Banksy and a Sunbathing Robin

We met up with my brother and his family yesterday for a Sunday pub lunch in Bloomsbury, where they're staying. We thought they should experience a traditional Sunday roast, so that's what we got -- chicken, in my case, with a Yorkshire pudding and all the trimmings. It was good but as is typical when I eat a Sunday roast, I consumed pretty much my entire day's caloric intake in one sitting. No dinner for me last night.

Anyway, after eating we took the tube down to Piccadilly Circus and walked from there through St. James Park to Buckingham Palace, to show them some of the sights in that area. One I hadn't anticipated seeing was Banksy's newest artwork, on a plinth near Pall Mall.

As we passed it, Dave exclaimed, "Hey, that's the new Banksy!"

I think we all know who inspired that artwork.

We also passed a wino clutching a bottle of rosé who slurred "I love you" to each of us as we disembarked from an elevator in the Piccadilly tube station, and a man belting out an off-key version of the Cranberries' song "Linger" while concealed behind a statue in St. James Park. He may have been hiding his body, but his voice was on full display.

After strolling past the palace and through Green Park, I sent them back to their hotel on the tube and Dave and I came back to West Hampstead to intercept a grocery delivery.

A relatively short garden cam video this week, at just four minutes, but one that features some excellent footage and answers an important question!

-- We start with Q-Tip (I think) trotting past and pausing. Near the teasel to the right of the path you can see a dark object on the ground. That's one of the fox's dog treats, which they get from an unknown source. At 0:32 the fox makes a half-hearted attempt to pick up the treat, but ultimately leaves it behind.
--  At 0:44, the following morning, I pick up the disgusting half-eaten treat and throw it out so we don't encourage rats.
-- At 1:03, a little robin hops into the lower right of the screen and then nestles itself into the ground and spreads its wings. This is what we were seeing last week when I thought the bird might be sick. It's not sick at all. Robins and other birds sunbathe to maintain their feathers. Who knew?!
-- At 1:22 you see me with a watering can. I saved this footage to show the temperature: 116º F (or 47º C), according to the camera. The next afternoon it's even hotter, at 127º F (or 53º C)! Obviously that's not the air temperature, but the temperature of the camera sitting in the sun.
-- At 1:48, Pale Cat wanders past.
-- At 2:02 we get some of the best fox footage I've ever collected. The fox, in daylight, wanders up, gets comfortable and lies down for a moment. I love seeing the fox so relaxed in our garden! (That will change when we get a dog, sadly.)
-- At 2:43, a squirrel doing a sort of funny, bow-legged old-man walk.
-- At 3:03, a fox hops out of the nighttime shrubbery.
-- At 3:11, Tabby slinks past.
-- At 3:18, some rough-housing squirrels jostle the camera.
-- At 3:38, the fox returns, and then at 3:49 it's back in color for some scratching and grooming. Someone's feeling itchy!