Garden Update

 My physicality today is lawn mowing. We have green bin at the weekend which is looking busy so that means tidy up is today. It's not all cuttings and mulch though as the neighbours delivered 2 dozen eggs and a big box of potatoes for doing their mowing.  The barter system at work, grass for food. I found someone has dug a hole in the lawn out the front. This would have happened when we were away somewhere maybe when we were in Willie a few days back.  The hole is where the pit cover is for the comms cables running beneath.  The turf has been put back but there is a neat dead rectangle there now.  Elsewhere the blossoms are out in force on the apricot tree so we are looking for a bigger yield this time around and the nearby dreaded ivy seems to be dying off after the new owners got a crew in to clear out half of next doors plants.  We need to get some lemons out the front.

Lexicon

 This is a book about words. In this case some sort of mind control, like hypnosis, where you can get someone to do your bidding but without the hypnosis. It gets a bit complicated, as when you are good at it you can turn the tables. eg if someone says stand on one foot then while you are doing that you are actually studying them so that ipso fatso you can tell them to go jump.  Simples!  The book has an Australian setting in Broken Hill where the descriptions used here aren't too flattering.  Certainly worth a read and a different author for me. It seems he has gotten into proper scifi so maybe I can use my AI mind control to hunt down a copy of his other books.  As they said at the end of this book "Kikkhf fkattkx hfkixu zttcku"  I wonder if Max Barry just closed his eyes and banged on the keyboard to come up with some of this stuff.

The difference an E makes

Good stamp day yesterday with showers driving thru then Sun then showers etc. I have mentioned previously about the large difference a stamp can have in value, depending on other factors like mint vs used or condition issues like fading, tearing etc.  I found two stamps yesterday, vastly different in value becuase of the original designs.  The early German currency was a mixed bag between North and South German areas up to 1875.  A united one currency fits all, came in 1875 (100 Pfennige = 1 Mark) but it seems the spelling of Pfennige was an issue. The E was dropped but could still be seen on stamps for the first few years.  These stamps are worth $1000 more than those without an E and I found one of each.

with E

with No E

Correspondence

 I have featured a number of letters here always from an archive that I have built up over the years. This time it is a letter that arrived yesterday. We often hang it on the postal service but this time they have worked it out given that there is absolutely nothing on the front of the envelope. All the action, including the stamp, is on the back.  The only parental influence seems to be that the postcode has been rewritten. I took out the street name but you can see the effort. The point of this letter was asking for a sleepover which has now been arranged for next week. Hooray. 

PS stamps prices are rising quicker than petrol. Everytime you turn around the price has gone up. On our return envelope I have placed three previous christmas stamps totalling $1.95 that should get it there.

More beach Junk

 Yesterday I retrieved a submerged bag from the water. I think it was briefly viewed in the video yesterday however I stashed it in a bush for another day.  Well that wasn't long was it,as I went back for it today. However you can't just pickup one item so the trusty bag was once again filled to brimming with washed up stuff. I can tell you one of the problems fishermen have is that they often loose their footwear. Twice in a row now I have picked up odd shoes and not for the last time.  The other main item was a corroded blanket. I can describe the scene.  Very early before dawn there is a guy huddled with his blanket out on the Bay. He has lost his shoes and with a coolish breeze is trying to get his feet under the blanket as well, but some how tips it overboard. He reviews the problem and decides to eat all his biscuits, potatoe chips and snickers bars and all those papers end up in the water too. Tell me I'm wrong.

heron ?

black blanket

Warm Easterly

 There has been a weather change around here with a warm North Easterly for two days.  The tide was low again so I grabbed the shot for another beach session.  I stayed at the back this time as the wet sand gives the shot a gritty coating. I found the relatively solid grassy patch where I could launch into the dry stuff. There are a lot of washed up sticks and debris as well and that stuff explodes when the shot hits it. The breeze was right behind my trajectory which I think has contributed to my longest throw. These balls are heavy but maybe the breeze can carry them a bit further.  The water was very low and very clear so I waded out passed the end of the groyne to check out some of the sponges. The water is still coolish but manageable. I did not go all under.

Balloons Again

 Puzzles and sunny days don't really mix but this one has been on the table for a while and I made sure to finish it in the morning which meant there might be time for an activity later. This balloon puzzle was a tricky one with a single standard classic balloon shape comprising 99% and just three others more easily distinguishable. See if you can find a rooster, a duck and an ice cream.  This should not surprise me as when we did the real thing all the balloons were standard which must reduce the cost of making one. Not sure if it is too late in the season to start another puzzle one which was given to me last week. Maybe the weather will tell me.