Living Dead

 I'm excited to see how much life there is because of this dead tree - quite amazing. Death brings life!

A dying tree gives

Life to other living things -

Continuity.

Chaotic Quiz Night

Quick pizza dinner before Trivia

We joined up with some friends at The Old New Inn (maybe I should rename it The [M]old New Inn) last week for Quiz night. Boy, was it chaotic! For a start, the quizmaster had a thick Welsh accent, and there was no projection of the questions onto a screen to help us!

When we asked for a repeat of a question, he usually couldn't remember which question he'd got up to, so there was a lot of back- and forth-ing to bring him up to speed each time we queried something. Exasperating! At one point, not being able to pronounce the names of the rivers on his sheet, he read out the answer as well!

His scoring was the most incomprehensibly bizarre system I've ever encountered. For instance, in the sports category, one question required us to name the 11 British driving champions, for a total of 11 points, and all subsequent questions in that category scored one point.

There were many other categories too, some where there was an occasional 3-7 part answer (eg, name the 7 wonders of Wales) for that same number of points, and others where a single answer was required. Some categories scored 18 points, some 10!

Later, the music category required us to name a song and artist for each question, with half points awarded for each, for a total of 10 for that category. Why the inconsistency? Additionally, teams could play a JOKER card before any category began, usually picking the topic they were best at. Choosing a joker where there were 18 points to be had instead of 10 made for a very unfair advantage, especially when there was no heads-up as to how many points we were playing for.

Funny thing is, despite it being frustrating at times, we had a great time guessing with our friends (and this time we didn't come last).

Dusk in Autumn

Hedge Trimming

We'd thought the tall cypress trees growing alongside our property line were meant to grow tall since they're trees, but we've found out they need regular trimming and maintenance to stop them from thinning out down below and losing some of their screening properties. So, with our house having been empty and unmaintained for 2 years before we moved in, some radical trimming was needed. We've also had to wait till hedge-trimming season, September through February, when nesting birds won't be disturbed.

A hedge trimmer, though useful, wasn't enough. Dale had to use his chainsaw to get through the thick trunks. Here he is on the public footpath side of our cypress trees, cutting our screen into a hedge, which is still tall enough to block our property from view to passersby.

It's been my job to clear the cuttings from the footpath, and not get downed by a tree at the same time. A few tops fell down into our yard as well and needed to be attended to.

Looking behind us, you can see how it looks after trimming. The new, low 'hedge' is on the left of the photo below. 

Today we finished cutting the entire length of the hedge, though we still have some neatening up to do where stray pieces have been missed. I've been leaving small fronds scattered on the muddy footpath to help prevent slipping and skidding on the wet parts.

After this years' effort, we plan on maintaining it regularly so it doesn't get out of control again. Next time around the hedge trimmer alone should suffice.

Hunter

We were alarmed to see that a neighborhood cat has tuned in to there being a creature 'trapped' inside our feed station while its eating, and has been trying to get at it. Attracting a hedgehog and making it a 'sitting duck,' only to be ambushed on its exit is not part of our plan. Sometimes the outdoor camera doesn't even 'catch' or record a hedgehog coming or going, but the food still disappears. Now we're wondering if we're encouraging rats, maybe? 

Our camera has recorded hedgehogs coming in and out in the past, and we have seen their distinctive scat in the yard, so we know they are present, or have been, but it's strange that we haven't captured it on camera in more recent days, despite the food disappearing.

Cats have been seen trying to get inside to access the food, but they've been unsure about maneuvering their way through the interior maze, and always back off. So, it's a bit of a mystery as to what the cat is hunting, and what we are encouraging - is it something too small to be picked up by our camera? Could it be a shrew or a vole or an enormous snail?