So apparently last year, this biologist did a poetry offshoot of Nanowrimo wherein you write a poem every day for a month. Hers are science oriented and illustrated, and I like them a lot. Link to the article here, and if you look at the end of it, there's also a link to where she's selling the book if you want it. There's also a few more of the poems. Sherlock likes the one about the bees, unsurprisingly.
In other news, something besides us is eating our lettuce. Rabbits, I assume. Squirrels? Do they eat lettuce? The chard isn't doing at all well either, but I do have five fairly massive cucumbers sitting in the fridge, and there are more growing. Quite quickly. L may run out of things to do with them before the summer's over. (Not like that, I know what you're all thinking.)
The summer holidays are officially here. Sherlock tells me it's BOILING and we need to go swimming immediately and repeatedly and preferably in the fjords of Norway. He also wants to go to Iceland and eat puffins and also bring one home as a pet... L and I have been talking about a trip, but I'm not sure it's going to include puffins.
We went to visit Jo and Lisa and Tadhg, who is amazingly tiny and looks even smaller when L is holding him. He was very quiet and sleepy while we were there, but Jo and Lisa assure us that he cries non-stop when they're trying to sleep, which I suppose is the way of all babies. Sherlock held him for about 20 seconds and then asked when he'd be old enough to eat biscuits or talk. I suppose whichever came first?
And finally here is a thing about Richard III's grave.
61 comments:
Sherlock thinks that we have chard thieves. Not sure if they are animal , human or alien...
Tadhg is tiny! His little tiny fingers are amazing. He's amazing.
I wish I could go swimming.
What amazing poems, thanks for that link, John, and the one about Richard III - I'm going to see that in 3 weeks so it was really interesting.
I foresee many pools in your future then if Sherlock has his way, at least swimming should siphon off some of that excess energy as well as cooling everyone down though so that can only be good. ;)
Enjoy the rest of your day everybody. :)
Probably rabbits. Though we did have a problem with what we assume were squirrels taking samples of our tomatoes.
Sherlock is now designing an elaborate rabbit trap.
There are a lot of rabbits in the world--would it not be more effective to scare them away (or otherwise repel them) than to catch a few while the rest feast?
Slugs are definitely partial to lettuce (I can guarantee its not rabbit eating ours, so it's either slugs or birds). Caterpillars are also partial to sprouts, as I've recently found - I picked half a dozen of the little blighters off my solitary sprout plant.
Still jealous of your cucumbers, John - mine appears to have decided that growing four leaves was far too much effort, and has gone into hibernation.
We will be able to supply the whole country with them by the end of the summer.
Rabbit traps or cucumbers? Or rabbits?
We could shoot a few of them... But other allotmenteers might object to blood being spilt in the calm of the cabbage patch.
Sorry Danger, boys, got a bit caught up. I'm done, ready to go and visit Steve's grave, if any of you want to meet me and go up there? Or shall I come home if you all want to come, and Sherlock can come on the back of my bike?
(We have gone. Sherlock and Mycroft stayed behind to bake.)
Sherlock did give me some flowers to bring though. In his words 'Everyone says they're weeds, but they're pretty and colourful so they shouldn't just be called weeds they're FLOWERS'.
Thanks for coming. It means a lot to me.
flowers that grow where they want instead of where they are told to are the very best flowers even if we do call them weeds!
I'm jealous of your allotment, freshly grown food is the best :-)
L - love you.
I'm with Sherlock too--a weed can be a flower where you don't want it, which doesn't make it any less a flower.
And now I want to bake, too.
Steve would have thoroughly approved of weeds being given a purpose in life, as a pretty bunch of flowers.
Love you too, John.
And the kitchen was intact when we got back, and there was...food. Like an odd sort of cross between bruschetta and....well, it tasted good, anyway.
Sherlock watched the cooling towers at Didcot coming down before bed - he now wants to be a pirate and a demolition expert.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-28487288
He's certainly finding out about any number of interesting things he can do with his future!
Speaking of interesting things, this story about scientists now be allowed in to study a treasure trove of extinct animals might interest you when you see it in the morning, Sherlock...
Thanks for the poetry, John. I came to an appreciation for poetry only in midlife. As with many things, I feel there is so much more out there than I can ever encounter, let alone appreciate.
