Another day in the garden. This hoverfly landed to rest on some crocosmia buds...
...and one of our gazanias offered up a big, beautiful blossom.
It was kind of noisy around here yesterday. There's some utility work going on (again) on the streets surrounding our flat -- something about installing fiber-optic broadband -- so there are jackhammers and all manner of groaning equipment rumbling around.
Dave and I always joke that whenever we try to have a quiet moment in the garden, something disrupts it -- Mrs. Kravitz's gardeners begin mowing her lawn, or the gardeners for the neighbor on the other side bring out the hedge trimmers, or a police helicopter starts circling overhead, or someone fixing up a nearby apartment starts running a power saw. (All of this has happened within the last few days.) Evidence that although we have a fairly bucolic back garden, we do in fact live in a big city.
I was telling Dave yesterday that I haven't seen many butterflies this summer -- only cabbage whites and, as I recall, one peacock and one common blue. I wondered if the dramatic weather about ten days ago, when I was in Florida but there was flash flooding in London, affected them. Not long after I said it, we saw a red admiral flutter past, so maybe they're around after all. (We're supposed to have more dramatic rain this weekend. Fortunately, Dave and I live on a hill.)
When I walked Olga yesterday morning we came across this guy, who owns a garage up the street. Evidently he's trying to remove the "No Parking" sign from the pavement, and rather than paint over it, he's trying to hammer it off. That seems like a lot of work, not to mention potentially damaging to the pavement. Does this mean he's going to let people park there now?
The NHS only called me once yesterday!
It seems a bit cooler today ..I’m on the way to London , heading for south bank near the river
ReplyDeleteYes, we're having dramatically cooler (and damper) weather all of a sudden!
DeleteI wonder if the kneeling chap in the green overalls has been instructed by the authorities to remove his unauthorised handiwork. Clearly, he needs vehicular access to his workshop space. Please ask him next time you walk by - preferably when he is not holding a wrench.
ReplyDeleteThat sign has been there for years -- as long as we've lived here and I suspect much longer. Why he'd suddenly decide it needs to go is a mystery. Anyway, I can't ask him now because I'm in quarantine!
DeleteWhy doesn't he just paint over the 'no parking' with black paint? Our neighbor likes to park right in front of his house, and is very proud of his two scooters, one motorcycle, a car and his truck. He swiped two orange traffic cones and marks of 'HIS' parking spaces so that no one else will park there while he's out. He began to cordon off parking across the street too. We have a driveway, but if we didn't, I'd be upset at him.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that seems pretty obnoxious. I can't imagine your local parking authorities would be in favor of your neighbor doing that!
DeleteAs I said to my partner a few years ago as multiple concrete breakers were busting up the concrete below for tram track renewal, we didn't move to one of the busiest streets in a city of 4.5 million for the peace and serenity. Can't read the NYT without paying. Does Murdoch own it? I am not paying him.
ReplyDeleteNO!! God, no! The NYT is not a Murdoch paper. You should have access to a certain number of articles monthly without paying.
DeleteThe color in the first two photos is amazing; so pretty.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's gonna be some small space that guy seems to be creating!
Thanks re. the photos!
DeleteI love gazanias. My mum always loved flowers with a face, is how she described them.
ReplyDeleteI love them too! They're one of my garden favorites.
DeleteThat hoverfly on the crocosmia is amazing.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry- the guy hammering off "No Parking" is obviously insane. That's all there is to it.
LOL -- I don't know what he's thinking.
DeleteOK, hammering away the painted NO PARKING just seems odd. Maybe there’ll be more to that story. Only one phone call? What else could possibly occupy their time? Your photos are always stunning. We were out for coffee when I first read today’s post and the hoverfly photo was shared all around the cafe... after one of the staff saw it as he brought me my coffee. ¡Espectacular! as everyone said.
ReplyDeleteOh, that's cool! It's exciting to think that people in Spain got a kick out of my picture. The miracle of the Internet. :)
DeleteI love that hoverfly on the crocosmia photo! What a perfect moment. So beautiful.
ReplyDeleteIn preparation for the firework booms on the 4th of July I put two cotton balls on my night table. When the booming started, I put them in my ears and it worked! So, if things get way too loud there, try cotton and tune it out.
I'd hate to have to sit in the garden wearing earplugs, but I guess it might come to that!
Deletehammering off paint? seems like an exercise in futility. I just don't go outside these day and the condition of the yard and flower beds shows it. it's finally drying up a bit but the mosquitoes are just fierce and they go right for your face.
ReplyDeleteWe're getting to the peak of the gardening season -- pretty soon it's all going to be downhill from here.
DeleteI've never heard of anyone hammering paint off the street. I wonder if that fellow is cooking on all of his burners? That gazania is gorgeous! I love orange. You have a super day, hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteLOL -- I laughed at that expression, "cooking on all of his burners." I'll have to remember that.
DeleteLooks like a tight squeeze for a car. I don't think he knows what he is doing, poor guy!
ReplyDeleteYour flower photos are fabulous!
I don't know what motivated him to try that. It's a mystery.
DeleteThose two flower photos are pretty spectacular. Your comments about the noise made me chuckle. Life in the big city. The noise I hate the most are the leaf blowers. I really would like to see those things banned.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine someone trying to scape up the No Parking sign.
Do you get updates from Harden's? I have no idea how I got on their mailing list but they sent me updates about London restaurants all the time. Today I saw that a new restaurant called Top Hat is going to open on Tottenham Court Road. It's a Monopoly themed restaurant. What a unique idea.
I agree on leaf-blowers. One of the worst sounds imaginable! I don't get Harden's updates -- I don't even know who/what they are.
DeleteThe hover fly on the flower is really nice.
ReplyDeleteThat guy hammering paint off the floor has really chosen the difficult path. Paint out the 'no"!
EXACTLY! He wouldn't even need much paint!
DeleteThose flower shots are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteGazania? I've never heard of that and I love its name! It's quite beautiful, as well.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I love gazanias. They grow by the roadside in some states.
DeleteWe have to laugh too - although we live out in the country, we're in a small neighborhood & have three neighbors with different mowing schedules. Seems like whenever we're on the deck, one of them decides to mow - or the family up the hill starts sawing something.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm glad to know it happens to other people too!!!
DeleteAs long as the noise makers don't start after midnight you should be okay.
ReplyDeleteHa! Yeah, fortunately it's not THAT bad.
DeleteTwo of my neighbours are fastidious about their lawns and both use ride-on mowers which drive me insane. But I get my revenge - it takes 1-1/2 hours to mow our lawn with the push gas mower and I relish every minute. Oh my god I am turning into a grumpy old woman.
ReplyDeleteThose flower photos are stunning. The man with the hammer is . . . stunned? I can't come up with any way to explain why he might be doing that in that particular way. Please let us know if you get it figured out.
Mowing as revenge -- LOL! I have no idea why that guy is doing that. The letters have been painted over many times and are slightly raised, but still, the idea of trying to smash them off the pavement seems kind of ridiculous.
DeleteThat first photo is amazing, as is the budding plant. I'll be waiting to see the flowers. And the guy with the hammer. Does he really have a plan? Life in the 21st century becomes more confounding with every passing day.
ReplyDeleteThat's for sure!
DeleteIt would be so easy to paint over the words. Much less work. Ah, well. At least you only got one call from NHS. Recently, my phone informed me I had seven new messages. I listened and every single one was the same recording informing me I could get 50% off my DirecTV account. One little problem: I don't have DirecTV. Canceled it months ago. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Ha! You're still on their marketing list, obviously!
Delete