a friend who had troubles respecting other peoples boundaries. Instead of seeing them as limits, he interpreted them as challenges to overcome. As you can imagine, we eventually had a falling out as I spent time instead with less troublesome friends. I’m sure you’d have met such folks?
Yeah, the op shops do have that difficulty, but then so does the local forest. You’d think it wouldn’t be a great idea to dump rubbish in some pristine woodland, but other people think differently from what I’ve observed. Back in the day there used to be donation bins, but where is their like these days? The Editor tells me that donations are now managed by actual living human beings, and you get a discount for having done so. A bit carrot and stick, that system. But it works, unlike that swap table, and truly I can see how the situation came to be – people are externalising their waste costs, then justifying their actions to themselves. Only a truly wasteful society could act so.
Hmm. Thanks for the insight into the book. One of the interesting aspect of ‘The Breakfast Club’ film was that the characters physical and material needs were clearly being met. Clearly they wanted their emotional needs to have been met, and yeah, that’s a sign of the times – me having lived through that. Wonder what the yoof want today?
Hope you enjoy more 70’sF and less 90’sF weather, but that’s summer for ya. Stay cool though and avoid the mid to late afternoon sun. Yikes. Today was glorious with blue sunny skies, calm air and about 50’F. The sun even felt mildly warm around lunchtime, and so we went for a nearby walk around one of the local nature reserves. One can never have too much forest time… 🙂 Had a nice lunch of a ham and salad sandwich on wholemeal bread plus an apple cake. Walk and cake = afternoon recovery nap! Had Ollie up on the couch with me, and he tries to make himself as small as possible which is difficult for such a big dog. The wood heater gave the scene a delightful warm restful glow. Made this weeks video tonight, and so got off to a very late start, and possibly an even later finish. Goran asked for a SCOBY video, so why not? Cheap chook food + Kombucha, which I dislike, but the Editor seems to enjoy. Being an adult means avoiding churlish responses, but if the stinky tea could be taken elsewhere things would be better. Still, that stuff is nicer smelling than apple cider vinegar. Both of which you probably enjoy?
That warm period in Earth’s early history was not good, and the err, volcano I’m located upon the side of was part of that story – it being a super-volcano and stuff, whatever that is (probably don’t want to experience though). Plants adapt over a long enough period of time, and I’m observing that many of the plants here are adapting to a warmer winter in all sorts of weird ways. Another rhodie is on the cusp of producing a flower. Like how is that even possible at this time of year, but then I’m yet to see a 32’F temperature, although once or twice we’ve been very close. Eucalyptus trees can adapt within three generations, so they’ll be fine.
Whoa! A big wind gust just hit the side of the house out of nowhere.
Hope Jane is feeling well, and taking recuperation seriously. A thoughtful act on your part, especially replacing the two broken eggs, that’d be a nasty mess. The food box sounds like a good haul of stuff. Out of sheer curiosity, has anyone mentioned the lack of the food cupboard at the Club, and have numbers dwindled?
I’m up to the chapter on Brassica species in the Seed Detective book. Fascinating stuff, and the words are kicking the brain into gear, but in a good way.
That’s amazing all those different bread products. Interesting and much cogitation was performed. I’ve got some spelt seeds to plant out, and probably should do so. They might grow better in this environment than more traditional bread wheat does?
Seems like in the far west of the country, they’re struggling with an issue which boggles my mind: Foul fatbergs on the rise in Perth’s sewers as wrong waste flushed. I have a hunch that people think to themselves just before they’re about to flush some item which probably shouldn’t head in that direction: It doesn’t matter.
Turns out, it does matter as more costs get heaped onto the system.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Marvin was great. Yup. Oh man, your story. I’m feeling that pain I can tell you. It was in some ways like me reporting to a board when they made the unusual demand: “Now Chris we want you to guarantee that there’ll be no errors in the accounts”. Ah, so what you’re possibly saying is that you haven’t looked at them and have no desire to do so? Yup. Made me wonder what they thought the accounts team and I were doing all day long to so as to relieve them of their fiduciary duties? Already too busy for nonsense like that. I walked away for that realm. Hmm. And that’s a great quote too: Brian the size of a planet! Alas, I discovered that at uni, nobody was interested in my opinions and skills – that was not the reason for me being there. Hmm. Oh well. Makes you wonder how many intellectual roads are never travelled?
