Autumn...

Yesterday, the doorbell went. I never answer the doorbell unless I am expecting someone/parcel/etc. But I was expecting something within that time frame. So I answered it. 

I don't have the doorbell on the front door, it kept going missing, so, you have to be in the know to realise my doorbell is through my gates, in the side passage on my kitchen door which cannot be seen from the street. But no one was standing there. There is a frosted glass door. So, I opened it, and this guy who looked like Father Christmas leapt in view (not a good sign, but my front garden gardening tools are besides me). It was just his long white hair and long white beard that looked incongruous. He wore white paint spattered navy dungarees (the dungarees themselves looked too smart and new, and the white paint spattering looked like he'd had the dungarees on the ground and dripped blobs of white paint on them. 

I'm just working for a neighbour, he said, and I noticed your roof needs work on it. No thank you I said, and go to close the door, but he gets a bit too close (I know I can't shut it quickly enough, I hate these plastic doors, give me a solid 100 year old oak door any time), and then tells me my roof is bowing and needs some urgent work on it. Just a few planks will shore it up, and you'll be safe. NO, I say. But he gets even closer. You don't realise, your roof is in danger of collapse on top of you, you don't want that. Just a few wooden planks will sort it...

My secateurs are by my door because I had been using them an a hour earlier in my front garden. My hand involuntarily lands on them. He backs off. I don't pick them them up, but I lunge towards him. GO, I say aggressively. He backs away, not expecting this, leaves quickly. I shut the door, lock it. Get my shoes on, go out, lock the door, then go out after him, I don't have anything in my hands, but he has vanished totally.

I have a a text number to the police and reported it.

But my peace of mind was completely disturbed afterwards, because to come through that gate, it had to be with intent. And I could see he had already explored the passage, because he'd pushed through some nasturtiums... 

I stayed in the front garden, kitchen door locked, clipping the vegetation with my secateurs, and half hour later my parcel arrived (I didn't want to hear my doorbell again, I would have been too jumpy to answer), I put the secateurs in my pocket, before I took the parcel from him, and what I didn't notice was he had taken a photo of me reaching for the parcel, and I saw this when I looked online afterwards, he had just taken a photo of my lower half, as proof of delivery. 

So, watch out, Father Christmas may not be bringing the present you expect.

I would not have answered had I not been expecting the delivery. This is the first incident in about 10 years. Why pick on me? Why not pick on a house that didn't have shut gates?

By the way I have my regular roofer, had him for 10 plus years now, and he did a bit of work for me last year, so I knew my roof was fine.

So, I will be wary for awhile now. If someone is casing a joint, it is not immediate they come back, possibly 2 weeks later when you have dropped your guard...



On the wild life trail camera, the fox was being cautious, constantly checking for the whereabouts of that cat, Midnight, who hisses and bops this particular fox one on the nose when he gets too close. But no cat, the cat was being a living fur blanket keeping me warm that night...

https://youtu.be/9dfRQwxf64E 

Creative is a cold bleak picture of autumn/the weather (It is raining again), painted in Procreate.

Time for a cuppa again. And I need a nap...