Zone Doubt, a.k.a. 'Surreal Я Us'...

Joules, trusted by... dozens... to make a drama out of your crisis...

Other sites:

:: JAT :: WaveWrights :: Publications ::

I live to write. It's not wise to get in my way.

... I'd write my autobiography, but no-one would believe it....


If you come across any words you don't recognise in this blog, take a look at the Taylorspeke Glossary in the left-hand infopane, you'll usually find a definition there.


The Poppy Tales

(Transformers fanfiction!)

Transformers mini-comics here.




Adventures in Orchids

Apparently I am now collecting them...

There's room for one - or maybe two, at a pinch - more on that bedroom windowsill (the only one in the house that's ideal for them). Let's see what I find. Well, that didn't last long...


EO - Everlasting orchid. Phalaenopsis. I've had this orchid since 2007 and it just keeps flowering...







AO - Alien face orchid. Phalaenopsis . Bought 2018 - lovely little flowers, all different patterns!





RO - Rescued orchid photo to come when it flowers. Phalaenopsis. Rescued from a bin up the road in 2019. Classic!






TO - Tiny orchid. Phalaenopsis. Bought at Tesco 21.8.20. It just begged to come home with me. How could I say no?





CO - Crimson orchid. Cambria. Another Tesco find. This one may be going to live in Ken's room once we've redecorated and put up the new shelving; it prefers a cooler, less sunny windowsill. If so, I'll need to find another cambrian to keep it company.






GO - Golden orchid. Phalaenopsis. Saw this one when I bought CO and left it behind - then immediately regretted it as soon as I got home. Never seen one like it before. Ken, bless him, went back over to Tesco in the rain and bought it for me...





DO - Dendrobium Orchid. Smells of wisteria, so beautiful...











RO2 - Rescued orchid no 2. Phalaenopsis. This is the one I rescued from the wall along the road middle of 2021.








PO. Pink orchid. Phalaenopsis. This is the one I bought at Cabury Garden Centre on special, late 2021. It's much happier here!










TWO. Teeny weeny orchid, Phalaenopsis. Rescued from Tesco end 2021 (I think).




















My IMDb ep summaries

(completed)
Arthur of the Britons
Sky
Star Maidens
The Starlost
Space Rangers
The Sentinel (part: seasons 2 and 3)
Swamp Thing (part: season 3)
Gravedale High
Transformers: Armada
Transformers: Energon
Transformers: Cybertron (part)
Misfits of Science (four eps)
Zoo Gang
Zodiac
Jupiter Moon
Transformers: Beast Wars (part: seasons 2 and 3)
Transformers: Beast Machines (part)
Vampire Princess Miyu
Starhyke
Nathan Barley
No Heroics
Undermind (3 eps)
Will Shakespeare (Tim Curry version)
Nightwalker
12 Kingdoms
Trigun (ep 8)
Rayearth
Hyperdrive (season 2 ep 3)
The Café

For later:

Missing Earthian ep
Missing Haibane Renme eps


Silver birch at Eastwood 

Farm

"Autumnal - nothing to do with leaves. It is to do with a certain brownness at the edges of the day... Brown is creeping up on us, take my word for it... Russets and tangerine shades of old gold flushing the very outside edge of the senses... deep shining ochres, burnt umber and parchments of baked earth - reflecting on itself and through itself, filtering the light. At such times, perhaps, coincidentally, the leaves might fall, somewhere..."

(Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Act 2: Tom Stoppard)

Autumn...

I love this time of year. I love the colours, the sharp slant of sunlight on the trees, mosaics of acid-yellow and harts- blood, velvet and darkness and a haze of mist-grey over the hills. I love its immanence, its mellowness, the tang of frost just around the corner of the year...

Watching the little birds in the goat-willow in my garden, I realised something more.

I love this land with a fierce, possessive love, deep-rooted in two thousand years of history. From the frosted beaches and cloud-brushing peaks of the north to the wind-haunted meanderings of the rivers of the east, from the sensuous rolling patchworked hills of the south to the demanding dark moors of the west, this land seeps into bone and blood and synapse, mother of motley nobility, culture, individual freedoms. It can be known. It can be understood. It can be felt deep inside.

I love its effortless eccentricities, its vigour and vibrancy, its flawed perfections, its silent strength and tenacious resilience, its hard-won tolerances and intense and variable beauty, the profound energy in its sacred mythical landscape.

Home and more-than-home, the forces that shape and protect and bind, in me, as I am in the land. Love returning love in the stillness for those who'll only take the time to listen...

