{"id":4737,"date":"2013-05-12T07:05:28","date_gmt":"2013-05-12T06:05:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stragnell.com\/befoulednews\/?p=4737"},"modified":"2013-05-11T19:12:20","modified_gmt":"2013-05-11T18:12:20","slug":"12-may-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.stragnell.com\/befoulednews\/2013\/05\/12\/12-may-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"12 May 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

We had a lovely start to the week \u2013 Monday, the May Day Bank Holiday, was simply gorgeous. We had bright, deep-blue skies with not a cloud to be seen and it was surprisingly warm \u2013 the temperature climbed into the 70s F (20s C)! By Wednesday, however, things began to go south with falling temperatures and rising wind and spots of rain disrupting the clear skies and by Thursday it was more or less back to normal \u2013 grey skies and cold winds. Saturday brought freezing downpours and hail storms! What\u2019s that poem? Oh to be in England . . .<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

One sign of the approach of \u201csummer\u201d I had neglected to mention previously, probably because the weather didn\u2019t seem too summer or spring-like. The swallows returned to the neighbourhood a couple of weeks ago and, as always, it is a delight to see them. Every year when they arrive it\u2019s rather like old friends coming back from a long holiday and it\u2019s nice to think that these might be the grandchildren (or great, great, great . . . grandchildren) of those we\u2019ve reared in the past. Fortunately, none have tried to inspect the indoor accommodation so far and a pair seem to have settled into one of the existing nests in the garage. Apart from the slight inconvenience of having the babies crapping all over the place, it\u2019s a pleasure and a treat to watch them come and go.<\/p>\n

Another sign of spring\/summer \u2013 Penelope\u2019s garden is just beginning to stir. Just about everything is late \u2013 we should have been inspecting bluebells this past weekend but there are none about. Aside from its tardiness, however, there is no stopping it \u2013 warmer and sunnier weather will arrive sometime (we hope).<\/p>\n

\"Spring <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Spring <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Spring <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Spring <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Spring <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

After a pretty miserable start to the week, you will all be delighted to know that our Molly has improved steadily. In the early part of the week she ate almost nothing which, given that food is the only part of life worth living, as far as Molly is concerned, gave us a pretty good clue that she wasn’t feeling quite on top form. By Wednesday evening she felt up to being hand-fed her dinner with great reluctance (on both her part and mine) and on Thursday morning we managed a slow and erratic walk around the recreation ground. She still walks with a slight tilt to her head and is also still dizzy and unstable – as we made our way through the alley she more or less bounced from one wall to the other. Still, her appetite seems to be back so she must be on the mend.<\/p>\n

\n

Forty years ago Friday I was sitting in one of the many libraries at Yale trying to finish an anthropology paper when I was interrupted by one (or two) of my housemates. I think it was possibly Jordy and\/or one of our other housemates, Lucy, who brought me a telegram which had been delivered to the house announcing the arrival of Benjamin Robert Stragnell. I\u2019ve probably forgotten more in the intervening 40 years than I ever learned at Yale but one never forgets the moment one becomes a father for the first time (and the second and third, of course). So, another \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d wish to our Ben.<\/p>\n