Global Wild Card Tag

[OSJ]

Now go find me a place you can rescue a pet!

[eepeqez]

Originally Posted by OSJ

Now go find me a place you can rescue a pet!

In 1993 I cornered a stray cat who'd been hanging around for weeks, spraying the seat of my Mini Moke (think small Aussie/British Jeep) and took him to the RSPCA. He was a long haired ginger tomcat with an appallingly matted coat who looked like he'd been dragged backwards by his tail down a muddy drainpipe. They offered to put him down, so I took him home again. By then he'd forgotten how he came to be in the cage, but he never forgot who let him out. A week of careful brushing and a trip to the vet for a minor technical adjustment and he was a very happy housecat; but #3 unfortunately.

#1 was called Cat, #2 was called Ditto, so #3 got called Vermin (which Cat and Ditto were supposed to keep away!) Vermin became a very friendly big boofy cat who would put up with just about anything. He subsequently adopted the little girl next door and was often to be found in her pram going for walks. She gave him a nice girly name and I assured her mum there was no danger of "her" having kittens!

Fast forward to last week, I took an injured stray cat to the RSPCA a week ago. We let them know we thought we could place him with a friend if possible. Just got word that his injuries were too severe and he's been euthanised.

On that record, I'm not sure I want to claim the local RSPCA as somewhere I'd take a cat to be rescued.

Though I suppose I did rescue Vermin from them...

[eepeqez]

This is actually the spot where I caught Vermin the cat back in 1993. Well, actually it's about 5 metres above the spot; they've built a bridge here now. In fact the houses were on the right side of the road, which was further to the left than it is now. Trust me, it's the spot where I rescued Vermin the cat!



All right, I know it's not really very convincing is it?

But pan back a bit:



In fact the pound is to the right, behind where my home used to be, but access is left and back under the bridge.

You'd be amazed how cats get used to living next door to a dog pound...

True story: cat #1, Cat, started not coming home during the week. She was a skinny tabby ex-stray who knew how to look after herself. She used to cross the road you see in the photos daily for about 5 years. Sometimes she got caught on the wrong side in the morning when the traffic built up, and stayed over there all day, so I wasn't too worried about her. She'd reliably appear on weekends, but I never seemed to see her during the week.

Then one day the little girl next door (whose father worked at the council depot over the back fence next to the pound) peered over the fence at Cat and asked me "is that your cat?".

"Yes" I replied...

"She looks just like the cat the lady at the pound feeds..."

I put a flea collar on her and she started coming home every day for dinner.


Here's the entrance to the pound today; I think they might even have cats there now:

[eepeqez]

BTW, here's an aerial photo of the location, username and password both abc1234. The first two photos are looking south towards the railway, the pound is at the end of the short stub of road that passes back under the bridge.

Moving right along, we've had a fair bit of rain over the weekend here, so the water level was up at the Kororoit Creek ford:



So we're looking for your bike and a ford.

Note, this is not a Ford. Ford motor vehicles will not be accepted.

It's not a fjord or a fiord either, but since they are very cool places and not many of us live anywhere near one, I will accept a fjord (eg: Scandinavia) or a fiord (New Zealand), as long as we can see across the water to the far side, as in this photo!

We'll just pretend you could ride your bike across, ok?

[advNZer?]

Originally Posted by eepeqez

Moving right along, we've had a fair bit of rain over the weekend here, so the water level was up at the Kororoit Creek ford

So we're looking for your bike and a ford.

Note, this is not a Ford. Ford motor vehicles will not be accepted.

It's not a fjord or a fiord either, but since they are very cool places and not many of us live anywhere near one, I will accept a fjord (eg: Scandinavia) or a fiord (New Zealand), as long as we can see across the water to the far side, as in this photo!

We'll just pretend you could ride your bike across, ok?

aaah did some one mention fjords,that reminds me of a blue parrot i once had.....fiords too far from me tho

[eepeqez]

Originally Posted by advNZer?

aaah did some one mention fjords,that reminds me of a blue parrot i once had.....fiords too far from me tho

So near and yet so far, surely they're just a short ferry ride away?


Maybe not.

[Flashback]

Could you give me more of a definition of what you mean by Ford...I'm not familiar with the term?

[bwalsh]

Usually used in context as a stream, creek, river crossing for a vehicle. I have a couple near by but can't get to them today.
------------------------------------------------------------------
ford/fôrd/

A shallow place in a river or stream allowing one to walk or drive across.

(of a person or vehicle) Cross (a river or stream) at a shallow place.

[eepeqez]

Originally Posted by Flashback

Could you give me more of a definition of what you mean by Ford...I'm not familiar with the term?

Two peoples separated by a common language...

A Ford is a car or possibly a pickup truck, an automobile! 8-)

A ford on the other hand, as wikipedia says, is a place where a road crosses a river by driving across the riverbed. This is the origin of place names like Hereford, Stratford, Oxford, but not Cambridge.

There might be a culvert (pipes) underneath a concrete surface so that except in times of minor flood, the road surface remains dry, as is the case with the Kororoit Creek ford, shown. Although they're very rare in an urban setting (Kororoit Creek is the only one I can think of in a city of nearly 4 million people), they're extremely common on dirt roads in a forest or wilderness setting.

The bit about fjords and fiords is a bit of whimsy in case someone is in Scandinavia (Norway), Canada (BC) or the South Island of New Zealand, since if they ever made the tag an actual fjord the rest of us would be stonkered. (Stopped dead in our tracks, not drunk!)

That Bill Bryson book is a really good read btw.

[RAGBrian]

Originally Posted by Flashback

Could you give me more of a definition of what you mean by Ford...I'm not familiar with the term?

Think low water bridge....

[advNZer?]

Originally Posted by eepeqez

So near and yet so far, surely they're just a short ferry ride away?


Maybe not.

i have a ford thats closer

[eepeqez]

Originally Posted by advNZer?

i have a ford thats closer

I believe at this point it is my turn to say something like:

Pics or it didn't happen!

[bwalsh]

Originally Posted by RAGBrian

Think low water bridge....

Nope. A low water bridge is just that, a bridge that sits low and gets flooded over during high water events.
A Ford is a shallow place or spot to cross a stream, river with no improvements.
Technically speaking what eepeqez tagged isn't a proper "ford" because of the concrete but it's close enough for this game. It looks like it has pipes under it so the concrete is dry at low flows correct? If so I'd call it a submarine bridge.
I had pics of two great examples of a low water bridge and a ford but must have deleted them...

[wb57]

Originally Posted by bwalsh

Nope. A low water bridge is just that, a bridge that sits low and gets flooded over during high water events.
A Ford is a shallow place or spot to cross a stream, river with no improvements. .

Then I'm heading out in the woods on the KTM this weekend...
There sure as s**t isn't anything else that I can think of within reach.

[OSJ]

wish I could drive my "ford" over a water bridge!

biggest $45k POS