Small Talk: The Welcome Mat

[Spunkygal]

Oh, @Netfoot, I’m so sorry for your loss. Cherish those fun, happy memories of her. 

[chitowngirl]

I’m so sorry netfoot 😔

[Netfoot]

Guys, I'm sorry if I gave the impression that Sharon and I were the closest of friends at the end. But we were friends once upon a time.

She and I were members of a group that hung loosely together during school holidays, and attended parties, dances and such like. (I'm talking late 60s, early 70s, here.) We would occasionally dance together to the music of The Merry Boys, the Blue Rythm Combo, and The Brothers. She particularly hated my school-friend David, and used to sabotage his lunch by sneaking huge portions of volcanically hot Bajan pepper-sauce into his burgers, sandwiches, etc, when he was not looking. David would then eat his lunch without comment and without so much as a twitch of an eye to acknowledge the pepper! Either his self control or his taste buds were made of cast iron, one or the other!

Naturally, they eventually became a couple.

When I went to college in England at 18 years of age, I initially found conditions incredibly difficult, as a never-see-come-see Bajan. My first day there, I remember wearing a sweater (cardigan, actually), wrapped in a blanket and sitting on the floor in order to get closer to the electric fire, and shuddering, more than shivering. That was at the "International Friendship House", a hostel for men that I ended up living in for the first 6 months of my time in Britain.

(This picture, taken in 2017, shows the location of IFH on the Brighton seafront. The building itself is gone, but it was located right on Marine Parade, and as close as possible to the sea. During stormy nights, if you went to visit one of the upper rooms, you could feel the dilapidated old building sway with the gusts!)

Anyway, that first day, as I sat on the floor with a blanket around me and my teeth chattering, I suddenly heard a huge, familiar voice coming down the corridor! "Were is he?!?? Where is that damned Bajan?!!?" The door burst open and there was David, big as life... wearing shorts and a string vest! It was one of the warmest Septembers in recorded British history, and I was freezing! (The solution to the cold was simple. Dry Cane, a horrible white rum similar to - and just as bad as - Baccardi. And some sticky, molassesy crap called Lamb's Navy, and also Captain Morgan, which passed for dark rum. Ugh!)

While I couldn't afford to do so, David would return home each Christmas and summer, where Sharon was waiting, and so their relationship continued. Long after IFH, when David and I shared digs in Waterloo Street (opposite The Iron Duke), David's mother came up for a visit and brought Sharon with her! They stayed for several weeks and were always in and out of the flat. (David's mum was an absolute stickler for cleanliness, known at home for the spick and span perfection of her house. She was not satisfied with the condition of our digs! LOL!)

After college, Sharon and David married and begat. More than once. I used to visit the house and bring little prezzies for the babies. But as is often the case, they were gradually drawn into a circle of young, married couples, wherein the old bachelor simply didn't fit... 

So, we are/were still long-time friends, but not close any more. But it's a shock to discover that someone you have known for so long and were (at least once upon a time) so close with has passed away suddenly, and with little or no warning. They discovered a tumor in her brain, and two weeks later she was gone. Is it good that she went so quickly, and they were spared a long, drawn-out illness? Would it have been better if they had had more time to spend with her for the last? I don't know. And because of an illness that has variants from the UK, Brazil and South Africa (but absolutely nowhere else), I can't even attend her funeral and pay my respects.

Personally, it makes me remember and reflect my past, mourn an old friend and a lost time, and contemplate my own mortality.

Now, where is that cuddly puppy of mine?

P.S.: Sharon always said I was a terrible dancer. Which was a lie, of course!

Edited March 16, 2021 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Well, I finally collected the five Sonics from the shipper, 89 days after they were delivered to them in Florida. Thanks in no small part to the foul weather we've all been suffering for the last year or so:

Two sold already, one earmarked to a buddy who says he will take it off me as soon as he feels safe to come out of lockdown, and one is for my own self. That means only one left for sale!  But don't worry, I'm not making a cent on the deal. They cost me exactly $305.84 to land and I'm selling them for exactly $305.84 on the nail. My purpose isn't to get rich, but to promote flying in our club. So hopefully at least a couple of these will be seen in the air pretty soon.

Meanwhile, we are still doing what we can up at the club. The old duncs tree looks pretty forlorn, with most of it's leaves and branches gone, but it was getting too unruly, extending over the roof, and tall enough so that with the thorns, difficult to pick (unless you have a stook with a hick!). Some of it's former residents have returned:

...but I suspect the majority will have to make new homes elsewhere. Or maybe the birds will get them? While the Bobcat was operating there were a dozen or more egrets sitting around, catching and eating the mice that fled the diesel monster!

Yesterday, flying resumed at our field, with two models freshly repaired and test flown in the afternoon. Funny thing, one of those aircraft was smashed to bits when I saw it last. And it's owner swore that he was done fixing it.... We would really like to hold a fun-fly, but while flying is allowed, partying is still verboten and our fun-flys are at least as much party as anything else.

Did you spot the two residents of the duncs tree stump? There were three originally, but by time I could get my phone out (with it's camera just as rotten as the one in my previous phone), number three had scarpered!

 

[Spunkygal]

That one on the left is a big boy! 

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, Spunkygal said:

That one on the left is a big boy! 

Yes, he is a cock and the other one is his girlfriend.

[Spunkygal]

1 hour ago, Netfoot said:

Yes, he is a cock and the other one is his girlfriend.

Do they have the same mating ritual as the small garden variety lizards, i.e., she puts practically her entire head in his mouth? I stumbled upon some pre-nooky lizard fun in my garden last summer and let’s say that I may or may not have lizard porn on my phone! I had to google what was going on with the head in the mouth thing.

[Netfoot]

14 minutes ago, Spunkygal said:

Do they have the same mating ritual as the small garden variety lizards, i.e., she puts practically her entire head in his mouth?

If I remember correctly, the male will grip the female by the back of the neck/head then proceed with business. I suppose if the difference in size was large, her entire head might be held in his mouth?

