Category: oddities

The magic patch

At one of the more remote points of our dog walk, I started noticing a textured patch that gave no clue what caused it, or could have caused it. And never seemed to have had anything walk through it.

Since it seemed to occur every day, untouched, I put a footprint in the middle of it as an experiment.

And the next day find the pattern again, with no sign of my footprint from 24 hours before.

So what’s going on here?

Coincidence?

Some time ago, the little vertical plastic box atop this vent pipe blew off. The box went into the neighbors’ yard, and since there’s rarely anyone there, I didn’t bother to pursue.

The plastic grate landed in our yard, and I hung onto it. Until today. In a sudden urge to purge, I started cleaning out my work area, chucking this and many other useless things.

Then, carrying trash to the house, I see this on the ground.

Obviously not where it was meant to be.

An hour from now, I wouldn’t have had a replacement, but now that you mention it….

For some reason

A perfect circle in the middle of the road. Why? How? No clue. I don’t think it’s a rudimentary crop circle, but you never know.

In other news today, the first large lizard we’ve seen in years – easily two feet long. Syd practically tripped over it. I pulled out my phone and started a video … except I didn’t. Something about trying to hit the on-screen tiny video button in full sunlight. So I pressed the button to start and stop recording, and ended up with two snapshots of nothing, since it was moving through undergrowth. Well, next time. Stay tuned! But don’t hold your breath.

Fusca farming?

Welcome to Life among the Easily Amused.™

At our dog-walk takeoff spot, a nondescript lot has been divided between siblings. The kid* Pablo moved in a rather hideous container, obviously offensive to his neighbor—name unknown but friendly (and has poured money into his property)—who then raised his reasonable wall (A) to a pretty-sure-this-doesn’t-meet-code extreme height (B) to extinguish any view of Pablo’s architectural adventures from his home.

VW Beetles are called fuscas here. The origins of this name go back to how Germans pronounce Volkswagen, which sounds more like “folksvahgen.” That, shortened and pronounced in Brazilian Portuguese, morphed into “fusca.” (source). And Pablo had a rotting old white fusca that one can only guess he imagined bringing back to life one day, an amusingly ambitious idea.

Then, a couple weeks ago, what to our wondering eyes should appear but another rotting white fusca! A mate! A team? A farm?

Stay tuned.

Oh, and by the way, Pablo doesn’t live there, and has a drum set he’s (sort of) learning to play.

*context: anyone under 30