Fasting

Because I had a doctor's appointment late this afternoon that would involve a lipid panel blood draw, I didn't eat anything other than a banana for breakfast.  So imagine my disappointment when my appointment, which was scheduled for 4.20 pm, dragged on until after 5 pm.  The reason for the disappointment: the lab where you get your blood taken closed at 5 pm.  So I fasted and suffered hunger pangs for nothing.  And I've got to go in again tomorrow to get my blood taken.  What a pain in the ass.  Note to self - stick to early morning doctors' appointments in the future.    

Hummingbirds

Kind of sad today.  I had to deal with another hummingbird death.  This was one that regularly used the feeder outside my kitchen window.  I knew something was wrong because yesterday I had seen it perched on the feeder looking a bit worse for wear - it's feathers were messed up and it was breathing heavily.  I went outside to have a closer look, and it didn't fly away - which is unusual.  My first thought was this was a good opportunity to take a photo of a hummingbird, so I went inside to fetch my phone and returned outside.  But this time the bird flew into the nearby tree, so I assumed it was just a bit tired and everything was okay again.  But later in the day as I was topping up the water in my feeders, I noticed the same hummingbird on the ground underneath the feeder.  It did not look in a good state.  It was alive, but barely.  Didn't know what to do.  Should I try to help it, or should I put it out of its suffering.  I picked it up with the plan of taking it to the feeder.  And that's when I noticed it had a leech or a slug attached underneath it.  Not good.  I removed it, but there was blood.  Yikes.  The bird was still alive, but not for long. I wonder if I could have done better - I don't think I could have done anything to save it, but I wonder if I could have eased it's suffering earlier.  The moral of the story - don't ask me to make any end of life decisions.  But on the bright side, just this evening I saw a different hummingbird using that same feeder outside my kitchen window.  Hummingbirds are extremely territorial, so it didn't take long for another one to claim this feeder. 

England 2-1 Norway (aet)

I should feel elated when England win a World Cup quarter-final.  But nope, that is not the emotion I feel.  Instead, it is a sense of exhaustion and relief.  Much like the match against Mexico, they don't make it easy do they.  Another tense and nervy win.  And this one included quite a lot of luck.  We were largely outplayed, they hit the crossbar, our goal should never have counted since the ball hit an overhead wire in the lead up, and there were a number of dodgy officiating decisions that went our way.  But we somehow did it - helped by the fact that we have one or two superstars that can make the difference, such as Bellingham.  I think the conditions didn't exactly help make this a free-flowing match - why you have to hold a quarter-final in a hot, humid, outdoor stadium rather than one of the many air-conditioned indoor stadiums I don't know.  I suspect there is politics and corruption at play again.  It feels like of all the World Cup quarter-finalists, we are the ones that have had to travel the most and play in the worst conditions.  

Trail Cam June-July

A few of the more interesting photos captured by my trail cam over the last 3 weeks or so.  No bears, but lots of birdlife, something small that may be an opossum (something I have seen before in my yard, but never photographed), a coyote that appears to have caught something big (maybe a chicken - since I know some neighbors have them in their yards) and a pair of raccoons that were apparently going up my driveway this morning. 

The Bayeux Tapestry

I note that the British Museum is soon going to have the Bayeux Tapestry available to view in an exhibition.  That is something I would like to see.  Unfortunately I don't think I will.  It appears that all tickets are already sold out this year.  Which is kind of annoying, to say the least (not that I would be around much to see it!).  Maybe I can still get tickets for next year, but realistically the only time I could go is very early January.  I fear I will miss out.  And although I'm considering it, I'm not even sure whether it is worth becoming a member of the museum just to increase my odds of getting a ticket.  Oh well, there are thousands of other important historical artifacts that I should probably try to see instead.      

Rest Day

What's this... no football today?  It feels like the first time in an absolute age.  Without the distraction, I did find I had a much more productive day of work.  What is interesting is that with the World Cup going on, I have totally neglected to follow any other sports.  For example, I have absolutely no idea what is going on in Wimbledon.  When I checked this evening, I was shocked to see some British guy I've never heard of in the semi-finals.  What have I missed? 

Fiber Internet

Some good news today.  I found out that I can now get fiber internet installed at my place.  This wasn't the case last week.  I phoned up to check availability, and they said they'd look into it.  I guess they did, and now it seems like it's a possibility.  Though they never got back to me to let me know, which seems like an oversight.  Nonetheless, I will definitely get it installed - probably right after my trip back to the UK.  It will be so good to finally drop my cable company - who I've had so many problems with over the years, and who I pay way too much to, and who I hate.