Here's a picture from our walk. It was really long, and John said about 6 miles, and we got muddy and the dogs got really muddy and it was good. We found a hut too in the woods and we had to walk on planks in the mud in one bit and one bit looked like the bogs on the moor but John wouldn't let us see if it would make things sink in and die.
And then later we went to the beach and it was good and the dogs can jump really high and over the wood bits and they're called groynes and they go in the water and then shake.
And then on the way home we saw this and it's a fort and the boat is HANGING from it and I really want to go there but I don't know how and we saw a dog who was a police dog and he could sniff explosives and that was his job.
And then yesterday on John's actual birthday we went after school and had tea and it was yummy and especially good because John and Lestrade both gave me some of theirs and Mycroft didn't but I still had lots.
103 comments:
sorry for not finding this earlier Sherlock. thank you so much for sharing the lovely photos, it looks like you had an amazing time :-)
What is the donkey coming to school for, do you know?
Thanks Sherlock! That's a great summary of trip highlights. Did Lestrade take the photos? It looks like a great place to be outdoors.
And John's fancy birthday tea sounds like the perfect way to do something special that everyone could enjoy.
fA
Sounds like a really fun holiday Sherlock - if you've got the chance to go for long walks, get muddy, and then play on a beach, what more do you need?
And the birthday tea looks wonderful. Is that sandwiches, scones, cakes and candy floss?
Also, a donkey? Wow.
You lot are all far too kind to the small demanding one.
fA - We all took photos.
Sherlock - why are you having a donkey come in?
Thank you for the excellent blog post, Sherlock! You do a good job of telling us about things--I can tell what a good time you had.
No, a donkey wouldn't be stupid at all! Mrs N thinks of very good things for you all to do.
Your weekend trip sounds extremely fun and the photos are lovely. (I think what you call groynes, I'd call jetties, and I'm very familiar with them from when my family used to go to the beach for the summer; they always had a lot of mussels clinging to them.)
That tea looks delicious! And now I'm very hungry... ;)
Did anyone have April Fools jokes played on them today? (It's not my favorite thing, I have to say. But it happens.)
Because someone said that they would bring in a donkey and I don't know if there's another reason but they used donkeys lots in Ancient Egypt.
Groynes are to stop the beach being washed along by the sea and that's why there's high sand on one side and low sand on the other.
I have to go to bed and that's why you should all have read my post earlier.
Yes, that is the same reason we build jetties here, or at least the ones I am familiar with--I really think they are the same thing.
Night night, Sherlock!
We are naughty blog readers Sherlock but you are a good young man for going to bed on time :-)
Sleep well.
All thos pictures look amazing, but especially that last one. Yum! I don't think I've ever gotten to see a donkey close up, so make sure you tell us all about it. Thanks for doing a post, Sherlock, it was very interesting.
What excellent pictures, thanks for sharing, Sherlock.
That plate full of goodies looks delicious.
I always like to examine the rock pools that usually form round the legs of the groynes and see what's been left behind.
Have you got anything in your pond at school yet?
Sorry I didn't see this earlier Sherlock. The donkey sounds very interesting, I eagerly await your report!
The pictures are beautiful, you're getting very good at taking them. It sounds like a fun adventure was had by all.
I've only just had time to catch up Sherlock, but am sorry I didn't look earlier. Your holiday looks amazing!
I'm sure Mrs. N will have it all covered, but do watch out for the donkey's feet when it comes. I got stepped on by a 'wild' burro once (if anything that drinks grape soda from the tourists' bottles can be said to be wild) in Nevada. Donkeys are amazing critters.
Your holiday looked like a lot of fun, Sherlock. I'm glad you got to spend it with your family and had so much to do. And John's birthday tea looks really yummy!
Do you finish for Easter on Friday Sherlock? Are you having any Easter competitions? We have a painted egg competition today and my big girl has spent the last two days turning boiled eggs into footballers!
How's the school holiday going Mycroft? I'm guessing you have lots of work to do while you're off but try and make the most of the break :-)
I hope you have a reasonable day Greg, you as well John :-)
I am having a very enjoyable holiday, thank you.
He does finish Friday, yes. He cant wait. I think theyre having a final day of easter-ish art things, although some of it might be happening in art class... It's hard to tell when he talks about everything all jumbled up. I think theere's egg painting and easter hats and...some poor donkey involved somehow ;)
Maybe they're learning about Palm Sunday???
