The Carp are having a Diem

Ian Hutson

Somewhere under there…

Filthy beasts.

Sunday eh? We’ve been promised some brightth today by the Metabiological Office, even some … sunshine. In the name of keeping my lead-acid chums as healthy as may be possible under the circumstances I’ve run Mr Engine this morning, in the hopes that the solar panels will have enough to feed on to do the rest in the brief day that follows. Doubtless the neighbours – moored some hundred yards or more away, their choice, not mine – and if light sleepers and/or late sleepers – were mightily displeased at 0800hrs but them’s the roolz and needs must when dismal weather drives. I notice that they’ve just started their engine (now that mine’s off) so perhaps I did them some small remindednessnous favour? One hopes.

The day began prettily enough. What is needed now is excited photons and dozens of them.

There was rain again overnight, so the towpaths won’t have any less sog than of late, and will be slip-slideable rather than walkable in parts (up alongside the double-barrelled boat moored towards the bridge, a patch beyond the bridge after that).

There’s already been an angler up and down, so the towpaths must be navigable by those of a miserable bent. I’ll take myself out later and test to see whether the insanely cheerful may also pass without disastrous hindrance.

There’s been a tiny little wee small (tautological) bird, possibly a sparroid or something similarly drab brown, hunting inside the Cardinal’s cratch cover in the early mornings of late. Mr Bird has discovered that the inside of a narrowboat’s cratch (as with a camel’s crotch) is a fine source of sluggish spiders and suchlike. I make a point of not disturbing the wee beastie while he feeds.

The heron is around here somewhere today, but betwixt me poking a hopeful camera lens out of the side-hatch and that uber-cheerful, ray of golden social sunshine angler plodding up and down with his worms Mr Heron has been tut-tutting a lot, and proffering the odd avian swear-word as he flaps to a fresh location. There’s nowt so funny as receiving a heartfelt bras d’honneur from a heron.

Thinking about it, I have to go out later anyway, since the “Low Biscuit” light is flashing in the galley. I suspect that consumption of one more HobNob will set off the final warning klaxon. Fresh air eh? It does so get in one’s lungs.

B’ger. As I have been typing this such sunshine as we had has been muted by a blanket of cloud. Damn these small islands in the North Atlantic, just damn them all to bloody weather.

On the Good Gnus front, Messrs ASDA (every LIDL counts) have allowed me to register with them for comestibles. When I looked they were even showing me some delivery slots. I am still stumbling up the Learning Curve of what’s where, and of How To. If it all works then I shall test them at their earliest convenience. Doubtless they are as rotten to the WOKE/Global Reset core as are Ar*sebury’s, but at least – for the nonce – they are not Ar*sebury’s. Colour me lurid green and throw broccoli at me.

Right, I’d best away and begin the day portion of the day, for the evening and darkness (of all kinds) will be with us again soon enough.

Cheerity-Rating Disclaimer: Written in an English late November during the Year of *&%^^$”**, after a long spell of dull and drear days – on a day that, thus far, has only been marginally brighter. Other blogs are available, some of them much more up-beat and ticketty-boo. Sole consumption of Diesel-Electric Elephants may lead to Severe Melancholy.

Or, if in tropical or otherwise foreign climes, Severe Meloncholy.

Hmm… watermelon juice.

Ain’t got any.

Haven’t seen any about for ages. Yes, we probably have no bananas, too.

Question is though, how many bananas don’t we have?

Ho hum.

Chin-chin, Muskies.

Ian H.

23 Comments

  1. I has a robin in my engine room, once. I had the engine cover up, emptying the bilges, and the robin sort of hopped around the place for a few minutes, probably hoping I had a stash of worms in there…then it emptied its bowels on the carpet and left.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Robins are notorious for being lousy mechanics. Proof if proof be needed – when was the last time you saw a robin jacking up an E-Type at the roadside to change a wheel?

      In re the carpet I don’t know what to think, good taste is such a subjective thing. Was the carpet plain or hotel-style pattern?