I've seen the males fighting over a female much more often. They face each other and bob up and down, raising their entire bodies off the ground (tree trunk/whatever) while their tails go straight up. Then they finish by pulling their bodies back down to the surface while lashing their tails vigorously. Either one chickens out and runs away, or there is a fight, with jaws clamping on each other's necks and tails, and plenty of writhing around to get an advantageous position. It isn't long before one is the victor and the other runs away. Nobody is actually injured much, as far as I can see.

Lizards do bite. As kids, we used to use a long strand of grass, tie a noose in one end, and sneak up on a lizard. The piece of grass doesn't represent a threat to them, so you can slip the little noose over his neck and you've got him! When you handle him he will nip, but the bite is about the same as a clothespin on your finger. I like them! They like it when you whistle at them. They cock their heads and you can see their auditory orifice in the side of their heads open wide. 

Sometimes Mum would chase them out of the house, but I am 100% tolerant, so long as they aren't trying to use my record collection for a nest or something. I like the green ones, rather than the browner ones. I'm not sure if the difference is a variation in the breed, or whether they can actually change colours at will.

Here is a small album of photos taken a while back around my mum's house. featuring mainly the lizard that used to come through the kitchen window after lunch every afternoon, looking for a feed. We took to leaving a few grains of rice out for him. There was another that lived on the red-flagged floor of the veranda. The one with the little chunk out of his tail was taken in my front yard.

[Netfoot]

So, "Stay-at-Home Sunday" winds down, meaning all I was to do today I will now have to squeeze in tomorrow!

From  the official Hansard: "On Sunday the 21st day of March, 2021, only the following nonessential services shall be permitted to open in the manner specified:" This followed by a very short list, like bakeries, sugar factories, gas stations, pharmacies. So anyway, I was taking the garbage out in the hope it would be collected tomorrow. Actually, I'd already taken it out, and was returning to the house, when I spotted

this lovely fellow, fast asleep on the garage wall. And to think I walked past less than a foot away, distracted by a big plastic bag full of empty dogfood cans!

It was necessary for me to fetch the Two-handed Latin Machete. Not because it was particularly suited for the task, but it was the closest of my machetes.

The uppermost of these is the one I'm talking about. (The other one is hanging on the bathroom door.) A good, stout stick might have been better, actually. Must look into getting one and keeping it handy.

Anyway, some grass cutting tomorrow. But no food, because Tuesday is Weigh-Day and Dr. Kristi is going to chew me out bad enough due to my being very lax with my diet over the week following The Jab... Dinner tonight will be the same as lunch: a bowl of green-stuff soup with bully-beef. If only I had a baguette to eat with it! And nothing tomorrow.

 

 

[Netfoot]

Weigh-day: Down 5 lbs!  Didn't expect that, because I was very lax with myself for days after Jab #1. But Dr. Kristi's scale don't lie, so... a total of 58 lbs. down now.

So in about an hour, I'll be going out again, to buy a baguette, a few potatoes and sweet potatoes, a small yam, and maybe a breadfruit?  Because every good weight loss deserves a carbs binge!

ETA: When is the last time I made dumplings?

Edited March 23, 2021 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Buddy and I are both on the sick-list.

Bud has an infected toe/foot, and is now on AB's and painkillers. I think he may have got bitten by a thorn from the duncs tree. We cleared away the cut branches but a few prickly little sprigs remained and he may have run afoul of one on Wednesday afternoon.

This morning he really showed why long ago, the vet gave him the nickname HyperDog! In his excitement to go see the vet, he almost broke my finger (it's bleeding from around the nail) and managed to rip a piece of fascia off the dashboard of the van! Nasty little brute!

Meanwhile, I've been suffering with some sort of gas attack, (up, not down, thankfully) and last night it was so bad it led to nausea. Have avoided throwing up by the means of truly prodigious belches instead and got through the night without needing the bucket beside then bed! I probably ate something that disagreed with me. I'm sure you all wanted to hear this news.

Anyway, Bud has his medicine, which will hopefully make him feel better. If not, it will be X-rays and so forth to find out what's wrong and put it right. And I am feeling much better today, but not 100%, so the bucket went to the vet with us this morning, and is close at hand as we speak. 

A better photo of Buddy to finish:

I can't make out if that foot is already swollen or not. (Right rear.)
 

[Spunkygal]

@Netfoot, hope you and Buddy are better and back to your frisky selves today!

[Netfoot]

Thank you, @Spunkygal, yes I am feeling much better. Still taking it a bit easy, but feeling OK and actually hungry.

Two fingers now sporting small blue bruises under the nail thanks to a certain little boy who was an absolute beast, getting out of the car yesterday, along with a small cut on one of them. But that isn't really a problem.

Bud, on the other hand, is not happy about his meds, three times a day. A combination of brute force, coercion and bribery is working, but I don't know how long for.

New rules released by the guvmint for the time up to Sunday 11th now declare every Sunday as a Stay-at-Home Sunday. And The Good Friday and Easter Monday bank holidays have also been declared Stay-at-Home days. So, we aren't getting much opportunity to get out and about. You'd think that with the numbers falling significantly after the recent high...

...but who knows what they want. I also note that the new release of the Official Gazette grants them the  power to 'requisition' any building, any piece of land, any vehicle or any goods you may own, with no mention of compensation or return.

It's time this all came to a stop, but I am beginning to think that governments generally, like to have unusual power over their citizens.....

[Netfoot]

OK, so the four-day weekend is drawing to a close. Four miserable days during which I was locked in my home while white, puffy clouds drifted across blue skies and mocked me, as the cool breeze blew. 

