Pitt Rivers Museum

I decided to go to the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford the other week.  It is a good sized museum that actually has one part designated to natural history, while the other part is designated to anthropology type details.  I didn't realize this little fact while I was visiting and completely missed out on the human studies aspect.  This means I didn't see the shrunken heads they have there as well as the other displays they have covering different cultures of the world.  I learned of my loss by looking at the website dedicated to the museum <http://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/> after my visit.  I'm finding that my travels are not all well planned.  Thankfully the phrase, 'know before you go' doesn't carry repercussions that are extreme or life threatening when it comes to visiting museums.


When I first entered the museum one of the first things I noticed was the statues of philosophers, mathematicians, and scientists that have contributed to what is showcased within the museum.  These statues can be seen lining the inner perimeter of the museum.  Besides the statues, the museum showcased a number of different dinosaur fossils, which although was not as extensive as what exists at Thanksgiving Point in Utah, I appreciated the sight of skeletons for animals I've seen alive.  It helped me, as a novice in the field of archeology, see how the logic followed from our knowledge of living animals to animals we've never seen before.

I also found some animals that had been stuffed.  It's nice that there is a way to preserve the animals after they die so others who don't see it alive can see what it looked like when it was alive.  

Seeing the stuffed animals reminded me of visits I made when I was younger to a neighbor.  I would describe him as a sculpture though he worked as a taxidermist.  He would sculpt the moulds and forms for the animal skins individually, because if the mould was not big enough the skins would wrinkle and fold when it was placed on the mould.  When he made the moulds he didn't just make the general shape of the animal but made the form of the animal in such a way as to detail the muscles and muscle groups according to the particular animal's anatomy.  I feel like I've seen many animals without their skins on, which somehow sounds risqué.  Seriously though, taxidermy done right can be the difference between skins on a marshmallow mould (where the animal may look bloated or wrinkly) and a good representation of the animal when it was alive.  It was cool to reminisce these times as I looked at their collection of exotic animals. 

I included a picture of the insect collection, although it isn't the complete collection in the Pitt Rivers Museum, for all those "Animal Crossing" junkies.  For those who are out of the loop, "Animal Crossing" is a video game where you can (among other things) establish a bug collection.  This is so much bigger and better than than the video game. ;-p
 
They also had samples of bones from birds in the museum, so I thought I would take a picture.  Who'd of thought their bones are hollow?  :-)

This is how the museum looks from the second floor, not too far from the bug collection and the colony of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches.  Though I didn't hear the cockroaches hiss, they were large enough that I am happy to have never had to deal with them at any of my homes or apartments. 

My only hangup with the museum is that it closes earlier than I would have expected.  I was hoping to stay until 18:00, but found that they close the doors around 16:30.  I might have been lucky (or inconsiderate) though because they didn't kick me out until 17:00.

Natural Science History Museum

On the 21st of April I decided to go to the Natural History Museum in London.  It was a very popular destination and only seemed to fill with more and more people as I was there.  They had exhibits from dinosaurs to insects, arachnids, and other tiny creepers.  They also had exhibits from the theory of evolution to exhibits showing what animals look like from the inside out.

Ceiling "Art"

  Just after entering the museum you are greeted by the fossil of a brontosaurus.  Behind that fossil is an exhibit showing what a camel looks like from the inside out.  Looking up at the tiled ceiling I was surprised to see that certain tiles were decorated with different herbs and plants along with their scientific names.  After looking around the main room I wandered into the "Creepy Critter" room.  I call it that because it explained the lives of insects, spiders, and other critters that make some, girls especially, cringe.  It would have been an entomologist's playground.  It was there I learned about the life cycle of wasps, why flies are considered especially dirty, and what the difference between a centipede and a millipede is.  I included a picture as explanation.

Giant Sloth

Another Giant Sloth

 On my way out from the critter room, I saw the fossil of a giant sloth on it's hind legs.  If you search for images of giant sloths, you can find an image of this upright fossil, but from the front.  (That's why I only took a picture from behind. ;)  I had no idea these creatures were so big.  The ribcage of the one standing on all four legs is larger than the size of a barrel.

I kept roaming and learned that the earth is ~70% water.  I thought– Cool, that's like the human body.  Maybe not exactly, but close… and I think it is similar for bananas too… (Don't ask me how I know that, I don't remember.)  The next exhibit that I thought was really attention grabbing was the one with the sign to the left.  To dispel any gruesome thoughts that came to mind when reading about a rabbit being recycled, allow me to explain what it showed.  It began with little 'Thumper' eating the grass and growing bigger.  Then he died and began to decay, poor wabbit.  Next thing you know the carcass was gone, somehow 'eaten' by the grass.  I'm sure you never knew plants were so dangerous.  They actually eat more than just rabbits, if you don't watch out I'm sure they'll eat people too!