      Liked by 1 person

  2. I want someone to deliver my groceries to me. Specifically cat food. I went shopping on Friday eve and as is my wont, forgot something. It was cat food. Last of it was consumed this morning. I’ve asked if they couldn’t just eat the peanut butter and jelly that I get along with. Or even the ramen? But nope. All kinds of uppity these cats of mine.

    The most ironic part of this is that I was getting the damn cat food delivered on the regular from Chewy. And I stopped it because the stock pile was slowly getting bigger than I care to store. And here we are. No delivery and no memory and no cat food. And now I have to go back to that hell hole of a grocery store. And based on their current pestiness, it should be immediately. sigh.

    Like

    1. There is a school of thought that holds that if you leave a cat long enough without food it will take your car keys and go and fetch its own supplies. Then it will take a dump in your slippers.

      We had a cat once that could open the refrigerator door and would oft do so when we humans weren’t about, to let the other household cats feed. Not so remarkable really, except that it was also clever enough to always close the door after the feeding frenzy. We thought that we had a poulticeguist, a pootergist, a plottergrost – one of those disturbing spirit things. Had to sneak back to the house and peek in through the windows to see what was going on.

      There’s an old saying that I think holds true even in wartime. You can lead a cat to water, but you’ll rarely get one there on horseback.

      🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Just got back and it was horrific. Our Thanksgiving is on Thursday and the grocery store was full to the gills with people, many of them with two full carts. I nearly turned tail, but in the end I put some grit in my spine and soldiered into the fray. Next time I’m just going to let them out and they can hunt for their dinner.

        Liked by 2 people

  3. Well, if it cheers you up at all I have awoken to heavy, wet snow coming down at quite a rapid rate – with predictions of up to 10cm on the ground by the time it ends! Two Sundays ago I was walking along the lake in shirtsleeves as it was 21C – our weather can change on a dime!
    We go back into lockdown at midnight – no need to go out as I’m well stocked and picked up some fresh items this past week (the writing was on the wall) – but – as per usual – people seem to have gone into panic mode and the stores were packed yesterday and no doubt today as well. You couldn’t pay me to go anywhere near a mall.
    Hope you are able to get a grocery delivery when needed.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I always disliked shopping at the best of times, so in these, the worst of times… well, dark and stormy night no thank you. I think I’ve just put in an order for ten days hence – the “last” official day of this “lockdown”, but we shall see what we see when we see it. I must dive back in soon and see what is to be done about later in the Silly Season, and in January, when it is virtually guaranteed that we will all be back (or still under) house arrest – boat arrest in my case.

      Enjoy the snow – heavy and wet is all we seem to get, too. I’ve seen other countries where the snow arrives as light and fluffy and ski-worthy and fun instead of heavy and cold and wet and ready to turn to ice overnight. No idea how they arrange that, they must pay extra or something.

      Get your snow-shoes and skiddoo ready… 😉

      Like

  4. We humans certainly are weird. It would be nice to think we were evolving into something ‘better’, but I see no evidence. What I see is people getting stupider and stupider by the day (no, second. Nano second even).
    Mr Sun is trying to come out here in the south of our green and pleasant land at the moment. That probably means the squirrels will be digging up my lawn again. I’ve chased 2 off already this morning trying to plant an oak forest.
    Good luck with your grocieries.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think that I’ve just booked my first delivery with ASDA – we shall see if it all works, with me using the nearby marina’s address for delivery (and the payment card living on the opposite side of the country)… It’s all very nerve wracking. Ten days hence was the earliest. Once I’ve stopped gibbering I’ll see if I can work out another slot over the Spendmas silly season, and check on what’s what for January, when we are all likely to be back in house arrest…

      Squirrels do seem to have mischief built in, don’t they? It has been ages – years – since I last saw a red one. They’re all grey these days.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I like our native red squirrels. There are some in the Lake District, I believe, Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour and on the Isle of Wight.
        These greys are illegal immigrants.

        Liked by 1 person

  5. And again from tropical climes….it is peeing with rain as we are on the outskirts of a couple of very nasty hurricanes and I have resurrected woollies packed away for the last thirteen years while fortifying the dogs with cast off duvets – well,they are cast off now. Eyes peer disapprovingly from the shelter thus provided.
    No problem with deliveries here…vans and motorbikes at the service of butchers, bakers and candlestick makers, not to speak of the drug dealers, will get to the most remote locations – providing that any road still leads there after the massive landslides of late.
    More power to your solar panels!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I have noticed that dogs, phenomenally wonderful creatures all, do seem to think that we Hoomans are in control of all aspects of the environment from food bowl to climate – they regard rain as something that we “do” to them.

