Monday 9 June 2014

Things not caught on camera


Sometimes it is just not appropriate or convenient
to carry a camera,
so lately not caught:
a lunch with old friends at the National Gallery
and a very targeted approach to the art -
The delivery of fencing 
and five pleached Chanticleer pear trees
to replace the hedge and trees cut down by new neighbours.
A trip to Covent Garden to see
A glorious country wedding in full sunshine
despite the dire weather forecast.
A huge grass snake coiled beside us
while we ate lunch in the garden.
Eek. I've never seen a snake in the wild.
It slithered away as silently as it arrived.
A badger (also huge) galloping down the path
and leaping over a wall in front of me.
Another first. I only see dead ones on the roadside.

Coming soon, but this time with a camera in hand,
a short trip to Stockholm
inspired in part by this,
 this and this .

15 comments:

  1. Lucille, I was enjoying typing you a longish comment about Stockholm, and how much I enjoyed your links, although the Opera link was asleep. Penheath & so on's post about the Stockholm stay made me want to book a trip there immediately. And then, some random finger tapped an unknown keyboard part and the comment vanished.

    I was also commiserating with you about not always having a camera handy when the Moment Calls. Back in my Virginia summertime at Camp Pocahontas, I encountered my only close encounter with a snake as I returned to my tent via a narrow path through tall grasses. I think the snake was black. I am not sure the snake saw me. I froze in fright. The snake slithered on to wherever it was bound. I counted to some high number frozen in place, then carried on back to my tent with a wildlife tale to tell.

    Other than in zoos, I have never seen another snake close up.

    Have a grand time in Sweden. You've got me considering taking some sort of Swedish language lessons.

    xo

    What el

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    1. Thank you for persevering Frances. Your black snake sounds scarier than the grass snake. Did you ever identify it? Ours is not venomous.Swedish is not a language I have the faintest grasp of. I believe they will speak perfect English to us though!

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  2. Thanks Sue. It's a first to a Scandinavian country other than passing through Helsinki on our way to Japan.

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  3. That's a very thrilling post, Lucille! A grass snake and a badger! And Stockholm to come; camera absolutely essential!

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    1. The camera is out in between showers. I must get a proper case for it.

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  4. Camera or not, you have certainly been making the most of summer up to now and sometimes words do the job beautifully too. Enjoy Stockholm! I am looking forward to my first visit, hopefully later this month, as soon as I have recovered.

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    1. What an ordeal you are having. I hope all heals well in time for your trip.

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  5. Things that slither are rather alarming at close quarters ... and I'm not sure whether I'd have been quite so sanguine !
    Stockholm should wonderfuld* at this time of year .
    * Inadvertent Swedish-ism , perhaps ?

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    1. I didn't have time to be too alarmed. Wish I'd had my camera for that though. No one will believe how big it was!

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  6. Lucky you, you made it to the Larsson exhibition? It hadn't opened when I was in Paris a few months ago. Was it the same exhibition that was on at the V&A all those years ago ... also sponsored by IKEA, so I wondered if it was on a never-ending tour?
    You will love Stockholm, what a wonderful time of year to be there. Don't miss Millesgarden.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. You are psychic Mary. We have just returned from there. It was not only original list. So glad we found it.

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  7. Oh! How wonderful! (Even the snake, I suppose, since it left --)

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  8. I grew up in an area where we would occasionally encounter rattlesnakes. The startle effect never ceased. Looking forward to your account of Sweden. It is my origin of ancestry.

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  9. Sometimes I choose to leave my camera at home and I nearly always regret it.
    Looking forward to your post(s) about Sweden!

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