I did leave briefly on Saturday... to take Bud to see his doctor. The infected toe was a lot better thanks to $125 worth of antibiotics and painkillers, but not good enough, so another $125 worth of stronger antibiotics are being deployed over the next two weeks. And thanks to prevailing conditions, we had to queue up outside in a long line, in the sun, while the little bugger demonstrated the worst possible behaviour, to the point where I actually spanked him publicly. Ever known one of those kids that, when spanked, says "That didn't hurt?" I know one. He grew up to be a drug dealer and ended up stuck on the No-Fly list. Which is exactly where budweiser is going to end up if he doesn't watch out, the little rotter! Or the No-Drive list, at least.

Nasty brute damaged another part of the car's interior, as well. And the fingers he injured last week have small black'n'blues under the nails, which will take weeks to grow out!

Tomorrow is the day for the Book Tent. They have been absent for three months in a row, so we haven't seen them since early December. Bud likes to stop by and say hello to those ladies, and they always make a bit of a fuss over him. So, it would be nice to find them in the parking lot tomorrow, when we go to the supermarket/pharmacy. But I'm not holding out much home, despite the numbers trending downward quite sharply for the last six weeks.

Anyway, tomorrow is a Weigh-Day, a PriceSmart day, a supermarket day and a pharmacy day. The weight is almost certainly going to be up by about 5 lbs  - maybe even 10. I don't know how much, since I've refused to use the scale for the last fortnight. A couple of weeks ago I had a very nasty gas attack, quite unlike anything I've ever experienced before. And I also had a cold, which has worsened considerably as the other thing faded. My nose looks and feels like a Bonny pepper. I'm blowing my nose every 15-20 seconds, can't go anywherein the house without taking paper towels with me, and three layers of towels get soaked in about a minute. Anyway, when I'm sick I tend to want to prepare extra-easy meals with a high level of tummy satisfaction. So, I've had a lot of bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and etc. So I just know that the weigh-in tomorrow won't go well.

What has made this even worse, is the fact that I've been out of antihistamines for weeks. And the pharmacy has also been out, the last several times I've tried. I hope and pray they have some tomorrow. All part of the result of a plague that nobody knows it's origin Also Keilbasa sausage, Bounty paper towels, Matouks "West-Indian Styled" beans, mozzarella cheese, are members of a growing list of items not available any more. My Jab #2 is in six weeks, but then what? Do you have to get a tattoo on your forehead to show that you've been vaccinated? I suspect that the risk may go away after the vaccination treatment is complete, but the inconvenience will be with us for years to come, perhaps forever. Because Karen and g\her SJW friends just love the draaama!

I have no idea how I'm going to wear a mask tomorrow, when I have to blow my nose several times a minute!

[Netfoot]

So... today!  

I started by making a run at a nearby pharmacy where I was able to find a supply of the antihistamines I usually use. So I bought a 4-month supply. Then, I went to get my weigh-in done at Dr. Kristi. Knowing the weight gain was going to be in the order of 5-10 lbs, I hoped I'd not see her directly, but get her assistant to record the number. No such luck. Dr. K. herself was front and center when I went in, and she took me in hand immediately. And it didn't quite go as expected.

I was grilled about the symptoms of my cold, and eventually Dr. K. decided that I must have CV19 because there wasn't any cold going around and all my symptoms matched. So, she jammed a lacrosse stick up my nose about two feet, and fifteen minutes later.....  negative! She was quite taken aback, mumbling something about "comorbidities..." 

Therein after came a lengthy argument about my having to squirt a nasal spray up my shnoz for the next two weeks. I argued that the lacrosse stick was enough, and no man should be forced to suffer nostril violation more than that. She countered by telling me that it was her job and that I pay her to cure me when I'm sick, to which I responded that I'm not sick, pointed to the negative result and suggested that this might indicate that she should pay me...

Anyway, I dropped the prescription she wrote (for Nasal Violator and Super-Duper antihistamines) at the pharmacy next to her office, then (to pay Dr. K.) I was forced to search for a functioning ATM. It wasn't until I tried my 4th that I got any luck. At the third, we were close enough that I popped in to PriceSmart for tomatoes and onions, meat, etc, plus puppy-nuts (the main reason for going to PM in the first place) and  a few other things. When leaving the 4th ATM, I caught Budweiser flirting with a strange woman in the parking lot. Par for the course with him, the charmer.  With Dr. K.'s money in hand finally, I was close enough to the supermarket that I popped in, visited the pharmacy, and placed the order for the many additional drugz which I needed. I thought of shopping for my other groceries then and there, but time was getting on so I went back up to Dr. K. and settled with her before she left for the day. Then I collected the pharmacy order from next door, then went back down the hill to the supermarket.

The Arc Ark book tent was there! Bud got to sweet-talk some more of his lady friends, and I was able to buy a cabbage -- half red and half white -- and a bunch of other comestibles, including a cooked meal of chicken, lamb, steamed broccoli and tossed salad.

And so, home we came (after 4½ hours back and forth in the van), with food and a machine designed for nasal infringement. I WhatsApped Dr. K. a photo of the Medieval Torture Device with the caption "I Hate You!" attached. What was most annoying is that she WhatsApped back, saying "No, you don't."

Anyway, time for dinner now. A crusty loaf with some apricot white Stilton and a biggg glass of milk!

Oh, and the weigh-in? 5 lbs. down, for a total of 63 overall. Heidi is absolutely livid.....

 

Edited April 6, 2021 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

As you may have heard, La Soufrière volcano has erupted. (That's the one in St. Vincent, as opposed to the one near the town of Soufriere in St. Lucia.) St. Vincent is 105 miles east / upwind of us here.

This morning, when I woke up, I opened one eye and it was totally dark, so I closed that eye again. Which is why I didn't get up until 9:30! If you look outside now, the day is dark, with what looks like storm clouds in the sky, and a "brassy" look to the light. My old Aunty Julia told me repeatedly, when I was a boy (in the days before satellite weather imagery), that this "brassy" light was how you knew a hurricane was coming. I think this time we are talking about a different type of storm.