      It seems to be the Grand Plan here to arrange life such that we may only leave home if working as a delivery driver providing a delivery service that means that other folk don’t have to (and aren’t allowed to) leave their homes…

      I tripped across an item on the interwebnets yesterday that gave me pause. It is assumed that our species (and others) are somehow (physically but more swiftly, socially) “evolving” into something better. It was the “something better” part of the assumption that was called into question and for the life of me I couldn’t argue against it. We’re changing, certainly, but there’s absolutely no guarantee that it’s somehow for the better. I may yet need to re-learn how to climb trees and forget all but the word “ug”. 😉

      The panels are happy today, and the Lead-Acids have been charged to brimosity. 🙂 Halle-ruddy-lujah, praise the Sun!

      Hmm – some sort of religion that worships the sun? Has that ever been done before?

      Liked by 3 people

          1. Fog or dog, it’s a great name for either!

            I’ve often thought that Grrrr and Aaargh would make great names for dogs – then if ever they strayed I could wander about, arms outstretched, shouting out Grrrr… Aaargh…

            The most useful names for a dog though would surely be ‘Stop-That’ and ‘Come-Here’. 😉

            Liked by 1 person

  6. Writing from tropical climes, I do not wish to {further} upset you, but we also suffer shortages of essential items. We live in Cyclone Territory and are now well-used to shelves being rapidly denuded of certain items. So I am somewhat annoyed when the supermarket giants DO NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT STOCKS OF damned loo paper. It’s not as if it has a short shelf life!
    OK, I’ll step back now. We probably have enough sunshine-y days to charge our voltaic thingies.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Supermarkets the planet over don’t seem to have much in the way of “warehouse” or “storage” behind them these days, relying on just-in-time deliveries – a sure recipe for failure-when-most-needed if ever there was one. Combine that with what seems to be half of the “Western” world eating out (junk food chains) more than it eats in, and it’s not the most robust of arrangements.

      I must have learned something at my mother’s knee (father kept it in a jar of formaldehyde), because I don’t feel comfortable without a cupboard of just-in-case items.

      Luckily today Mr Sunshine worked his magic and the Cardinal’s batteries saw “fully charged” and so ought to be happier than of late. 🙂 I shan’t have to wander outdoors with a candelabrum to give them a midnight snack of photons…

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Delivery slots – the prize of the gods! Or rather the lockdown fraternity determined to party party party at Christmas and even with dispensation ( or so I thought) the last delivery I can get before the day is 12th December! Methinks the veggies/salad leaves (if there are any left by the time it arrives) will be way past their freshness come the day! As to toilet paper – coconut oil and shea butter bog roll substitutes, eek! Can you die if you are allergic to nuts if you……….???

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I am convinced that El Supermarkets “do” something to fruit and veg to reduce its life-expectancy as it leaves the conveyor belt or the van. Once upon a history vegetables were brought in for winter and stored and lasted in some fashion for the whole winter (if crops were good). These days on the dot of 24hrs or 48hrs whatever it is has gone off, somehow…

      They spray them or radiate them or something. Salads in especially last about twelve hours before going limp and soggy.

      I am a suspicious old Hector. 😉

      In re the Shea Butter rog boll – I would imagine that yes, quite possibly so! What a way to go… Gone while going.

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Strangely I too have not no bananas, most probably due to the fair trade being curtailed by that c, Ovid, a nasty piece of work. Oh, what a circus! Fair winds and timed deliveries to you.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Fruit and I have this sort of love/neglect relationship. I buy it, and then I neglect to eat it. Bananas are one that I usually make the effort to chew through. I like bananas. I ought to eat more of every fruit going, but somehow it gets forgotten. I am much better with fruit juices… they never get forgotten. We humans are weird.

      Not long now until I am too old to risk buying green bananas. 😉

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.