I also wondered through an exhibit of dinosaur fossils.  Not only did they have fossils, but they also had live dinosaurs, like in "Jurassic Park".  I don't know what they feed these fierce creatures, but they seemed to have found a way to fix them to the places where they were.  Even the large and ferocious T-Rex was fixed in place.  I figured they must have used some sort of toxin to specific muscle groups in his legs, because he was full of life and vigor, but could not move from the place where they had left him.  I felt like the cat just beyond the reach of the dog's leash as the T-Rex stared me down.  He blinked, and then roared obviously in an attempt to intimidate me and possibly a little out of exasperation since I was out of the reach of his mouth. :-o

From there I found my way into a large room with many very large stuffed animals.  These animals were definitely not alive because, well, you can just tell.  When you see the T-Rex and the little raptors, you'll know they want to eat you alive, which makes me wonder if playing dead would be helpful…  Anyway, the Blue Whale was huge, it was amazing to see how small elephants are by comparison to blue whales.

From the Natural History Museum I went to the Science Museum, which wasn't nearly as packed with visitors as the first museum.  I must confess, I liked the Science Museum more, but I don't know how much of that was as a result of the smaller number of people there.

There I found that the name 'Engineer' originally came from those who designed engines.  Imagine that.  I saw how the origins of steam engines progressed from the 1700s up to the present day.  It boggled my mind to realize that we have gone from a state of mechanically driven power (when engines were first invented) to electrically driven power.  There are exceptions of course, but even computers began as counting machines with hundreds of moving cogs and gears.  The counting that used to be done mechanically is now done electrically.  It also is amazing to know that the computational power of any given mobile phone is more than that of the computer shown in this picture.  Though it generated lots of heat and took up lots of space it did very little by comparison to what we have now.

Edinburgh and back

Lingfield Station

Before writing about what I found north of England in Scotland, I figured I would include this picture from Lingfield Station looking north.  I was surprised because it reminded me of shots I had seen from "Thomas the Tank Engine".  It's strange how being introduced to an imitation first will affect your perception of reality when you eventually experience the original.  Almost like eating a green apple and thinking, "This tastes like a green apple flavored Jolly Rancher". This could lead to discussions regarding things that are imitation verses things that are bonafide, but I will leave it at– "Look at this beautiful, though somewhat familiar looking, picture."

I happened to take the train from London to Edinburgh (pronounced by the locals like– Edin•buro/Edin•bura).  Traveling out of London on around the time of the Easter Weekend was not an original idea, many others were heading home for time with family.  I only wish I had thought to reserve a seat, because every seat was filled up until we reached York.  Standing on a train for a little over an hour was tiring, but because of it I met Brian and his wife (both very nice Kiwis… Is there any other type?).  We talked about a number of things on the train between London and York, one of which was his job as a medic and trainer.  During our conversation he divulged his recipe for fake vomit, which he's used with those whom he's trained.  We ended up getting seats by a couple from Scotland who were kind enough to give us some suggestions regarding places to travel while in their neck of the woods.  When an announcement was made over the intercom and we had a difficult time understanding what was said the Scotsman laughed and told us we might have a difficult time understanding people in Scotland if we couldn't understand that.

  Shortly after parting ways with these short term friends on the train I found myself walking down Princess Road.  There is a park/garden on the south side of this road, while the other side is lined with shops.  After about 1/4 mile on this road I could see Edinburgh Castle on the other side of the park.

East of the Castle

Northwest Side of Edingurgh

The North Side of Edinburgh

 Something cool I learned while visiting the castle was that in a successful attempt to retake the castle from the English, Scotsmen actually scaled the northern cliff face at night.  It's a sixty to one hundred foot cliff to climb, the rock was likely wet with some sort of rain fall, it was night, and they had to have weapons or armor of some sort while climbing.  Wild.  The north side of the castle seems to be the most approachable when comparing it with the west and south sides of the castle, though (for those who might, for some strange reason, want to know).

The West Side

East Entrance

Looking from the entrance of Edinburgh Castle across the city, you can make out Arthur's Seat.  The castle and Arthur's Seat are (on) two of the hills in the area.  I've got the pictures to give you an idea of how far apart they are.  

Arthur's Seat

Edinburgh

 The city itself was fun to see.  The people there were friendlier than… Well, we'll just leave it at, they were friendly and willing to talk to people that were obviously not from around the country.  Something I was disappointed to find was that a number of the shops along the Royal Mile that were run by people from other parts of Europe.  Yes they were kind, but I was hoping to hear more Scottish accents.  I guess that shows how many of the locals really care to remain in a tourist hosting occupation.  I did happen to overhear a mother talking to her little boy as they walked past me.  She asked him– "Did ya zep yer pocket with yer phone in it?"  I know it doesn't do the accent any real justice, but I wanted to do some 'phonetic' writing while I was there.