Here are two videos (very short ones) taken around 10:00 AM today, in St. Lucy (the very north of the island). That stuff isn't rain, BTW, at least not water rain. Sunrise this morning was 5:48 AM, by the way. Fortunately for me, I live in the very south, or about 17 miles away from the Crab Hill area you hear the photographer mention in one of the videos. I'm selfishly hoping it doesn't creep south!

The videos and photos keep pouring in. Side-by-side shots from the same vantage point, pre- and post-eruption. Before:

After:

This location is also quite southerly. It isn't looking too sweet. And I have no idea for how long these conditions may prevail. I seem to recall eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland about 10 years ago disrupted air traffic for weeks. 

And remember, we are 105 miles from the actual eruption site. I shudder to think what the Vincies themselves are dealing with, but here is a clue:

That is an ordinary sidewalk, somewhere in St. Vincent. I have other photos showing that the weight of the ash is causing house roofs to collapse.

The next thing I expect to hear is that it is a carrier for the COVID virus.....

 

[Spunkygal]

This is incredible! I can’t imagine this. I heard that cruise ships arrived earlier to try to evacuate as many as possible. Holding a good thought for everyone impacted by this disaster. IMO, 2021 keeps telling 2020 “hold my beer.” You and Budster stay safe! 

[Netfoot]

I got myself a tee-shirt which says "I Survived 2020", but it really looks like I should have ordered the annual subscription.

Bud and I will be OK. At least I hope so.

Two more videos, this time from St. Vincent direct. Interesting, to say the least.

 

[Browncoat]

Wow.  Stay safe, @Netfoot!  

[Netfoot]

Bud went out for a pee last night, and came back white! I had to sleep with the windows closed because the stuff was coming in. I had little mud trails trickling down from the corner of my eyes. This morning:

This is here, in the south. Imagine what it must be like up north. Imagine what it must be like in Vincie-land!

From the Met. Office at 6:00 AM this morning:

Dust-Haze Forecast Across Barbados: A plume of thick dust haze will significantly reduce visibility across the island and marine area.

• Residents, visitors, and marine users must take action as severe dust haze will or is expected to cause a significant reduction in visibility, and possible respiratory problems for persons who experience difficulty in breathing
• Persons with respiratory issues or allergies must travel with, or have close at hand, all prescribed medications in case of an emergency.
• Marine users should stay in port, particularly if GPS is not in use on vessel.
• Closely monitor forecast for critical updates.

From the ZOOM.EARTH website, check out this scrollable, zoomable imagery:

https://zoom.earth/#view=12.6646,-59.8667,8z/date=2021-04-11,08:20,-4

You can even enable a short-loop animation.

What we need is a good downpour of rain! And I know the spell to make it happen, too! But where in hell am I supposed to find a virgin?

[Browncoat]

Thanks for the link to that website, @Netfoot -- that's really interesting!  I'd send you our recent rain if I could.

There's a witty, pithy comment to be made about masks, too, but I can't quite come up with it.  

[Netfoot]

It doesn't seem to be letting up. Outside looks like snow fell, and inside is getting a fair dusting as well. The house is all closed up except the side door which is at least 20' back under a covered garage. The whole place is completely silent. I know today is another official Stay-at-Home Sunday, but there are usually a few exempted vehicles in the street, even then. But not today. 

The van I wrote on this morning? The moving finger writes; and having writ gets erased by more crap falling from the sky. (The van is under a roof, BTW, but open to the breeze, so this is all blow-in.)

The volcano seems to be sending out plume after plume without pause. And I've just heard from a buddy (not exactly an authoritative source) that there has just been another eruption of  La Soufrière with even more dust on the way. The zoom.earth link shows some really dark patches en route to us. The prediction is that this may go on for weeks, possibly even months.

Can't keep Buddy inside because he has to pee from time to time. and he always comes back looking like a chimney sweep. Our garage has a small collection of desperate birds, all coated with grey. They have flown in to seek some respite, and they are driving Bud crazy. I have given him a very severe speaking-to, and he seems to be quiet now, but if those birds so much as flutter a wing, he will go off again. I have to think about giving them some water, but I have no bread or biscuits to feed them with.

Fortunately, I just got a month's supply of meds this week, and filled up on groceries as well. SO, I could stay exactly where I am for several weeks. wouldn't want to drive the van through this murk. The air filter would get more choked than Mamma Cass. Supposed to have a weigh-in in 10 days or so, and a blood-draw in a little over three weeks, but those can be skipped if necessary. But someone please tell me this will all be over by Tuesday morning, because it isn't very nice. And I literally can't imagine what the Vincies are going through. I'm playing a silly Vincie calypso as a show of support. (It's made for jumpin', not singin'.)

I've just figured out what to feed the birds: Dog food! (Bud will be pleased.)

[Spunkygal]

I cannot fathom living through that! Seriously, I feel congested just looking at it. I also read about another eruption. 😭I read that now evacuees who aren’t vaccinated for athletes foot aren’t allowed on the cruise ships. Is there any international agency/aid coming to help out? This is so tragic. Is there no chance for rain? You tell that uppity Buddy to be kind to the other animals in the area and to be a gentleman. 

Would the birds like to peck away at some fruit? 

[Netfoot]

I'm sure the local and regional aid agencies are doing what they can, and international aid is probably to be expected as well. The Ham Radio emergency communications networks are in full operation. All efforts will be concentrated on St. Vincent, obviously. We're getting a little dust, but they have got boulders falling on their heads!

Budweiser will do as he's told! Maybe.  I'd try the birds with fruit but I don't actually have any, since I am avoiding buying any sweet things, so fruit is off my shopping list. I know the blackbirds and doves and pigeons will eat his dry dog chow, so I think they'll be OK for food.

Rain! Yes please, can we have a sluicing downpour for several hours? Repeated two or three times a day as necessary, until further notice?  The forecast is "a few brief scattered light showers" running down into the bottom of the week, when it will be clear and dry through next weekend, so it looks like that great downpour isn't likely.

I wonder what Paleolithic man would have thought about this? He's have sacrificed something to placate the gods, most likely. All because he didn't have access to satellite imagery.