Sherlock has it absolutely right about the weed/flower dichotomy.
I'm always impressed at how you team up with each other in things large & small. Mycroft & Sherlock are getting a good example.
I hope that, as usual, the boys get some time with their mum during vacation. Her lot seems to me bittersweet - she was wildly successful in her choice of a "nanny" (such an inadequate term!) - and yet . . .
fA
If the boys go and see their mum, John still won't get any time off, as i shall bagsy him ;)
Also, Danger, word of warning:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-28467439
If anyone could get stuck in a milk churn in this day and age, it would be Sherlock.
I have no doubt whatsoever, L., that your claims on John's attention and energy are (mostly) qualitatively different than Sherlock's.
fA
If anyone could get stuck in a milk churn in this day and age, it would be Sherlock.
So true... If I see any, I'll keep him away from them.
Happily no one was stuck in anything when I got home.
We have since stuck into a nice quiche that Mycroft made.
Can we go and see polar bears for our holiday?
I'd like to just see my bed...
BORING and I'm not even tired.
...I do hope his entire childhood isn't one of disappointment and neglect, punctuated only with boredom and unwanted sleep.
Isn't everyone's at the time?
Well, it IS punctuated by the rare exciting days... ;)
John, thanks for the information on the book of poetry and for the article on Richard III. I ended up buying the book, both the words and the illustrations are lovely. Take care now...
Why am I so tired at the moment? Surely it doesn't take this long to recharge after 30 little life-force suckers have feasted upon you??
To which one can only say: We don't pay teachers enough. :)
There's a lot of folk don't get paid nearly enough. Many of them dealing with kids, yeah.
Teachers get all those big long holidays to compensate don't they ;-)
I hope your day is going ok but for the tiredness Greg
Have you come up with many plans for summer Sherlock? We seem to be doing art most of the time at the minute :-)
Yeah AnonyBob, and those short days, knocking off at 3ish :)
Hey guys, I remember ages ago someone posted that podcast where they were dissecting a wolf. I just read an article about the woman behind that podcast, and her amazing job and the surprising path she took to get there. She's the Field Museum's Chief Curriousity Correspondent! If that's not a Sherlock-y sort of title, I don't know what is ;) Great article though, and I seriously want to be her friend.
Sherlock, I wonder if she's someone you could ever write to? Or maybe just find some more of her podcasts. It's also a good idea about volunteering when you're old enough, to get your hands on some more dead things in jars.
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/career/news/a29534/get-that-life-emily-graslie-science/?src=spr_FBPAGE&spr_id=1440_76628738
Hey, you're the one who brought up still being tired after ONE DAY with a class of kids, I was just responding!
(I don't know of any half-way decent teacher that knocks off at three. My mom taught first grade for 25 years, and I literally cannot count how many days she stayed in the classroom til dinner time and then went back again after, just to keep up to date on marking workbooks and tests, updating classroom displays--and that doesn't include summers spent in classes and workshops to keep up to date on the latest techniques and requirements, and working on keeping lesson plans and assignments fresh. Just because half or more of their work isn't where students and parents can see doesn't mean it's not there.)
I'm not tired because of the kids, I'm tired from work and the heat. I was just blaming the kids, given what we all say about kids and their ability to drain adults.
And AnonyBob and I were both joking about teachers. Or I was, anyway. AnonyBob, you're on your own. I know a few good defence lawyers...
I always ran out the door at 315, arrived after the kids most days as well Greg ;-). Holidays were great long lie ins and I'd almost forgotten what school looked like by the end of them ;-)
I hope work hasn't been too bad today Greg :-)
I'm imagining you knocking small kids aside as you race to beat them to the exit now, AnonyBob :)
Work wasn't too bad. I'll blog about it in a bit, once Sherlock has explained to me why the kitchen table is covered in fruit cut in half, with a growing cloud of fruit flies hovering around...
I am kind of interested in the plans for the fruit, actually. (Just in case you weren't going to tell us.)
fA
I think he was actually mainly drawing them, but also trying to entice and capture fruit flies for experiments...
Sorry, I was going to do a blog, but I'm just too knackered to put together any cohrerent thoughts.
