Thursday, April 27, 2017

Martin, John and Pink Dog Poop


A mish-mash, today, of pictures I've been meaning to blog...

First of all, Martin the mouse is back! Dave spotted him on our peanut feeder a couple of evenings ago. He's very tiny and moves really fast, so getting a photo of him isn't the easiest thing. (And of course there's no way of knowing whether this is really Martin or any one of his or her no doubt many relatives. As far as we're concerned, they are all collectively named Martin.)


A random sticker I found in Newcastle. I've been unable to figure out whether John is someone I should know from popular culture...? In any case, he's apparently worth knowing, because he's a great guy!


Olga, looking sheepish on a carpet of flowers. She doesn't understand why I make her stop walking every once in a while and point a black metal box at her.


The orange azalea down the street is blooming. I really like this plant -- it's such an unusual color -- but it looks a bit twiggy and sparse so I hope it's healthy. The surrounding garden is pretty much doing its own thing!


I pass this tree stump on my way to work every morning. Did whoever cut it down make that pattern just to be decorative? Or does it better ensure the death of the tree? I wonder.


For some weeks now I've been noticing that someone's walking around the neighborhood spraying dog poop pink. This seemed very curious until I looked online and learned that it's actually a project by local government. Residents can request cans of pink chalk spray to "embarrass" dog owners into cleaning up after their pets. Frankly, I'm dubious about this plan's effectiveness. I don't think people who leave dog droppings behind are going to be easy to embarrass.


Finally, our amaryllises are blooming -- well, all except that poor shriveled one in the back. They still look stunted and weird, but at least we got some flowers. I bought an antifungal to treat them, and at the end of the season we're going to lift the bulbs are replant them. Hopefully next year's crop will look better!

12 comments:

  1. A benefit of spraying dog turds pink is that it warns pedestrians about the hazard. There's nothing worse than walking into one's home with dog shit on your shoe - and that includes nuclear war, a major volcanic explosion, "Britain's Got Talent" and a direct hit by a giant meteorite.

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  2. I agree with Yorkshire Pudding. I've had the misfortune to roll in my neighbors dog mess and bring it inside---a nasty clean up job and difficult for me.

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  3. This post is just one mystery after another.
    Who is John?
    Why in hell would someone take all that time to grid a stump?
    Why are mice coming to your bird feeder?
    What's wrong with your amaryllis?
    And why in god's name would anyone spray paint dog shit?
    Etc.
    I do know why you'd take Olga's picture in the flower petals. It is beautiful! So is the orange azalea.

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  4. great collection of pictures. I love the one of Olga. I thought they were painting the dog poop pink so you wouldn't step in it.

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  5. You certainly caught Olga's sheepish expression.

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  6. Cross cutting a stump like that promotes rot, although it would be more effective if the stump were closer to the ground and if random holes were drilled in the stump to hold moisture.

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  7. Martin the mouse looks so sweet an innocent in your photo. If you find out who John is you will have to let us know. I can't imagine that the pink spray thing will do anything other than warn walkers where not to step.

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  8. I love the picture of Martin. And Olga. I thought the pink petals were the pink poop until I got to the picture of the real stuff. I agree with you that spraying is not likely to embarrass the guilty parties. Unless perhaps the dog owner was sprayed instead.

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  9. Agree. Dog owners who don't clean up will not feel ashamed about being "pinked".

    Have a great weekend.

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  10. Martin is so cute. And the crosscuts in the tree stump are supposed to prevent regrowth.

    Alphie

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