Yeah, exactly. How much effort does a person commit to become really extraordinarily good at just one thing? And then, what happens to the rest of their life? It’s like peering uncomfortably into the abyss and realising the narrowness of the journey. Some parents push their children in certain directions. One weird side benefit of my own journey was complete parental apathy and that provided a lot of freedom, although there were serious costs and the whole mess could have easily come unstuck. Did your parents direct you into science, or was there a natural affinity for the subject?
Hehe! One has to work with the brain and experience they have, rather than the brain and experience they wish to have. 😉 And that’s true for me as well, to be on my guard all day long would wear me out. The lines are there to memorise and have ready to hand should they be needed. Some folks know these things without any additional thought. Those are people I quietly observe from a distance, because you can always learn something useful. Not sure, but I believe that it is so described as being ‘assertive’, which is a word that has taken on more additional negative connotations, but probably for nefarious reasons. People who push upon boundaries often crack the sads about enforcement and defence of those same boundaries.
Wednesday Addams could kick up a good pout at twenty paces! A funny line and that says something for sure.
The people who used to harass me about not being ‘spontaneous’ were simply wired differently and enjoyed heaps of people around them, all the time. I kind of felt a bit on the periphery of that group, but probably wasn’t, maybe. And your experience is how the whole thing works for me. I love being social and catching up with people, but then need time out to recover. The energy levels are too great to sustain for too long. Good that everyone is different don’t you reckon?
I’ve often wondered if people spruiking spontaneity are simply bad at planning. We do a lot of stuff, and if our activities were less planned, we’d not do nearly as much. And that comes with accepting limits.
And the other weird thing is that I can be very social with people whom are new to me when I don’t know them really well, but the energy costs (and I don’t know any other way to describe that) are higher as a result. So I tend to hang out with people I know and stick to the familiar as a result and am happy with that outcome.
It’s not a bad line is it with the crow? But alas critics would know the nod to the original verse. Man, I’m happy that you were able to pen a few lines of verse given the association the activity has with the loss of your friend. Your lady is wise. They do say that time heals all wounds, but that also sounds a touch twee. Still there is truth to the words.
You know, I’d known that song for over forty years, but had always presumed the naughty songster duo were singing about taking nudie pictures with their easily developed cameras. The cheeky scamps, but that would have been risque in the 60’s, although a painting of similar subject may be described as ‘art’. I dare not ask the question too much: Is it art? But it does seem like an important question to ask in such circumstances.
Gotta run, sorry. Will finish out chat tomorrow. Almost midnight here.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – I noticed there was a follow-up on the giant shoe story, from Hadrian’s Wall. There were 8 found. I figure Mrs. Giant said something along the lines of “Those shoes have got to go! They are beyond redemption!” 🙂
I forgot to look at what Mr. Greer was up to, this week, and see it’s about climate change. I’ll have to give that one a look. I saw an interesting article, yesterday, on a new invention to detect wildfires.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/02/style/pyri-wildfire-sensor-dfi
Yes, some people push boundaries. A firm “Back off!” occasionally works, but as you said, some people see that as a challenge, rather than a boundary. I think some of it is that idea that it’s better to apologize, than ask permission. I think that’s appropriate in some situations, but most people don’t have the discernment to figure out when it’s appropriate, and when not.
It all sort of boils down to a respect for the commons, once again. That article on the Perth fatbergs also touches on that. Although if you used “respect for the commons,” in any kind of PR effort, I think you’d get a lot of blank looks. I hope they pay those guys a lot, for busting up those jams. Can you imagine the smell? Probably gets in your hair, right down to the pores. And you’d have to periodically burn your clothes.
The op-shop I took the jars to, is the same one I took H’s vast wardrobe to. It’s in the same complex as the Club. They have a guy who receives the stuff. And there are signs warning against night dumping. And that there are cameras … They ask if you want a charitable donation certificate, as you can take that off your taxes.
Our high yesterday was 73F (22.77C). Our overnight low was 50F (10C). The forecast high for today is 74F. There’s still a nice ocean breeze.
I’m just not interested in The Wonderful World of Kombucha. Or bubble tea, for that matter. Why? I quit like the zing of cider vinegar, and usually sprinkle it on whatever I’m having for dinner.