(Joules, Autumn 2004)


All photographs taken by Joules unless otherwise specified. All photographs © Joules A Taylor or other specified individual.


In Memoriam

17.03.09 - Argent

25.07.08 - Raptor

18.12.07 - Quyn

02.12.06 - Ryme


Currently enjoying:
Muse
Transformers - IDW, Prime, Animated, Rescue Bots.

Currently reading:
Various Transformers books and graphic novels.



Currently working on:
Haadri

Currently chuffed with:
My garden

Currently miffed at:
Nestlé, Nonpres Tinyhands Fart, Toadface Farage

Currently maintaining:
BCHS
BCW


Blog Pics
I've gathered some of my pages of photos together: the page of links is here. I'll be adding more as time goes by!




Evil Squid
A Little Glossary of Taylorspeke
(in no particular order)

plit popints - n. Typo for 'plot points' typed on a keyboard with more than half the characters worn off...

[PING] (alt [ping]) - n. A brainwave. The text equivalent of a lightbulb going on blindingly over someone's head. Usually mine. And usually at the most inconvenient of times. [sigh]

TPTB - The Powers That Be.

wulmet - n. A person of little or no talent who somehow inveigles himself into a position where he is in power over other, far more talented people and uses his position to downplay them in order to try to make himself feel superior.

biteable - referring to an anatomical part vb, tasty.

Flatterfed - vb. 27.02.08: my typo for flattered, but since it's so cutely apt I thought it would fit nicely here. Lutra defined it as "the lovely warm feeling of satisfaction resulting from enthusiastic reviews..." (which I've been getting for my MB fics).

Composted - vb, 'compos mentis', mentally capable of working. Contrast with uncomposted or non- composted, not 'compos mentis', not capable of working, hungover...

Cumbles - n, cucumbers.

Kewp - how Ken says 'thank you'. We rather like Lutra's 'nanx', too...

Musekick - noun, music, without which I cannot work.

'feinne - noun, caffeine, essential for correct mental functioning, especially first thing in the morning. I prefer mine in the form of SodaStream Diet Coke. And on that subject...

Skoosh - verb, noun. To skoosh - to add CO2 to a sodastream bottle filled with water to make it fizzy, prior to adding Diet Coke syrup (or just drinking as sparkling water). A skoosh - a bottle of water that has been skooshed. Skooshy - something that has been skooshed, water, or that whipped cream that comes in tins you have to shake then upend and press the nozzle...

Shoogle - verb. To shake gently, for example, of roast potatoes in a roasting tin to ensure they're covered with oil. I have vague memories of this being a real Scottish colloquialism...

Stegasaurus - n, spider of the genus tegenaria. Why? No idea. I just find it easier, that's all...
Edit 08.09.07: Lutra thinks that Brian is a good name for a mini-stegasaurus. From now on, any 'Brian's in the posts may be assumed to be a tegenaria. Except where otherwise specified.

Viterals - noun, vitamins + minerals. Also a pun on victuals.

Splish - verb. A combination of slosh and splash.

Parrots - noun, paracetemol (from the old joke "Why are there no aspirin tablets in the jungle? Because the parrots eat 'em all...")

Maggles - noun, magpies. As opposed to non-magical people.

Flamewings - noun. Swifts. So called because the first time we became aware of them was an early summer evening when they were flying high, the light from the setting sun seemingly turning their wings to flames. Lovely little birds. We always know summer's arrived when we hear their high-pitched squeeing.

Murfs - noun, moths.

Peasant cut - noun, roughly cut up into big chunks, e.g. vegetables chopped in a hurry for a hearty stew or soup. By extension, anything prepared in a hurry - haircut, material, even a first draft of a story...

Giraffe - noun, a carafe (of wine, coffee or water, for example).

Shrumps - noun, mushrooms.

Splings - noun, Kai's spelling homework: by extension, any spelling.

Tyops - noun, typos. var toyps, typso, psyto, psoyt, etc. Usual result of a dose of the fingerials (see next entry).

Fingerials - (pr. fin GEEE ree yalls) noun, fingers that will not type what you want them to.

Haddock - noun, time, of which I never have enough. (Origin of this term here.)

Sleep - noun? vb? a.k.a. sheeeeeeeeep.... I used to know what this word meant...


The Updates Blog

The place to stay notified of WaveWrights' Fiction updates: Zone, Darkside, DarkRealm, Matrix, Vault, Safehouse 13...




my computer gremlin Butch. click the pic to see the larger image

Butch, my computer gremlin. Click the pic for larger version, and read his adventures here...

Butch by the talented 

Sylverthorne

A gift for me! Butch by the very talented Sylverthorne. Click pic for larger image.

