1943/29th May 2024 . On a recent post office visit, I'd spotted a bright orange bush but we were past it before I could properly take it in. Each time we passed, I remembered too late. It was such an astonishing, in-your-face colour, I had to …
On a recent post office visit, I'd spotted a bright orange bush but we were past it before I could properly take it in. Each time we passed, I remembered too late.
It was such an astonishing, in-your-face colour, I had to know what it was, and blooms don't last forever.
So I agreed to a drive this morning.
Flame azalea, apparently.
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If it wasn't for that azalea, I would have asked to defer the outing to a later date. The item of interest Grant wanted to show me is not perishable, at least not imminently, so it could wait.
We set off and before long we came upon a turtle in the middle of the road.
We stopped and Grant placed it safely on a grassy bank by a stream, which is hopefully where it was going and not attempting to escape from, in which case it would have been vexed.
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Not wanting to stress the poor creature more than necessary, I didn't press for a photograph, just wished it good fortune and waved bye bye.
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One day last week Grant went to do something with our friend Ed and he came back with an interesting story.
Ed shown him an abandoned train.
Not just a few cars. 3 miles of them.
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How do you abandon a train 3 miles long?
Grant said he had never seen rolling stock quite like it. He was keen for another look and of course I was curious.
"We wont be out long, right?"
"No. It's just over there."
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Just. Over there.
The trouble being that the man decided to approach it from the opposite direction.
It should be quicker.
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A convoy of bikers thundered past.
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They seemed to know where they were going.
Apparently we did not.
"Well here's a railroad track" I offered, helpfully.
Not the right bit, though.
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A wild variety of phlox, dames rocket is invasive which accounts for why we see more and more of it, everywhere.
It is said that it can damage natural ecosystems.
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"I think we need to go this way."
Well, the sky was clearing if not his sense of direction.
We are never really lost although we often lose connection with the satnav.
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We soon come to a state route or something we recognise. In my case recognition is not necessarily helpful because I don't remember how I previously got there.
But Grant does, so no worries.
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And soon enough, he found the train.
What is transported in such carriages?
The containers are stacked, with a gap between.
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How do you lose 3 miles of train?
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These carriages are a bit different.
Did they drive it up here one night? How do you discreetly deposit a long train in a rural area?
Perhaps they weren't concerned about discretion.
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But no-one seems to know anything about it.
Surely the rolling stock belongs to someone. All those numbers are in a file somewhere.
And are the containers empty or do they contain something?
A sign identifies them as "Wastequip".
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We came to a small clearing by the river where you can park if you want to go fishing or where you could have a picnic.
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The path was very uneven and as ever I worried about ticks but if there is a river, I have to see it.
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When we came back to the clearing, Grant spotted a bird on a branch of a small tree.
"There, see it? Get it on the telephoto."
Well seeing a bird and focusing on it are not the same and I wobble, so I braced myself against the car and twiddled with the camera.
"Did it fly off?" I asked.
Oh yes, it did.
You'd think he might have said so!
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As we drove away, I noticed three faces looking at us.
By the time I had a vague sort of focus they were off.
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"Shoot, shoot, shoot" said Grant, as if I wasn't trying.
Just as well the poor creatures don't understand English
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The other day he suddenly spotted a red-tailed hawk that had caught a rabbit. It was right beside the road so we could not stop.
"Shoot, shoot, shoot!"
I was surprised I got a picture of any sort. The hawk looked at us as if to say:
"Mine! Buzz off!"
Gorgeous bird.
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That day, Tuesday, I got a lot of moody sky pictures that I was planning to post before I went looking for an abandoned train.
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