14 November 2011

It takes only one drink to get me drunk. The trouble is, I can't remember if it's the thirteenth or the fourteenth.

This is Sherlock and the title isn't mine Lestrade said it had to have fourteen in it so he put it on before I could write my bit.

The pond is good and there are already insects and things on the water but we couldn't see anything swimming in it, but it's still a bit cloudy from all the new gravel and everything an Mrs T says we have to be patient because it's winter soon and spring will be the time when everything really wants to move in.

Lestrade and John say I can keep updating and I'll put pictures up too.


Right, now my turn again. Thought today it would be fitting to answer Piplover's question: what is your favorite season? I love autumn, summer and winter, but spring is by far my favorite time of year. What do you love most about your favorite season?





Well, right now, really. Autumn. I love the colours of the leaves, when oranges and browns taking over. I like the crisp air, the mists and fogs that roll in on the river, cutting you off from the rest of the world. When you don't know if you're the only person left on the planet, even though you're in the middle of the city. The hushed sounds, the occasional smell of woodsmoke. I love the crunchy leaves underfoot.

My favourite thing of all is when it's turning to winter and you get really hard frosts. I used to enjoy walking the beat on nightshift when the moon was full. You'd be scuffing down dingy alleys and dirty pavements, then come to a park where the grass was solid with frost, crisp underfoot, each blade frozen, and under a full moon it would seem as if someone had spilled a million diamonds in front of you.

I like bundling up in a lot of clothes, baggy hoodies and layers and it being so cold you go out wearing pyjamas or long johns under your jeans. I like getting lost in my clothes and being warm and wrapped up and then feeling the bite of the freezing air deep in my chest, my breath condensing on my hair.

So, yes, Autumn, going into winter.

42 comments:

REReader said...

That was an excellent report, Sherlock, I got quite a clear mental image of the bugs on the surface of the still-cloudy water. I'm looking forward to future reports and pictures!

And now I have a yen to have to bundle up for a really cold morning--I actually experienced diamond frosts when I was in grad school in Ithaca, and they are beautiful. (Mind you, in real life I hate being cold, but in my mind, at this moment, I'm forgetting that. :))

Sherlock said...

There isn't much to write about yet but I will and everyone who saw the pond today said it was really good and I can't wait to see what animals come and live in it. If I was a frog I'd live in it. And I want newts too.

REReader said...

With a waterfall and all different depths of water to play in and meals already provided (what with the insects already moving in!) I would want to live there too, if I were a frog!

And newts are cool. When I was in 4th grade, we had newts in an aquarium in our classroom, and we took turns feeding them chopped worms--sometimes live worms, but not everyone in my class was willing to touch the live ones! When it started to get warm in the spring, though, my teacher took them home because it was too hot in the classroom for them.

Sherlock said...

Mrs T says we have to wait and see which animals move in on their own and then we can see if we should try to introduce anything else and Lestrade says I have to get off his computer and go to bed now so night night.

REReader said...

Good night, Sherlock!

John H. D. Watson said...

That's a beautiful description of the frost in the park. I love autumn too.

Greg Lestrade said...

Now the pond's done we can try to fit in some walks. Even some rides out to the country and then walks.

I think Sherlock's asleep...I'll be down in a sec.

Rider said...

We have a pond at work, but alas nothing lives in it. We have reeds but it's a concrete base. They tried small fish but I think they got eaten... Not, I hasten to add, by the employees but possibly by drive-by birds.

No frogs, not even mosquitoes!

We do have ducks though. They turn up every year, produce ducklings which are supremely cute, and when the ducklings are old enough they all fly away until next year

I'm sure Sherlock's pool will be much more welcoming to creatures.

Greg Lestrade said...

the pond might be welcoming...the creatures might find the small human creatures which flock to their shores a bit offputting though!

REReader said...

That can be an experiment! They can do charts and figure out how much observation actually deters population growth.

If you look at it right, almost anything can be an experiment... :)

Desert Wanderer said...

Oh. Poet!Lestrade makes an appearance. Fall is my favorite season, too. <3

REReader said...

Have you ever tried songwriting, L?

Small Hobbit said...

Mine too. I'm delighted to find so many autumn lovers.

One thing puzzles me: pyjamas under jeans. Yes, I understand the concept, but whose pyjamas? I was under the impression you don't have any. Or do you have "just for wearing under jeans" pyjamas?

Greg Lestrade said...

SH - don't have any now, but when I was younger and lived in hotels and couldn't afford heating I did! And thermals, longjohns, everything!

DW - really not a poet!

RR - only angry songs when I was young, with various bands. Nothing I would lay claim to now!

REReader said...

Well, I think it might be worth your while to try again now. You have more to say now, and you paint a really good picture with words.

Greg Lestrade said...

I think I'd feel stupid. I mean, on my own. Not really my scene. I feel self conscious enough singing other people's songs to Danger.

Desert Wanderer said...

RR is right, you do have a way with words. Both of you do. Why else would we still be reading your blogs?

REReader said...

You don't have to perform them yourself if you don't want to, you know. Songwriters have a much better deal than singers, anyway--at least they do in the US, I can't imagine it's much different in the UK. Songwriters get paid every single time one of their songs is played in public, by anyone. If some one covers it in recording or performance, if it plays on the radio or in a store--the songwriter gets paid.

