Cherie's Place - Thought for the Week

My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me!

Henry Ford

PhotoHunt - Bridge(s)

Mount Ephraim Gardens in Kent.

For more of this weeks PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick

The Bridge

I stood on the bridge at midnight,
As the clocks were striking the hour,
And the moon rose o'er the city,
Behind the dark church-tower.

I saw her bright reflection
In the waters under me,
Like a golden goblet falling
And sinking into the sea.

And far in the hazy distance
Of that lovely night in June,
The blaze of the flaming furnace
Gleamed redder than the moon.

Among the long, black rafters
The wavering shadows lay,
And the current that came from the ocean
Seemed to lift and bear them away;

As, sweeping and eddying through them,
Rose the belated tide,
And, streaming into the moonlight,
The seaweed floated wide.

And like those waters rushing
Among the wooden piers,
A flood of thoughts came o'er me
That filled my eyes with tears.

How often, oh, how often,
In the days that had gone by,
I had stood on that bridge at midnight
And gazed on that wave and sky!

How often, oh, how often,
I had wished that the ebbing tide
Would bear me away on its bosom
O'er the ocean wild and wide!

For my heart was hot and restless,
And my life was full of care,
And the burden laid upon me
Seemed greater than I could bear.

But now it has fallen from me,
It is buried in the sea;
And only the sorrow of others
Throws its shadow over me.

Yet whenever I cross the river
On its bridge with wooden piers,
Like the odor of brine from the ocean
Comes the thought of other years.

And I think how many thousands
Of care-encumbered men,
Each bearing his burden of sorrow,
Have crossed the bridge since then.

I see the long procession
Still passing to and fro,
The young heart hot and restless,
And the old subdued and slow!

And forever and forever,
As long as the river flows,
As long as the heart has passions,
As long as life has woes;

The moon and its broken reflection
And its shadows shall appear,
As the symbol of love in heaven,
And its wavering image here.

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Help in Large Friendly Letters

Just before I got into bed last night I thought I would look outside and do a quick snow check. It wasn't snowing but something strange had happened... I just had to take a photograph.

It was only after I had taken the photograph that it occurred to me that standing in the window at the front of the house taking photographs in my night clothes was probably not one of my better ideas!

I just hope all my neighbours were already asleep!

A Lazy Day

When I got out of bed first thing this morning it was snowing heavily and didn't look like it was going to stop any time soon. I checked with someone to see what the road conditions were like and was told they were not too good. It is a bit of a distance to where I work and I thought the best thing to do was phone and say I wouldn't be going in. So I did and went back to bed for an extra hour! When I got up it had stopped snowing although the sky was still full of snow.

I felt a bit of a fraud, but there again I am using my own leave and it did snow a bit more later on so that makes it all right doesn't it? ;-)

So what did I do with my day? I was really lazy; I caught up with some TU work, mooched on the web and and ripped more audio CDs for my iPod.

Now I feel a lot less hassled and I did have a very pretty view of the garden :-) I know at least one other blogger will appreciate the view as much as I did...

Is This Alien Poo?

I found this rather unusual article via the BBC website. It starts with the question:

What is this strange jelly people are finding on grassland throughout Scotland?

A few tests have been done on the jelly like substance but nothing conclusive has come to light yet. Judging by the comments it seems like the jelly is not just confined to Scotland.

To try to solve the mystery, Out of Doors has asked some scientists to examine a 'jelly' sample.

Theories so far: Hans Sluiman, an algae expert at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, told Out of Doors listeners he is convinced the gel itself is not a plant or animal.

Dr Andy Taylor studies fungi at the Macaulay Institute in Aberdeen. He says there are fungus filaments in the slime but agrees with Hans that they're growing in the gloop rather than creating it.

DNA tests: Andy's team at the Macaulay Institute ran DNA tests on a sample, but the results were inconclusive - the sample was contaminated.

Historical references: Hans Sluiman's academic colleagues unearthed a 1926 reference in the journal Nature to 'the rot of the stars'. It backs the theory that birds of some species are eating frogs or toads and regurgitating the ovaries, perhaps due to toxins.

Will the mystery be solved? Out of Doors listener Mike Snook discovered another sample of the substance at Aberlady in late December, and it has been delivered to the Macaulay Institute for further DNA testing. Dr Taylor says he has hopes for a result early in the new year.

The most common suggestion is that it is immature frog spawn, which has been discarded after the frog has fallen prey to a Heron.

Commenters have come up with a variety of theories and suggestions, some are below:

• Jelly Fungus
  
• Pwdre Ser or Star Jelly
• Some sort of Algae
• Silica from meteorites
• Slime Fungus
• Alien droppings
• UFO droppings of alien poo
• Slime trail left by Eels
• Blue green algae
• Alien snack
• Rock snot
• Quatermass experiment
• It comes from slugs
• Stag's semen
  
• It's gel from a diaper (nappy)
• Animal snot
• Fairies with flu...
  

I shall leave you with this question...

What do you think?

A Pretty Chilly Day

I don't think I prayed hard enough to get snowed in today! Maybe tomorrow - we have had 2 - 6 inches forecast overnight, but nothing is happening yet.

Although perhaps wishing for snow is not such a good idea. The front of my house has been rather chilly for a few weeks, which seemed rather odd because the double glazing is only just over a year old. When the snowy wind started yesterday it became apparent that a gale was blowing round the edges of the front door. It seems to have bowed in the middle where the lock is!!!

*sighs* Something else to sort out...

Sadly I wasn't able to get any nice photos of the snow because I was at work, but there is always this video I took in October last year. It was lovely to hear my neighbours kids squealing and laughing and out enjoying the snow. It brought back memories :-)

As there are no snow photos I thought I would leave you with a nice monochrome photo. For more monochrome shots visit Aileni.

Cherie's Place - Thought for the Week

Waste not fresh tears over old griefs.

Euripides