  The shop that seemed to have the most locals was the shop nearest the castle on the north side of the street.  It sold everything from Tartans, to trinkets, to actual weapons.  A sign on the wall near the different swords and maces read, "If you bleed on it, you buy it".  Apparently tourists treat things that really are weapons like toys.  They even had an employee stationed in front of the display to ensure people wouldn't do anything dumb, like impale their hand with one of the hammers.  In the basement there was a small museum of sorts describing how the wool is made into tartans.  They also had tartans for a number of different clans which they were willing to sell by the yard (or by the meter).  For a price I could have dressed up in traditional clothing and had my picture taken, but that's no fun by yourself.

Post ides of March

I visited the United States in March!  It was really beautiful while I was out there.  I was able to do some hiking in the Wasatch mountains while I was visiting Utah.  After years and multiple attempts to hike to the first waterfall in Bells Canyon, I finally found it (but forgot to take pictures).

The weather in London welcomed me back. It was so nice that the locals aren't complaining about the weather, they actually seemed surprised. The thing that I've found surprising, when I first returned was how many daffodils grow around here. Maybe it's because they won't grow in the arid areas of Utah, but I am not accustom to seeing as many as I have.  There were so many daffodils in this picture that I easily could have flopped out and made a 'snow angle' in the middle of them.

I also had a chance to visit the National Gallery in London.  There were so many paintings (none of which I could take pictures of) that I remember seeing paintings numbered very near the 1000 mark.  After seeing so very many paintings I was very happy to walk outside and see Trafalgar Square, which has no paintings, just lots of people and sculptures.  You can even see the Big Ben Tower in the background.

From there, I went to Piccadilly Circus.  I was surprised to see how busy it was.  I think it would be the London equivalent of New York's Time Square.  About this time I realize I didn't have my laptop on me.  You can imagine the worry that I felt, thinking someone lifted it from my bag.  So I went to the Apple Store near Oxford Circus to see what can be done about tracking lost laptops.  They have a nice feature to find your machine if you have the serial number.  Needless to say, I was happy to find my laptop at home.

Zombie fruit and other good stuff

This week was filled with lots of beauty, some of which I was able to catch with my camera.  You may say– What does that have to do with 'zombie fruit'.  –Nothing really, but since you mention it I have had a run in with a number of different British foods.  One thing particular to the UK is many of their sweets have raisins in them.  As I was talking with one of my colleagues about sweets, she commented about how much she disliked raisins– "I hate raisins, I wish they would die!"  That's when it dawned on us: "Raisins can't die, they're dead grapes; but raisins are fruit so they must be undead.  Raisins are zombie fruit!"  I actually like raisins. Eat them before they eat you is a good motto for these wrinkly little bite-sizes.  Oooooh… strange thought… raisins are wrinkly like BRAINS are wrinkly…!

I've seen some food here this week that has made me scratch my head.  For example, how would you feel about eating a 'toad in the hole'?  Or how about a can of mushy?  I guess Americans do have strange named foods too.  How inviting does eggs in a nest sound for a meal, or a pig in a blanket?  Assuming the 'pig' and the 'blanket' are clean I guess it doesn't sound too bad.  Regarding the can of mushy– From what I gathered, it's for those who like their sweet peas softer than the typical canned peas.

It rained pretty hard yesterday.  And you might say– "What's new for England?"  To which I might say– "Gee you talk a lot for being a reader."  Anyway,  I was able to take a few pictures after the storm cleared up, and here's what I got.  Not so bad for being within the city limits.

A walk in the woods of Ruislip

I was informed Saturday that unless it is summer, it's not typically good to walk in the woods without shoes that are good in mud.  Since the high temperature then was about 32°, I figured it would be a good day for a stroll in the woods.

It was nice walking along the icy snow packed trail. I was hoping to find some cool animals like a fox, deer, or something out of the ordinary. I was disappointed in my hope, but found contentment in listening to the birds in the trees. A lot were up in the trees. I'm not familiar with any of the songs they were singing, but the songs were all beautiful.

I don't know what else to tell you about the woods. As I walked through them, I found they all looked pretty much the same. Trees without leaves, some bushes that were still green, and ivy.  I could see how people could get lost in the woods. Because it all looks the same it's hard to tell where you've been and where you're really going.


 I found this little make-shift hut that may have been made by some local scout troop.  We'll just keep with that story, cause I could see myself doing that when I was about that age.

This twisted tree looked pretty cool.

The main thing I was hoping to see was Ruislip Lido, which, from what I could tell, was a small reservoir. I was really surprised to find something like that around London. It rains so much around here that I figured they would never need something like a reservoir, but there it is.

These pictures were taken while I was walking through Mad Bess Wood. It makes me wonder what poor Bess did to get the whole wooded area named after her… It was all pretty bleak. Not even one evergreen tree, which is something I guess I've taken for granted– that if there is snow there is a tree somewhere that is still green. This is definitely a place I'll have to come back to visit sometime later in the year, when things have come alive again.

This was something really random to me. I never thought someone would be so interested in climbing a power line pole, but just to make sure, barbed wire was wrapped around the pole. I guess it's just proof that the mindset of people in England is generally different than those that I am used to living around.