And it's supposed to be creatively very satisfying.

Something to think about, anyway...

Greg Lestrade said...

I will, thanks

REReader said...

(I dudn't mean you necessarily had to think about it at 2:30 in the morning, though...:) )

innie said...

Autumn is lovely - that briskness in the air, the crisp half-old and half-new feeling of the whole world, the colors, everything. Your description made me happy, Lestrade.

Sherlock, just the way you said you wanted newts reminded me of Gussie Fink-Nottle, a character from P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves & Wooster series. Since you love Cabin Pressure, I bet you'd love those too. And do ask John and Lestrade to take you to the theater! It's wonderful being in the same room as people who are creating something live for your delight.

Tink said...

I love Spring. Earlier spring though, when it's still okay to bundle up occasionally and the flowers are just starting to bloom and the trees haven't started to inundate my nose with pollen. Not that I'm allergic, but the sheer amount of it is awful :P

And then when it gets later in spring when everything is in full bloom and you get that perfect day when it's not to hot or too cold and you can laze about outside reading a book and just... oh man. Can't wait.

Greg, what other favourites do you have? Like foods, colours, songs, books, cases you've solved, etc.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for answering, Lestrade! What a lovely description of autumn.

I do love to be snuggled up warm when it's cold outside. I don't think a person can truly appreciate being warm unless a little part of them is cold.

Lyra said...

Sounds really lovely...i always wandered how it feels to live in a country with four seasons... But from what I've heard I think I'll love autumn.

(We only have two seasons here, dry and rainy. I like rain.)

Cylendelmar said...

Lyra - I had only two seasons for most of the years growing up that I can remember. I liked rain too. I miss thunderstorms where the rain was warm enough to run around in.

I now live somewhere where there are (kind of) four seasons, and most of me just wants to hurry through fall, winter, and spring so that I can get warm again. I can appreciate the beauty of the seasons, but I don't like living through them -- I'd rather just visit them for maybe a week each. (Sorry to all of you who like colder seasons -- I just think I never learned how to cope since I didn't encounter them until I was an adult).

Anonymous said...

Sherlock - Thanks for the report on the pond's progress. I can't wait for your next update!

Greg - That is a lovely description of an autumn night. The "millions of diamonds" image under a full moon...it makes me think of winter snow under a full moon, and the pure hush of sound.

You don't have to be a poet or songwriter to have a certain way with words. The important thing is that you always speak (write) from the heart.

- A from NW

mazarin221b said...

(sorry so late to the discussion!)

But I, too, love autumn, but I love it a bit earlier in the season than you, L, I love it when it first starts to cool down, and the evenings are crisp enough that a bonfire is a joy, and the days still can warm you through your clothes. It's my absolute favorite.

Sherlock - thank you for telling us about the pond! I'm glad you're happy with it. John and Lestrade and everyone else did a lot of work to put it in, so don't forget to say thank you, ok? And why don't you try to draw one of the insects that are there, so we can see it?

REReader said...

Hey, Mazarin--happy birthday here, too!

Greg Lestrade said...

You're all very kind about my writing. Thank you.

It's a nice change from doing reports. And it's not like I've ever written just for the sake of it before. I'm quite enjoying it.

Mazarin221b said...

Thank you, REReader! (and thank you for my song on Twitter!)

Greg Lestrade said...

Did I miss your birthday, Mazarin? Or were you keeping it quiet on here?
Regardless, I hope you had a good one. Many happy returns.

REReader said...

Well, she tweeted a photo of the birthday girl (you're lovely, mazarin!), so she can't be keeping it TOO secret!

mazarin221b said...

Thanks, L. It's today, actually. I am now 35. It seems so much closer to 40! I'm enjoying my 30s, but I don't know if I'm prepared for 40 yet.

Desert Wanderer said...

You should make a birthday calendar, Lestrade. Help keep everyone's special days straight.

REReader said...

(Should I not have outed your photo, M? I can delete the comment(s) if you'd prefer.)

mazarin221b said...

My blushes, REReader! Thank you! That's very kind of you to say. It's not a big secret, but I've just not really announced it on all platforms. I just promised Scoffy a pic of my boots, then figured what the heck, might as well throw in the whole thing because really, at this point, I'm not too shy. Just a little bit.

DW said...

I don't know shed the most important part of that comment went. Happy birthday, Mazarin!

mazarin221b said...

Oh, no, it's fine. My twitter is locked, anyway! You have to request to follow at this point.

mazarin221b said...

Thank you, Desert Wanderer!

Anon Without A Name said...

Happy birthday, Mazarin!! I loved being in my thirties, but I loved getting to forty, too. Now I'm forty three and still enjoying it :-)

Lestrade - that really was a lovely description :-) I remember when I was in college, this immense thick fog descended one night on the way home from the pub. It was like the air had turned pale orange from the glow of the streetlights, the sound was totally muffled, you couldn't see much more than 10 feet ahead - I probably should have been worried (it wasn't a particularly salubrious part of town), but I didn't, not at all. It was *glorious*

mazarin221b said...

Thanks, Nameless!

Calliope said...

Happy Birthday, Mazarin!

Autumn is my favorite season as well. :). ...But then Halloween is my favorite holiday, so perhaps these two facts are related.

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