SKYWATCH -rooftop

 

Another shot frim my friend's roofstop terrace.

See other skies on SKYWATCH.

SHAMEFUL

For several years, and perhaps even longer, my children's ex-primary school (and now the one where my grandchildren go), has had various projects to teach children respect for nature, beautifying the environment, and similar. Most of these have failed miserably.

In the above photo you can see that pine trees were planted before the summer holiday, with the intention that each class would care for, i.e. water during the holidays and after. 

The failure of this particular project broke my heart for several reasons:  No teacher/school authority/environmental adviser seems to have paid any attention to the fact that sandy dry soil (and this part of New Belgrade was built  on sand and marsh (buildings still standing since the early Sixties) is NOT where pine trees grow in nature. Just as bad, they were planted in full sun, and we know how hot and dry this summer was. Also, it is not enough to ask children to faithfully water the trees; someone needs to supervise this project, especially since these were planted not long before the summer holiday when people go on vacation. 

Every day I pass by the schoolyard on my dog walks. Yesterday (and school begins today) I wrote a  letter to the director of the school summing up my thoughts and reprimanding the school for apparently 'just fulfilling a duty' and not following up.

I will give them two weeks to answer, and then a modified version goes to the public newspaper. I don't expect miracles, but at least I know I have in some small way made the authorities aware of the problem. I also plan  on sending by mail a letter to the school...someone may have just pressed 'delete'. And yes, they could toss the paper letter too.
 

SEPTEMBER THEME DAY--BRIDGES

 A view from New Belgrade toward the old town, which isn't visible here. French President Macron has come and gone, hence the French flags.

See other bridges on CITY DAILY PHOTO THEME DAY.

THE GREAT SERBIAN DESERT

 

Not yet a desert, but if the current climate holds for a few more years, I may never wear heavy clothes here again. Temperatures have been in the 90s for a long time now.

TRACES...

 Smoking is alive and well here and its traces linger on this coffee shop tablecloth.

PAMPERED PUSS

 This kitty is making a fashion statement.

WELCOME!

 Had lunch with my son yesterday at a local restaurant. The greeter was happy to see us. No idea of the story behind this unfortunate wolf.

MUCH-LOVED, BUT FORGOTTEN

 A much-loved (by its appearance) teddy sits on a bench in the park....loved, but forgotten.

WASTED WATER

 You would think that the extreme heat here (and elsewhere in the world) would alert people to save water. Alas, no, we are too selfish and abuse its availability. This tap in a local park is in a lamentable state. Its better-looking faucet was removed because kids would put balloons on the end, fill them with water, and throw the balloons at each other. Sounds like fun, and  is, but they were not educated to pick up the burst balloons, which were scattered around for 'someone else' to pick up, or worse, for birds to swallow them. In the latter case, the popped and stringy rubber can get caught in a bird's or other animals digestive track and kill them. So, dare I say rightfully, the park people turned off the water and removed the taps. Not to be outdone, some enterprising parent of older kid fashioned a new tap, which is very hard to turn on and off, and often runs all the time. It saddens me to see water wasted.

JUST ONE YEAR OLDER

 Just noticed that the coffee I buy came into being just one year before I arrived in Belgrade. 

DOG-TIRED

 The 'L' on the first word and the 'ST' on the last are cut off because I couldn't frame the photo well. The words on this pet shop window mean Love, Friendship, and Responsibility. The dog, unfortunately, is a stray, but appears well-fed.