Obviously I'd rather not be fishing body parts out of the water - but you know, that's the job I signed up for.
Sometimes crime scenes have their up sides though - they tend to be out-of-the-way corners of the world. Even in the heart of the city there are a few little places that nature still rules.
So these were my recent companions on a crime scene:
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Not too close together, I hasten to add, in case you thought the cub was going to have a hearty meal! And the goslings parents were close by, keeping a watch on us as the babies had a sunbathe.
I showed John, and the first thing he said was 'I bet Maf would have liked to chase those ducklings' (I corrected him to goslings, don't worry). What sort of a monster has my husband become??
Sherlock's eye is looking a lot better. I'm sure in his head he now truly believes the stories he's been telling everyone about how he got it...
And Mycroft and I have tickets to Lords! Obviously we did offer that everyone should come, but Sherlock looked like he was in physical pain at the prospect of sitting still (we've got seats behind the bowler's arm if it's a lefty) and John pulled a face that suggested he'd rather watch paint dry. So Mycroft and I are going - to the test, Eng vs. NZ., third day. Fantastic! I've never been to Lords before, which is ridiculous - it's literally just up the road. We can take some food and a few tins, or a bottle of wine, and enjoy ourselves. Weather permitting, of course. Harrow actually play there -against Eton - every year.
I can imagine Mycroft being a member in years to come, running the country while watching a few overs from the Member's Room ;) (I'm sure he'll tell me not to be so silly.)
We've also been given these - guess who loves them the most? When did such mundane things as coasters start being interesting...I don't think I'd ever seen a coaster 'til I joined the force!
112 comments:
Goslings are adorable (and so are fox cubs!)--but adult geese are big and aggressive and scary. (Or at least the Canada geese that infest the park half a block from my sister's house in New Jersey are. Also they make a filthy mess of the park and all the streets around it. :( )
I adore those coasters! Who thinks of these things?
Those coasters are great! Did you see the cat whack a mole? http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/1270/
You must admit, she would enjoy it...
Oh yes, she would - chasing innocent fluffy things - like she chases your hair ;)
RR - there are generally more swans than geese around here.
Swans are prettier--although I hear they can be pretty aggressive, too?
i've never seen one be aggressive, but they do like you to treat them with respect. They're very haughty looking. I've only seen geese get angry when they've been provoked, though. Although I guess some people don't realise they're provoking them.
Didn't take any pics of the rats we saw - but there were lots! I think people go and feed the birds there, so the rats get a good feast.
Never thought of foxes in a city as large as London! Very cute.
Those are very cool coasters! Makes me wonder where my coasters are - I know I've been given some nice ones. But mostly I just have rings on the furniture.
fA
there are millions of foxes in London...well, actually about 10,000. I mean, I don't know how they count them, but you see a lot of them.
Apparently just existing provokes some of the geese near my sister's house! (Well, okay, existing while carrying anything vaguely foodlike.)
I see lots of rats on the subway platform at 59th Street in Manhattan, and sometimes on the tracks or near garbage cans in other stations, too. (The 59th Street station has a platform in the middle that riders can't go on, only subway workers, so that's where the rats gather, near the huge trash bins.) Ugh.
fA--We've been having a spate of stories about coyotes in and around New York--not so cute as foxes, but just as incongruous. (Coyotes hunt rats, so really I'd think we ought to leave them alone, but that seems to be a minority opinion.)
I used to use those extra clear disks that came on spindles of blank CDs and DVDs for desk coasters, but now I hardly ever use the disks so I suppose I should really get some real ones.
Nature is adaptable, that's for sure.
& I hope the weather cooperates for a very enjoyable cricket match.
-fA
The 59th street station is not one of my favorites, RR. I used to work off 42nd street, and if I accidentally missed my stop I'd end up there.
Sadly, my grandparents on my mother's side have each had emergency surgery within 48 hours of each other, for different reasons. I'm headed down to Florida on Saturday to support them and all the other family members who are flying into town in shifts.
Yeah, it's a bit crazy, that station.
I hope your grandparents are doing well and recover quickly, Becca. Travel safe.