Joules' 

Haddock

This is MY haddock. It was caught exclusively for me by Talon. No, you can't have any. I need all the haddock I can get!!



A'lestrel by Valkyrie.

A'lestrel - a gift for me from Valkyrie...



Albino Alsatian Benten (c) MEBird 

2004

Another gorgeous Valkyrie gift for me - Benten the Albino Alsatian! Click thumbnail for larger image.

Radittsu, an oekaki for my birthday 04 

by 

Onna

Oekai by Bakayaro Onna - Radittsu at his sexiest...



The Zone Plant from
The Zone 

blog 

plant

OrganicHTML (which alas no longer seems to exist...)
[::..My Regular Reads..::]
:: Astronomical Pic of the Day [>]
:: What is Space... [>]
:: Dark Roasted Blend [>]
:: BLDG [>]
:: Watchismo Times [>]
[::..Fun Places..::]
::HubbleSite
Stunning...
::PALEOMAP Project
Absolutely fascinating.
:: Skymap
Check out the night sky where you are!
[::..Useful Sites..::]
:: GreenNet
First stop for environmental matters
:: The Forest of Avon
Our local community forest and places to visit
:: The Guardian
Online Guardian Newspaper.
:: Symbols
Exactly what it says
:: World Timeserver
For checking the current time around this world
:: Universal Currency Converter
Actually it's just a terran-global currency converter, not universal, but it's still useful...

So what is it with the haddock? Am I some kind of fish freak?

I'll leave that to others to decide.

The tale (or tail if you prefer) harks back to October 2000, when my GoodTwin and I, ably assisted by Sue, ran the first UK Professionals convention...
It's common knowledge that I never have enough time, and I was determined not to bewail the fact that weekend: hence I promised not to use the 'T' word...
Of course, that didn't really work (if nothing else I had to let the trainees know what times things were supposed to be happening!) so we decided a substitute word would be employed instead. There were several suggestions. Banana came very close to being chosen. However, I eventually decided that 'haddock' fitted the bill nicely. Ever since, haddock=time. Hence the title of my forthcoming autobiography,
My Half-Life in the Haddock Space Continuum....


Normally I wouldn't, but these were just irresistible...

How could I resist?

Just too adorable...

and to complete the rainbow...

These Too-Kawaii Kitties
were adopted from
Ghost's Anime Page (which appears to have disappeared, alas...)

[::..Anime/Manga..::]
Useful sites:

BBTS -
Fabulous anime figures

Anime Lyrics
A huge selection... evil popups

Anime still needed to complete series' I'm collecting... Many thanks to everyone who has helped me acquire the collection!
Ai no Kusabi

Owned:
   DVD
   Dj: June Special
   CD: Ambivalence

Cyber City Oedo 808

Owned:
   DVD
   All 3 eps on Video, dubbed
   Dj: Cyberage 1-3
   Illustrated Book 2 (Benten's) in Japanese

From Eroica with Love

Owned:
   Manga Vols 1, 9, 11

Mirage of Blaze

Owned:
   DVD Vol 1 (eps 1-4)

R.G. Veda

Owned:
   English Manga: Vol 1
   Japanese Manga: Vol 1-7 complete
   Tarot Pack
   R.G.Veda video

Twelve Kingdoms

Owned:
   Anime Vol 1-12: complete

Under the Glass Moon

Owned:
   Manga Vol 1, 2
Vol 3 needed

Vampire Hunter D - Bloodlust

Owned:
   DVD

   Vampire Hunter D Book 1



New Vampire Miyu

Owned:
   (Studio Ironcat) Manga Vols 1 -5 (complete)


Yami no Matsuei

Owned:
   Viz Manga: English translation, Vols 1 - 11 (complete: I believe vol 12 is only available online)
   Japanese 3-DVD set
   Central Park Media: Descendants of Darkness Vol. 1, English/Japanese subbed.
   Sketchbook


[::..Joules SP fied..::]


... this is Terra? How the hell'd I end up here...?

(Thanks, Lutra, for the quote!)

