Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[RED-DOG]

I love this picture - me me me!

So is it a swift, a swallow or a house martin?

[RED-DOG]

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[Karabiner]

I love this picture - me me me!

So is it a swift, a swallow or a house martin?

Swallows according to the accomplished and knowledgeable snapper Carl Bovis.

[booder]

Another mighty fine looking D.I.Y job.

[Rod Paradise]

I love this picture - me me me!

So is it a swift, a swallow or a house martin?

Easy way to eliminate one, swifts can't land on wires, their legs are too short.

[RED-DOG]

I love this picture - me me me!

So is it a swift, a swallow or a house martin?

Easy way to eliminate one, swifts can't land on wires, their legs are too short.

I never contradict you Rod so I hope you will forgive me this time.

Swifts do land on wires, or anything else that they can fall from to get airborne. There is a myth that if they land on the ground their legs are too short in relation to their disproportionately long wings and they can't take off again. It's not true, but from the ground they have to use their wings as levers to throw themselves into the air.

That said, swifts rarely land, they eat, drink and even sleep on the wing.

When they fledge they don't bother to land at all until they are ready to breed, which can be up to two years.

[Karabiner]

That is one tidy job Tom - you must have accrued a record number of brownie-points.

[RED-DOG]

That is one tidy job Tom - you must have accrued a record number of brownie-points.

Mrs Red's dad could make or fix anything and I think she just assumed that all other men could do the same.

Nothing impresses her. 

[Tal]

That is one tidy job Tom - you must have accrued a record number of brownie-points.

Mrs Red's dad could make or fix anything and I think she just assumed that all other men could do the same.

Nothing impresses her. 

You can assure her they can't.

Nice doghouse, Red.

[nirvana]

That is one tidy job Tom - you must have accrued a record number of brownie-points.

Mrs Red's dad could make or fix anything and I think she just assumed that all other men could do the same.

Nothing impresses her. 

Oh man, that's tough - I can't do any DIY job without masses of applause if it turns out OK.

[RED-DOG]

That is one tidy job Tom - you must have accrued a record number of brownie-points.

Mrs Red's dad could make or fix anything and I think she just assumed that all other men could do the same.

Nothing impresses her. 

Oh man, that's tough - I can't do any DIY job without masses of applause if it turns out OK.

I know, that's why I turn to you guys.

[doubleup]

Well I would have said silver birch too but I've never seen one like that. The demarcation on the trunk is so abrupt. Almost like it's been photoshopped.

Still can't find out what these strange trees are.  My completely uneducated guess is that the lower bark is some sort of protection against animals (perhaps deer?) and falls off higher up.  Here's a pic where some of the rougher bark has come off revealing the silver bark under.

[RED-DOG]

I'm astounded that we can't identify it. It's such a remarkable feature.

[TightEnd]

Aug 2nd is Roma Holocaust Memorial Day - when Roma peoples commemorate the hundreds of thousands killed by Nazis and their allies

not sure if you had seen this

Sherrie Smith, a florist and Romany Gypsy from Hertford, wants to take the first ever UK Gypsy and Traveller group to an annual Holocaust memorial event at Auschwitz-Birkenau. She sees it as vital for getting up to half a million Roma deaths more widely acknowledged, and - by extension - improving the lives of modern day Gypsies and Travellers. But the cost of flights has tripled and Sherrie's meagre budget means it might no longer be possible. Can she raise the extra funds to get the trip back on track? Grace Dent follows her story.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07mwqff

[kukushkin88]

I'm astounded that we can't identify it. It's such a remarkable feature.

I’m convinced it’s to do with dehydration. It would explain the distribution of the affected area being high and at limb extremities. Google isn’t really cooperating though.