I know it's an ecumenical school but that's the only explanation I can think of apart from that someone had a donkey lying around and thought the kids might like to see it.
Sorry, ecumenical was the wrong word there. I meant all different religions (including no religion) go there
I'm glad you're enjoying your holiday Mycroft :-)
I have great sympathy for the donkey Greg whatever the point of it is because dealing with excited kids doesn't seem like something that is in the average donkey's job description ;-)
I feel certain any donkey going to their school won't be average ;). He might have dreamt the whole thing, for all we know!!
Good point ;-)
If Sherlock is dreaming about donkeys at school I think you need to change his late night beverages!
Do I conclude that the donkey is going to be wearing a painted hat?
There used to be a burro in a field I used to walk past who would come over to his fence for scratches when he saw us coming, and would walk along with us as far as he could. I called him Princess. Donkeys are goofy.
Ella
thanks for the nice pix of your holiday, what a beautiful place to go for a long walk. I admit the plate of sweets makes my teeth hurt to look at, but I'm glad you enjoyed them.
Mrs. N does think of amazing things to do in school. :)
S
I join the list of those looking forward to hearing about the donkey's visit.
Glad to hear you've been enjoying your holiday so far, Mycroft! You deserve a break, or at least a change from the communal life at school. It seems only fair that you get a few hours with John and/or Lestrade to yourself - even if everyone just carries on with their own pursuits.
Hope it will be or is or has been (depending on time zone) a good day for everyone.
fA
If I were a donkey I'd want a hat.
Even if only to eat it... ;D
What sort of hat? ;-D
Ella
Greg, do you often think about what you'd enjoy if you were a donkey?
There's a joke about being an ass in here somewhere, but I will decline to make it because Lestrade is nice.
Also, google image searching "donkeys in hats" is not as satisfying as it could be. Too much photoshop.
Ella
Doesn't everyone?? I am frequently an ass.
Anyone else suffering in the pollution? I'm coughing like a sorrowful seal.
I'm coughing, all right, but it's tree pollen rather than pollution. (And very few trees are showing leaves...yet.)
Maybe a good rain will wash away some of your pollution, L.
My lungs are all full of the Sahara. No fun!
Sherlock, hope you made John a hat in art class. And the moglet
I'm breathing okay, but the cars all look like they've spent the day at the beach. I'm waiting for a camel or a bedoiun chief to arrive.
Yeah, the bike was looking distinctly brown the other day.
I am guarding a degu. Maftet is looking very interested... I feel a lot of pressure here!!
She's so small that I think it'd be a pretty even match right now, especially two against one.
She's quite...pouncy though. When provoked. And her little claws are very sharp.
The degus certainly haven't taken to her. They've been doing their scared chirp noise and trying to burrow into my armpit.
...I can understand their point of view...
The degus seem to have very satisfactory instincts with respect to predators.
fA
I have just caught my husband looking up cat toys online... He claims he was looking at beds and just got distracted...
Considering you're the one who was cuddling degus, teasing your spouse about looking at cat toys is the pot calling the kettle black, rather. ;-)
fA
protecting! You can't really cuddle a goo, they're too small.
Mmmhmm.
fA
Maftet is certainly lucky in her choice of humans to adopt and roosts to rule.
Well, she's got the two Mrs H's and Anthea as her female role models - a terrifying combination! She'll be ruling the place with an iron paw in no time.
I think anything bigger than a finger is capable of being cuddled.
Ummmmmm, that didn't come out right....
... hmmm. ;)
Cuddling something the size of your finger...well, sort of.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2CTVqt2wxU
Did someone here show me this? I know I saw it today but I don't know where.
That's amazing...the way it moves! Don't show Sherlock, or we'll be getting weasels. Or stoats...which is which? As the old saying goes, they're weasely recognisable because they're stoatily different....
You can't cuddle the goos, they just sort of...sit on you, and use you as a big warm soft look-out post to sit on and chirp from.
Well I never thought I'd be saying this about a weasel, but that is actually really cute. I always thought they were bigger than that though.
When you say the goos use you as a look out post, are they sort of meerkat skittish and run at the slightest thing or happy to just sit and stay at most things. Do they do their scared chirp thing at the dogs too or just the cat now.
I will not argue the definition of cuddle. However. and Ahem.