[::..archive..::]
07/01/2002 - 07/31/2002
08/01/2002 - 08/31/2002
09/01/2002 - 09/30/2002
10/01/2002 - 10/31/2002
11/01/2002 - 11/30/2002
12/01/2002 - 12/31/2002
01/01/2003 - 01/31/2003
02/01/2003 - 02/28/2003
03/01/2003 - 03/31/2003
04/01/2003 - 04/30/2003
05/01/2003 - 05/31/2003
06/01/2003 - 06/30/2003
07/01/2003 - 07/31/2003
08/01/2003 - 08/31/2003
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10/01/2003 - 10/31/2003
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12/01/2003 - 12/31/2003
01/01/2004 - 01/31/2004
02/01/2004 - 02/29/2004
03/01/2004 - 03/31/2004
04/01/2004 - 04/30/2004
05/01/2004 - 05/31/2004
06/01/2004 - 06/30/2004
07/01/2004 - 07/31/2004
08/01/2004 - 08/31/2004
09/01/2004 - 09/30/2004
10/01/2004 - 10/31/2004
11/01/2004 - 11/30/2004
12/01/2004 - 12/31/2004
01/01/2005 - 01/31/2005
02/01/2005 - 02/28/2005
03/01/2005 - 03/31/2005
04/01/2005 - 04/30/2005
05/01/2005 - 05/31/2005
06/01/2005 - 06/30/2005
07/01/2005 - 07/31/2005
08/01/2005 - 08/31/2005
09/01/2005 - 09/30/2005
10/01/2005 - 10/31/2005
11/01/2005 - 11/30/2005
12/01/2005 - 12/31/2005
01/01/2006 - 01/31/2006
02/01/2006 - 02/28/2006
03/01/2006 - 03/31/2006
04/01/2006 - 04/30/2006
05/01/2006 - 05/31/2006
06/01/2006 - 06/30/2006
07/01/2006 - 07/31/2006
08/01/2006 - 08/31/2006
09/01/2006 - 09/30/2006
10/01/2006 - 10/31/2006
11/01/2006 - 11/30/2006
12/01/2006 - 12/31/2006
01/01/2007 - 01/31/2007
02/01/2007 - 02/28/2007
03/01/2007 - 03/31/2007
04/01/2007 - 04/30/2007
05/01/2007 - 05/31/2007
06/01/2007 - 06/30/2007
07/01/2007 - 07/31/2007
08/01/2007 - 08/31/2007
09/01/2007 - 09/30/2007
10/01/2007 - 10/31/2007
11/01/2007 - 11/30/2007
12/01/2007 - 12/31/2007
01/01/2008 - 31/01/2008
01/02/2008 - 29/02/2008
03/01/2008 - 31/03/2008
01/04/2008 - 04/30/2008
01/05/2008 - 31/05/2008
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01/01/2014 - 31/01/2014
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01/11/2014 - 30/11/2014
01/12/2014 - 31/12/2014
01/01/2015 - 31/01/2015
01/02/2015 - 28/02/2015
01/03/2015 - 31/03/2015
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01/05/2015 - 31/05/2015
01/06/2015 - 30/06/2015
01/07/2015 - 31/07/2015
01/08/2015 - 31/08/2015
01/09/2015 - 30/09/2015
01/10/2015 - 31/10/2015
01/11/2015 - 31/11/2015
01/12/2015 - 31/12/2015
01/01/2016 - 31/01/2016
01/022016 - 28/02/2016
01/03/2016 - 31/03/2016
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01/06/2016 - 30/06/2016
01/07/2016 - 31/07/2016
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01/10/2016 - 31/10/2016
01/11/2016 - 31/11/2016
01/12/2016 - 31/12/2016
01/01/2017 - 31/01/2017
01/02/2017 - 28/02/2017
01/03/2017 - 31/03/2017
01/04/2017 - 30/04/2017
01/05/2017 - 31/05/2017
01/06/2017 - 30/06/2017
01/07/2017 - 31/07/2017
01/08/2017 - 31/08/2017
01/09/2017 - 30/09/2017
01/10/2017 - 31/10/2017
01/11/2017 - 30/11/2017
01/12/2017 - 31/12/2017
01/01/2018 - 31/01/2018
01/02/2018 - 28/02/2018
01/03/2018 - 31/03/2018
01/04/2018 - 30/04/2018
01/05/2018 - 31/05/2018
01/06/2018 - 30/06/2018
01/07/2018 - 31/07/2018
01/08/2018 - 31/08/2018
01/09/2018 - 30/09/2018
01/10/2018 - 31/10/2018
01/11/2018 - 30/11/2018
01/12/2018 - 31/12/2018
01/01/2019 - 31/01/2019
01/02/2019 - 28/02/2019
01/03/2019 - 31/03/2019
01/04/2019 - 30/04/2019
01/05/2019 - 31/05/2019
01/06/2019 - 30/06/2019
01/07/2019 - 31/07/2019
01/08/2019 - 31/08/2019
01/09/2019 - 30/09/2019
01/10/2019 - 31/10/2019
01/11/2019 - 30/11/2019
01/12/2019 - 31/12/2019
01/01/2020 - 31/01/2020
01/02/2020 - 29/02/2020
01/03/2020 - 31/03/2020
01/04/2020 - 31/04/2020
01/05/2020 - 31/05/2020
01/06/2020 - 31/06/2020
01/07/2020 - 31/07/2020
01/08/2020 - 31/08/2020
01/09/2020 - 30/09/2020
01/10/2020 - 31/10/2020
01/11/2020 - 30/11/2020
01/12/2020 - 31/12/2020
01/01/2021 - 31/01/2021
01/02/2021 - 28/02/2021
01/03/2021 - 31/03/2021
01/04/2021 - 30/04/2021
01/05/2021 - 31/05/2021
01/06/2021 - 30/06/2021
01/07/2021 - 31/07/2021
01/08/2021 - 31/08/2021
01/09/2021 - 30/09/2021
01/10/2021 - 31/10/2021
01/11/2021 - 30/11/2021
01/12/2021 - 31/12/2021
01/01/2022 - 31/01/2022
01/02/2022 - 28/02/2022
01/03/2022 - 31/03/2022
01/04/2022 - 30/04/2022
01/05/2022 - 30/05/2022
01/06/2022 - 31/06/2022
01/07/2022 - 31/07/2022
01/08/2022 - 31/08/2022
01/09/2022 - 30/09/2022
01/10/2022 - 31/10/2022
01/11/2021 - 31/11/2021
01/12/2022 - 31/12/2022
01/01/2023 - 31/01/2023
01/02/2023 - 28/02/2023
01/03/2023 - 31/03/2023
01/04/2023 - 30/04/2023
01/08/2023 - 31/08/2023
01/11/2023 - 31/11/2023

