Troubling discoveries here at Fernmire...
I've made notes of multiple injuries among my wildlife friends this year. A coyote, a doe and this raccoon which I've decided to call "Wally" for no particular reason.
The deer and coyote recovered from their injuries. For the coyote it was the front left paw. For the deer it was the back left knee. This raccoon also has a damaged left front paw and missing an eye. (Note at the end of the video that only one eye refracts from the camera's infrared light.)
The good news is that this raccoon has shown up twice on camera with a month apart of each visit and seems to be managing well enough.
It's nice that Blogger will let me upload a video for free while WordPress insists on making me upgrade to a more expensive paid account. I'll give a broader Fernmire update at my other site, but I'll have to rely on screen grabs.
I'm trying to get back into regular writing again. I've gone back to my Medieval short stories when I should be working on my career-making book. I'm currently working on the third story, The Miller's Wife.
Incorporeal visits
I keep finding myself in East Anglia, haunting mills and mill ponds along the rivers for an understanding of what a Miller's life might have been like circa 1016-ish. After the Romans, but before William the Conqueror. As interesting as I personally find the Woodbridge Tide Mill it won't work for my story. Nixes live in fresh water.
The Sculthorpe Mill in Norfolk seems like a good candidate. IDV, be a dear, and run over there and snap me some fresh pics from as many angles as you can!
The Heron Corn Mill in Beetham, Cumbria is also tempting but I feel the story needs to stay in the South It just feels right. Why are so many mills currently listed as "Corn mills" which is a New World crop, and no one was milling corn in 11th century East Anglia! Was it really that much better than the barely, wheat and rye previously milled? It's weird to think of cornfields in England. I'm trying to imagine an English version of Iowa hiding over there.
This broader UK Mill Database is also very useful...
Do you know of any interesting information or resources about Medieval Mills or Peasant life of the time?
Finally, I watched Midsommar last night. It's supposed to be a cult/pagan horror movie, but I found it "Meh", I mean, yeah, a little weird, but not the nightmare fuel I was expecting it to be.
There's only one movie scene so far that has scarred me for life and that in the 1991 movie adaption of the book "Naked Lunch". Kiki should have never gone in that room to look at the damn birds! The bad special effects made it all the more terrifying. Kiki! Nooooooooo! 😱😭
Is there a movie that has scarred you or that you could never watch again?
Funnily enough, I (re)watched Life with the lovely Ryan Reynolds and the even lovelier Jake Gyllenhaal last night, but couldn't bring myself to watch the end (from when the survivors launch their escape pods). Far too harrowing and grim.
ReplyDeleteIn the early-mid noughties, a friend and I went through a phase of watching horror movies at the cinema. The Hills Have Eyes (2006 remake) is one that I'm definitely NOT going to be watching again! And The Descent has put paid to ever going into a cave ever again. Ever!
As for Sculthorpe Mill, when this rain ever lets up, I'll go out and get you some snaps, Melanie. I sometimes drive past on my way home from work, but at this time of year it'll be pitch black and I don't want to have to deal with the likes of Alfred Handcock as teenagers can be so moody. Particularly when dead...
Oh, and here in the UK, "corn" generally means any old cereal crop, such as wheat or barley, so that's what was milled. Corn/maize is sweetcorn over here :)
Ah! IDV, thank you so much for the clarification on the use of "corn" that makes much more sense! We call them "Grist Mills" here. I didn't intentionally pick a mill close to you; I can't believe you live so close to the Sculthorpe mill! That's crazy!!!! It's been nice to see how many old mills, many actively preserved, still exist in the UK. There are very few surviving old mills here in the U.S. My next weekend trip will be to the only one near me which is 3hrs away near the Washington-Oregon border near Portland. Will you be a Beta Reader for this story?
DeleteI haven't seen the movie Life yet. We'll probably watch it at some point because I know Mister ProxBlue is interested in it. The Descent is low on a long roster of movies to watch for us. I like exploring caves! Like the animal that I am, I would never attempt to explore a cave smaller than the extent of my shortest ~psychic~ whiskers or "gut instinct."
Oof! It looks like I neglected more than a couple of words. I should have said "I used to drive past on my way home" because I no longer work in Fakenham. However, I am sometimes dragged to the vicinity by my youngest sister when she takes Count Podgkinson to Pensthorpe bird sanctuary, so that's when I'll get you some snaps.
