I have to backtrack on my elaborately woven fantasy about the Russians climbing around on our garden shed. I spoke to Mrs. Russia yesterday and I believe we worked out what happened.
Not wanting to accuse her directly, I began by asking her if she'd had workers over, and explained the condition of the shed roof and that I thought someone had been standing or climbing on it. She said she hadn't, and was visibly alarmed at the possibility that someone might have scaled the shed in an effort to access her terrace.
I then asked her about our bathroom window, and why she thought that it needed repair. Well, it turns out she was talking about her bathroom window, which they're about to have replaced. Somehow Dave misunderstood her and thought she meant ours. So that pretty much killed any evidence that she or her husband had been on our patio.
We brainstormed about how the roof would have been damaged, and we've agreed that it was probably the tree surgeons. They dragged all the branches and stuff that they trimmed away from our trees through that narrow alleyway past the shed. It's entirely possible that a branch caught the edge of the roofing and pulled it loose. It doesn't explain where the board that held it all in place went, unless the tree guys disposed of it -- which is possible. Maybe they didn't realize what it was.
It's certainly believable that I then never noticed the damage until now. It's not very obvious until one looks closely, which I did only because I noticed rainwater in the shed.
So, at any rate, I've come to believe that the Russians -- at least in this instance -- are blameless. I guess Dave and I will get out there some time in the next few days and try to secure the roof a little better.
In one positive development, Dave's Covid test was negative. In fact, I think he's improved. He stayed home from work yesterday and catching up on rest seemed to do him a lot of good. That trip to Berlin with his students took a lot out of him.
I had a pretty boring workday and then went for a drink afterwards with my co-workers. My former boss, who retired last year but who has been temporarily working in our Lower School library as a maternity replacement for another librarian, is soon really leaving. So we had a goodbye drink with her, and we'll probably have more when we come back from Spring Break...
...which begins NOW! No work/school for the next ten days!
(Photos: Top, reflections in a window in Swiss Cottage. Bottom, a blooming tree I pass on my walk to work, which my plant identifier app calls a bird cherry or hackberry (Prunus padus).)
(Photos: Top, reflections in a window in Swiss Cottage. Bottom, a blooming tree I pass on my walk to work, which my plant identifier app calls a bird cherry or hackberry (Prunus padus).)
24 comments:
OK. I take back what I said this time about Mr. and Mrs. Russia. Glad Dave is Covid-free and improving. ENJOY spring break!
Oh dear, the ears of those Russians must have been burning yesterday with all our comments about them....sorry Mr and Mrs Russia!
Glad you cleared up the mystery of the shed roof though fixing it is still a bother in your future. I’m glad Dave is feeling better. Achy bodies are no fun.
Russians are trained by the KGB to dodge and deflect difficult questions. Mrs Russia probably went upstairs, tuned into their CB radio and contacted Moscow directly - reporting that she had successfully thwarted the Americans. Russians are being placed in suburbs all over the western world ahead of Putin's signal to enact the takeover plan.
Good that Dave is feeling better.
The Bird Cherries around here get infested by caterpillars every year, spinning protective webs.. lovely to see one as it should be.
I'm a bit disappointed that we were wrong about Russian incursion onto your shed roof, no drama after all. But I'm happy Dave is doing better. Maybe the rest was the main need.
There is much to blame on Russians, but not your local Russians in this instance.
Sister and her wife Bone Doctor both caught Covid a week or so ago, for the second time. Sister caught it on on a school trip with teenage boys, and Bone Doctor later, passed on from Sister. There daughter Jo has not.
Jo is staying with us Saturday night and we will have dinner with them on the same night. I am a little nervous.
Your shed damage explanation sounds quite likely. Residual accidental damage after major tree work is pretty common. Hopefully the shed fix will not be to complicated. I'm also glad Dave is Covid-free and feeling better.
Yay for Spring Break! And three cheers for the Russians (for once!). That is weird about the shed. I suspect you might be right related to the tree surgeons and it was inadvertent (one can hope). Glad, too, to hear Dave's Covid test was negative and that he's on the mend. A definite plus.
Happy weekend! And break!
Well, that new story makes perfect sense, too.
I retract my accusations about the Russians. 😁
I thought it sounded a bit far fetched that the Russians would climb on your shed roof... Glad you solved the mystery and hope the shed roof is an easy fix.
