The other day I mentioned London's street sweepers. Here's one I came across yesterday morning on my way to work. The poor guy had a big job!
I am always intrigued by garbage. It appears in so many of my photos because it's such a constant feature of the urban landscape. I find it an interesting counterpoint to all of London's noble and historic -- or modern and flashy -- architecture, as well as a constant reminder of what an insanely wasteful culture we are. (When I say "we" I don't mean the UK alone. I mean the western world in general.)
I'm always finding interesting things discarded on the street. I did not take this pillow home, however. I draw the line at pillows.
On a completely different note, here's our garden fox. It ran past our patio doors yesterday evening and poked around among the flowers for a few minutes -- just long enough for me to get a few shots through the window. It seems lithe and young. I don't know anything about the growth rate of foxes, but it seems conceivable that this is its first spring.
I hope it can move fast, because not only do we have Olga, but our next-door neighbor -- the one I have not very kindly dubbed Mrs. Kravitz -- just got a dog. In fact her dog, a bouncy, fluffy, fancy thing of refined breeding, came over to play with Olga a bit yesterday evening. Olga did not beat it up, thankfully.
Mrs. Kravitz and our upstairs neighbor are involved in a dispute over the use and placement of the trash cans. Despite my past complaining about the trash situation, Dave and I haven't taken sides. I want to get along with everyone involved, so I'm waiting to see how it plays out.
Finally, our irises are back, too! This one, our first of the year, just bloomed yesterday. There's a bud right behind it, and plenty of other buds as well, so we should have irises for a while.
Mrs Kravitz needs to keep her little dog at home - when that fox grows up he might take it for a meal!
ReplyDeleteAnd now she has moved on the fighting about the trash cans.....
She's a first-class tragic.
Ms Soup
I remember London is quite dirty with rubbish all around, but is it really as your photo shows? No, or?
ReplyDeleteOh BTW, do you still use your garden camera? But now your fox seems somehow tame, you don't need it any more. You could take that photo, incredible! Notthat I wish to have a fox in my garden, but it's amazing to see it so near.
Is that a real fox? It looks like a ceramic garden ornament to me. I think you are just playing a mischievous prank upon your loyal followers.
ReplyDeletewhat a crazy picture of the fox! the giant bearded irises around here have been full on alexander mcqueen for a couple of weeks, so they're starting to flop. it's nice to see a fresh one from your garden.
ReplyDeleteI think that photo of the fox is utterly charming. I love it!
ReplyDeleteThat poor street sweeper, he really does have a job ahead of him in that spot.
ReplyDeleteThat fox photo is super. what a fantastic image. The expression on the fox is a tiny bit sad or maybe frightened. But, looking in your direction and framed by those flowers, it makes a great shot. Love the iris too. Such gorgeous flowers.
I'm with you on the waste of resources and energy. But then the hoods who gain by a throw away society would not be very happy as their massive incomes would be cut. Our economy only works because of growth and that requires waste of resources and energy.
ReplyDeletewhat a great picture of the fox in your garden. and how nice that your neighbor has taken up the dispute over the trash cans leaving you out of it.
ReplyDelete"Olga did not beat it up, thankfully"
ReplyDeleteYears ago, at a public doggy event at our mall, my two young kids and I saw a large dog suddenly grab and hurt a smaller dog. Although I had to smile at your comment, I wondered if there is any danger here if their sizes are quite different? It seems to me that instinct could take over, but I haven't had a dog since I was a kid, so I don't know. It's rough for dogs and their owners if a dog hurts anyone, even if it's in self-defense or through instinct. It would be bad if Olga or you had to go through that.
Our irises are only a day or so from blooming, too - have we caught up with the UK, I wonder?! The leaves on the trees here are growing so fast you can see the difference every day. It's pretty amazing.
My sister lives on the Isle of Man where they have an eminently sensible system for giving everyday items a longer life. At the recycling centres, there is an area set aside where people leave their old furniture, tvs, bikes etc and anyone who wants to can simply take it home. Why we don't have something like that here, I don't know.
ReplyDelete