OMG! A strange, grey-faced dog has just appeared at my side, begging to be fed! 

[Browncoat]

@Netfoot, it might help the birds if you crush the kibble some to make it easier for the smaller birds to eat, and that would be better for them than bread.  Water would likely be most helpful for them, but any water pan you put out will get coated in ash, too.  

[Netfoot]

Crushing the food is a good idea, @Browncoat. And I realise the water will get contaminated, but all I can do is change it periodically.

Here is a link to a video my niece made a short while ago. I don't like the sound of her voice, but you can see what it's like. 

[Spunkygal]

OMG......there are no words.

[Spunkygal]

@Netfoot, how are things in Buddy’s world today?

[Kawaiiko]

On 4/10/2021 at 1:42 PM, Spunkygal said:

IMO, 2021 keeps telling 2020 “hold my beer.”

So far, yes... but we mustn't forget to keep our heads up and remember that 2021 isn't even a third of the way over yet. 

[Netfoot]

51 minutes ago, Kawaiiko said:

So far, yes... but we mustn't forget to keep our heads up and remember that 2021 isn't even a third of the way over yet. 

That's very reassuring!   LOL!

There is a deathly hush again today. All businesses are closed, with the exception of hardware stores which were allowed to open until 1:00 PM so people could get emergency supplies. I can't think what, exactly. Brooms? 

Otherwise you may only leave home if you have a serious medical emergency.

One guy on our group uploaded a video showing that the Control Tower was not visible from the airport! I'm pretty sure the airport is closed, but I don't know. I'm keeping inside as much as possible and all the windows are closed, but there is a layer of dust developing on everything, including the floor, which is now very slippery. Will have to get the ShopVac out later and do something about that. Otherwise I might find myself in a serious medical emergency...

Bud is very miserable Goes out for a pee and comes back white as a ghost. The lockdowns have been hard on him, but now he can't even run around in the yard! He spends his time alternating between laying abed, and begging for yet another meal. Making querulous noises the whole while.

I hear there was another explosion of La Soufrière this morning, with "pyroclastic flow." As I understand it, earlier eruptions over the last few days have been ash, but this latest one includes rock fragments, gas, and ash that travels rapidly. As in almost as fast as a galloping horse. It is very hot, twice the heat needed to make dry wood burst into flames, and more than sufficient to melt aluminium. So, not "Hollywood Lava", but pretty nasty anyway.

Anyway, I gotta go. Budweiser is hungry again...

[Netfoot]

@Spunkygal, Bud is not taking it well. He isn't doing anything crazy, but he can't go out and run around the yard, he only goes out to pee and runs straight back. All he can do is sleep and eat. 

I'm doing what I can to keep him entertained, and I always make time to cuddle him when he comes to talk to me. He will be fed and watered, and hopefully this will all be over before we're both buried deep, up to our eyebrows.

The stuff is mostly very fine, like talc, and hangs suspended in the air.

 

[Spunkygal]

4 hours ago, Netfoot said:

@Spunkygal, Bud is not taking it well. He isn't doing anything crazy, but he can't go out and run around the yard, he only goes out to pee and runs straight back. All he can do is sleep and eat. 

I'm doing what I can to keep him entertained, and I always make time to cuddle him when he comes to talk to me. He will be fed and watered, and hopefully this will all be over before we're both buried deep, up to our eyebrows.

The stuff is mostly very fine, like talc, and hangs suspended in the air.

 

Is Buddy a doggie who loves to play with toys (not that you can go out and shop for dog toys right now.) just wondering how to entertain that hooligan. My Honey was not into toys except for educational or enrichment toys that  I could fill with tiny treats. Then she was all over it! 

I can’t imagine how everyone is going to ever get rid of that fine ash. 

[Netfoot]

41 minutes ago, Spunkygal said:

Is Buddy a doggie who loves to play with toys

When he was a puppy, he used to like to play with toys, but since he grew up, not so much. You can get him going if you toss a ball for him to fetch, but he won't stick with it that long. And I can't really toss a ball for him indoors.

I have no idea how it will be disposed of. The PM says don't try to wash it away, because it then becomes a dense, thick mud that blocks gutters and drains. She suggested we sweep/shovel it up and put it in bags for disposal. But only this afternoon, I see a guy down the street hosing down the house and yard.

It's all pervasive, and is appearing all over the house, despite every window and all but one door being closed up tight. I wear a mask for social distancing when I leave the house, but now it looks like I have to wear one 24/7, which will please Karen no end. I just don't know how to keep it on while sleeping!

The Met. office, whose website has been offline all day is now suggesting that tomorrow will be bad, but from Wednesday the dust may be reduced to a haze. I sure hope they told La Soufrière!

[Netfoot]

Another "massive" eruption reported by ham radio operator Sean J88CU in St. Vincent, with debris and ash falling in the "green zone" over there, so more dust on it's way. When she blew in 1902, La Soufrière killed  1,500+ people and wiped out the last of the remaining Island Caribs. (A few hours later Mount Pelée on Martinique went, taking out another 30,000-ish more people). At that time, "Soofray" continued erupting for 8 months! Boffins are saying that the current eruption is "comparable" to the 1902 event.

When she went in 1979 the dust came here a well, but I was at college in the UK, so this is my first time.

Slept last night wearing a KN95, which wasn't as bad as I thought, but the mask did get damaged (broken ear-loop). 

I have been having some difficulty breathing for over a year, ever since a vast number of tiny blood-clots were discovered in my lungs. Well, apparently the clots are gone now, but before they went they cut off blood supplies to patches of lung tissue until the tissue died. So, I'll always have difficulty breathing. A mask genuinely makes it more difficult to breathe. And recently I had a bad cold. Dr. Kristi gave me strong antihistamines and a nasal spray, and the cold cleared up literally like magic! But every time I have to use the spray (twice a day) my nose runs like a tap. So I have to keep taking the damned mask off to blow my nose and then putting it back on again afterwards.

