Here I am, awaiting the snow machine to crank up again Sunday afternoon. Expecting 8 to 12 inches new snow on top of 3 or 4 we still have from last storm. Oh bother! Can you tell I'm not very enthused?????
So to pick up from the last of our thread:
Annette: Do tell us how the Pale Male movie was, please.
Some fascinating new news on the Peregrine Falcon front from Derby Cathedral (it's snowing there as I watch at 11:15 p.m. Chicago time) where they've finally let us in on the secret hinted at in the blog from last month.
http://derbyperegrines.blogspot.com/
I believe I'm off for the night now. Happy Sunday to all!
Glad a few more people have turned off their TVs, will read posts and possibly comment tomorrow - checking out now - Good night all.
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
Hi Annette. CGI = computer generated imigary. Gnarly or radical. Mmm. This film was neither. It was directed by Chris Columbus of Harry Potter 1 and 2 fame but somehow the acting was less convincing/captivating. I think CGI allows adults to let their imaginations wander in movie-making but in this case perhaps a bit too far. Harmless stuff though and very nice to see parents taking their kids out for a Saturday evening at the cinema. Lets hope for more spring like weather next week and a positive update from LG tomorrow..
Emma
dibnlib Oh I love to hear Loch an Eileian mentioned with regard to ospreys. There was a famous nest in the old castle over 150 years ago. Roy Dennis describes it on page 51 of "Life of Ospreys". It is described in depth from p21 of Philip Brown's book "The Scottish Ospreys" from extinction to survival. Sadly it is not a happy tale but well worth reading.
Tiger Signature
Space Shuttle Endeavour has safely landed, a beautiful night landing! Welcome home STS-130 crew -- good job! Only 4 more space shuttle missions to go.
Annette - If someone chased me all over Seattle (or anywhere) I would likely start scolding too. I agree the sample is rather too small.
OG - The Snobs were named for the shoemakers & cobblers. It was chosed as a term of derision. When I finish the next bit you will see who had the last laugh.
TerryM - re history. With a gap of a couple of weeks, I wasn't sure what I had written, so I'd had to go back and retrieve my posts. (No I am not losing my memory LOL.) You should find the earlier ones - Week beginning 24 Jan, pages 4, 6 (a scrap) & 13. Week beg 31 Jan p 2 & 6. Week beg 7 Feb p 7.
Lindybird - Sorry you are feeling poorly. Here is a pic of our tree dahlias to cheer you. (Taken in May 2007)
Caerann: Very interesting about the Derby peregrines. Technology is allowing us to learn so much about birds. I loved the kingfisher link. We used to have a male who would show up on our deck once in a while, but I haven't seen him for years. I suspect our burn/creek became to poluted with industrial and agricultural runoff. :-( I hope the snow storm isn't too bad. Poor you... We're having very heavy rain here tonight.
AQ: Stunning dahlias!!! Makes me long for spring. I absolutely know what you mean: Why does everything have to be so loud these days! And here in the U.S., it seems to be the trend for adult women -- grownups! -- to use any excuse to scream at the top of their lungs. You can't go to any event (concerts, sports, the arts...) without having to listen to constant ear-piercing woohoos and shrieks. Drives me wild...
OG: Congratulations on the upcoming nuptials. I wish the couple many joyful and content years together. Lindybird: I so hope that you feel better very soon. This winter has been just awful for breeding germs. Take care! dibnlib: Marvelous photo of the loch! Auntie: I'm so glad that you have some time off. I hope you have a very relaxing, happy few days!!!
Alan: I always greatly appreciate the owl pics and links that you post!!! That Oak Creek great horned owl doesn't look very happy about being spied upon, though. Looks like it's saying, "Eh, what're you lookin' at?!" By the way, referring to your earlier post, I am a "sentient biological" who has not been enslaved by the tele. The computer, on the other hand, definitely has waaay too much power over my life. LOL LOL
Sorry I couldn't reply to all. I haven't been on here in a couple of days. Have a great week everyone!
Annette: Thanks so very much for your descriptions of the birdie films. I enjoyed the info about Pale Male and his consorts. re A Murder of Crows: I know beyond a shadow of a doubt -- from watching the local corvids -- that they are remarkably intelligent. I also firmly believe that many birds -- not just corvids -- have evolved the ability to communicate with one another within their own species (and maybe not even limited to their own species). I think that some communicated information is incorrectly dismissed as instinctual. I suspect, though, that the crows in the film were scolding because they thought the goofy humans in the masks had lost their minds again. They probably ask each other: "What the !?#*?! is wrong with those fools." LOL LOL
I looked up Stella Mare's. Very lovely restaurant inside and out. A bit out of my price range, I think. My Dad enjoyed looking at the menu and discussing what he would order. :-) Congrats on finding your sofa! I know that those sleeper sofas are just a bear to move. They're so heavy; you have to break a few laws of physics to get them anywhere.