The movie “2012” had some great scenes of the Yellowstone super volcano erupting. Less than 4 minutes.
https://youtu.be/S1Kbym7WYzs?si=1b_pX6LewhzLiEtM
Way back in 2005 the BBC made a TV docufiction drama, called “Supervolcano” about Yellowstone. It was very good, as I remember. I suppose, sooner or later some geological or cosmic event will change the world. Not if but when.
Yes, there are comments about missing the food pantry. And sometimes, the Club is a ghost town.
That was an interesting article on “lost” breads. A lot of them were adaptations to lack of this or that.
Last night I watched “Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Doom.” Yup, Holmes fights the Nazis. It was very patriotic. Even had an ad for war bonds. But also kind of a hoot. :-). Lew
Chris:
I love all the Jeeves and Wooster books. I equally enjoy the Blandings Castle stories. There are quite a lot of those and they usually involve a fine Berkshire sow, the Empress of Blandings. Let’s face it, Mr. Wodehouse’s plots were amazingly similar, but he still has a lot of fans. I think my earliest book of his (merely a copy) is 1914.
Larry was Charlene’s first love; that was a long time ago, and a lot of tree rat babies since. Shoot, that was 12 years ago and she lived to be 10. That’s a lot of babies under the bridge. I expect every squirrel around here is related to her.
Are you kidding? Mr. Baby not notice another moggy? Call the ambulance, moggy’s off to hospital.
I used to have to feed Tigo the Tegu, my son’s pet lizard, frozen mousies. I couldn’t bear to give them to him cold, poor Tigo, so poached them first.
I found two large snake eggs in the mulch pile and covered them back up. Let’s hope they are Black Rat Snakes. I don’t want to think about the alternatives.
Pam
Hi Pam,
Bertie would have been utterly lost without Jeeves. So many intriguing schemes drew themselves to the well heeled fictional gentleman. A bit of a dangerous environment to exist within really. 🙂 Wodehouse has such a lovely way with dialogue. Haven’t read the Blandings Castle series, and thanks for the recommendation. Yup, the pots were remarkably similar, but then the author would have the delight of honing his skills with each new instalment, AND, readers would know what they’re in for and look forward to that. It’s an error to assume that readers wouldn’t enjoy dwelling in known space, don’t you reckon?
Trust me, Rattus Rattus are equally adept at climbing trees and pilfering our choicest produce, the cheeky scamps. It is a truth universally acknowledge that grow, and they shall feed. Of course this does in no way suggest that it will be either you or I who are doing the feeding.
I wasn’t kidding, but accept your prognosis on Mr Baby’s apoplexy at discovering a new comer on his turf. Probably the wiser move to ignore my suggestion about a second cat.
Well, yeah, plenty of people keep pet reptiles, and they require mice, which can be bought frozen. That was a very thoughtful thing to do. Reptiles rarely do well in frozen landscapes, or restaurants. 😉
Fingers crossed, and it will be hard to tell, although you have had Black Rat Snakes in your garden, and it is the breeding time of year for those slithery reptiles. Still, wise to stay wary until the species is known. They’re all bad news down here, although some are less so than others. I don’t want to think about the alternatives either. Probably not good.
The wind was up today although the weather was otherwise quite nice, and the original plan was to have a burn off, but instead it was probably the safer course to begin digging the swale for the overflow for the two new water tanks. Moved a lot of soil today.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
The Roman big foot story continues. Incidentally the shoes were impressively preserved, and you could see the stitching and everything. It interested me that the feet were enclosed by leather with ties to close the gap. Can you imagine the winters with those boots? Hope the regiment had thick woollen socks. The news was sort of suggesting that the regiment there were not locals, thus the bigger feet…
Well done to those design students, and the device sounds ingenious, although I couldn’t quite work out what was being alerted and how, although that sounded like proprietary information. I’m very aware of the super risky fire days, and you may have noticed how seriously I take preparations? And have a back up plan ready to go, just in case. This warning stuff is only complicated if you’re a person hoping to outsource their concerns – then that becomes an issue. I’d not really wait for the authoritas to alert me of the danger.
On that note, we were intending to continue the clean-up work today of the old loggers mess, but it was remarkably windy. It’s never really safe to work underneath big trees, but some days are worse than others, so that plan got ditched. Spent the day instead digging the swale for the overflow for the two new water tanks. Moved a lot of soil, and it was all very pleasant. Another day’s work will get that swale completely dug. All too much for one day. The soil in that location was amazing. The soil has been fed for almost two decades, and the results are in – it’s a good idea to do that.
