A few random photos from our early-morning dog walks...
First, someone set these four perfectly good chairs out on the street. I'm not sure whether they're meant to be trash or they're just being stored outside that garage. Olga seemed perplexed, too.
(That garage, by the way, is crammed with stuff. We've occasionally been walking past when the doors have been open, and holy cow, it's like a used-furniture dealership in there.)
The rare and exotic Orange Peel Butterfly!
This concerns me greatly, but I don't want to think about it too much.
And finally, one of our neighbors down the street keeps this bright yellow meerkat in the front window, guarding the household. (In parts of London, the meerkat is the symbol of the neighborhood watch program.) They've also done the reverse of what most homeowners on our street have done -- they removed the paved parking area in front of their house and installed grass! Most of our front gardens have been vanishing to make room for more cars. I'm glad they bucked the trend.
I barely left the house yesterday. Aside from Olga's early-morning walk, I stayed home and read most of an Ian Rankin novel and took care of some small tasks. I woke up in the morning thinking, "What day is my flight to Florida? It's not today, is it?" I keep having this strange feeling that I'm going to simply forget to go. But no, my flight is Monday.
Referring to that garage stuffed with furniture. We had a lovel old Polish man living in the house next door who never got rid of anything, we had piles of furniture covered with tarpaulins, cookers, fires, you name it. He also had the garage chock-a-block with paint etc. The house has been refurbed since he died and sold on and we now have new American neighbours. He was a lovely man who came over here in the war a a pilot and never went back. I guess he had seen hard times and just couldn't part with anything. I could write a book about this man, lol
ReplyDeleteLove the orange peel butterfly, you are like my Grandson, you have an eye for the unusual.
Briony
x
I found the lighting in the top picture delightful. Why don't you and Dave have a meerkat in your window? They are so stylish.
ReplyDeleteWhen Glen and I were rambling about what used to be cow pastures and swamp and which is now subdivisions galore down near Roseland, we saw a sign for an estate sale. Let's go! Why not?
ReplyDeleteOkay. Boy was it weird.
An entire house which smelled like a nursing home, devoid of furniture, but with different things for sale laid out in each room. Obviously, it was someone's hobby indoor ongoing garage sale in a house that wasn't selling. Or something like that. We took a quick look and got the hell out of there fast.
The neighbors must have loved them.
Orange peel butterfly! Good one! You had me sucked in on that one.
ReplyDeleteLove that orange-peel butterfly. A nice walk around the neighborhood. Now I wonder why the meerkat is the symbol of the neighborhood watch program.
ReplyDeleteI mostly never leave the house except for walking the dog. though I did go visit a friend yesterday.
ReplyDeleteI hope they meant to put those chairs out because sitting out there in the open, it's likely someone will take them. I love the rare orange peel!
ReplyDeleteLooks like perfectly good chairs to me!
ReplyDeleteThat photo of Olga trying to figure out whether to take those chairs or not is classic.
ReplyDeleteThose look like really nice chairs to be out in the alley. In my neighborhood, they would disappear quickly!
ReplyDeleteIt’s fascinating the way people put out items in London. In NYC someone might soon walk away with those chairs.
ReplyDeleteOkay, no one else has addressed the poop bucket, so may I just suggest it's an outdoor depository for either (1) dog poo scooped in bags during walkies, to keep it out of the household garbage, or (2) cat poo scooped from litter boxes, ditto! There, does that ease your mind any? :D
ReplyDeleteOrange peel butterfly is awesome :)
I hope your trip is a safe one, and thanks for the birthday donation.
ReplyDeleteYou have inspired me to make orange peel art and leave it out for finders! Cool idea. I would have had those chairs - They would brighten up a place.
ReplyDeleteBriony: He sounds like an interesting neighbor. I'd just be nervous that someone's chock-full garage would pose a fire hazard!
ReplyDeleteYP: I actually really like their meerkat, although meerkats always make me think of those stupid insurance commercials.
Ms Moon: Estate sales can be great, but they can also be creepy! I remember going to one in Anna Maria once where the sellers had priced everything, including half-eaten jars of peanut butter. I was like, "Really?!"
Red: Don't look for it in Canada. It only lives in England. :)
Robin: I think it's their habit of standing at attention and sounding an alarm if they see anything suspicious or dangerous. Did you ever watch that reality TV show about the meerkats, about 10 years ago? They were quite the thing for a while.
Ellen: Well, you work at home and you have your shop, so you can go to your "office" on foot! It's pretty rare for me to stay home all day.
Sharon: I wish someone WOULD take them. I hate to see them just discarded like that.
Peace Thyme: I know! I wish we needed chairs!
Catalyst: Olga has a way of capturing the spirit of every moment.
Spare Parts: I see amazing things on the streets here. It's insane what people throw away.
37P: I think NYC has a density that guarantees someone will come by and pick up whatever gets set out. Here in London the density isn't as high, so there aren't as many people passing by. Know what I mean? Things sit out longer.
Jenny-O: Yes, that DOES ease my mind! I bet you're right.
E: You are welcome, E! Happy birthday!