Wedgwood

A few days ago I decided to take away the old pots and saucers the former owner left behind. The pots were only ordinary pots, but low and behold what I found under the eons of dirt and grime collected on the saucers. Wedgwood! Bloody Wedgwood! This is classic goods from the United Kingdom right here at the heart of The Village. OK, I know it's not like having a Chippendale cabinet in your garden, but still. It is not IKEA, mind you.

However, this is not the Wedgwood I think is most famous. Enoch Wedgewood was a distant cousin to the world famous pottery designer, abolishionist and inventer Josiah Wedgewood. But I would like to believe that old Enoch made more for the common man in order to fill homes to the brink with nice pottery, so maybe this actually is the more famous Wedgwood.

Wedgwood & Co became Enoch Wedgwood (Tunstall) Ltd. in 1965 and is since 1980 Unicorn Pottery. Which name do you prefer? So much for heritage. Balmoral, yes, there is a certain likeness of my little house and the famous royal castle in Scotland...

And if you can take the very british flower decoration Wedgwood is definitely something.

Unlight me

Now we passed the solstice for sure. A bit cloudy tonight but just a few weeks ago it was possible to sit outside for a bit of reading at this time, 10.30 in the evening. Not so anymore.

Chasing tails

Finally I managed to sneak up on one of the local squirrels bouncing around all day here. I do not know wether it belongs to the ground or tree variety as it is just about everywhere all the time. Just like an electron or so. The squirrel got its name via latin from the greek word skiouros, meaning shadow tailed due to its bushy tail.

Of course I know it's an ordinary red squirrel, sciuris vulgaris, don't let anybody else let you know nothing else.

Ceiling it with a kiss

Back in The Village after a few days back home. Got a bit restless after breakfast so I broke open a jar of white paint and finished what I started before winter. So now I have a nice white ceiling. The paint is a bit transparent so it is still possible to see the wood grains but the effect is a bit more pleasing than the sauna feeling before painting.

Arion ater

One would think slugs are having a difficult time finding a mate, You know, just follow the slime track and sooner or later (much later) they will catch up. Or not. These two did find each other in the semi dark as I was about to go for a late swim after ten o' clock in the evening. What are they saying? "Fancy a drink or you wanna make out right away?". Wonder if being hermafrodite makes things easier regarding gender specific behaviour, no need for "Ah, you men!" or "Typically women!". Arion ater is latin for "bloody common black slug" or so.

Tettigonia viridissima

Took a few steps towards my house to get a bit more to eat and almost stepped on this little creature. It's a tettigonia viridissima and I was bound to see one these days in late July as this is their time of the year. Let's call it Benjamin.

Recycling

Got up fairly early this morning and filled my car twice for a couple of rides to the local recycling station. First time was as per above, to the brim of old wooden wardrobes. The second time was time to get rid of a pair of old beds. They fitted just right in! Now my middle house is empty of old trash. Phew!

The containers got full pretty quickly as people had worked hard during the weekend to clear out garages and basements of rubbish. Too bad there isn't any system of "half way trash" recycling so good materials can be used by someone else. If you leave something here it will be burned or recycled but not reused by someone in need of what you don't need anymore. What a pity.

Wrinkled wood?

As I clear the middle house of trash and rubbish from old cupboards and such I found this nice wood panel. How come it's wrinkled, you might say. Well, it's a thin fake wood film used for decorating the sides of the cupboard, I do say. Of 1968 vintage. A good year.

Sfinx ligustri

Passing my garden table I see something bright green on the underside. After a quick check in my book on such creatures I find it to be a sfinx ligusti. When growing up it will become a big beautiful butterfly, sucking nectar from flowers while hovering just like a humming bird.

Weather report 5

So, after more than three weeks of dry weather we finally got a bit of moisture. A few drops during the day turned into a deluge of biblical proportions in the evening. This means I do not have to water my plants or worry about my dry lawn anymore. In the middle of the photo is my very wet garden furniture. No harm done.

Biting the dust

No rain for a few weeks now, everything is turning brown and dusty. So is my car, The Comet. Driving on the little unpaved roads has its price. Funnily you can se the aerodynamic features on this photo. The dust has collected just over the back hatch and not much any place else. While writing this a few drops falls from a lead grey sky. Just a few drops.

Late evening walk

Spending my third week at The Village. Having my friend UL over for a few days. Yesterday we went for a walk on a small island nearby. Beautiful water lilies decorating the surface. An osprey is having its nest next to were we walk, an erie call goes out across the water.

Weather report 4

Just in time for vacation there is a massive high pressure over The City and The Village. Thank Lord for that! I´m off from work for four weeks now, absent from work but not absent in mind. And you may find me here every now and then reporting my non-events from my hamock.

Chili out!

I got a nice plant of chili peppers as I turned forty. Some weeks later it´s full of peppers, thirteen to be exact. Hell knows what to cook but be sure I find some kind of use for the red buggers.