Sometimes boundary pushing can be a bit less confrontational and sort of whiney, a bit of the breaking of the err, metaphorical delicate bits of the anatomy. People pulling that trick just try to wear down your defences. Not fun, and I avoid such folks. And agreed, discernment can be lacking, as well as a certain sort of sense of inadequate timing with requests.
Exactly, that’s the core of the issue – an abuse of the commons. Man, a person would get hardened to such work, and I can’t imagine anyone would be haranguing them to go faster! 🙂 From what I’ve seen, they wear environmental suits to do that work. Filthy stuff, and I often wonder why the products are even sold in the first place if they cause so much drama. There was a court case about that issue down here a few years ago, and the outcome was not good (from my perspective).
That’s ingenious, and I’d not heard of the charitable donation certificate for non-cash donations. No such thing exists down here, but of course cash donations are deductible.
Ocean breezes are nice on hot summer days. 🙂 The sun here today felt mildly warm, and if a person could ignore the wind, it was a great day to be outdoors.
Hehe! The Editor also loves apple cider vinegar, sadly I’ve not worked at developing a taste for the vinegar. They do tell me that it takes three weeks to alter you palate, and that’s true. Anyway, hope you enjoy the SCOBY video which should be released into the viewing wilds tomorrow night. They’re interesting growths, and super cheap (cheep cheep!!! Sorry for the chicken pun 🙂 ) source of protein for chickens. Easy to produce too.
I’ve never had a bubble tea and can’t produce any coherent thoughts on the subject, but a friend was drinking one a few months ago. Candidly I wasn’t brave enough to test the bubble tea waters. Have you ever had one?
Cool, Woody stands in defiance of a super volcano, and copped it bad. Would have been a quick end. You’d hope the folks in the light aircraft had the engine warmed, props rotating and were ready to go. Seemed unwise to wait in that circumstance. 🙂 And hey, now I know how the boulders ended up where they did. Very impressive, and I’d have not wanted to get a closer look during the more exciting phases of the eruption. But you’re right, sooner or later, such a thing will happen.
Youch, sorry to bring up the subject about the Club. Oh well, time may sort out that matter.
That’s what I noticed too about the old-bread article. People are ingenious about food when push comes to shove. I have some vague memory that bread had been made long ago from acorns, or some sort of processed wood pulp, maybe?
🙂 Go Mr Holmes, and take that baddies. Well, that was very much a concern in 1942, and did you watch the colorized version of the film?
The more I learn about the bond market, the stranger it seems to me. The issuers and the holders are in the same ship together, but pulling the wheel in different directions. It always surprised me that they don’t appreciate their interdependence – if the bond ship sinks, they all go down together.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ cont…
You sent me on a rabbit hole. What were Simon and Garfunkle singing about? Turns out with their song (which you alluded too but didn’t directly name) ‘Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard’, nobody knows what the miscreants were up to, except there was some tell all interview recently, which made little sense to my brain. What the? 🙂 All good fun. All we know from the story is that it was probably going to end badly, but clearly didn’t.
Oh yeah, 28’C feels good, especially after near 40’s temps. The wind is blowing hard here too today. It was too problematic to consider the risk of working under large trees in that wind, although they do fall in calm weather too. Anyway, got stuck instead into digging the swale for the overflow for the two new water tanks. Moved a lot of soil today, all back uphill – thanks to the power wheelbarrows. Useful stuff.
Fingers crossed that the fires don’t occur and the rains for those areas return. There is a lot of summer to go.
Oh yeah, train shunting yards are super loud places which generally operate at night. As a very young bloke I rented a flat which backed onto the train line – and I hadn’t noticed the rail line when signing up. Yeah, diesel trains in the wee hours of the morning are a special privilege to enjoy.
That was a close call, and you’d think that the tow truck driver would have simply engaged the winch. Those guys can do some amazing recovery tricks with vehicles, and I’ve seen a flipped car righted up using a winch. Honestly, the wreck was never going anywhere other than the scrap yard, so why waste time on the smashed up vehicle. The guy who did the job exuded competence, and I got to enjoy the work from a respectable distance whilst having no skin in that game.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – We’ve touched a few times on odd, interesting, or downright weird names for bands. I was driving through town, and on a tavern reader board was an announcement for a group called “Fern Spores.” It turns out they’re an all women’s band out of Olympia, Washington. Well, it worked for Sleater-Kenney … 🙂
More from Mrs. Giant. “And get rid of that smelly old jumper! I don’t care if it is your favorite!” 🙂 One of the surviving letters from Vindolanda is a soldier requesting his relatives send him some wool socks. Socks with sandals? if your toes are turning blue, fashion be damned 🙂
No, I hadn’t noted how seriously you prepare for wildfires. Completely slipped past me … 🙂 .