Saturday, August 31, 2013

The kite festival was wonderful. I took a lot of photos and have sorted them into a page, but haven't constructed it yet - hopefully tomorrow. I got back and was plunged straight into client stuff (and feeding birds and Feather), so it's been a bit of a long day.

Of course, it wouldn't be us if the days didn't have its fun spots. The guy behind us on the bus wouldn't stop talking and laughing (with himself), there was another guy at the bus station picking fights (I think, we stayed well away), the bus driver got inundated with far more people than he should really have taken on, and there was a couple of miles to walk (uphill) when we got there. But it was well worth it. Even Kai said so!

I took Tinyscream with me on his first outing.

He adored The Decorators (they are incredible) but got too excited with their precision flying and spoiled the shot...


More tomorrow. Tired now.

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0 Comments:



Friday, August 30, 2013

Morning shop, then Kai and I moved the paeony. We got most of the root ball - but five of the fat tuberous roots broke off in the move. I've planted them in a big pot - we'll see if they produce new plants!

It's quite possible that the main plant won't flower for several years (they sulk when moved) but it's now in full sun and has plenty of space, so we might be lucky.

Other than that - client work and a little tidying up. The evenings are already drawing in and it's quite cold out there once the sun starts setting. This does not bode well for a mild winter.

Tomorrow Kai and I are going to the Bristol Kite Festival. I've wanted to go since before he was born and finally decided to do it. There are several displays I particularly want to see and most of them are in the afternoon. Like this one -

Festival of the Sea – a feast of giant octopi, rays, mermaids, Neptune, flying fish, dolphins, scuba divers, Roly the Killer Whale and other sea-themed kites.

I shall take my camera...

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1 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

Maybe - SQUID!!!! :)

10:24 am  



Thursday, August 29, 2013

Off to the sorting office to collect Dark Energon Starscream...


He's very pretty...


Same frame as TfP Starscream but different deco. Transparent wings and body, very cool. (Yes, I know he looks like Skywarp, and if I ever wanted to do a comic with both Seekers I could always pretend...)


I felt like being very silly earlier. Here is When T-Cogs Fail...


(Found the little scooter in the Age charity shop... yesterday? Day before?... for 50p and it's just the right size.)

And today Kai and I moved the juniper. The roots went very deep and we had to break a lot of them, so I don't know if it will survive or not. I really hope so, as it's a beauty and looks terrific there...

The 'rockery' today.


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2 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

"Yes, I know he looks like Skywarp..."

[clueless] Does he? Okay.

The scooter is cute. Not a very dignified mode of transport though... :)

11:27 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

It's a spoof of the Season 2 ep where t-cogless and hence flightless Starscream was reduced to riding a hover scooter in the Arctic...

11:31 pm  



Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Early start, busy as usual. Knackered and heading bedwards soon.

Kai spent the afternoon installing a new power unit and graphics card in his computer.

