Category: Nature

Delayed Gratification

Rod Liddle in The Spectator

The body of this post has been copied to a safe place pending a decision by Boadicea. It will be reinstated and re-opened for comments if, and when, she concludes that it is appropriate material for the Chariot.   Bearsy.

Having read the full text of this post, I have decided that it will not be published.

I find the article in The Spectator offensive. I fail to see how ‘Indigenous Australians’ behaved in the 1920s (long before most had contact with European habits) has any relevance to the lazy ‘Indigenous British’ who fail to toilet train their children, despite being exposed to the wonders of the ‘Water Closet’ for several generations.

My apologies for the chequered history of this post – but I am rather busy on other matters.

I have re-opened the post for comments.
Boadicea

Frozen milk

We woke to the telephone. Being the first day of half term no-one had to be anywhere at any particular time and Cyclo decided that a bike ride was out of the question, so we hadn’t set the alarm. It seems the plumber had been up for hours and it was before 9am. I suppose it wasn’t surprising since the temperature was pretty low last night, down to -14c in some places. Anyhoo, the plumber was ringing as I had left a message last night – for a leak unrelated to the cold. The shower pump – again.

I got up and bought in the milk which had frozen and spilled out into small globules on the doorstep, then took a tray of tea back up to bed, where it was warmer.

Pippi-long-Stocking, the cat, enjoyed eating the milk globules Continue reading “Frozen milk”

A little something for the weekend?

Saturday:

The snow was forecast. We had been warned. And so it was, at about 4pm, a few small flakes fell as I came back from the shops. Not enough to stick. Not at first. But it was pretty cold.

By the time I had come in and made a cup of tea the snow fall had thickened a little: I could see that the bonnet of my husband’s blue car had a coating of icing sugar.

By supper time when we looked out at the patio we saw this

and laid the dining room table.

Continue reading “A little something for the weekend?”

A tad nippy

After class (adult-learning evening class) we sometimes used to go to a pub in Summertown called ‘The Dew Drop Inn’ – (what an awful pun) for a glass of a favourite tipple and a debrief: but the name came to mind this afternoon on the way back from work when I stopped for a photo of the trees hung with Christmas decoration style icicles…. I think they caught my eye because of the sun’s position in the sky.

Continue reading “A tad nippy”

Nesting?

A scratching behind the television intrigued Pippi Long Stocking who tried to get in to investigate.
I put her in the (f)utility (if a woman’s work is never done, why start?)  while I investigated, by pulling out the TV corner-unit, and taking off the room-side cover of the air-vent installed a few years ago (as a daft requirement of having the walls insulated.)
I fully expected a nest of mice. Inside, to my amazement was a little sharp-beaked bird. Possibly a tree-creeper, but difficult to be sure. All I could see was a silhouette of a flapping small thing. Continue reading “Nesting?”