They sit on you. They attempt to burrow into you at sight of predator cat. You tolerate these things. You nickname them "goos." You express obvious concern for how they will fare if said cat chooses to be "pouncy." You bother to note all these things in a blog comment.
Less soppy, um indulgent than choosing a few cat toys? I'd say till pot calling kettle black territory, DI hard boiled tough guy GQMF Lestrade.
;-)
I could be wrong. John? Mycroft??
fA
"still" not "till"
*sigh*
fA
I'm not fir a moment suggesting I'm not soft as shit.
But I don't go online shopping for the animals...
I don't go online shopping for the animals...
Maybe it's mild sleep deprivation but learning that online shopping is the exact point in the sand where that line is drawn made me laugh. :-)
Hope the day is treating you & everyone else well. Or, failing that, we're at least all earning a mild sense of accomplishment.
fA
fA - your sleep deprivation must be catching. In view of the amount of Sahara desert that we're getting at the moment I imagined L drawing a line in it to demonstrate this.
I think this is the right moment to mention that I just spoke to my brother about him visiting Mum. His exact response was 'I could come on Friday, but I'd rather not miss Sherlock's donkey'.
You can either mock him for wanting to see the donkey, or for wanting to see it more than his family!
I'd say there's a 50/50 chance the donkey will be pleased to see me.
Ahh, Nicky, never for the second - not most of us anyway, we know more or less what we'd be getting with family - but a donkey at school! Now there's a novelty.
And since I, an Internet stranger, have already expressed hopes that we'll be favored with more information about the donkey's visit, I haven't got a leg to stand on with the first!
But it is lovely of you to think to share that smile with us.
fA
Well, it's not as though he's likely to have another shot at seeing a donkey in school! (Maybe a little lamb... ;D)
I hope everyone is having a good day, both with and without livestock.
My day is good because its nearly over and in off tomorrow.
It's a DONKEY! Who hasn't wanted to see a donkey!? How can you judge him for that, Nicky. Donkey's make everyone happy....or is that pony's?
riding home, visor up, beautiful smell of blossom everywhere... half the Sahara in my eyes and lungs... you win some, you lose some.
It snowed here last night/most of the morning, so I rode my bicycle in that. The custodian at work was nice enough to set up a floor blower for major overkill drying of my socks (I remembered pants but not socks).
It'll all be melted by the time I ride home. And there are no donkeys.
Ella
A donkey might be a good idea...
We're getting freezing rain here in Michigan. But most of the snow has melted and its above 30F, so I wont complain
We're having the first nice day of spring - FINALLY. I went out and bought a bike. Mine got stolen last fall (off the bike rack in the basement of my apartment building, grr) and it's been driving me crazy not being able to ride.
It's very nearly sunny and fairly warm here today--67F right now!--so we have all our windows flung open to air everything out.
(As a result, my eyes are non-stop watering. Still, rain expected later!)
I would like spring a lot better if my asthma didn't like it lots. But I'm starting to adjust to the antihistimines now.
Did Mycroft ever hear about the Norwegian Skydiver who nearly got hit by a metorite and caught it on film? They're still trying to find the rock. http://www.nrk.no/viten/skydiver-nearly-struck-by-meteorite-1.11646757
Wow, RSF, that was fascinating! What an amazing thing to happen.
I hope you enjoy your day off Greg and that the donkey isn't a disappointment to anyone ;-)
I am! We're in the park, trying to wear out the dogs. Mycroft is showing us the new tricks they've learnt. 'play dead' only works for Phobos though...
Everyone bragging on your spring weather...and I woke up to several more inches of snow. Waiting to see if the district is going to call a school closing or delay. I just keep reminding myself that we don't have black widows or venomous snakes here.
We don't have scary spiders or snakes here either! But if this Sahara sands keeps arriving I worry soon Danger will be back to his old camel rustling tricks, instead of his new fad of kitten rustling!
Congratulations on your bike, kholly! :-D
We taught my friend's dog "crawl"...sometimes it's a crawl and sometimes it's sort of a bunny hop. It's hilarious either way.
I hope you have a good day together, gents. And...pics of the donkey, please? :-D
Ella
Park & dogs sounds like just the way to enjoy good weather. [Those of you still freezing stop reading here.] Gorgeous here, too, 84 F yesterday, 70s today, so I imagine it's going to be a long, hot summer. Right now it's perfect, because the temperature still falls into pleasant coolness at night.
