Stormy weather

We have had a day of weather, SERIOUS weather. The weather dudes say we had something like 53mm of rain in 3 hours.

The knock on travel chaos across the country is quite alarming, roads and rail system are out everywhere, houses are flooded out, schools closed, villages and roads underwater.

Our work even let us out early to get home because the roads were so bad , I was lucky enough to find a route home that did not take too long, others out there are still stranded.

At home it had obviously been raining too:

Two of the apple trees had blown down, one ripped its stake out of the ground, the other snapped its (heavy duty) tie.
 

The drive was still draining when I got in... (who knows what it looked like earlier)
 

At least the bit that had not washed away.... much of our gravel is now running away down the lane.

For the travellers.

For a year I commuted to the US to work, three weeks there, a long weekend at home. It nearly finished me off. At that time I had a portable CD player (MP3 players were still too new then). I used to sit in the airport and listen to this track from the Indigo Girls:

Jet fuel and traffic lines
Pulling up to the delta signs
Distant shape of my hometown
Black stain where the wheels touch down

I pick up the morning news
I pass the man who's never shined my shoes
Through security and to the train
That will take me to the airplane

Count the miles on the highway
The sum of all my days
There's a postcard there's a call
And there's a picture for your bedroom wall

But do you ever wonder through and through
Who's that person standing next to you
And after all the nights apart
Is there a home for a travelling heart

But if I weren't leaving you
I don't know what I would do
But the more I go the less I know
Will the fire still burn on my return
Keep the path lit on the only road I know
Honey all I know to do is go

A cup of coffee and my bags are packed
The same vow not to look back
Familiar emptiness inside
As the distances grow wide

And though I vow to memorize
The last look in your loving eyes
It's here dusk and there dawn
Oh it's like a curtain getting slowly drawn

But if I weren't leaving you
I don't know what I would do
But the more I go the less I know
Will the fire still burn on my return
Keep the path lit on the only road I know
Honey all I know to do is go

But if I weren't leaving you
I don't know what I would do
But the more I go it seems the less I know
Will the fire still burn on my return
Keep the path lit on the only road I know


I am so glad I stay home now.

Wonder if this song would work for Brian when he does this:

(if Brian is taing this picture - who is flying the plane?)

Or more importantly - this

Cucumbers

The cucumber situation is already getting out of hand.

 

I think we are going to need considerably more Hendricks

Wrapping the image numbers

I've done it. Yesterday I was dumping pics from my CF card and noticed the order was odd. On further checking I noted that I had clocked the numbers, gone from img_9999 to img_0001

That means in the last year and a half I have taken over 10000 pictures (we have other cameras...)

That's a lot of pics. Now let's see, in the old days a roll of 36 * 35mm 500 ISO colour film would cost, say £2.50 (we are talking ball park here). Development of said film would cost would also be around £3.00 (though you'd often get a cheapy roll of film thrown in free). So let's say that's £5.50 per roll total (forgetting the postage or petrol and wear and tear on shoes to get the film to the developers).

a tensy bit of math

10000/36 = 277 (rolls of film)

so 277* £5.50 = £1527.00

Blimey I've saved a lot of money.

Must be time to buy a new lens :-)

Poet's day

It is friday evening and the working week is done. And I seem have survived.

A glass of wine in hand, the water feature burbling, the dogs mooching about and the best bit is Brian will be home shortly. Will the weather hold to eat outside? Should I dig up some new potatoes? Should I pull carrots and make salad?

Too many decisions, pass the bottle please.

I love nasturtiums

I love the way they carelessly self seed, giving not one jot for our frosty winters, I love the way they romp enthusiastically wherever they find themselves, I love their cheerful colours, I love the smell of the stems and flowers when you pick them.

I spent a while on wednesday evening trying to photograph the dogs but the evening shade in the back garden gave poor results, so I surrendered to the inevitable and wandered around the front garden, taking pictures and picking flowers. Camera hooked over one arm I kept stuffing my nose into the small posy of nasturtiums, breathing in their scent. (I know they are actually edible but they are too peppery in salads for me, I'll stick to the sights and smells thanks).

I recently had to curb their enthusiasm in the veggie patch, but taking a look at the compost bin, I'd say the gorgeous little buggers are going to win:

Mocking Dog

So there I was last week, coughing my lungs out, at death's door, languishing on the sofa with a lemsip and a hot water bottle.

I looked across to the opposite sofa and what did I see? This:



















Methinks someone is taking the piss. Cheeky bugger.