Dear Steve,
I think this week’s letter, being written on Sunday evening, is a little bit strange, because for the first time in quite a while I didn’t know where to begin. Perhaps then I should start with my reading of Gilbert’s Letter XXXIV.
I read Gilbert’s letter and immediately thought that’s going to be interesting. It was mostly about insects. I knew I would have problems with that, partly due to my creaky knees, and partly due to the time of year, when there are insects about, but they are very reluctant to come out into the cold air, and I’m not that inclined to get down on my knees to look for them.
So, Monday Morning, my memory is getting bad – why didn’t I go to the Shed? We did go to the Range to get some compost for Elayne.
Tuesday I did go for a walk; I varied my route very slightly, because I wanted to see what Haslar Lake was like for birds. It didn’t take me long to get a picture of a bird that my assistant identified as a Common Redshank, and there was only the one of them. I thought, it’s around 9 AM, perhaps it’s a bit too early (ridiculous, I know).
I had a thought about a little microscope I bought several years ago; it’s not a toy, my assistant says it’s good for school use, probably up to A Level. To be honest, that’ll do fine for me, although I do have a bigger microscope, other than the stereo microscope, but this one takes up a lot less space; it looks like it needs a clean, though. I ordered a cleaning kit that includes a puffer brush.
Over the weekend, I had gone over to Portsmouth to have breakfast with some of my amateur radio friends, which was very nice. I decided to go to Fareham, giving my bus pass a good exercise. Outside Fareham Bus Station, there were lots, and I mean thousands, of acorns. Of course, I picked up a couple; luckily, I had a small sample pot with me. I’d have a look at them at home.
It took a couple of days before I managed to get around to having a look at the Acorns. The first thing that I found was that if I wanted to dissect one, they really are quite difficult to hold securely and safely. I tried using the different types of tweezers, but these weren’t very effective. I guess I could have used a pair of pliers, but I was a bit wary of crushing it. I hadn’t appreciated how tough the little thing was; I really had to force myself into it. Using a very sharp scalpel, I was, to say the least, a bit concerned. I don’t think I will do one of those again until got that little problem sorted.
I was pretty much challenged by my assistant in a stroppy mode to get out and take some pictures of Stokes Bay. Not only did I get out once, but I also got out twice – the second set of shots was better than the first, but I still need to sort a few things out. What I haven’t done yet is really look at the results and sort out what I need to do to make it better.
Until Next Week.
All the Best
Bill
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