Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Petunias, Politics and Other iPhone Pics


Time for another miscellaneous collection of pictures from my phone!

Someone really loves petunias. I'm especially impressed at the ones that have apparently seeded themselves in a crack at the base of the garden wall. We have petunias on our front porch, too, but they're not this...abundant.


This discarded groovy green chair has been sitting on Fortune Green Road for a while now. It looks like it was quite fashionable in its day.


I'm often impressed by the artistry of some of the headstones in Hampstead Cemetery. Here's one I find particularly interesting -- at the grave of a Viennese family who lost a member at Auschwitz. I'm assuming it depicts souls going to heaven, although they don't look too happy about it.


This sticker, spotted at the West Hampstead tube station, refers to an English far-right leader who's now in jail for contempt of court. I'm not complaining.


"Why are you interrupting my nap?"


I found this abandoned refrigerator on our street, complete with a piquant note someone had painstakingly composed to the "fly-tipper" who left it there. Coincidentally, a friend had recently told me about the "Clean Camden" app, which allows people to report unsightly street rubbish to the council for removal. So I used the app, and within an hour or two the fridge was gone! Much easier than writing a hostile missive, though perhaps not as fulfilling.


It's wild blackberry season! I've been picking them in the back garden and adding them to my morning cereal. Surprisingly the birds don't seem all that interested in them. Maybe they're too tart. (Dave doesn't like them for the same reason, but I love them.)


A sticker found on a morning dog-walk -- and a nice counterpoint to the sticker from the tube station above.


And finally, a mysterious plastic bag found on the sidewalk. What's the deal?

16 comments:

Alphie Soup said...

The iPhone selection - a lucky dip of sorts, you never know what you will get.
It might be a groovy green chair, which has seen better days, sitting in Fortune Green Road or glorious summer petunias. The hardy flower for scorching hot summers down here or hanging basket displays in Canadian cities. Just lovely.
Alphie

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Last evening I noticed that many of the brambles at the bottom of our garden are now black - after ripening. It looks like we are going to have a bumper crop with the way the weather has been. As for the plastic bag at the end of this post, I would say it is either a handy bag - handy for putting different items in or it once contained crunchy monkey hands - the ideal party snack.

Ms. Moon said...

I LOVE YOUR IPHONE PICTURES!!!
Those petunias are just so happy. And I bet they make lots of people happy every day. Glorious.
The gravestone is heart-wrenching. Olga is sleepy and sweet. Your berries are luscious. How I would love to make jam of them! Quite the note someone left. I wonder how they REALLY feel? Ha!
Thanks for these, Steve. They are such a nice little window into your world.

Mary said...

Seriously impressed that the council picked up that fridge not long after you sent a message on an app--of all things. We have to book months in advance to get anyone to pick up those kind of things for what is termed here as a bulk pickup.

The Bug said...

I LOVE THE PETUNIAS! Man, what a glorious display! That bag reminds me of the "gloves" I wear when I do my hair color. Although they actually ARE hand shaped, so that's probably not it.

ellen abbott said...

the petunias are wonderful. my neighbor has a variety that blooms early and profusely and reseeds itself. he gave me a couple of clumps last spring so I hope they come back next spring. when I lived in the city we had heavy trash pick-up once a month, every other month (I forget). usually the pickers would come by and take what could be used or sold for scrap before the big truck and crane came by.

Sharon said...

That house with the petunias is wonderful. I wonder how it looks in the winter. Good for you for reporting the trash on the street. I love your street observations!

Allison said...

Every year in the RV park where we spend summers, a clump of petunias sprouts from a crack in the asphalt. It just amazes me that they can do that. I do enjoy your iphone picture displays, your area is so scenic.

Catalyst said...

An interesting collection of photos.

e said...

Love Olga and the blackberries! (Sounds a bit like a Russian girl band...)

jenny_o said...

How I wish we had council pickup for large unwanted objects here. Instead we must pay for transportation for them to the landfill, where there is another charge to leave them. So it's quite expensive to get rid of things such as appliances or furniture, even if they are clearly rubbish.

I love the look of petunias but they are so sticky to deadhead! I've given up on them because of that :)

Nice collection of photos, as always.

Anonymous said...

Nice collection of photos you have here. You do see some interesting stuff on your walks.

The Padre said...

Fantastic Round Up Of Photos Here - Well Done - That Last Hand Bag Photo Needs Its Place On The Bedroom Doorknob During A Certain Puppy Nap Time

Cheers
P.S. Wild Blackberries, Beautiful

Beth Reed said...

Hi, your so lucky to have such a beautiful area to take your walks in and all of the little day trips as well.

That chair. Wow.. brings back memories. I had one just like it when I was 15 except mine was orange. Mine was very comfortable. If I could have fit it on the plane when I moved to Indiana I would have taken it with me lol. I wrote my boyfriend many gushy letters from sitting in that chair. Thanks for the memory.

Love the Petunias. They are really glorious and I know that lots of people enjoy seeing them in full bloom. I didn't plant any flowers this year. I did put some seeds out but we got flooded the very next day and they were all washed away except from one lone zinnia and it has taken off and is beautiful. It is getting heavy now and tall and leaning. I guess I should cut it back. If it ever cools down enough. It is miserable here.

Off to bed, have an awesome Wednesday. Beth

Steve Reed said...

Alphie: It's amazing what petunias will put up with, isn't it?

YP: Time to make a blackberry cobbler, maybe? You could have a monkey pick them -- oh, but wait, he doesn't have any hands.

Ms Moon: Yeah, whoever wrote that note did not hold back! It just seems like an awful lot of trouble for no purpose. Whoever dropped off that fridge was never going to see it.

Mary: Camden council has come under fire for their handling of solid waste, so I think they're trying to be more responsive to problems as they arise. That app is very effective.

Bug: I was thinking maybe a bag for a food-service worker, to handle bread and that kind of thing -- but they're usually little gloves, too, not just bags. I'm stumped.

Ellen: We don't have a regularly scheduled heavy pickup -- we have to call the council and schedule it, and there's a modest fee, too.

Sharon: I'll have to go back and check out the winter scene!

Allison: I know! They're much more robust than I would have imagined!

Catalyst: Thanks!

E: Ha! That's a GREAT band name! Probably more palatable to the Russian political establishment than Pussy Riot.

Jenny-O: See, that's the thing. You don't want to make disposal SO difficult or costly that people don't want to do it. Then you wind up with furniture and mattresses dumped at the side of the road or in the woods.

Robin: Thanks! London is never boring.

Padre: I love blackberry season!

Beth: It's a shame that chair is so bedraggled. (And it looks even worse now.) Love your memories of your own similar chair!

37paddington said...

I always enjoy your iPhone pictures! I’m surprised that green chair hasn’t been snapped up by a collector. It looks like a simple recovering of the upholstery could bring it back to life.