RR - Coyotes are a problem here, not just in newly developed neighborhoods, but in older neighborhoods near greenbelts or parks or sometimes just creeks/streams. People get excited because they will eat small pets as well as rats and chickens (keeping chickens in one's yard is increasingly popular over the last 15 or so years, & legal)
Really, it's we who are the problem as the city grows and eats up previously undeveloped land & the wildlife gets squeezed out. Us and the multi-year drought are forcing deer, coyotes, all sorts of creatures to be much closer to humans than they probably want to be.
fA
Becca, I hope your grandparents do well. They're fortunate that you & others can help out.
And travel carefully! Rushing around with luggage is a foot/ankle incident lying in wait. (Yes, I am a mom. I nag reflexively. I mean well.)
fA
Best wishes to you, your family and your grandparents, Becca.
People very occasionally have a moan about the foxes - usually because either they're mating/fighting, which sounds like someone torturing a baby - or, a few years ago, there were a couple of attacks on babies when foxes got into houses in the very hot weather and mauled them. But it's not generally a problem.
Becca - take care of yourself. Best wishes to you and to them. I hope your flight goes smoothly.
I love those pictures Greg, thank you for sharing them :-)
I am seriously jealous of the lords thing, I hope you get good weather for it and if not that you have enough beer not to care ;-)
I hope everyone's day is treating them the best way it can :-). Do you have any plans for the long weekend?
No problem! That little fox was very cute, bounding about and pouncing on insects.
Got plans to chill out! Hope you all have a lovely long weekend too
It's very cute in the photo, too.
What's the long weekend in honor of? Enjoy it whatever!
It's in honour of rain generally RR ;-)
chilling out sounds like a great plan Greg :-)
May Day.
Maybe next year we should do the Maydayrun. About 20,000 bikes go down to the seafront in Hastings from London.
Nice!
Did you do Maypole dancing in school this year, Sherlock?
The May Day Run sounds a lot more civilised than the Marathon Des Sables, well, certainly easier on the old bones. ;) You might even be able to go on 3 bikes by then if Mycroft has bought one. Then Sherlock could have the fun of swapping around with the choice of his riding companion (providing Mycroft was proficient enough by then for you to allow it, if course).
We saw a huge run of scooters when we were at the coast - it was like Quadrophenia in action. ;)
Yeah, i think it might be fun.
What to do today.... Lazy start!
Well, apparently it's World Naked Gardening Day...
Problem solved then! Off up the allotment we go
..
It would probably be unseemly to enquire about photos at this juncture, wouldn't it?
You mean apart from the mugshots from our arrests? ;)
Well, if those are the only ones you've got...
Ha, happily there were no arrests, no indecent exposure, no outraging public decency.
Boring ;-p
Ah, well. Better boring than sunburns in awkward places...
I couldn't risk John in the nip - there would have been to many heart attacks and attempts to outrage his decency...
ReRe - it's a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK, pretty much guarantee it's not going to be sunburn weather :-p
Lestrade - and primarily those attempts would have been from you, right?
I assure you, i would have been defending his honour.
Well, despite the poor performance in this test, I'm still looking forward to our visit, Mycroft!
I'm home, mostly unpacked, and not too awfully sunburned from three days of beautiful spring weather, and Bringing In The May. Sunrise on May Day proper, dancing the sun up, and touring in the morning. Not quite so early on Saturday and Sunday, but again gorgeous weather, not too hot, good crowds at both events. I have yet to actually look at any of my pictures beyond the quick "slide show" i get while they are transferring from the camera to the computer, but I think I got some good ones.
Happy May, everyone!
S
...only in our lives could we go for a nice peaceful walk, and Sherlock ends up riding around Hyde Park on an army horse...
...An army horse? This I really want to hear more about!
we were in the park and there were horses and soldiers riding them and then a man in a uniform called over and because he recognised John and he stopped and they had a talk and then I got to ride a horse and it's name was Orion and he was training soldiers how to ride in all of their really smart uniform with all the gold bits and swords and everything but I didn't get a uniform just a horse.
Well, I don't suppose they had any uniform pieces in your size. Still, riding an army horse sounds very exciting--that was awfully lucky, that a friend of John's was there! Did you enjoy it? (I remember the first time I saw a horse up close I was quite surprised at how big it was--I hadn't expected that from pictures.)
he enjoyed it immensely, and it was probably a bit of light relief for the soldiers learning to ride. It was a huge horse. I don't suppose the army go in for small ones, much like the police. It was as tall as me to the withers.
:) Lovely!