Did you watch the National Geographic program tonight, 2012: Countdown to Armageddon? The subject: The ancient Maya worshipped nature and based their calendars on natural occurrences. They were very advanced and visionary in astronomy and math. Apparently, they believed that vast calendar cycles (eras) begin and end with catastrophic climate events. They drew a parallel between conditions in our current world and the natural events that created the beginning and end of their "world". According to interpretations of their writings, our human civilisation will end in 2012. Really fascinating when the idea is examined from a scientific perspective. You might enjoy the program.
Hey Diane: Indeed. When I was watching the crow being chased around Seattle, I thought: Mask or no mask, this guy is being very obvious - no wonder the crow is put off. As I said, when the guy put on the mask, a couple of humans gave him a funny look! :-) I didn't watch the Nat Geo program - it sounded a tad depressing and I figured I could live without yet more news about yet another impending calamity. Call me chicken; I think I was surfing on the computer. Did I mention that Stella Mares has a bistro menu weekdays, which is limited, but more reasonably priced than the dinner menu? It isn't advertised. The lunch/brunch menu is also good and, of course, you can see the bird preserve during the day. We save it for special occasions.
Not sure if we'll be counting whales tomorrow - the wind sent everyone home early today; I'll call Mike before my shift and see what's going on. When it's as strong as it has been, the whales' blows dissipate immediately and the white caps are too distracting to allow for a valid count. A dead gray whale calf washed up on the beach down the road from us last week. They think it was born during the southbound migration, which is bad because the calves don't have the fat necessary to withstand the colder waters and, of course, they have to keep moving and can't linger and fatten up like they can when they're born in the Mexican lagoons, where the water is warmer. So they're more susceptible to disease, etc. They're doing a necropsy (I think they called it) to see if they can figure out what happened.
Granddaughter was on another driving adventure today. Her significant other's grandma died this morning (expected and basically a relief). He and his parents went to Utah last week to be there, and g-d left AZ this morning to drive up there. I called her from the gym to see where she was and it turned out she was driving through a heavy snowstorm and 25 miles from the next town. Then a big truck got impatient with her poking along and overtook her, throwing snow up onto her windshield that immediately froze over. She couldn't see where she was and got stuck in snow by the side of the road. Enter two truckloads of helpful young people who got her on the road, then escorted her back down the hill to the main highway before they went on their way. She's safe in Salt Lake City now and says it was more adventure than she bargained for. I'm hoping this will give her pause next time she leaps in the car to go anywhere. I've driven over the Donner Pass in May and hit an unexpected snowstorm and things can get pretty scary very fast.
Anyway, off to bed now. Take care everyone; stay safe.
Good Morning Monday, To All. Very Frosty here, Husband came back from walking Dog first thing, with red cold cheeks! Gone out now on errands, after first starting my car up to see if it starts OK for me, later.
I felt a lot better yesterday evening, after lolling on sofa some more in afternoon, enjoyed watching/catching up on past episodes of David Dimbleby programme about the Treasures of Britain. (doh! forgotten what it's called now, but hope you folks in other countries get chance to see it sometime, its excellent). So I've been one of the no-brainers watching lots of TV lately ; - ) However, expecting to feel recovered this morning, I find I have two roughly scraped ball bearings in my eye sockets, & can't move my head too quickly or it feels like its going to fall off.....
Alan: Loved the Owl pic - "Whooo Dat Dare ??" FAB
Many thanks for the colourful pic of dahlias, to AQ , yes they have cheered me up & reminded me that the sun is still shining, somewhere...
OG What a wonderfully romantic proposal. I wish them many years of much happiness together. (its a good start if he is such a thoughtful man)
Thanks to dibnlib for a great glimpse into the world of our ospreys, with the peaceful pic of Loch en Eileian, wonderful.
Annette: Great crow stories, send more! Glad you managed to heave the couch into the house. (where are the young strong ones when you need them) Hairy story about your g.daughter's journey, but at least there were some rescuers at hand. My windscreen froze the other day, because the car had been into the garage for a minor thing, when I realised they had cleaned the screen with something sticky! As it started raining, I put the wipers on, & it promptly froze all over. As it was dark, the oncoming headlights 'crazed' the whole screen so I couldnt see much at all. Very Scary. Couldn't stop safely as dark on a main road, so limped home, thankfully only a couple of miles. Glad you enjoyed the Pale Male film, will now look back to your links, thanks.
Have a Good Day, All!
Good Morning All.
Wall to wall very heavy rain here so if the foercast is correct and it is to turn to snow as it travels up the country, it will mean a heavy snowfall for some folk.
We have had a busy weekend, spending time with our son and his wife and then entertaining friends and so I have a lot of reading to catch up with.
Linda, I hope you are feeling a little better today.
Alan, I see there are quite a few links and photographs for me to look at. Thank you.
OG, very good news of your grandson's romantic proposal and engagement. With such planning before he proposed, I am sure they will have a happy future together.
I will stop here before this post becomes too long and I can read more but thanks everyone for your news.