Everything around here is dirty, including me. You can shower as long and hard as you like, but the stuff just keeps coming back. And I am NOT wandering around outside, it's coming into the house and seeking me out! I wonder how much dust falls on a frying-pan sized area in the length of time it takes to scramble an egg?

Buddy gets special lovings, because that's all I can do for him. He has developed a new tactic. When I wake up, he forcibly occupies the portion of the bed between me and the floor, trapping me against the wall. Cuddles must be administered! If you try to shift him or sneak past, he instantly counters by moving to block you again, then rolls on his back to present the tummy for attention. This continues until some noise distracts him and he rushes off to investigate. Ten minutes, this morning...

I have to go give him his morning "stinky".  A large, bright turquoise, antibiotic capsule. He's surprisingly good about taking them, but his involuntary responses get the better of him, and they have a tendency to come back up. I will try the Vienna sausages trick this morning. It worked fine on the pain killers he was on a couple weeks ago, but they were a quarter the size of these turquoise monsters! (Who makes this veterinary medicine? Are they idiots? If they were smaller it would be so much easier to sneak them into something. Two tablets at half the size would be ten times easier!

I'm starting a new Google Photos album, with what images and videos I have collected on the eruption. This is an event you don't want to forget!

ETA: The Viennas worked like magic!

Edited April 13, 2021 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

I've been forgetting to mention that I don't have any hot water!

My solar system is so good that even if we have a week of overcast weather, there is enough light & UV that the water out of the hot tap is so hot it will literally take your skin off. But after one day of dust, the water is now only lukewarm.

Is the density of the atmospheric pollution so high it is reducing the light/UV reaching ground level and my panels? Or, (I suspect) is there so much dust up there on the roof that the panel is completely covered and essentially operating in total darkness?  Prolly a combination of the two. Maybe other factors I didn't think.

Anyway, I'm going to watch a movie. How about that classic from 1968, Krakatoa: East of Java!

[Netfoot]

Smokey mountain just go ¡bang! again.

Yesterday wasn't too bad. The air lost it's dusty appearance, the sky went blue, and the dust fall was only moderately bad. I did sleep in my KN95 again, and again, surprisingly without issue. All still quiet on the streets today, but new news from St. Vincent indicates a fresh explosive event moments ago.

This event is being compared with 1902, when it took a year before the volcano became dormant again. Explosions might take place several times a day, or days/weeks could pass between blasts. I am assuming the more it blows, the more pressure is released, and so the blasts will become less frequent.

We're being told that the clean-up efforts have depleted our reservoirs, and now they are asking us to conserve water.

Village shops, supermarkets, bakeries, hardware stores, gas stations and pharmacies are to open from tomorrow, and limited public transport will be operating. Port and airport will remain closed until further notice. 

I am usually a pretty resilient person, but in just a few days, this business has me feeling quite dismal. I think the No-End-In-Sight nature of it that leaves me stunned. I'm sitting here, and there is nothing I can do, except wait it out. And they are telling me I might have to wait for years!

On a different note: I really hate avoidable anachronisms in movies! I watched Krakatoa yesterday.  Ok, it's a 1968 Hollywood movie, so I understand that the Japanese pearl-diver girls couldn't be naked. I will allow them the modest swimsuits. But there is a scene that has the ship advancing through smoke/fog, with a leadsman on the line, sounding the bottom as the water shallows. He says "By the mark, eight! By the mark, seven! By the mark, six!" Aaaarrrggghhh!!! Seven fathoms is by the mark, but eight and six fathoms is by the deep! Only every second or third fathom is marked on the line! This isn't something that contemporary moral standards can dictate be changed. There is absolutely no excuse for them to get that wrong. And they can't claim not to have realised. The term "Deep Six" has been fully adopted by the language, and Mr. "Mark Twain" is somebody they surely would have heard of? I mean, they didn't have Google, but they could have asked somebody!

Ok, I'm going to go eat something and stop grumbling.....

 

[Browncoat]

Never mind that Krakatoa is actually west of Java....

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

Never mind that Krakatoa is actually west of Java....

LOL! Talk about avoidable anachronisms. I'm assuming someone thought East sounded sexier than West.

 

[Netfoot]

Gardener foolishly attempts to mow the lawn.....

[Netfoot]

Who ya gonna call?!??

DUST-BUSTERS!!

(Apologies for crap photo, taken by crap phone.)

[Netfoot]

They say you can see St. Vincent from here, on a clear day, if you get up high enough. I've never seen it myself, tho. And recently, I don't think you could describe the days as clear! In any case, I'm not going down the west coast to have a look. But from somewhere closer than we are, and not under a cloud of dust, maybe.....

To the south lies Grenada, about 82 miles, and in the Grenadines is Carriacou at 58½ miles.  But to the north of St. Vincent...

_____________________________
Dust cloud from La Soufrière volcano in St. Vincent, as seen from Vigie, in Castries, St. Lucia. Distance approx. 49 miles:

_____________________________
La Soufrière dust cloud seen from Canaries, on the west coast of St. Lucia. Distance approx. 40 miles:

_____________________________
La Soufrière dust cloud seen from St. Lucia. Distance approx. 37 miles. The famous Pitons clearly visible in the foreground.

Coincidentally, this last photo was taken from (or very near) the St. Lucian town of Soufrière (no La), which is named after the nearby volcanic vent.

Soufrière is french for sulphur. I've visited Soufrière in St. Lucia more than once, and as a young boy (about 8 years old) explored the volcanic vent with it's boiling craters of steamy water. My cousins and I collected raw, crystalline sulphur which grows on the surrounding rocks, which we used later for our own 'satanic' purposes! :-)

I've seen St. Vincent clearly, from St. Lucia, when we lived (briefly) in Vieux Fort in the south. (And also Martinique, from Pigeon Island beach, near Gros Islet in the north.)