Agent came back with a 'sorry, no' for the last proposal I sent in...

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Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Had a lie in til 9 am... [g]

Client stuff done, and I've moved both my dianthus plants from Roeg's Pool to the new slope. The newer one should be fine, but the old one's roots went incredibly deep. I've dug up as much as I can, and will just have to keep fingers crossed it survives. And thrives, of course.

[bemused] I have a Linkedin account (it was recommended at the author's Yule Dinner in London) and they send me recruitment info every now and then. But I do find their selection amusing...


My Kreo Starscream arrived today. He's tiny and adorable and I've ordered another so I can have one on my desk and carry one with me. As a lucky charm if nothing else.



I should go pick beans and check the sweetcorn. Shouldn't be too long now before I can pick and freeze it!

This is highly amusing...

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2 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

You don't fancy any of those jobs? I'm sure there's a couple right up your street :)

Starscream is wearing an evil smirk - he probably read those Amazon reviews...

6:17 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

There are a couple there I would love, but I'm not qualified for any of them...
[g] Yerrsss... it's a perfect little evil smirk. It's his trademark in everything except the Unicron Trilogy - and even there I do believe it makes an appearance in the last part, Cybertron.

7:33 pm  



Monday, August 26, 2013

Up early, second wash going through. Found this -


- sitting on the quarantined pond weed in the bowl on the table outside the kitchen. Very debonair bug. Love the orange pompom antennae!

He's now in the fern.

Off to Clevedon in half an hour to try to fly a kite...

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4 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

Very pretty - what sort of bug is it? :)

6:31 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

... It's one of these -

http://www.uksafari.com/sexton.htm

!!! that's a little worrying...

8:33 pm  
Blogger GoodTwin said...

um, yes... Do you have any corpses in your garden? ;)

9:41 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Not as far as I know - which is why it's worrying!!

10:10 pm  



Sunday, August 25, 2013

[sigh] Later edits for corrections...

So, usual Sunday shop, then the garden...

Ken has made the slope of the 'rockery' a lot shallower: it's going to be easier to handle now.


I've taken up the acanthus spinosa and have - potentially - eight new plants from it. We'll see if they take.


Kai dug the holes for the wintersweet (the little tree with the four protective bars around it) and the physocarpus (the taller burgundy plant on the left). We found at least a pane's worth of broken glass in the first hole, which took four times as long to clear as simply digging the hole for the little tree should have done. Oh joy.

But it's coming together, slowly but surely!

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Saturday, August 24, 2013

Quickie because tired...

Yesterday started with me digging up and splitting the stachis up at the square (four plants if they all survive) and pulling up bay roots, followed by several hours of client stuff.

Today Ken and I went to Wells (finally!). It was great but absolutely heaving with tourists... We picked up a few goodies, and took a gander at St Cuthbert's Church, where the village fete was held in Hot Fuzz. There's a Green Man above the entrance...


... which is rather special.

I was not happy, however, to find when we got back that Kai had failed to take in my parcel, presumably sleeping past the postman's knocking on the door at 11.55 despite being woken before we left. I'll have to go and collect it (not risking redelivery after the mess they made of that last time) and because it's a bank holiday the earliest I can expect to pick it up is Thursday. Well, maybe Wednesday but to be sure, Thursday. This is one of the Starscream's I have ordered from ebay, either the little Kreo version or the dark energon TFP one with the transparent wings. Thoroughly miffed.

I found The Lovely Bones in one of the charity shops today, and we watched it after dinner. Amazing film! Beautiful imagineering...

I should probably have an earlyish night...

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Friday, August 23, 2013


Found by Lin...

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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Dwarf bean? I don't think so!







It said it was a a dwarf French bean.


It lied.








I don't know what this is. I have tried several water plants in Roeg's Pool in the past, including a water hawthorn, but I don't recognise this one. It's pretty though.

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2 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

LOL! So it's a dwarf bean with ambition...

7:48 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

*snerk* That's one way of looking at it!!

3:02 pm  



Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Later edit:

Twelfth part of New World 2 - Echoes - now posted over at The Poppy Tales (link above).

Enjoy!



Catch-up time...

What have I been up to apart from being constantly tired? Ken and I moved the large heather from the rockery to the slope up at the top of the garden (I've given it lots of ericaceous compost to help it along): the chamomile plants between the rockery steps are coming along nicely: my sweetcorn cobs are ripening in the sun: and the rogue pumpkin plant (grew from a seed in the compost) has two massive fruits coming. Will photograph them when they're ripe, and maybe make jack-o-lanterns from the skin. The flesh I'll see if I can freeze - it's great with pork in casseroles - and we'll toast the seeds (delicious, as we discovered last year!)

