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Diary – 2013 August
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All my diary pages going back to 2009
DRAWING & PAINTING:
2 August
This interesting ruined temple is in a fish tank in my local pet shop,
with two brown fish resting inside. As far as they are concerned, it is
just another cave! These geckos were sitting very still - I had another
look at them before leaving and they had not moved at all.
The river runs behind the shopping place. My favourite parts are where
the grass slopes right down to the edge. It is all very shallow, at
least for people, but for Teddies it would be over my head in places. I
like the weirs where the water changes from glassy smooth to boiling
froth at the bottom. The noise of the rushing water drowns out the
traffic on the nearby road.
They have finally finished this adventure playground near the river. It
is a lot of sand, bricks in wavy shapes and some rocks, with some
features that allow children to play with trickles of water.
These ducks were staying safe in the marshy pond at the side of the
river, hiding amongst the tall grasses. There were lots of these
caterpillars around, and I think it is best not to touch them. They are
eating their favourite plant the ragwort and will turn into cinnabar
moths, which are a bright red colour. These caterpillars and the moths
are poisonous.
3 August
Here is a family of black tufted ducks on the small pond by the river. I
think they use the pond to sleep safely in the middle, and then go back
to the river to feed. In Priory Park, the birds are still making use of
the crates of straw as sitting places. They will sit on anything and
don't really care what it is.
We went to Ruxley Garden Centre to get a rose bush for a friend. This
astrolabe-type ornament reminded us of the Millennium sculpture in
Greenwich Park on the Meridian Line. I think this cart is really a big
table with a roof and two wheels at the sides. I can just see myself
serving up a really big picnic spread on this!
This giraffe ornament is made of lots of rounded pieces of metal. My
favourites are the cows, and someone has had a very good time painting
them. The cow's name is obviously Daisy!
In the pet shop part, you can view this aquarium from both sides. The
fish are very colourful but I think they would be better off with more
space to swim in as the fish are quite large. This spotty sucker fish
reminds me of some very smart pyjamas.
I really like this piece of glassware in the gifts section, as it looks
like swirling water with goldfish swimming around. It was expensive, so
I will make do with a photo to admire.
These ornaments would be just right for a conservatory. This spiral
water feature is my favourite one, but there was not enough water
flowing and it had turned green. If I had one I would have more water,
some blue colouring in the water and some washing up liquid to make blue
bubbles.
5 August
I enjoy the boot sale at Pedham but even better I like the big open
space and the wild flowers. They are all seeding now and waving their
seedheads about in the wind. The tall one is a teasel and the others are
thistles.
8 August
The parks department have cut down the bramble thickets next to the
path, but the plants are regrowing really quickly and it will soon be
back to its normal depth and height. Here I am putting a sticky back
copper strip around the base of my new greenhouse, to stop slugs and
snails from climbing up it. It is a bit expensive, but it works, even
when it has gone dull and greenish.
This butterfly was in the greenhouse and so we helped him out. He did
manage to fly, even though he had lost a bit of wing. I am really
pleased with the amaryllis flowers this year, as we have been looking
after the giant bulbs carefully all summer.
Some gave us these Liquorice Allsorts as a thank you for helping out.
Dino is the best person to take charge, as he will always notice if some
of them disappear. Parrot enjoyed playing with them, making pairs of
eyes before eating them.
10 August
I like going along when people are buying their knitting wool. I could
play with these colourful wools for hours and hours. Fortunately all the
short ends get saved for me to play with. This is just the sort of clock
to buy for someone who doesn't really care what time it is!
11 August
This waving wheat field was next to a boot sale out in the countryside.
It makes me think of all the lovely breads, buns and cakes that can be
made out of it.
Here is a corner of my greenhouse. I was really pleased with the
leaves-pattern bin sticker. I put it on some cardboard which is standing
up against the storage box to hide it.
12 August
Another walk by the river. This part is a bit deeper than usual and all
the weed is waving about in long strands like green hair. The log has
made its own island as bits and pieces get stuck around it.
16 August
The sun has set to the right of the picture and is lighting up all these
very high clouds.
18 August
Here is one of the boot sales. The grass is left in long stripes, so
that the cars know where to park in rows.
In the afternoon we tidied up around the compost bins, as a lot of plant
stuff had been thrown down in a heap. I heard a gentle singing from the
tree and found the robin sitting there. As soon as we moved away, he
came down for a rummage. The two bins are absolutely full and the lids
don't quite go on. But we watered them well and that will make them
collapse quite quickly, ready for the next lot.
We were going to trim the tops of the trees a little bit but found this
nest. It is probably left over from springtime and I don't think it is
occupied, but we decided to wait until winter before trimming the trees.
The dragonfly flew around my pond several times and then came to rest on
the lavender.
19 August
We spent the morning photographing the mitten supply. These are my very
favourite ones. They will be going out to people in other countries who
do not have enough clothes for the very cold winters that they have.
Here is Woody the wood pigeon. Now that the sparrows have grown up and
spread out, he is the only bird that comes down to look for crumbs. He
does a good job of making sure it is all gone before night time, so that
any mice don't get it.
20 August
My Conference pear tree is full of big hard pears weighing down the
branches, and we keep knocking our heads on them as we go past. Last
year we had no pears, but lots of apples. This year it is the other way
around.
24 August
Here is where my river begins, with water that starts in Priory pond. In
the park, the ducks were very happy with the rain, as they still haven't
forgotten how the pond dried out last year.
25 August
This friendly bug landed on someone's cap. He sat very still for his
photograph, and then was allowed to walk off the hat onto some flowers.
26 August
Here is another robin that we heard singing in some apple trees, as we
were parked in a layby.
28 August
I like going into the small garden centre, even though I don't buy all
the plants. As it is quite small, they cram the plants in and so it all
looks a lot more colourful than the bigger garden centres. On the way
home I notice this drain cover - I wonder if it the same Brunel family
that built the famous bridges around Britain, or maybe the company are
just borrowing his name.
This is the weir at the end of the Riverside Gardens. It is very noise,
with two weirs and a high gushing outlet on the left. I am wondering
what this plate and padlock are on the footpath, it has to be either
pipes or cables underneath. I think it will remain a mystery.
My favourite bridge is now repaired. It leads to the duck part of the
river. Here all the ducks are sleeping and resting under the willow
trees.
These pigeons were all sitting on a branch in the river, soaking their
feet and staying safe at the same time.
This is the big central weir that the little lake overflows into. It is
the noisiest of all and there are often large broken branches at the
bottom. Further upstream, near the railway viaduct, the river had made
braided paths through the weed, where it is quieter and more peaceful.
You can use the space on your 404 page to help find missing people by embedding info from notfound.org See Yellow Teddy's 404 page
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