Update
* I went to a "stormwater management" workshop run by the shire yesterday and learned that it's not the shire's duty to fix the roads after flash flooding, it's the landowner's duty to perform whatever earthworks are required on their property to stop run-off from damaging the road. That's definitely a new way to think about it! In some of the newer subdivisions they're getting damage to houses every time there's heavy rain because the new roads channel so much water straight downhill. The shire admits the subdivision plans were bad, but it's too late to move the roads now! My driveway and firebreak erosion issues are nothing compared to the problems many other people in the area are having. They put us on a bus (I need to get out more, because when I heard I'd be going on a bus I thought, "How exciting!") and took us to a demonstration site where the owner had cut trenches around the edge of the property, dug out a pond (dry 8 months of the year, of course), created an island, and put in big underground pipes to move water. I wasn't too keen on the look of the trenches, but they'd be OK if they were fenced off and vegetated.
* Someone on the workshop was wearing a "Coast to Coast" t-shirt, which I immediately asked him about. He and his wife had recently done the walk across England I'm doing next June, except they did it the hard way, camping out and carrying all their gear. They were in their 60s and were scornful about the poor preparation of many of the other walkers they met ("They were half our age and asking for our help!") Must not be one of those people...
* There was an amazing full moon on a stormy night on Wednesday. I went outside during a mostly clear patch and the small clouds racing across the sky reminded me of the witches in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" books. Then driving into the city the next night, the moon was rising behind a thick, dark bank of clouds that reminded me of a swarm of demons in Supernatural, say from "Jus in Bello". The number of full moons you have the opportunity to enjoy in your lifetime is limited - don't miss too many!
* As a procrastinatory technique, I did some proofreading of Supernatural transcripts on the Wiki last week, including of ones I'd done myself, and learned that I apparently didn't know how to spell "lightning". I'd spelled it "lightening" on enough different occasions that I can't call it a typo or an isolated moment of confusion.
* I like the festive, countdown-to-Christmas feeling of late November and December and am always in a good mood at this time of the year for no other reason at all. The only downside is that there's only one more week of Supernatural before the break!
* Someone on the workshop was wearing a "Coast to Coast" t-shirt, which I immediately asked him about. He and his wife had recently done the walk across England I'm doing next June, except they did it the hard way, camping out and carrying all their gear. They were in their 60s and were scornful about the poor preparation of many of the other walkers they met ("They were half our age and asking for our help!") Must not be one of those people...
* There was an amazing full moon on a stormy night on Wednesday. I went outside during a mostly clear patch and the small clouds racing across the sky reminded me of the witches in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" books. Then driving into the city the next night, the moon was rising behind a thick, dark bank of clouds that reminded me of a swarm of demons in Supernatural, say from "Jus in Bello". The number of full moons you have the opportunity to enjoy in your lifetime is limited - don't miss too many!
* As a procrastinatory technique, I did some proofreading of Supernatural transcripts on the Wiki last week, including of ones I'd done myself, and learned that I apparently didn't know how to spell "lightning". I'd spelled it "lightening" on enough different occasions that I can't call it a typo or an isolated moment of confusion.
* I like the festive, countdown-to-Christmas feeling of late November and December and am always in a good mood at this time of the year for no other reason at all. The only downside is that there's only one more week of Supernatural before the break!