Tuesday, June 27
Jun. 28th, 2023 12:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gottawonderToday I am grateful for:
A bit overcast, but otherwise a pretty nice day. Very warm again.
I managed to put in a bit more time pulling grass where I want to mulch (it's a big area). I am trying to change my mindset from the "all or nothing" thought, to "work for half an hour if that's all you have today", because half an hour can get more done than you think, and it's better than nothing.
I went to see River, and as I was walking in the pasture to get him, I picked up about five granola bar wrappers, all the same kind. Just about every time I go out there, there is at least one of these wrappers, and a week or so ago I found an uneaten one sticking out of the sand in the outdoor arena, so it is very likely someone who rides there, and not wrappers blowing in from somewhere.
Who would just toss their granola bar wrapper in the pasture and it isn't your property?
I showed the handful of wrappers to R, and told her that I always find a few out there, and she says she's picked them up too.
She did address it on the Facebook client page, but in a cute and clever way that made it sound like "it seems like the dog must be stealing granola bars from someone who rides here, and leaves the wrappers in the pasture. Does anyone recognize these?".
I hope that whoever it is isn't feeding them to the horses, lord knows they don't need to be eating peanuts and icing.
I mostly worked on equitation again, with still not fantastic results on things like maintaining a steady pace (not speeding up or slowing down) and transitions. He did do some very nice walks where he was forward and stayed nice and straight and same tempo for long stretches.
We did a little bit of Liberty work so that we could end on something he likes doing, and that went well.
I came home and let everyone out for a while and watered the garden from one of the big tanks of rain water.
I finally planted the clearance bedding plants I bought two weeks ago, and you know, two weeks of being in the shade and watered and they look great.
I came in, and spent some time upstairs in the craft stuff which is super disorganized right now, and came up with a shopping bag of stuff to toss, and another slightly bigger bag of things I can donate.
Again, I have to fight my inner voice that says I need to make everything perfect all at once, and be happy with a few drops in the bucket.
When I try to make everything perfect all in one go, I get burnt out and overwhelmed. When I remind myself that a bit of progress is good enough, and I can do more later, I can relax because there really is no pressure to do EVERYTHING today.
I learned that the Thames was REALLY DISGUSTING ( I did know that already, but I didn't know this....)
Thames Mud Butter
The Princess Alice disaster revealed a rather unusual trade being made from the river’s filth. Men were spotted in boats with nets catching fat on the surface of the water, by the Outfall. Reports were made of the people selling something called ‘Thames Mud Butter’ - essentially human fat that was skimmed off of the surface of the water. It was a rather gross means of people making a living. Thames Mud butter was sold to grease engines and machinery to industries. brought to light this grisly means of making a living, selling it to grease engines and machinery.
The Memorial report described this gruesome and opportunistic profession:
“If you go there on the flood tide you will see plenty of birds there when the London sewer is open: you will see men on the shore collecting the fat in baskets, who get their living by it. They take it on the shore and boil it, and it is taken back to London. I have seen scores of them doing it; baskets and baskets of solid fat are taken off the shores of the Thames.”
https://thamesfestivaltrust.org/heritage-programme/the-barking-stink/the-barking-stink-sewage-filthy-river/
I'm sure it wasn't really all human fat, likely a mix of the fat and oils from household waste, dead animals, the effluent from butchering and rendering facilities, and probably from some dead people.
A bit overcast, but otherwise a pretty nice day. Very warm again.
I managed to put in a bit more time pulling grass where I want to mulch (it's a big area). I am trying to change my mindset from the "all or nothing" thought, to "work for half an hour if that's all you have today", because half an hour can get more done than you think, and it's better than nothing.
I went to see River, and as I was walking in the pasture to get him, I picked up about five granola bar wrappers, all the same kind. Just about every time I go out there, there is at least one of these wrappers, and a week or so ago I found an uneaten one sticking out of the sand in the outdoor arena, so it is very likely someone who rides there, and not wrappers blowing in from somewhere.
Who would just toss their granola bar wrapper in the pasture and it isn't your property?
I showed the handful of wrappers to R, and told her that I always find a few out there, and she says she's picked them up too.
She did address it on the Facebook client page, but in a cute and clever way that made it sound like "it seems like the dog must be stealing granola bars from someone who rides here, and leaves the wrappers in the pasture. Does anyone recognize these?".
I hope that whoever it is isn't feeding them to the horses, lord knows they don't need to be eating peanuts and icing.
I mostly worked on equitation again, with still not fantastic results on things like maintaining a steady pace (not speeding up or slowing down) and transitions. He did do some very nice walks where he was forward and stayed nice and straight and same tempo for long stretches.
We did a little bit of Liberty work so that we could end on something he likes doing, and that went well.
I came home and let everyone out for a while and watered the garden from one of the big tanks of rain water.
I finally planted the clearance bedding plants I bought two weeks ago, and you know, two weeks of being in the shade and watered and they look great.
I came in, and spent some time upstairs in the craft stuff which is super disorganized right now, and came up with a shopping bag of stuff to toss, and another slightly bigger bag of things I can donate.
Again, I have to fight my inner voice that says I need to make everything perfect all at once, and be happy with a few drops in the bucket.
When I try to make everything perfect all in one go, I get burnt out and overwhelmed. When I remind myself that a bit of progress is good enough, and I can do more later, I can relax because there really is no pressure to do EVERYTHING today.
I learned that the Thames was REALLY DISGUSTING ( I did know that already, but I didn't know this....)
Thames Mud Butter
The Princess Alice disaster revealed a rather unusual trade being made from the river’s filth. Men were spotted in boats with nets catching fat on the surface of the water, by the Outfall. Reports were made of the people selling something called ‘Thames Mud Butter’ - essentially human fat that was skimmed off of the surface of the water. It was a rather gross means of people making a living. Thames Mud butter was sold to grease engines and machinery to industries. brought to light this grisly means of making a living, selling it to grease engines and machinery.
The Memorial report described this gruesome and opportunistic profession:
“If you go there on the flood tide you will see plenty of birds there when the London sewer is open: you will see men on the shore collecting the fat in baskets, who get their living by it. They take it on the shore and boil it, and it is taken back to London. I have seen scores of them doing it; baskets and baskets of solid fat are taken off the shores of the Thames.”
https://thamesfestivaltrust.org/heritage-programme/the-barking-stink/the-barking-stink-sewage-filthy-river/
I'm sure it wasn't really all human fat, likely a mix of the fat and oils from household waste, dead animals, the effluent from butchering and rendering facilities, and probably from some dead people.
no subject
Date: 2023-06-29 04:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-06-29 09:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-06-30 04:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-06-29 04:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-07-05 12:38 pm (UTC)That's obnoxious about the granola bars. I often eat a few for breakfast and every once in a while a wrapper falls out of my pocket, but that's few and far between, definitely not regular enough to be of note. I just hate it when people don't take care of their garbage.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-05 09:40 pm (UTC)We continue to find them all over. I find them in the pasture, R finds them in the yard beside her house. The other day she found a whole unopened one half buried in her flower bed.
We don't know if an animal is stealing them from someone and opening them there to eat, or if there is a bird stealing the empty wrappers; it's so weird.
no subject
Date: 2023-07-19 11:33 pm (UTC)