Large horses have quite an intimidation factor nowadays especially, with most people not being used to them--from what I've read, that's a reason the police still use them, no? If so, the bigger the better.
I adore great big horses, and if I had one I'd probably name it Orion. How lucky, Sherlock!
Yeah, for intimidation and also the great vantage point they give in any crowd situations. I think the army use them just to be impressive ;)
They are that!
Wow, skip a day and you miss hearing about a very lucky bit of excitement! Hope today was also good, even if it wasn't a holiday.
-fA
I wouldn't ask the boss today - he did his ankle in again running up some stairs and then spilt an entire cup of coffee over his desk, laptop, chair etc.
Oy vey.
that is so awesome that Sherlock got to ride on a big horse! wow! There is no feeling quite like it. I did a fair amount of riding when I was a kid/teen, and have very fond memories.
I made an album of some of my photos if anyone is interested. They are from sunrise on Mayday, also Saturday and Sunday, various places, all my people. (actually I have still to put the Sunday pix up, so if you look now, check again later. it takes a while to upload.)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/7762954@N08/sets/72157650054566743/
S
It's amazing how far one cup of coffee can go!
wasn't running up stairs, was bounding, youthfully and majestically.
The coffee incident wasn't majestic though.
Some days are just not worth getting out of bed for.
Poor Greg. I sure hope it's not too bad - I turned my ankle a few years ago and tore 3 ligaments and 2 tendons.Remember RICE!
Hope your ankle is feeling better today. Ice is your friend. Lots of ice packs here lately; the youngest fledgling fell off a piggy-back ride and broke her shoulder.
Oh, ouch, I how she heals quickly, Kestel! (My niece's pediatrician once told my sister that a child that never injures themselves isn't having enough fun. Although a broken shoulder seems a bit extreme!)
I hope your ankle is better today, L.
Best wishes to your youngest, Kestrel! I hope you can stop the boredom biting as she recovers.
Very sad to hear Erroll Brown has died.
Is not really the ankle , is the achilles. Still. John has warned me off any more attempts at youthful bounding.
I'M GOING TO VOTE TOMORROW.
who are you voting for Sherlock? ;-)
its good to know that someone is going to actually vote!
Excellent, Sherlock! Voting always makes me feel powerful. (Granted, it's not a lot of power individually, but it's still power!)
...he is obviously only accompanying one or both of us. And then not telling everyone who we voted for...hopefully. ;)
I fear he'd want to vote for the Pirate Party. Sadly they're not standing in this constituency.
I figured--because I used to go with my mom to vote, every time I could. We used to have, in New York, these big walk-in voting booths, and you'd flip physical levers for each candidate you wanted to vote for, clunk, clunk, clunk. Very satisfying, it was! (Now we just have these sheets with fill-in bubbles, like a standardized test, and scanners, much less impressive, alas.)
we have always had - and obviously still have - flimsy four-sided booths, a piece of paper and a stubby pencil to scratch a cross on it, which is then counted by hand, tomorrow night.
There are worse things than having a solid paper trail and no hanging chads. :)
My dad has worked elections for years and he used to do the overnight count as well which meant he was dealing with little crosses on bits of paper for nearly 24 hours in a row!
tomorrow is the one day in the next five years when democracy actually exists so we should make good use of it I guess ;-)
RR - human error and arguments over whether a vote is valid or a spoiled paper can be as bad as hanging chads. Plus, of course, we don't expect a winner, we're all expecting a hung parliament so this will drag on and on before we get a Government - and that might then face a vote of no confidence and we'll do it all again. It won't be easy this time around.
Oh, I know--that's been a new problem now that US voting has been shifting over to electronic votes. Lots of arguing over whether a bubble is filled in enough to count as filled in and so on. At least with the winner-take-all system we have fewer runoffs--but of course, we also end up with less-representative government. There's always something!
I'm not sure you could get much less representative than ours... one party gets 0.5% of the votes and gets 3 seats in parliament. Another get 1% and get none... one party can get 30% of the votes and get 198, another 35% of the votes and get over 350. Still, it'll keep us all guessing, until we all get bored of guessing...