The Lucians (especially the country folk) speak their own french patois, so there are many french place-names in St. Lucia. 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2021 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

New eruption (noisy video), and apparently a big one. But Windy.com shows the dust plume moving west...

ETA: There is nothing west of St. Vincent for 1500ish miles, although if the dust angles south a bit it would reach the ABC islands, northern Venezuela and northern Colombia after nearly 500 miles...

Edited April 18, 2021 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Another quiet day with apparently no dust-fall, other than what people are kicking up off the ground. I cleaned off the van pretty well, except for the roof, which I can't easily reach. I'm hoping the majority of what's up there will blow off tomorrow, as Bud and I have some driving about to do. Among other things, we need to buy two brooms and a hand-broom & dustpan.

Was particularly careful to clean out any heavy dust under the bonnet, especially in the area of the air intake. Don't want none of that crap inside my engine!

Checked my medical zipper-folio, which goes with me to Dr. Kristi tomorrow, although I probably won't need it. It was covered in dust. I had not cleaned it all week. I carefully brushed all the dust into one pile in the middle, with a paint brush:

That is what was accumulated solely on the 10x13" folio. The whole house is like this. Except for what I've already cleaned up.

It also occurs to me that most attic spaces in houses around here, are vented. When the sun heats up the tin roof, the air in the attic gets hot. So, there are vents to winward that allow cooler air in while vents to leeward allow the hot air to escape. All in the name of a cooler home. I suspect that quite a bit of dust may have settled up there! I pity the next person who finds a need to crawl up through that hatch. I hope it isn't me.

The landlord was up on the roof all afternoon, and he must have cleaned off the solar panel, because the hot water is scalding again! I told him not to use the hose because the dust forms a heavy mud that fills the gutters. Later, I heard the hose in use. Later still, I heard much cussing, as the gutters were choked, and he had to dig them out by hand! I call him Fifty-One because he ain't playing with a full deck.

But now that the roof's been cleared, I am really hoping for a four-day downpour. I'd take Budweiser for a long drive to nowhere special, and dally on the way back. Only, I suspect the fine stuff will make for a very slippery road surface when it first gets wet, so I'd prolly wait until Day #2 to go for that joyride.

According to my scale, I'm ½ lb. lighter than the last reading taken by Dr. K. What that actually means is hard to say. Because it has been proven that I can put on 5 lbs. while asleep in bed, and because her scale does not match/marry with mine. Her numbers are what're official. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

PS: Airport and sea port still closed.

Edited April 20, 2021 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Well, yesterday's Weigh-in was a disappointment, if not entirely unexpected. I have put on seven pounds. Seven! I weighed Monday night as I went to bed, weighed again as soon as I got up Tuesday morning, and I'd put on 5 lbs. while sleeping. Not sure how that happened.....

Anyway, I intend to be very bad for the next three days, then decide if to continue this weight-loss programme or not. Already messaged Dr. K. to say I was done with weigh-ins, and that since I'm off the warfarin (at least temporarily, hopefully for good) there was no need for me to come in and bother her with periodic blood-draws. Will still need to collect new prescriptions every 3 months or so, but...

Speaking of behaving very badly, yesterday I had rice & peas, macaroni pie and buttered cassava with my lunch. Plus three separate types of salad, chicken, and fish. And drank two Tiger malts. I'm thinking fettuccine for lunch today, maybe for dinner as well. And I bought twelve bread-rolls (known locally as "salt breads") and two large potatoes at the supermarket yesterday.

(With the air and sea ports still closed, there was slim pickings in the fresh meat and vegetables departments, I can tell you! I was able to get a large supply of onions, tomatoes and cabbage, plus a good supply of minced and stirfry-cut beef plus chicken breasts. But no affordable steak, or any mushrooms, peppers, etc.)

And more good news on the athlete's foot situation: Some "apostle" in St. Lucy, decided to ignore the ruling about opening churches. A 6' minimum distance is required between all attendees, and masks must be worn. So this apostle packed 125 worshipers into his little church. Assuming each person is a minimum of 6 feet from the next, they need a circle of 28¼ sq. ft., which doesn't even account for the space they themselves occupy. So 125 people would require 3,524½ sq. ft. of space in the church. Not counting the little triangles between each circle. I can't think of a single church in St. Lucy that could possibly boast such space, which would have an "apostle" in charge. Or at all. So having packed the sardines into the tin, he then allowed them to take off their masks!

Anyway, 30 of them now positive for athlete's foot and counting.

Oh, and the "apostle" is saying that the government infiltrated his church and deliberately infected his flock, so he should be held blameless. But I think they are going to charge him. I wish they would charge them all, pour encourager les autres!

I expect Bud and I will venture up to the club today, to see how it fares after the volcano. Others have already done a lot of work on the clubhouse, but that was four days ago, so we'll see. Hopefully not much to do. 

Dust-wise, it's been pretty good here these last few days. New accumulations are very light, and a few more clear days and I will consider opening a window! Bud will be very pleased, because he loves looking out the bedroom window, and complains every time he goes to it and finds it closed. Yes, he can see out through the glass, but it isn't the same as sticking your nosie right out! Especially if someone out there needs barking at, which is almost certainly the case. We went out yesterday in the car and did a couple unnecessary miles on the highway before going to see Dr. K. (who was actually AWOL), and the supermarket. And while I was in there, an announcement came over the tannoy, giving my plate number, and advising me I needed to attend my vehicle because I'd left the windows open. Well, yeah, Bud was in there and I didn't want him cooked, after all... But apparently a downpour of rain had arrived out of nowhere! So the car got a bit of a rinse-off, after being cleaned by hand and then vacuumed before we left home, then blown off by highway driving.

Sorry if the "volcanic dust" reporting has been a bit excessive. But it was an experience far more stressful than you might think, and I needed to vent and "get it off my chest." Hopefully it's all over now, bar the cleaning-up which will go on for quite some time, I fear.