We watched Jack the Giant Slayer on Filmflex - a fun film, a nice romp. Gravity looks good, and Elysium (same director as the truly excellent District 9) - we might try to see them at the cinema for the full cgi effects.

Kai is still chilling (and still delighted!) after getting his results: we're off to the Sunday market to get a new rucksack for him this weekend. And maybe some new trainers too.

And next!Poppy is three pages in and I'm hoping to finish and post it today...

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Monday, August 19, 2013

Shattered. Proper post tomorrow. Off to bed...

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Saturday, August 17, 2013

Up early and made a start on tidying. Old printer has gone up to Ken's office to see if it will work up there (if not we'll give it to Kai) and I cleared another shelf for figures. Pic is link to larger photo if you're interested...


Now ploughing on with next!Poppy...

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2 Comments:

Blogger Sue said...

LOL - it's like a creeping infestation *G*

12:58 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

[sigh] And 11 more coming at Yule...

1:12 pm  



Friday, August 16, 2013

So much for a lie in...

But I got a lot done, domestic- and garden-wise, and this afternoon Kai helped me plant my lawn chamomile in what I sincerely hope will be its last resting place, in between the steps from patio to rockery plateau. Ken fed Feather for me (I could grump, he's fed her twice now and it takes him seconds, where it takes minutes before she'll take it from me...) while I did the greenhouse and fed the birds. Kai has just chilled all day and really enjoyed the lack of stress!

Tomorrow - it's supposed to be mostly showery: I have indoor things planned (some rearranging in this room, mainly).

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Thursday, August 15, 2013

Maths - A*
Physics - A
Computing - B
Psychology - B

And his confirmation letter (email) from Bristol Uni was waiting for him. (He needed two A's and a B, one of the A's to be in Maths.)

[BG] It was worth getting up at 6 after two hours' sleep to get there just after they opened. We're all surprised but delighted with the Psychology grade: he was sure he'd failed it again.

Proud? Damn right!

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3 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

Yay!!! Excellent news. Well done!

11:24 am  
Blogger Sue said...

Oh very well done indeed!

5:50 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Thank you from Kai!

8:20 pm  



Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Dull and occasionally drizzly today. Did both Sainsbury and Tesco shops - and then gave up. Kai gets his A level results tomorrow and there's no way I can focus on anything until we know what he will be doing for the next few years...

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Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Client stuff most of the day...

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Monday, August 12, 2013

We've been busy.

'Rockery' back at the beginning of July.

'Rockery' today (Kai resettled the steps for me and added two to the originals - crackin' job.)

It's all coming along...

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Sunday, August 11, 2013

K&K went to Weston yesterday for a day out - and it took them four hours to get back, thanks to the Fiesta traffic. Apparently the mass ascent was a record - 100 balloons!

Here are a few of them...


Today Ken came to help carry the shopping and treated us both to lunch at the Black Castle! It was extremely nice: I had the steak on a bed of sizzling onions, rare as is my wont, and it was cooked perfectly! Impressed I was.

When we got back we did a little more to the patio area - raked off a whole load of the dead stuff and Ken made a start on flattening/diminishing the slope above the patio. Kai has promised to help me with the frewtnog pool - and getting a path into the strawberry bed - over the next few days. There's still months of work left to do, but it is coming along.

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Saturday, August 10, 2013

Go HERE and press the button...

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2 Comments:

Blogger Sue said...

Oh, I feel so much better now!

12:09 pm  
Blogger Sue said...

And weirdly, my password worked this time.

12:10 pm  



Friday, August 09, 2013

SO off we went to the Balloon Fiesta...

Firstbus run a Balloon Fiesta shuttle these days, £4 return, so we leapt on one at Temple Meads and headed off...

[grump] It stopped at the Long Ashton stop the normal Clevedon bus uses - which meant we had to walk what felt like miles, uphill, in blazing sun, to get to the estate and the natural amphitheatre where everything happens.

Lots and lots and lots of funfair rides...

A few balloons, although the mass ascent was at 6 (we didn't stay).

And then the bit I'd been looking forward to - which was a bit of a disappointment. The mini-shop only had half a dozen figures of the twenty or so that are available now: I asked, and was told they simply hadn't been able to get hold of any others.

And It wasn't even Prime Optimus - this is the big rig from the Bayverse films...

Though it is rather handsome, and Kai took my photo standing next to him (no I'm not posting it, I look dreadful).