Good days to all, or at least ones in which we work towards something that needs doing. Re-affirming my interest in the donkey's visit.
fA
The donkey was a hit with kids and adults ;)
Not as much of a hit as 2 weeks off school though!
Ah, so the donkey visited on the last day before Spring break! A wise woman, Mrs N.
Did you make friends with the donkey, then? :)
Was it a meeting of minds or souls for anyone? Is Sherlock requesting a donkey now for your growing menagerie
Lestrade just called Maftet a little shit and John said he shouldn't talk to her like that and she was just doing her nature when she pounced on his hand and I like her because she plays games with you.
Cats can be quite good companions--it's nice that you're enjoying her, Sherlock.
And it's true that cats are naturally inclined to pounce--perhaps you (speaking plurally) can get her toys to jump after instead of Lestrade's hand. ;)
Cats do indeed love to play. Mine like to play with any sort of tin foil. Does she growl? Most people don't expect cats to growl, but they do on occasion!
She mainly looks startled right now. All the time. Big eyes and pricked up ears.
I was playing with a piece of string, but I got distracted, and hadn't realised she was still waiting to pounce...so when I moved my hand, she went for it.
Probably encouraging, want her to be happy grabbing rats and mice!
IIRC, while cats are naturally apt to jump and pounce, they have to be taught to kill and eat prey, they don't know how instinctively. (Hey, cat co-inhabitants, am I remembering that correctly?)
I know nothing about cats, since the can kill me.
playing with kittens is so much fun. this is the best time to try to direct her pouncing with claws to toys, and help her understand that hands are for patting. it's hard to resist a little roughhousing with hands, but that will teach her to attack hands all the time and want blood. my previous cat had that attitude... it wasn't fun unless there was blood, toys were boring. My current cat is great, she attacks toys with gusto, and rarely scratches hands.
hoping there will be a pic of the kitty :)
S
I have a friend who got distracted once while playing catch with a lion, it nearly cost her her hand!
I'm glad the donkey was a hit and I hope you all enjoy your Easter holidays, we're certainly looking forward to ours :-)
John's the one with pictures of the moglet. You'll have to ask him.
She is, apparently, going to be one spoiled cat where beds/toys/cities(??) are concerned. I just need to pay more attention to making the toys look enticing and not my hand!
Sherlock still wants to train her to rip the hearts out of wrongdoers though, so we'll see how that fits in with her other 'training' (she trains us, naturally.)
RR: I think to a certain extent, killing various small critters is instinctive. My own little kitty, Mayou, came to us from the shelter at around 8 weeks, after being dumped. Yes, I know, much too young. But for all that she was basically raised by a 12 year old human, she was an excellent mouser. And birder. And vole-er. And chipmunker. She stayed quite tiny her whole life, and was both a ferocious huntress and a champion cuddler. She had the same nickname L has used on Maftet, as well as 'Dalek', for shredding my Dr. Who poster.
RSF - I believe the meteorite/skydiver may be an unintentional misrepresentation of facts. It is highly unlikely that the rock caught on camera originated from space, sadly.
Unlikely, yes, but where else could it be from? What alternate theory would you propose, Mycroft?
Kittens are fun, but spiky. We tried to train our cat not to scratch the furniture by throwing it outside, but it only learned to ask to go out by scratching furniture. Get a scratching post if you love that new couch.
I believe the most likely explanation is that it had become caught in his canopy the last time he packed it, and remained there until the violent unfurling of this descent.
A meteorite that size would have caused a bright light, a sonic boom and be of a very dark, crusted, burnt appearance. And, I believe, would have been found by now. Whereas a rock appearing from his own/his friend's 'chute would appear with no warning, shortly after deploying the canopy, appear to look like any other rock and be impossible to find once on the ground.
Of course I cannot be sure, but the current balance of probability makes me believe that rock originated on Earth.
Thanks, Mycroft, for posting an answer to rsf's question. I was curious as well.
fA
the favorite cat toy in this house is the one a little like a fishing pole, with interchangeable lures. it has a longish wand, maybe about a yard (meter) or not quite, and a string attached that's about the same length, and a clip on the end for swapping out different lures. You can use the ones that came with the toy, ones you can buy in the pet supply shop, or ones you make yourself. Nothing is quite so exciting as putting on a new lure after a week or two of playing with the same one for a while.