H and I went out for a walk at around 11:30. We sat on the garden wall for about 10 minutes. There were a couple of pretty lavish displays, within a couple of blocks. She just sat and watched them with great interest. Nerves of steel.
I made my cranberry / current jam, last night. I needed 4 cups of berries, and, once I smashed up all those currents I picked, it only came to just over two cups. So it came out to be more of a 50/50 mix. I shouldn’t have kept the squat, Ball canning jars. Four were supposed to fit in the canner, but it was a tight fit and a little hinky. I should have used the taller, pint jars. Which I mostly gave away. One jar wasn’t quit full. I might have to freeze that one, and use it first.
I watched “Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman.” It had everything in it but the kitchen sink. Holmes dies, or does he? Disguises, pajama suicides, giant poisonous spiders, and a pygmy in a suit case. And, another war bond advertisement. I don’t know if it was because of the 4th, or the ad, but I felt like rushing out to buy a war bond. 🙂 It was not the colorized version. Who needs color?
Yes, I’ve noticed in my garden beds, that the soil looks a lot richer, compared to some of the other garden beds. I just keep pitching stuff in. But if I dig down a ways, it starts looking a bit sandy.
In general, the deductible threshold is so high, that not many people can take advantage of it. It usually doesn’t exceed the standard deduction. At least not in my neck of the woods.
I’ve never had bubble tea. It seems like an unnecessary expense. As with fireworks or tattoos. 🙂
I think Woody’s character might have been based on this fellow, though maybe not. Johnson was a serious scientist. Woody’s character was a nut job.
https://w.wiki/EeUb
Yes, acorns can be turned into a kind of bread. Unleavened. Though the meal has to be washed, several times, to get the bitter tannins out. A nearby stream would come in handy. Probably pretty bland, unless you add fat or top it with berries. Wood pulp has been used, from time to time, to extend the wheat in bread. Either secretly, or not so secretly. Corn meal sounds a lot nicer.
Our high yesterday was 70F (21.11C). our overnight low was 50F (10C). Our forecast high for today is 76F. Still getting that nice breeze. Lew
Chris:
“It’s an error to assume that readers wouldn’t enjoy dwelling in known space, don’t you reckon?” I am very fond of book series, where you get to know the characters and the places – assuming you like the characters and places.
The weather has been a good bit cooler. Yay!
Pam
Hi Pam,
Series are a real joy to behold when the author gets to develop and explore the depths of the characters. Of course when series end abruptly and the reader is left hanging for more, well, that’s hard. We’ve all been there. 🙂
Glad to hear that your weather has been cooler. One should enjoy relief from the worst excesses of the climate from time to time.
Cloudy, cold and slightly rainy here today. But being made of stern stuff, things got done. Actually a lot of work got done. And today, events appeared to be favourable and problems got brushed aside with a contemptuous ease. This of course means that possibly my comeuppance is on the cards, but for the nonce, let’s enjoy the wins! I’m sure you’ve had days like that too?
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
A major musical movement was born in your part of the world, and the garage and indie scene was very much a part of that. Makes you wonder what is in the water? Politics, social movements and music are very much intertwined, and that’s always been the case. Wagner was probably giving his patrons the middle finger, the cheeky scamp.
Isn’t progressivism a funny concept? In the past, when a moment of cheekiness strikes me (you’d hopefully understand?) the hard question gets asked: Progressing where exactly? I tend to want to know the details before piling on, and the responses are usually vague and sort of defensive sounding. Makes me cautious, mostly because history goes where it goes, and can only be nudged in a certain direction, slightly.
That’s funny about the jumper, and oh you’re good. 🙂 I like socks with sandals, but everyone does so have an opinion on this subject! Sandals over winter at Hadrian’s Wall would have been a special form of torture. No wonder the Roman empire failed.
Hehe! One can only but do their best in such bushfire matters – reality will no doubts be a truly exciting and alarming experience.