DeleteI do, however, sometimes drive past Buxton Mill on my way home from work (when I want to avoid the main road), but that's no longer a working mill. (You can see a glimpse of it here)
I was just going to respond, but Mr DeVice got here first! Yes "corn" and "cornfields" are very common usage here in the UK, and have no relation to the botanical description of the actual grain crop being grown. The OED definition is:
ReplyDelete- "The small hard seed or fruit of a plant; now only with contextual specification or defining attribute, as in barley-corn, pepper-corn, etc."
- "A seed of one of the cereals, as of wheat, rye, barley, etc."
Jx
Thanks Jon! It makes sense in that context, but here corn refers to corn as in sweet corn/corn on the cob, etc. We use Maize when we are referring to indigenous and/or heirloom Maizes that haven't been significantly altered for mass production (ie Iowa corn fields.)
DeleteAnimals seem to be much more resilient and capable of dealing with injuries then us humans, that' for sure. Its funny, movies I always seem to anticipate like Midsommar, fall short. I enjoyed it, but not the best I'd seen. The one I didn't want to watch was The Menu. That was brilliant. I also recently caught a movie called Lamb you may like. Another cult film. Like nothing I have seen before I can tell you that.
ReplyDeleteThey do, but I hate to see anything in pain and I wish I knew if the injuries were "fight for survival and lived another day" or caused by negligence on some humans part which is often the case. A year after we moved here I filled TWO 1-ton trucks full of rusty old fencing, barbed wire and other metal partly buried on our property. A total of Five 1-ton truck loads when you include all the other garbage I pulled out and sent to the landfill.
DeleteI really like the Menu! I'll have to go look for a trailer of Lamb. Thank you!
Yes, I thought that about Midsommar too. All appearance and no substance. Have you read or seen Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell? I always think I ought to love it but can't get into the book or the film, strangely.
ReplyDeleteDon't tell Inexplicable but East Anglia is fascinating place. Obviously it can't compare to the Midlands, but still...
My favorite part of Midsommar was appreciating the fine embroidery details on the cult outfits. LOL I haven't read or seen the one mentioned, is it supposed to be a similar take of Jeykll and Hyde? It sounds vaguely familiar. I don't do horror for the sake of horror. I'm more interested in suspense, but I'll try any genre with a strong story narrative or interpretation of ideas. Movies/Shows have felt so flat lately, I'm finding it hard to care about the characters.
DeleteWhat was that? Did somebody say something about how fascinating East Anglia is??
DeleteThere are several "Wanderwege" in Southern Germany along small creeks leading to mills. Interestingly after WWII in Bavaria were more than 4000 mills (water & wind) in operation. In the 1970s only 400. Millers were payed to shut down their mills, I have no idea what was the intention behind. Sadly we have nothing like The Mills Archive here. I only know about this one : "https://milldatabase.org/", but I do not know how specialised it is, or if it is useful for you. I think the oldest mill in Germany is from the 8th century (744) in a place called Dasing in Suebia, another from the 9th century (844) was found in a place called Erftstadt (Erft is the name of a river). Watermills were used since Roman times (where Romans were !), windmills since the high middle ages (12th century). If you think about it, a lot of technic is rewuired, you need mechanical understanding to built a "Getriebe", a transmission, from wood. On the continent a specialised profession was in charge of the jills, so called "Mühlendoktore". The other most important thing, besides the transmission, are the millstones - you can not use any material for this, and they need to be carved in a special way. They must have been seriously expensive.
ReplyDeleteThe mill always was a dangerous, and "unheimlicher" place, eerie perhaps. And sometimes one exploded too. Another thing about mills is the water law - very important, especially when you have rows of mills, "Mühlenstraßen" along a river.
Generally a mill is a safe bet for the landowner / founder, if it is done properly (lege artis), and by experienced people. Who one better leaves alone, they know best. Generally farmers could do most things on their own, but not milling. So for the most important thing on earth - the daily bread - they are depend on someone else.
This is so much wonder information, Mago! Thank you! I do not want to get to deep into the mechanics of the mill, but iI will look at these links because I find mills to be beautiful functional art. I am obsessed with all things that define the beauty of form and function. Sometimes I watch shows just because I want to mentally map out the design of such things as spaceships and sea-faring ships. There was a movie called Passengers. It was a terrible movie, but the ship design was SO beautiful! They did a dis-service to such a beautiful ship design with such a stupid plot and subpar acting! Hfft!
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