Squirrel highway

[fbhjr]

The squirrels in my apartment complex use the balconies as a highway to get from place to place. This is how the get to my window box, or anywhere else they want to go.
And, it looks like they’re building a nest on one of the other balconies.


As we’ve been busy with Phoenix, we had the first practice of the month yesterday. As it was father’s day, there weren’t a whole lot of folks there. We did a lot of review and planning.
Including safety stuff.


When we had lunch with Amy last week, she mentioned that in the Bayeux Tapestry there was an image of folks fighting with shovels. And, if we wanted to expand our historical show maybe we’d want to add that.
Since I’ve got a reproduction of it, I looked it up.


I’m told the translation of the text over it is about building fortifications at Hastings before the big battle. They might or might not be fighting. They might or might not be shovels.
It certainly doesn’t give any information on technique we could use. But, it’s still very interesting.

I did find something else interesting in the tapestry.


I’m told this translates out to “a certain cleric and Ælfgifu”. Apparently no one knows the story behind this, but it is thought to have been a famous scandal of the mid-11th century. The 20th century equivelent of “the president and Monica” or such. People at the time would know exactly what it was about, but it has been lost in the 940 years since the tapestry was made.
But, that sounds like a good idea for one of our historical stage acts. We can fill in the blanks!

Sadly, nothing at all on the job front. More resumes shot into the dark at other companies. My thanks to folks who have sent me companies to try. None of them have worked out, but at least it gives me places to try.

I did run into one thing over the weekend that annoyed me a lot.
When I was laid off three months ago, I was given the choice to continue my insurance coverage at the company rate. I elected to do so. I sent in my check to the insurance company and they cashed it.
This weekend I got a letter from them saying “Oh, by the way, you actually weren’t allowed to transfer to paying yourself a the company rate. We’re nice enough to let you keep it for the last 3 months for which we cashed your check, but now you have to reapply for an individual rate.”
That turns out to be about 3 times higher then what I had expected.

The good news on that front is I had bought extra insurance when I worked there. The extra, over the company paid insurance, that I had is transferable at the low rate. It’s only the part that was company paid that isn’t.
So, I keep the $40,000 I paid $40 for, but not the $25,000 that they want me to pay $120 for.
At least I do have some coverage. I was worried I don’t have any. And, with deadly naps lurking around the town, I want to have coverage.

Comments

[oakenguy.livejournal.com]

Those two folks with shovels...part of me hopes they're morris dancing.

(It would *really* spice up the next morris dance I have to sit through, anyhow).

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I don't know, I don't see bells on their legs....

[saeble.livejournal.com]

In WW1 in the trenches, many more guys died from shovel wounds than bayonets. A sharp little trench shovel is akin to a light battle axe. They will maim without much trouble.

http://www.coldsteel.com/spshovel.html

They are ridiculously effective weapons.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I'm not questioning their effectiveness.
But, I can't say there is enough information in the tapestry to say how they used them.
It's not even clear if they're really fighting.

[palusbuteo.livejournal.com]

trying to look at that section of the Bayeux tapestry...The bottom edge certainly adds something to the mystery-story...

Apparently the Cleric was so enamoured with this Aelfegu, the Cleric decided to play "jack jumped over the candlestick", while nekkid, and apprarently either changing into, or having intimacies with a winged dragon....Will have to clean this up a bit if we do this show for kids me thinks.

I have to say, I admit I've only really seen the "famous" battle scenes on the Tapestry, this is the first time I have ever seen any kind of nudity, let alone genitalia hanging out...Just something I did not expect to find on the tapestry.

[palusbuteo.livejournal.com]

And shovel fechten...

For real??!! I dunno I'm having trouble thinking those as shovels...Maybe a kind of axe or glaive...But yeah...sort of shovel-looking, with the circular "hand grip" at the bottom...craziness.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

There are axes in the tapestry, but they are not drawn like that.
Shovels is the best guess based on other images near it. But, that doesn't mean it's a fight with them.

[palusbuteo.livejournal.com]

Aaah. Yeah mentally I have an image of a "medieval shovel" made of wood but with a metal blade-edge...So when I look at the tapestry imagine, I can gather that is a possibility.

but if they were entrenching...why are they facing each other and have the "shovel" at each other's head...Peculiar.

I just watched the video on Cold Steel with their Spetznaz shovel...I have an urge to do the same kind of "demos" with a sharpened yard stick. Probably just as 'deadly'...Although the shovel's multi-use as an axe, paddle, and shovel is still interesting....And there was that "entrenching bayonet" from the 1880's, that was supposed to double as an entrenching tool and as a bayonet, but sucked horribly at doing both. Soldiers chucked them as fast as they could :P

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

It's a good bet they are shovels.
Why facing each other?
Fighting? Saluting? Morris Dancing?
No one knows.

[palusbuteo.livejournal.com]

Hmmm...Yeah maybe it's like the Monty Python's "Fish Slapping Dance" only with shovels...

afterall, they're quasi-Roman so who know what bizarre ritual has been corrupted and heavily tweaked over the centuries?

Maybe it was something like "Hey! You have MY shovel! gimmie!" Or "Hey, my shovel is better looking than yours!" "No Way! gimmie that!!"

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that took my by surprise too.
The on line versions have been "cleaned up".
Apparently a copy made in the 1800's added pants to the figure in question.
There are other graphic images as well...

[palusbuteo.livejournal.com]

hmmm..Oh graphic yeah, I recall an imagine of someone (famous) getting an arrow into the eye...Owwies.

[evrgreen.livejournal.com]

I can attest to the fact that my friends in the modern day army are trained to use their trenching tools as weapons in hand to hand combat. Not very heavy, but quite effective little battle axe/hammers when swung with some speed. Of course, I know very little compared to you guys as to the medieval applications of similar tools.

I have a question, though - in the first tapestry image - are the (2) guys on the left actually holding (2) "shovels" each? Maybe they are all just working on a "road crew", as I cannot imagine that holding (2) shovels at a time is a good fighting configuration... so it seems (to me anyhow) more like they are a typical Massachusetts public works crew... ;-)

[evrgreen.livejournal.com]

... and they even have "flagmen" at either end of the work area!! :-P

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

It is a construction image.
It says William builds a fortification at Hastings".
No fighting is mentioned. It just looks like shovel to the head.

[evrgreen.livejournal.com]

Clearly !

There are (2) 'supervisors' leaning/holding (2) shovels each, so they clearly cannot be digging, and the (2) workers are squabbling over who gets to take a break first!