big william's world

another reason for the push mower is that there isn't much grass. I guess I am really just jealous that littlewilliams mower is a nice color.

Incidentally here this type of mower is called a reel mower. In England a cylinder mower.

# posted by william @ 7:10 PM 2 comments

I saw blooming Pearl Street Mall.

My walk got me thinking about little Williams list of 

Brown paper packages tied up with string

Dew drops up noses and bright copper kettles

Schnitzle with noodles.

I will start with areas I don't agree with him.

I have one of those fountain pens and it fails my basic test for pens.

If you don't exercise it daily, like a dog, it won't write. With this requirement I have, reluctantly, found that Ball Pens Rule!

I have a push mower - it gives me the same feeling as my iron - but at least is is over faster than ironing.

I love my Moots Bicycle - look back a day or a year for photos - it is the epitome of perfect workmanship - I enjoy looking at it as much, or maybe more, than riding it.

The ride up Flagstaff Mountain and down took around an hour in total by the way. I can improve on that. While it is 80F today it promises to drop 30 degrees 15 C by tomorrow with some snow so it may be a day or so before I make another attempt on the ascent.

I love all three motorcycles - really should get rid of one but they all satisfy a different part of me.

Love the Beemer car - but then so do most other people.

I make no attempt to justify this materialism here but I hope my lifestyle and blogging generally indicate that I love the best things in life that are free too.

# posted by william @ 11:50 AM 0 comments

Which M will say is WAY too short!

# posted by william @ 11:48 AM 0 comments

Last evening (hence the rather dark photo) This hummingbird hit the window and stunned itself. I found it laying on it's side with its wings out but I could see it was still breathing. I have never seen one without its wings beating before. The wings are surprisingly small relative to the body.

I took its photo and then watched as it successfully turned onto its feet and folded its wings up.

It stood there for a long time but I was delighted to see that it had gone when I came back later.

These birds seem so special but are quite common here. They live on the nectar from flowers, usually red flowers, which they lick with a long thin tongue inside that long thin beak. 

The statistics on their metabolic rate, how much of this food they need and how much of their day they spend getting it, with never a rest from using the wings to hover, are amazing. 

They have iridescent red and green plumage and there are several different types and colors.

I did my mile swim this morning now I will attempt the Flagstaff Mountain by Moots.

# posted by william @ 10:47 AM 1 comments

Just to give you an idea how small they are - the hummingbird is the dot in the middle - about the size of the last joint of my thumb. 

To my delight, when I came back later it had gone.

# posted by william @ 10:45 AM 2 comments

36 flowers

# posted by william @ 10:41 AM 0 comments

It seems you only get blue underlined if you insert the text before the picture!

Here is the current centerpiece of the garden still - the tulips I planted about 16 months ago each produced one huge flower last year. This year, having left them to die and reformulate their bulbs each plant has produced three or four slightly smaller flowers. This is actually better because the bells of the flowers have to tolerate being filled with snow several times in their lives and smaller shorter flowers withstand it better.

# posted by william @ 10:17 AM 0 comments

Those who know me will know how much time I love to spend in the garden. Those who really know me know when I am being sarcastic and also how I love double meanings.

I have no idea why this is blue and underlined!

Once a year in Boulder everybody piles up their broken branches, prunings, leaves and general garden detritus and the city sends a truck round to pick it all up.

Our house fronts onto one road and backs onto a different one so I have taken the liberty of making three heaps. This is the conclusion of a seven-day-week of hard work.

# posted by william @ 11:28 AM 1 comments

All along the street you  can see piles of sticks. They will be made into mulch and given away to those who want it.

# posted by william @ 11:25 AM 0 comments

not the hyacinth!

It looks a bit like a crocus but is more of a bush with more pointed petals

# posted by william @ 11:15 AM 0 comments

Nothing like a rose and too late for Lent  but it blooms faithful and beautiful every year

# posted by william @ 11:12 AM 0 comments

The latest view of the Tulips. The comment in the profile about "without pictures" was meant for the poetry blog awheywithwords.  I can't just figure out how to change it at the moment or for a lot of recent moment.

I have changed to a Mac computer - which, I have to say, I really like - it just does the job - faster, smarter and less nonsense about "are you sure you want to ---" "do you want to tell Microsoft about it?" "your security subscription has expired" "please wait will your Intel Core Duo microprocessor chases it's tail for five minutes and then restart your computer" 

I will, doubtless bore you with more details about why Apple is the way to go. I know some readers use them already.

Little William is finally liking Italy and Gill doesn't want to pay for parking when she shops. On this line of thought I am pleased with Boulder today:

The day I posted pictures of sushi and somebody elses sushi I went back to my car only to find a $50 parking ticket. Boulder has recently changed from Parking Meters to a parking ticket machine (solar powered of course, this being Boulder - which signed the Kyoto Protocol)

I had paid the right amount up till 7pm after which you don't have to pay. I looked at the ticket and it was for "invalid plates" after a minute I realized my "tags" - little stickers you put on your licence plates (number plates to the Brits and the tags are your tax disc equivalent) - anyway they ran out in January.

The thing is the  parking guy has to look around the car to see if I had paid for my parking and noticed my expired plates and he is authorized to give a ticket for an unregistered vehicle.

I was going to San Diego early the following morning so I had to dash to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) at opening time 8am the following morning to renew the tags - which I did. Then I went to pay the parking fine - at the courthouse - which also opens at 8 am EXCEPT on he second Friday of the month - which of course it was.

I finally went to pay the fine yesterday because after 14 days the $50 fine becomes $65 - I took my proof of having renewed the tags just in case it was needed and I also took my original parking receipt to show I had paid for my parking. I was polite to the person and showed her the various documents and to my amazement she said I can void this charge since you renewed your tags but I can only do it once for the life of your plates. So I did not have to pay the fine.

Apparently the reminder they sent in the mail and I never received is "only a courtesy"

Anyway it is one of the few nice things I have experienced in US bureaucracy.

# posted by william @ 8:58 AM 2 comments

I can't believe that anyone really wants to read about my version of  "the trivial round the common task" 

Yesterday I got out of bed in San Diego - today in Boulder Colorado some 1,600 metres higher and 25 Celsius degrees colder. I swam a mile, cleaned the house from side to side (it is a single storey story). Fetched the mail from the post office, went to the drycleaners, did some shopping. Put out the garbage bins (today is "mixed paper" collection day)

Now I have to decide which poem to read at a "poetry open mike" tonight.

Aren't you all glad to know this?

tulips with snow in their mouths.

Last year each bulb was one big flower, this year they have each produced three or four smaller flowers - shorter and therefore stronger when full of snow.

# posted by william @ 8:25 AM 3 comments

a song my mother used to sing - but this new little lilac, amid the cryoscopically preserved tulips,  is not quite ready yet!

Since the love-affair with the iPhone started I have become an Apple addict and now have a Mac book computer to work on. I just love it - it does everything the PC does but it works - no stupid time-wasting messages or waiting while you watch it chase its tail.

Going to San Diego California tomorrow for a few days - temperatures in the 70's - I guess 20s in Celsius.  For those who don't know it is the very southern tip of California on the border with Mexico. I may take a walk into Tijuana Mexico but last time all it seemed to offer was drugs - prescription only  in the US but over the counter there.

# posted by william @ 11:24 AM 2 comments

Not quite what A E Houseman had in mind but there IS blossom under the snow - and he lived in Shropshire not the Rocky Mountains. I think you will find the poem from "The Shropshire Lad" in last years awheywithwords. Houseman actually worked as a farmer I believe.

# posted by william @ 11:20 AM 1 comments