But since we were there, we stayed for the Red Arrows, and that was glorious, and made it all worthwhile. Photos are here. I've put the main pic on the left, close-up on the right, where applicable (one of them you'll have to scroll sideways to see the whole thing). They do spend a surprising amount of time flying upside down.

Didn't get home until 5.40, but it was a fun day all told, and Kai enjoyed himself too!

Tired now though...

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Wednesday, August 07, 2013

Veg bed now.


Heuchera bed.

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Tuesday, August 06, 2013



YAY!!

The Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters Tour UK is going to be at the Bristol Balloon Fiesta this weekend! (Yes. I know it says Bristol Airshow. The Red Arrows will be making their usual show, and there'll be an RAF Typhoon flyover too, which is where the confusion has probably arisen. Bristol doesn't have an airshow - it's too small. Far too many people these days don't get their facts right... )

No prizes for guessing where Kai and I will be!

I know it won't be a patch on the cons, but I can never get to them. I'm still hoping I might be able to pick up a Cyberverse Shockwave, and, if I'm lucky, a Voyager class Smokescreen. Keeping fingers crossed!

OH! OH! OH! And the Cartoon Network says they'll be screening Beast Hunters in September!

Hence the happy bouncing rhinos...

In other news... We've bottled the elderflower wine (very disappointing, very weak. I had a lot of difficulty getting it to ferment), I've blanched and frozen a whole load of stuff now, and we're not too far off getting the front started. It's all go!

Oh, and Kai gets his results next week...

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Monday, August 05, 2013

Did I say normal? Heh.

The doctor rang me to ask how things were going, and on hearing the rash is spreading, got me an additional urgentish appointment to see Dr Meadows on Thursday, after I've seen the nurse to have blood taken. The results of the swab she took on Friday should be back by then, and they can check that the antibios are the right ones.

It's nice they're taking such good care, but it does all feel like a bit of a fuss...

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1 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

It sounds nasty - let them fuss!

9:53 pm  



Sunday, August 04, 2013

It must be autumn, Tyjer slept on the bed last night instead of under the landing window...

[sigh] So the wash and the ointment work great, on patches of skin already affected. But they aren't stopping the bloody thing from spreading. Much as I hate doing so, I'll have to take the course of antibiotics. Oh joy. They're the ones you have to take four times a day on an empty stomach. That's going to be fun...

Other than that it's been a relatively successful weekend. I've tried to take it as easy as possible, which I think has helped. Will try to get back to what passes for normal 'round 'ere tomorrow.

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1 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

What a pain, quite literally. Hope it clears up quickly.

7:50 am  



Friday, August 02, 2013

[sigh] Up to the doctor's again...

It seems I have impetigo. It started on my lower back and spread up to my sides (yesterday. I came in from the garden with what I thought was a heat rash, but which within hours had evolved into big weeping sores). Doctor has prescribed me an anti-bacterial wash, fucidin antibiotic ointment, and - in case that fails - another course of flucloxacillin, which I'm to start if the others haven't started working by Sunday. I have no idea where this came from, I've never had it before, but I suppose I should be grateful it didn't start on my face, which is where it usually makes its first appearance.

Ken took a photo of my back, but I'm not going to post it. It's extremely unpleasant. I have the non-bullous version, in case anyone really wants to google it. Horrible looking but it's supposed to heal without leaving scars. I'll believe that when I see it.

It's contagious. Oh joy.

The itching is driving me nuts...

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Thursday, August 01, 2013

Happy Lughnasadh!


Not bad going. Two washes put through, three lots of honeysuckle dug up and potted and the rest poisoned - as is the rest of what was still alive of the grass out the front - and I've started pruning the wisteria (a little later, should have been done last month, but since everything's late this year it should be fine. I'm hoping to put some vine eyes in the house wall to train it for next year, if I can get hold of good eyes, rawl plugs and some sort of tough exterior filler. Hoping to get to a hardware store over the weekend.) And it's not even lunch yet!

This mess is what the rockery now looks like...


The plan is to move the paeony further down the slope, move the wintersweet to the middle of the space, and plant my little silver and pink acer near to Roeg's Pool, roughly where the sedum is at the moment, a little way from my well-established red acer. I haven't been able to find out how big it will grow: depending on which one it is it'll be a maximum of four feet or twelve feet... we'll have to wait and see, but either way that will be a good place for it. The physocarpus will be planted between the two uprights on the left. Now we have to decide what's going to be grown under the new plants. I've suggested the lawn chamomile, which is doing well in its tray, but which will only cover a tiny bit of the space. We'll have to ponder...

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1 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

Grand Designs - this is all sounding splendid!

8:56 pm  





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