Anyway, I have to consider what I will put on the fettuccine for lunch. I'm thinking beef, braised in Guinness with what ever vegetables I find in the fridge.

[Browncoat]

3 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Sorry if the "volcanic dust" reporting has been a bit excessive. But it was an experience far more stressful than you might think, and I needed to vent and "get it off my chest." Hopefully it's all over now, bar the cleaning-up which will go on for quite some time, I fear.

I actually have appreciated your reports!  I have no idea what being downwind of a volcano is like in person, but your descriptions (and photos!) are excellent.

[Spunkygal]

2 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I actually have appreciated your reports!  I have no idea what being downwind of a volcano is like in person, but your descriptions (and photos!) are excellent.

Same here and we’ve been genuinely concerned for you and your wild furry boy. My heart breaks for everyone suffering physical, mental and property damage from this disaster. Regarding the 7 lb weight gain, I bet half of that is ash! 

[Netfoot]

6 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

Regarding the 7 lb weight gain, I bet half of that is ash!

LOL!

You're probably right. At the height of this mess, I noticed a thin line of dust across the top of the mayonnaise in the jar. This lead me to discover a previously unnoticed hairline crack in the lid. The stuff gets everywhere! I won't detail any of the surprises that present themselves when I go for a shower...

My wild, furry boy will have to hang on another day or so, before I feel comfortable opening the bedroom window for the night. It'd probably be OK now, but another couple nights won't hurt. He is quite miserable these days, because the lockdown was bad enough, restricting his ability to get chauffeured all over the island. Then came the volcano, and he couldn't even go out into the yard! I decided not to take him to the field today, but photos from the others show it wasn't too bad.

I still think we've got to the point were a good, long downpour would serve the island well. We had a healthy shower on Tuesday, but it was only for 10 minutes or so. Dear I say, we need one of those events where the rain don't stop falling for 2-3 days? But alas, we're heading into the dry season instead. So, it doesn't look like we will get much rain until next week Thursday, and that only if the forecast is actually accurate a week in advance.

Thanks to you, @Browncoat for your supportive comment!

[Netfoot]

Oh boy! Here we go again.....

Satellite imagery shows the plume going east west, but we won't know for sure for a while yet.

ETA: West is not east.

Edited April 22, 2021 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Life has sort of returned to normal. Sort of. There is still plenty of dust blowing around. What you clear away from here today, turns up there tomorrow. But at least it isn't falling from the sky by the ton any more. Still scrubbing with a laundry brush in the shower, tho...

Sort of normal. Yesterday (Wednesday) was "National Heroes' Day", a local public holiday. But a few days earlier, Emergency Management Directive #9 was released by government. This directive declares a midnight to 5:00 AM curfew Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday. It also declares that you may not leave your home between 5:00 AM and midnight, each Sunday, as they are "Stay-at-Home" days. And now, the bank holiday yesterday was also declared to be a Stay-at-Home day. What's more, Saturday (May Day) is also a bank holiday and therefore another Stay-at-Home day. So, after a mid-week Stay-at-Home day, we are now looking at a Stay-at-Home weekend, since you aren't allowed to leave your residence on both Saturday and Sunday.

This is the normal we've returned to after volcanism failed to get us. Basically, you can work your ass off every day, but on the days you aren't working, keep your ass locked up at home!

When the PM announced the new directive which runs for three weeks (previous directives were only for two), she mentioned in passing that the GG had been persuaded to extend the state of emergency by another five months!

Also, whereas in the past we were flying (when we could) under the general "open-air, non-contact sports" provision, the latest directive requires us to submit our "CV19 Protocols" and wait for written approval! We don' have no stinkin' protocols! We just have common sense! You stand over there and fly your model, and I'll stand over here and fly mine! Between flights, no sitting in each other's laps! WTF? Left to the bureaucrats, we'd all have to wear a hazmat suit, or something. And the aircraft would probably have to wear one as well!

You know, some people just love this shit!

I'd post a nice photo of Buddy, but Bud is looking a little forlorn these days, and who can blame him? So, no photos. Poor little bugger never gets to go anywhere any more, and I've only recently started opening the bedroom window that he loves to stick his nosie out of!

Why am I posting at this ungodly hour? Because after laying in bed with my eyes wide open until nearly 5:00AM, I just gave up. I imagine I'll need to crash mid-morning, or something.

[Netfoot]

Wow! St. Vincent has won the lottery again.....

After fire falling from the sky? What else would James Taylor tell you to expect? Yep. Fire & Rain. Nature, it seems, is all about balance!

Heavy rainfall throughout the island has resulted in flooding in the town, and landslides in the hilly rural areas. A significant band of cloud is moving through the whole area, and we've had some rainfall, but nothing like them.

I've collected a dozen or so still pictures and cellphone videos from St. Vincent, and added them to my "Volcano" album, which I've now had to rename. If you're interested, check it here. The new stuff is at the bottom.

Not an expert, but the flood water looks heavy and silty. Volcanic dust? This may be a case of a blessing in disguise? Or possibly, of the cure being worse than the disease.

The scary bit (for me) is the landslides. I've seen that shit first-hand  more than once, when I was a nipper in Trinidad. We had a breeding pair of bull terriers puppies (Brandy and Soda) that were buried by a slide on our property, nine o'clock one night. I was too small to help, and was instructed not to leave the house, on pain of a major ass-whupping. My mum and dad dug those puppies out with their bare hands, in the pitch dark. Soda didn't make it despite liberal amounts of Courvoisier being administered. Brandy (coincidence?) did survive, but he was never the same. He was constantly falling into the pool, after that. And he used to catch manicou and leave them in front of the front door.

So, after fire and rain, what comes next?  Wind and water? A hurricane followed by the storm-surge?

I'd send them poor bastards a coupla bucks. If I had a coupla bucks. And if I wasn't sure some smart-ass, teefin' politician wouldn't end up pocketing the lot......

(Yeah, I crashed around ten o'clock and stayed under for 3½ hours, thereby missing lunch.)