And we can have one party get 49% of the vote in every district and have no representatives in Congress at all. I took a whole graduate school course in voting systems, and so far as I can tell, it's all a choice between different ways of being non-representative! (Okay, it's also trade-offs between under representation and over representation, and degrees of difficulty in governance. But that's just reasons for choosing one way of non-representation over another. :))
as far as I'm aware, we have the same voting systems, RR, so we can also have the 49%/no MPs.
There's always talk about changing our system to proportional representation, but I don't know if anyone will ever take the plunge. It'd be a lot to sort out, but it would give us a more representative Government.
As I understand it the argument against PR has always been the hung parliament problem but seen as we have that anyway I can't really see an argument against it anymore, other than the fact that the BNP might get a high enough percentage out of the whole country to get some representation but extremists are the price of democracy I guess.
You get 4 sided booths? Luxury!
We get a cardboard thing which has a writing bench and vestigal wings between you and the bod next door.
http://www.aec.gov.au/media/image-library/files/election-signage/polling-booths.jpg
(those show bigger partitions on the side than the ones I used last time!)
Plus a senate ballot paper colloquially known as "the bedsheet" as you could just about sleep in it.
Apparently parties are finding it hard to provide enough scruitineers for Oz elections especially as when you have preferential voting you have a lot of squiggles to be certain of and it can take a long time to go through them.
Luckily most people don't bother with every box on the bedsheet, if you tick a party box you vote for them and who they give their preferences to, or you can number several parties in order. I tend to put my preference first, then the ones I hate last, and randomly assign the rest.
I have done the whole 194 boxes, a number in each, but only once...
When I say 4-sided I mean that four people can stand at it at once - like this:
https://srobalino.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/voting-booth-polling-booths-inside-polling-station-interior-1-dhd.jpg
Anon - I thinkt he BNP have died a death, to a certain extent, haven't they? Now UKIP is here to mop up their dregs. Hardly any better, I know!
*smacks forehead* This is what comes of trying to chat at the same time as googling how to do some special effects in InDesign, I get England and Israel mixed up in my head! (I think my subconscious has them both in the compartment marked "overseas places where I know people".)
Rider, we get that cardboard thingie too. So official, no?
The thing that looks like a stand-up study carrel? That's a choice, but most people where I live just sit down at the cafeteria table, a safe distance from the other voters, and fill it out in plain sight.
Youngest is feeling more herself. I'm counting on her online school to combat the boredom.
Morning all. The big day has arrived & exceedingly early it is too. Off to do my duty at the polling station (not just Poll Clerk today but Presiding Officer so a bit nervous!).
Hope the Achilles heals quickly, Greg, maybe you'll have to keep your youthful bounding for when you have your Doctor around. ;)
Hope everyone has a great day & don't forget to vote if you can. :)
Good luck Joolz! I hope no one causes you trouble... For instance by bringing along loud inquisitive youngsters to disrupt the proceedings ;)
We've had electronic voting at the polls for years and years. As someone peripherally involved with computer work I side-eye a bit, but the tide it has turned, here at least.
Good on you, Sherlock, for the positive attitude toward voting. It's important. (I think a loud, inquisitive youngster is not always a bad thing - might wake some people up to the importance of things!)
May the least dreadful parties triumph. That's my current level of electoral enthusiasm and I don't see it improving in the 18 month run-up to our presidential elections.
I'm positive L., that your personal doctor hasn't banned all forms of youthful bounding, has he? Just the ones that require weight-bearing on the ankle.
fA
Going very well so far, thanks. Only 5 more hours to go. :)
All our youngsters have been really good, as I'm sure yours will too. ;) Have you been to the voting station yet, Sherlock? What did you think of it all?
Voting is fun! I went once when I was about 7 days post op, on crutches. The little old ladies at the polling station were most impressed. Of course, that was followed up - 8 years later - with a guy who didn't think I was old enough to vote.
I haven't beeen because John said he'd wait for Lestrade but he also said we'd get pizza on the way home so that's ok and Lestrade will be home soon and I've got both their cards ready. But John says there won't even be a winner and that it will take ages for anyone to decide who's won.
i'm on the way! And pizza mmmmmmmm.
Has voting taken place? Who did you vote with, Sherlock?
yes we did it I stood inbetween them and then they let me put the paper in the box and there was a long queue that was very boring but there wasn't a queue for pizza so that was good.
Awesome! Vote early and often. ;)
(That's a joke from 19th century American politics.)
Pizza sounds sooo good right now!
