Friday, July 3, 2009

After the rain

This, again, is the wide gutter that runs across the front of three brownstones. Mine in the middle, two neighbours. At least one inhabited by a raccoon. The only drainage is a little opening to the right of my terrace, on the edge. The daily downpours have left my moat brimming every time. I like it - it's pretty. But I also have to poke a stick into the opening to get water going again. This involves climbing onto my barbecue/braai - a broad copper bowl with grid, on legs, and leaning precariously over the fig tree. I wish this building had a super in more than name alone.

Vince will teach me to fold a little paper boat for the moat. He taught me once, over Skype, but there is no way I will remember how, again.

This water looks so clean. I caught rainwater, all of an inch, in one of my Woodstock glasses and drank it this morning. Acid rain or not, it made me feel lighter.

I was waiting for it, because it was the right time of day, with the sun hitting from the west...a faint rainbow for a few minutes, around 7pm.

Seconds after the tropically heavy rain had stopped, some critters came out and went about their business on the terrace.

Every evening this spider weaves a web on the right side of the terrace, between the New Dawn on high and the heirloom mini tomatoes on the BBQ (which have to be moved when I unblock the gutter).

A pretty-antennaed beetle, marching along a lily stem.

A tired fly...

The best view of the turkscap-style lilies: Seafarer.

This fig crop - technically the second one, the first lot fell off - maturing.

Miniature green tomatoes.

Clearing up. Sun forecast tomorrow.

5 comments:

  1. You could try this, then, when Beence arrives, a whole flotilla can greet him. (If it rains!)

    http://www.mathematische-basteleien.de/paper_ship.htm

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  2. Sounds a bit precarious leaning out to clear the drain!

    Here's a fascinating site about paper boats being made to raise funds for the restoration of a historic cottage in Scotland, with ties to New Zealand
    http://www.joannebkaarpaperboats.blogspot.com/ There's a link to half a dozen sites on how to make paper boats, including 3 videos. (None so fun as learning directly from Beence, i'm sure!)

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  3. Love the first pic; the perspective makes the gutter look like a canal in Venice...

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  4. AAAARGH!! Your terrace makes me really, really jealous... How big is your fig tree? Am gonna get one of those when I move back to town...

    Your blog is really an inspiration.

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  5. I'm with Beence on the Venetian look. What it needs is a teeny black paper gondola, with a teeny, surly, snarly gondolier.

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