Man, I worked like a dog today. Planted out the silverbeet seedlings. Cleaned sooty mould off several young citrus trees then fed them with seaweed solution. Some other stuff happened. Put up another security trail camera. Decommissioned the second last set of lead acid batteries and replaced them with lithium batteries (so much better). Fixed the mixer on the kitchen sink. I did have a break for lunch, but that was about it, yeah.
H is clearly made of hardy stuff! 🙂 Glad to hear that the fireworks displays were enjoyable.
That jam may end up being your masterpiece. Were you tempted to try some of the left over stuff? And err, standardising jars / bottles / lids and other seals, does tend to avoid such minor issues.
Mistress of Murder indeed! And glad to hear that the Sherlock Holmes film was excellent. Truly nobody really understands the bond market… And may the war progress well brother Lewis! Stay safe out there. 🙂
That happens here too when you hit the clay / loam layer, but the top soil can get pretty deep. Wasn’t that much effort to achieve, nature does most of the hard yards. You wait and see the photo, and I do wonder at what point your fellow gardeners become curious about the soil in your beds?
Did you know that there is no such thing as a standard deduction down here? As you’d imagine, there is a process for only providing deductions to payments to charities which are on an official list – the deductible gift recipients. Hmm.
You get to enjoy the fireworks, but for free! 😉
Thanks for the link, and that group did well to shut the area down prior to the eruption. To be honest, I did notice a few similarities between the fictional character and the person.
Oh yeah, corn meal sounds much nicer. Still, there are times I encounter bread products and wonder whatever are these things made from? Sadly I read a book about this subject long ago and the details were not pretty.
Yours is beautiful sounding weather.
Ook! So late, better get writing.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Your might find this short video (about 3 minutes), interesting. About an off grid, prefab house, up in Maine (King country.) At least they’re fairly honest about additional backup power, besides solar. My, all that wiring and gages look familiar. 🙂 .
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/18/style/video/off-the-grid-homes-maine-bill-weir-digvid
It’s probably our long, dark, wet winters that contributed to all the different musical movements, from up here. 🙂 Olympia is our state capital, and also the home of Evergreen State College, a “progressive” (hippy-dippy) institution. A hotbed of radical politics and experimental art. A few good things have come out of Evergreen.
https://w.wiki/Eev3
When I worked at the bookstore in Olympia, we had a number of student Greeners as part time staff. They could be problematic. One young man had to be told, “Yes, you need to wear shoes, to work.” 🙂 But not near so problematic as the attempted store take over by the Rampsters.
https://w.wiki/EevC
Years later, I worked at the Yelm library. Yelm being the stronghold of the Rampsters. They could be a pain in the … ear. Any time I heard a foreign accent, dollars to donuts, they were self entitled, trustafarian, Euro trash who had joined the cult.
I didn’t do much of anything, yesterday. H got a bath. Otherwise, general maintenance. Watered the garden. Did a bit of grocery shopping.
An addendum to the fireworks: the night manager told me, some of the garden bark down at the other end of the property, was set to smoldering, due to the fireworks. It was a section, close to the street. He dumped a lot of water on it, and, I think it’s out. It charred a 6×6 section, under some rhodies. There were a lot less fireworks, last night. The spectacle fireworks seem spent, and we’re down to the noise makers. Whistle and bang.
The jars fit the canning machine, just fine … until I put the rings on the jars. There was no extra to sample. Unless I dip into that jar that wasn’t quit full. I still think it got a good seal, but it’s in the fridge, and I’ll probably move it to the freezer.
Last night I watched “Sherlock Holmes and the Pearl of Death.” Not so WWII – centric, but Holmes still gives his “There will always be an England” speech, and another war bond advertisement.
Gardeners seem to work from preconceived notions. At least the one’s around here. Hard to shake them out of what they believe works. Even some of the Master Gardeners, are guilty of that. 🙂
Here, at least I think, any donations to any nonprofit, are deductible. And any interest on any kind of loan. Though that may have changed.
There was a lot of pushback, when the red zone was created around Mt. St. Helens, before the eruption. The morning of the eruption, there was quit a caravan of cars, that were waiting to be let in, to check properties and such. If the mountain had erupted an hour or two later, the loss of life would have been far, far higher.
Our high yesterday was 77F (25C). Our overnight low was 48F (8.88C). The forecast high for today is 81F. Lew