Voting and pizza sounds like an excellent plan, Sherlock - we're voting then having Chinese takeaway :-)
are there any traditions in the US about counting? Here Sunderland always try to declare first - sometimes only an hour after the polls close! They've got all sorts of schemes to be the first to declare.
don't tell anyone Greg but we change all the clocks in the city by an hour the night before so we can get a head start ;-)
The only one I can think of is that since 1980, news media have a rule (supposedly a binding agreement) not to announce their national exit poll results before polls close in the west (3 hours later than in the east), and in local elections until polls close in that state. But sometimes they cheat. They all want to be first to announce, though, so most of the time they project winners before the all the districts have reported.
I'm not aware of any races among districts to report their results--there may be some, but the exit polls are usually so accurate that the actual results are an anticlimax--unless there's a really tight race that can't be called, or someone calls for a recount.
(That is to say, most of the time the news outlets project winners the minute the polls are closed, or as soon after that that they feel confident about their predictions.)
ours are all not allowed to talk about the election on election day - barring complete facts. Weather, the leaders going to vote etc.
These exit polls do not look great though. (and I don't suggest expressing surprise at the exit polls whilst trying to get Sherlock to go up and to sleep by saying 'shit the bed!' in surprise....)
You have laws against early reporting, right? We don't. (We SHOULD, but we don't.)
Boo on bad poll results. (This is why people NEED TO VOTE!)
Hahahahahahaha!
We've currently got two big exit polls - by big, reputable polling organisations - giving rather different results. I'm trying to decide between staying up to watch the results come in, or having a nap and then watching from abour four or five am (which is when the majority of results start coming in).
there's only one exit poll though - YouGov just does a poll, not an exit poll. But by God I hope theirs is more accurate!
...and Sunderland are declaring.
Back home now and all went well plus my numbers tallied on the paperwork so win-win. :)
We had a 65% turn out so we did really well. Hope everywhere else had such good numbers. We shall have to wait & see how it all turns out though, don't think I'll stay up for it.
It's great that you took Sherlock and let him get involved, I think the sooner the young ones get to do it the keener they will be to vote themselves when they're of age. Hope you all enjoyed your pizza too. :)
We held an election at Brownies, at which those girls who wanted to were able to put forward ideas for improving Brownies and then everyone voted. They chose picnics, lots of crafts and science experiments. We had some really good suggestions for the next few months and the girls enjoyed themselves. Maybe we've encouraged some future leaders.
Well, the one thing that could stop this being an utter disaster is if Farage losses and resigns his leadership. But it would be scant consolation.
I look at results like that, and at the Ztea Party here, and can't help wondering how it is that so many people became so short-sighted and mean-spirited. (Because my political point of view is RIGHT, darn it!)
(Tea Party.)
At least that minor consolation is there.
I'm with you RR.
I simply can't start on it,this isn't the place & it's too depressing. But the next year and a half are going to be so trying. (I live in a what-passes-today-for-liberal-but-is-right-of-what-was-mainstream-Democrat-when-I-was-a-kid oasis amidst a state in which the Tea Party is considered mainstream. Mild mannered, even.
Good job with your Brownies, SH. They have to learn it somewhere, and I'm sure they will be very happy to see some of their ideas carried out!
fA
Might see if I can piss off Mrs H, get deported to the Arctic ;)
Best get the whole family deported then. You'd miss 'em. & Sherlock would no doubt adore an Arctic sojourn.
fA
Snow!
If we all annoy Mrs H, can we all go?
I would hesitate to annoy Mrs. H, simply because strong men and true have in the past seemed somewhat intimidated by her.**
**I'm also fairly certain that there's nothing I could do that would register on Mrs. H's radar. You, Anon, might be more influential than I.
fA
Nameless - I'll book us a big enough ship that we can all fit on ;)
fA - she's a pussy cat really ;) (see, my plan in action already!)
You're a risk taker, L. Have a good weekend, whether at home or while being whisked to an undisclosed location. ;-)
fA
Anyone else have a few minutes silence in remembrance today? I wish there was a big button we could hit to stop the phones ringing.
Yeah, we did. Fortunately no phones ringing. I liked it, marking the anniversary with silence. Seemed fitting.
Just sad that we've managed to elect a party intent on doing away with the Human Rights Act just when we were remembering why we need one.
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