S
Mycroft, I think that possibility has been pretty well considered. When I went researching a bit, I found these websites looking at the incident: In english: http://astrobob.areavoices.com/2014/04/03/norwegian-skydiver-has-close-shave-with-falling-meteorite-and-gets-video/
And the actual hunt site in Norwegian:
http://norskmeteornettverk.no/wordpress/?p=1329&preview=true
Unfortunately, my Norwegian was never up to the technical material, and I've forgotten most of it now, so I can't help with translations.
RSF - I have not done a large amount of research, but I still believe the balance of probability lies with the theory of the rock originating from Earth.
Of course, if more evidence - the rock itself, or parts of it, for instance - are found, then I may re-evaluate my opinion.
I think I'll lean to the side of it being a meteorite. I've seen them in museums, so I know that they often break mid-flight, giving that half-light, half dark appearance (check out number 6 on this list: http://www.geology.wisc.edu/~wiscsims/mifflin_meteorite/index.html), and I knew that the fireball phase doesn't always last until the meteorite hits the ground before this. So, on the whole, I can see it as happening. Maybe when you get back to school your astronomy teacher will have had a chance to look at the evidence, and you can debate the alternatives.
Clearly meteorites do fall to Earth, so yes, in the sense that it is possible rocks fall from space to our Earth, then I agree it could have happened.
But I do not think this is such an occasion. Why was there no bright light reported by anyone in the area? Why was there no sonic boom? Why was there no seismic recordings of such? Given the scientists working on the case, calculating speed and angle of descent, I would hope the area being searched would be limited, but nothing has been found.
However, I do believe the fact there are two objects falling, not one (If you discount this being a hoax, and them purposefully throwing more than one rock, to improve the chances of catching something on camera), and the speed of the object, both seem to point to it being a true meteoroid. Which in some ways I hope is true. It would be a momentous occasion, to have captured Dark Flight on film.
Sadly, I do not think we will ever see conclusive evidence either way.
One of the issues here is the question of the size of the object. If it was a small meteorite, any light or sound it generated could have easily been masked by the brightness of the daylight sky and the wind noises in the microphone. Big atmosphere, little bitty meteorite means that there would only be a record of light or sound if someone happened to have a camera/microphone aimed at the exact right spot. (Like the picture at the astrobob link of the Russian meteorite that was caught by an automated security camera.) In any case, there appear to be Norwegian scientists who are convinced that the video is authentic -- and that the meteorite is out there and worth hunting for. Two years is a long time to sustain a hoax.
Hmm. Now I want to invent a magnetic doohickey to use like a metal detector, only to hunt for meteorites.
I would not suggest the skydiver cameras would pick anything of that nature up, but I would think that there would be anecdotal evidence from the local population of a loud sound on a clear day. I would think this would be easy evidence to gather by those first scientists who began the hunt, without making it obvious why they were asking.
Of course, I am pre-supposing that the area is not one which is often subjected to such sounds, so not near a military firing range, or an airbase. Both of which would be very unlikely, in a skydiving 'zone'.
The fact the rock seems to have broken in half/more than one piece, and that 'experts' (I have no idea if they are, in fact, experts) estimate the size of the main piece at between 8-22cm across, would suggest to me that there should be some other evidence to corroborate the story.
I am not suggesting they sought to 'sustain a hoax' - they may well have hoped it were true. It may be true. But I do not currently subscribe to that theory.
I've watched meteor showers pretty often, but I've never heard anything, not even when the fireball was so bright it left an image behind when I blinked. When there is a sonic boom loud enough for people to pick up on, it makes the news, but given how rarely that happens compared to how many meteors enter our atmosphere on a daily basis, I can't see the lack of a detected sonic boom being evidence against the meteorite theory. There may be "booms" for everything that hits, but most of them must be quiet ones, or you'd have grown up with nursery rhymes and stories to explain or refer to a common (and slightly scary) phenomena.
Meteors entering our atmosphere and burning up, as most do, would not necessarily cause a sonic boom. Meteoroids which do not entirely burn up, but fall low enough in our atmosphere to create the pressure waves required to produce the 'boom' would almost certainly only be heard after they had entered so called 'dark flight', owing to the distances/speed of sound. It is estimated meteoroids the size of a baseball would cause a 'boom'. This is significantly smaller than the rock in question appears to be.
I think we must agree to differ with regard to our views on this story. As I said, I do hope it can be proven to be correct, and the first instance of Dark Flight ever captured. But at the moment I do not find the evidence sufficient.
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