Okay. So the Russians probably did not climb down into your patio. Good to know! They are still, however, odd. Also annoying as hell when it comes to using power tools right about your head.
I am very cranky this morning and for that, I apologize.
Glad Dave is okay.
Spring break- what sweet, sweet words!
if that last picture is a hackberry it's not the same as the hackberry trash trees here as they don't bloom. at least not like that. but they do make seed because they sprout up everywhere.
well, nice to know the Russians aren't creeping around your patio.
Sometime thinks happen in the yard and they are not obviously understandable. Here it's the wind that is the culprit.
Mike has been pretty miserable for the last week, & has taken several COVID tests himself - but we decided it's allergies (especially since if it was contagious I would definitely have gotten sick by now). Hopefully Dave continues to improve!
I'm glad the mystery has been solved! I guess we shouldn't make assumptions. (thinking how many times I've been told that to assume makes an ass out of u and me)
I forgot to comment yesterday how much I like "She Blinded Me With Science"! It really is a fun song.
I'm glad you cleared that up about the Russians. I'd hate to think they were sleuthing around your house and checking your windows. Enjoy your time off! Is a photo walk on your agenda in the days to come?
"Upon reflection, I take it all back." That should be your title to this post. HaHa - very funny series of incidents, except for the part about Dave being sick.
I am just catching up on all of your posts. I am glad that Dave doesn't have Covid and has seemingly turned a corner. Enjoy your spring break! Your story about the 5th graders reminded me of a project I used to do with my sixth grade class and portraying various historical figures. I worked with the English teacher on this, and we'd always tell them when they weren't doing well in their monologues. I don't think kids get enough oral presentation practice now. I know when I was a kid I hated it, but it was good to be forced to do it!
Beware! Those Russians are devious! Glad Dave doesn't have Covid.(Again?) Love the last photo!
Happy we are that Dave does not have Covid. Here's hoping the shed fix will not be too onerous.
Yay for vacay! I liked your story about the Russians, but the tree trimmer scenario sounds more likely. Glad Dave is better and NO Covid.
Well, I'm glad it was just a misunderstanding, nothing sinister. Glad Dave is feeling better too.
Mitchell: THIS time. :D
Frances: That's OK. They do enough other things to be annoying.
37P: Yeah, we need to arrange some kind of repair.
YP: I can't imagine what they're going to take over in West Hampstead. Emma Thompson's house?
GZ: Interesting! I've never seen caterpillars on this one. Maybe they don't do well in the city?
Boud: I know! It made a good story, didn't it?!
Andrew: As long as no one's symptomatic I think you should be fine. They say close contacts of people who test positive no longer need to isolate. (I guess no one's isolating anymore, in fact.)
Susan: And I think the tree work was actually just the last straw. I think that shed has been suffering for years and we just never noticed.
Jeanie: I'm sure if it was the tree surgeons it was inadvertent. I doubt they realized it at all.
Bob: See, this is the problem with the mob mentality. I whipped you all into a vigilante frenzy! :D
Ellen D: Well, it's not THAT far-fetched! It initially seemed quite believable!
Ms Moon: They are definitely odd. No argument there.
Ellen: I've heard of hackberries in the states but I don't really know what one looks like. Maybe it's like a robin -- a whole different species in America?
Red: Yeah, and the wind could have had something to do with it here too, I suppose!
Bug: Dave definitely has a heightened allergic response to certain things, so that could be going on here too!
Kelly: I love the old guy exclaiming, "SCIENCE!" LOL!
Sharon: Well, they ARE somewhat obsessed about the house. They're always complaining about the front steps, for example.
Wilma: Ha! Well, that pretty much WAS my title, except for the reflection part, which made it too long. LOL
Michael: Oh, God, I hated it too. It was so scary!
Catalyst: Yeah, he had a Covid scare about a month ago. Never a dull moment around here!
Allison: I hope not. I could probably do it myself in a pinch, but I need another person to hold the roofing material in place, and it's too heavy for Dave post-surgery.
Margaret: Yeah, it DOES sound more likely. Occam's razor!
Pixie: Yeah, and I'm glad they're not sneaking around outside our bathroom window! LOL!
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