Mr B dusted off his sextant. (He must be seriously out of things to do in lockdown.)
Every cloudless day, as the sun reaches for the 'yard arm' he can be found on our balcony lining up a sight on the sun and the piece of horizon immediately below it.
I'm in the office supervising F when I hear the shout: 'get that *** ship out of the way'.
What does he think I'm going to be able to do about it? Call in the aliens to beam it up?
He has done a couple of months of these noon sights now and fairly conclusively established that our balcony hasn't moved anywhere - and we are stuck here right along with it.
At least we know exactly when the sun has passed over the yardarm. Not that it's not doing them any good, they are both on their 'dry February' (because if you are going to have a dry month, it makes sense to pick the shortest one).
The sun is getting higher in the sky each day and I am having to chase it across the balcony - my winter sunning bed is already in shadow.
Hello Tigger,
ReplyDeleteWell, we are very pleased that your balcony is not moving. You may have a ship which is blotting out the light and generally scarring the seascape, but at least you have a stable balcony. For that and the fact that dry February is half over, you should be truly grateful.
And, please keep in mind that we do not have a balcony [moving or otherwise] so we se no ships at all, ever, and no sea either as Budapest and indeed Hungary is landlocked. However, we can look on the bright side [if not the seaside] as we do not have a dry February or indeed any other month of the year. Hungarian champagne is £2.50 per bottle, so it would be folly not to drink it. Wouldn't it?
We have no idea how we found you, but we shall return.
Welcome - we have seen your comments somewhere else in blogland, so our literary pursuits paths have crossed somewhere along the way. I, the Tigger, am interested to know whether Budapest is a good place for a cat. As for my humans, I have a suspicion they aren't taking 'dry February' terribly seriously this year. I mean, who's checking - other than me? With champagne at the prices you enjoy one would be mad to refuse it.
DeleteThank you for your warm welcome. Indeed, Budapest is a good place for cats. We first came here some 20 years ago with our two cats. We came on a Eurolines bus [27 hours from Victoria bus station] and they flew British Airways. We arrived wrecked, they arrived in perfect condition ready to explore. Sadly, they are both now dead.
DeleteI went from UK to Greece in an overland (under Channel, ferry from Brindisi) odyssey. New to me at the time were cheap hotels, tunnels, trains, and ferries - all old hat now, but I can't say I'm uber keen on ferries. It took me a while to accept that we could safely drive on the other side of the road. My humans aren't keen on the idea that I will predecease them, but its preferable to the other way around. Where else am I going to find household slaves like these ones? xxx MrT
DeleteI have never had much success with a dry month. I expect I shall die young-(ish) but pleasantly pickled.
ReplyDeleteWell preserved then?
DeleteI am thinking that you have the best view of anybody that's lockdown during this pandemic. This made me laugh we've been hunting for things to do to
ReplyDeleteApparently it doesn't require a view of the sea, the horizon in a dish of water works too. We will remind Mr B of that the next time he wants a ship moved on.
DeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteWhat's that - a static balcony. Well, at least you know you are unlikely to sink into oblivion, Mr T! At least not in sea water... and, for February at least, not in any other liquid either! hugs and whiskeries, YAM-aunty xxx
We might not be moving but we could still sink. Greece wobbles regularly. Fz & Pz Mr T
DeleteA sextant is an awesome boy toy. And he knows how to use it. Truly awesome.
ReplyDeleteThe ship in the photo looks as though it's being beamed out of Mr Bs way. Chase that sun while it's still around!
We assume he knows how to use it. It could all be a clever bluff.
DeleteThe ship gives the eye something to focus on in the distance as for lockdown how long is yours going for?
ReplyDelete😉 you think like a photographer. Navigators prefer the 'i see no ships' view! Lockdown? How long is a piece of string? We are nearing the start of our 5th month with no end in sight and the restrictions getting tougher.
DeleteFunny how our humans think we can fix things like ships out at sea! I am glad your balcony is stable, but I am concerned about your winter sunning bed - can you move it around? And if it snows, do you have somewhere warm to stay inside? It is the other way round here - too hot for my normal inside beds, so I've been stretching out belly-flat on the grass in the shade. Whiskers and purrs, Mittens 😻
ReplyDeleteMy winter sunning bed is a tv satellite dish on barstool legs. My Condo gets moved indoors for winter and they get swapped again when the weather stops being really blowy outdoors. Our balcony has a balcony above it (creating that creeping shade as the sun climbs up the sky). I wwish we had grass in Summer. Everything here goes brown and crispy. xxx Mr T
DeleteI have noticed the sunrise getting latter and latter eqch morning
ReplyDeleteOur summer has been disappointing. I hope your coming summer is a much nicer one
We have been doing really well re covid. But as of midnight tonight we go into a five day lockdown
Hopefully it’s just the five days
We hope for you it is only 5 days. We will soon start month 5.
Delete