Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 21 June 2020

Lindybird:  Bravo for cleaning up the woods, but really........  

This morn I have been Out on An Excursion. The State Library continues to restrict visitors to 20 in their large spacious room and not allow me to select my own books. Or else they have forgotten to update their website. So, searching catalogues online, I found one book I needed in a council library (reference only section) 15 mins drive. Success!. Then another 20 min drive to 2nd book (reference only). Success again. I’m familiar with the routine now – enter, sanitize, hand over library card for ID to be recorded and then I can browse. To enter State Lib I would have to complete a form declaring I have not been overseas in last 14 days, don’t have any symptoms, not in contact with anyone, blah, blah, and complete my personal details. Is it too hard to use my library card? Also they quarantine books after use, while the local libraries have ceased that. Consistency, consistency, she cries as she waits for other lookups.

When I couldn’t sleep last night, I mentally did a stocktake of my photos to be posted to flickr. I post 2 or 3 or 4 each day. I have enough, even if I photo more city buildings, to last to end of July and then, nothing. By posting alternate days, September. After that with no bus trips, I may have to abandon this “project”.

Sun is shining. Time to visit the ever-growing weeds.

Just a thought

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. (Theodore Rooseveldt (1858-1919))

Lindy - That's awful about the rubbish left in the woods. I think when young people were locked in they behaved well towards other people - they were mainly on their own and not in peer groups. And their best came out. Now they have more freedom, and take even more, they are back in the groups, egging each other on, and - sadly - that caring and responsible behaviour has gone. So sad.

Dry and sunny here, with a gentle breeze. Hooray - we are in for a hot week! Golf and Hever Castle on the agenda for the week. Have a good day, everyone.

Good Morning. Sun is out, here, and for some reason I feel a lot better - felt really sluggish all weekend & everything was an effort. But now I'm looking for my To Do List!!

Sorry you're having to do battle to get your books, AQ, but full marks for tenacity!

Clean & showered, and off to change the world, now......

LINDY There have been some horrendous pics of litter in beautiful places. I do not understand it at all. On Saturday we passed a bench in the woods, surrounded by cans and the cardboard container they came in, and other dross besides. I bought what I could home. What couldn't they have done the same????

Forgot to tell you that we really enjoyed our chat on zoom with our cruise friends. It went well and we will do it again soon I hope.

This morning a friend is coming over and we will walk our dogs together. I haven't seen her since mid March. We don't usually walk together as we always met up 2 or 3 times a week after our sessions at the fitness club. It will be good to see her again.

AQ - I admire your enthusiasm and perseverance with your project. To drive all that way for books to help your research :-)
LINDY - I hate litter bugs! If they can carry all that stuff to a picnic spot then they can surely take it home. I believe that frustration with the lockdown, confusion, disregarding guidelines, anger at ? who?has resulted in some very antisocial behaviour.... Will it ever go away?
My middle daughter is back at work but quite ashamed of some of her workmates who, it would seem, are inventing all sorts of reasons why they should stay at home. They are all supposed to be getting phone calls from Occupational Health but several are not answering their phones !

I have decided to give my greenhouse to youngest son in law. They are excited at the prospect of growing things in it. I am pondering about best use of the space. So far, I've come up with Summer house, pergola with roses, sundial,large garden urn, or simply a sun lounger.

Heather - My vote goes to summer house. A friend has one and it's a real sanctuary for her. She uses it almost more than her house! It's a bolt-hole, a place of reflection, a place for quiet reading or thinking, time to enjoy a decent cup of tea - and a private place for telephone calls!

Those ideas all sound a lot more restful than a greenhouse which you clean out but hardly use, Heather. Good that its going to a home where it will be appreciated. A rose pergola sounds good to me: not too much work. (although I know you would need to prune them)

My cousin is in the same position: she lost her husband two years ago and he had been the one who spent hours in the greenhouse. But when she said that she thought the greenhouse now had to go, her granddaughters looked at her in horror and said "But its granddads!! He spent time in there with us, and we have lovely memories" Sadly that has put her off from doing anything about it. But I can see from her window that its in full view of the house all the time, in a quite small garden. She could grow some lovely shrubs in the space, to enjoy from inside when the weather is not too good.

Just had a chat with neighbours in the road: my OH was outside cutting the hedge at the side, and they came out. We all caught up on news and had a good moan as well ;-)

Whilst we talked, my OH got a hoe and cleaned up all the weeds in the roadside outside four houses in our "corner". He has cleaned both our cars inside, been to the allotment, been out to buy some green bean plants, mowed the lawn, cut off some suckers from our climbing roses, trimmed the front hedge, spoken to several people on the phone, and of course taken Bonnie for her walk. He is now sitting down!!

Unknown said:

Lindybird:  Bravo for cleaning up the woods, but really........  

We've had lots of praise on our local Facebook page, where I posted the pictures.  Sadly, other people reported the same incidents from other parts of our town which is in a rural area so easy to walk to quiet places and enjoy the countryside, but then leave all your litter behind.

This morning my OH said to the neighbours, who were discussing it:  "I don't care if the kids get drunk, take drugs or kill themselves, but they shouldn't leave others to clear up after them."

ps  - As you can imagine, he does pick up litter on his walks with the dog, all year round. Mostly its just the odd can, but lately there has been much more, since folks have been taking their "exercise" on the footpaths around us.