pestle and mortar

This exceptional October, the fallen leaves have not been swept by gales nor water-sodden. Instead they are slowly pulverized by tyres or the steady tramp of shoes.


(manna ash)


(common lime)


(London plane, under streetlights)

blog without integrity

Silence from Järvenpää, I know. I've been in Spain for a while, and now I'm in the thick of job applications. [While I was away our town (pop. 30,000) gained its first F1 world champion. It must be admitted Jenson doesn't really ever come to Frome. But still...]

Funny how books I read early and didn't especially value have had sometimes a big influence, too big to shake off critically. E.g. in this case, some biography of Sibelius from way back - I've never forgotten that chapter-title, and I was surprised to look it up and find I actually remembered the name "Järvenpää" right after all these years. I've always seen Sibelian silence as a possibility, an oddly attractive possibility - and since readers are helpless and misguided victims of their betters, I've absorbed this as if I want to get straight on to the silence without going to the trouble of actually making any significant noise first.

Yesterday I was reading Simon Seagrave's http://www.techhead.co.uk/ about installing a home VMware ESX server on an ML110 and realized I'll just never be a real tecchie. I got there from Chad Sakac's http://virtualgeek.typepad.com/virtual_geek/, which is also a great resource. But I don't feel their bliss about the thought of tinkering with hardware. And I can't remember tech stuff for more than the few days it takes to prepare for an exam. My head's too full of words from the past that are inherently non-productive.

Prunus cerasifera fruit

Seen today in Upper Langford, on a path leading up to the north-facing gloom of Dolebury woods - still in perfect condition and a fine pot of jam waiting if someone wishes to make it. The one I ate was quite sharp. That last shot is meant to suggest tonight's moon.