Well how unreasonable of you! ;-)
I hope you get some time to relax after the fruit fly monster has gone to bed :-)
Well, my two want to go on holiday with you and your two, because 'Uncle Orio and Uncle John are more fun', so will doubling the kid-load halve the energy drain, as they entertain each other, or double it?
Anyway, if you didn't have anything planned, we thought maybe we could sort something out? Even just camping for a few days, all of us?
Glad your job is going so well, Mycroft.
I am sure there are experiments galore in Sherlock's active brain. John, I salute you for your inevitable part in them. I hope you can convince Sherlock that an organized, methodical and sanitary methodology is required or his experimental results will be suspect.
Most lab scientists spend an immense amount of time sanitizing equipment and glassware, as well as keeping neat, clear and organized records, Sherlock. Don't neglect that side of the work.
Good sleep to all, as always. Onwards.
fA
Most lab scientists spend an immense amount of time sanitizing equipment and glassware, as well as keeping neat, clear and organized records
So very true, fA--because if it's not repeatable, it's not science.
I think Sherlock hopes to have a trusted assistant do his washing up for him. It's worked so far...
But today some of his fruit-fly traps have been eaten, and others removed from the grasp of fruit flies. He'll just have to wait until he has a flat of his own to fill with the little .....things.
Nicky - sounds good. Camping's always good for wearing them out too. :)
When you say 'them', do you mean 'husbands' or 'kids'.
Either one really...
once upon a time I fed upon that energy, and spent hours in the garden with the kids when they were wee, messing about, fighting, having water fights, doing stupid things...
Once you weren't fast approaching 50 and could give them back at the end of the day!
cheers Sis! Not approaching it any faster than you are...it's just a little closer to me than to you.
Is everyone feeling like me? That why you're so quiet? Or are you all out having fun? (I hope the latter)
I dunno, how are you feeling? (I'm definitely not having fun, out or in.)
It's too hot here! 107F yesterday (41.6 C) and it's going to be around the same today. Thank goodness for air conditioning. After work, all I want to do is lay down and twitch.
Hope everyone is having a good day!
Busy getting ready to visit family (& friends) for a week. There were lots of fun travel plans, but those have been shelved for family member (not mine, happily) illness, so it's just a slightly too-long stay in one spot. Fingers crossed for everyone getting along the whole time.
There'll be spotty internet access, so everything I've put off for two weeks suddenly seems very important to get accomplished. I know better, and yet . . .
Piplover, thanks for the perspective. I've been grumpy about temps at/near 100F - but lord knows it could be worse.
Onwards, all.
fA
Just..hot, tired, sick of all the horrible things in the world , sick of seeing adults killing kids all for their own ends and wars, sick of the pointlessness of all that.
Oh, L., my Internet stranger/friend, I hear you. I struggle to believe it's the good that is important, but I do fear I live, sometimes, in denial.
I've been turning off the news in sadness, lately, but can't avoid the sheer mean-spiritedness I encounter in people I KNOW to be good people, one-to-one. Because they're scared or feel threatened or are part of a community that reinforces it, they come out with the most horrible things, viciously writing off or attacking groups of people to whom they'd be nothing but generous and helpful if they met them one-to-one. I know because I've seen it, over and over and yet I hear the dismissive hate that they can speak and well, it is what it fucking is.
You & John have/have had jobs in which you have seen so much worse than I ever have or will. You're both still in there doing good as you can - and sending the boys out into the world as prepared and as healthy as you can make them. I choose to believe it's the good that matters, in the end. I've received healing goodness from people who didn't realize what it meant to me. It matters.
fA
gosh, I freely admit I've been essentially putting my head in the sand as a makeshift therapeutic tool... seems like lately I just can't handle the news on the radio at all, so I just don't have it on. The little that leaks through in social contact, or the few times I visit Facebook, is enough to keep me from re-engaging. I feel like a coward sometimes, but one has to take care of oneself first in order to take care of others. My great admiration goes out to you who can't avoid it, since it's your job every day.
Meanwhile I at least try to be and do the best that I can with what I've got... if that's any help. And at least I was able to get a good night's sleep, for some reason the construction project next door did not start up at 7 or 8 am, for which I am grateful.
S
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