Chat Extravaganza Sunday Feb 21st

Morning all: Missed Lindybird - does anyone know where she and OH went for trip?

OG: Do hope you’re feeling better soon.  The southbound whale will be fine - they’re typically juveniles, not calves, and this could’ve been its first southbound trip since it was so close to the shore.  Younger whales often take the same close-in route that they followed with their Moms on their first northbound trip. Adult whales heading south come round Point Conception to take the faster route way out beyond the Channel Islands.

Diane: According to Mike, (whale count project coordinator), we’re still behind last year’s count at this point, but still very early days and no-one is concerned. Those we saw (and in some cases we saw only the blows, not the actual animals) are adults and doing well. It’s the calves that are an indicator of what’s going on with our population.  Re the crows: Yes, I suspect the crows were scolding because the humans were being clueless. :-). One interesting point one researcher made was that the negative reaction some humans have towards crows could stem from the fact that they have so many human characteristics:  opportunistic, pushy, loud, a tendency to take over an area….  Re granddaughter: “bold’ is a good word, I’ve used others….  :-)

Margobird: At the top of the screen on the Legend of Pale Male site there’s a horizontal list of options that includes “Film Clips” that should take you to the correct page, but here’s the direct link:  http://thelegendofpalemale.com/Film_clips.html

AQ: Tree dahlias are new to me too. Very pretty.

Alan: Hurray for Hamish!!  Great news about the northbound birds; amazing to think all these migrations are going on while we have our eyes on the telly, weeds, etc.  Thanks for Rothes update.

Tiger: Didn’t realize storks were indifferent parents and had anger-management issues on top of it.

The Chieftains brought the (full) house down last night. They brought along a singer from the Isle of Lewis, who sang traditional songs but also “Mouth Music” which seemed very complex.  I didn’t get her name - or a lot of what Paddy M said because he spoke very quickly and in many cases while the band was still playing or we were applauding!  They also had a young Canadian couple who did an amazing combination of traditional Irish dancing with something like tap-dancing - lots of arm movements compared to the traditional - just breathtaking!  And a foursome of young dancers from a local (I think) Irish dancing school that did the more traditional moves.  Also in for parts of the show was a wonderful pipe band, which really raised the roof and got a tremendous reception and - somewhat oddly I have to confess - a group of Mexican musicians! I understand that the combination of Irish and Mexican music is the theme of the Chieftains new album, but here in SoCal, we can see and hear very good Mexican musicians and traditional folklorico performers any day of the week, so it seemed a bit like carrying coals to Newcastle. And, for the price we paid, OH and I were a bit nonplussed, as were, I think, some other members of the audience.  We really would’ve preferred the entire program to have been Gaelic. Oh well. Life goes on.  Anyway, another too-long post from me, so have a good day all. Stay well and safe.

Good afternoon Annette just replied to your post but must have pressed wrong key and it disappeared so I will try again.

Thanks for the link have now found and viewed and wonderful viewing it makes wish I could see the whole thing.  Some really good photos that Lincoln has taken of Lola and Palemale mating so let us keep our fingers crossed that they will be successful in raising a chick this year.

Glad you mostly enjoyed the Chieftains support acts are not always good as we have found out.

Have a good day.

Hi everyone.

The site was a bit iffy yestarday, so couldn't get into this blog.  Well not by normal means anyway.  I was going to go in by one of the email alerts but somehow got side tracked.

It was seriously cold this morning when I went out to feed the birds, with everthing covered by  a very heavy frost.  It's quite sunny at the moment but still very cold.

Annette:  That must've been wonderful, seeing nine whales.

Lindybird:  Hope you are feeling in good health by the time you go on holiday.

OG:  Sorry to hear your still feeling rough.  Brilliant news about the song thrushes.

Margobird:  Sorry your still not 100% well.  Hope you're back to full health soon.

Tiger:  THanks for the eagle video.  I hope the male brought something more substantial later on.

Alan:  That's wonderful news about hamish.  I'm so glad to hear it.

DjoanS:  Glad your computer seems to be sorted.  That's a lovely barn owls picture.  Thanks for the link.

A very happy Tuesday to all.



Paul.

Got hair cut – my regular hairdresser this time so very comfortable with it.  Being rearranged, appointment was at a funny time, so we “had to” eat in town – from “light meal” menu.  After shopping in Tesco, returned to High Street to Coffee Lounge – was really good avoiding cake, but did have a hot chocolate to warm us up!  Was supposed to be at a meeting tonight, but couldn’t face it, so OH has gone with my instructions what to say, but I have ironed a few things.  I think we have disproved the theory that we need a really harsh winter to kill off all the bugs and viruses – most people seem to have suffered something nasty this winter!

Alan – so pleased that Thunderdog Hamish’s lump was not cancerous – I hope he has been celebrating today!

DjoanS – glad your computer allowed you back on today, and hope you enjoyed your lunch.  Wonderful picture at the young Barn Owls link – thanks.

Annette – don’t know where Lindybird has gone for holiday – only know it’s abroad and somewhere warm, ‘cos she was packing light clothes!  Thanks for info re Whale travelling south.  So how much time did the Chieftains actually spend on stage?  It seems to have been a very full programme.

Where is everybody this evening?  I think I’m going to the fridge for a little something – we usually have our “eating supper” before our “drinking supper” (bed-time drink), but OH can have his when he gets home.

Annette   Storks have lots of issues. It is the reason I do not watch storks that much. The chicks often come to grief.

Well, its "good night" to anyone who is on their way to bed, like me, and "hello" to anyone who comes on here while we are sleeping!!

Annette - I wondered if the whale going the wrong way was returning home to check if the iron was turned off. LOL. I checked Stella Mare’s. I’ll start with dessert, thank you. . . about four of them. Actually the prices, except for entrees, were lower than our top restaurants. See www.lenzerheide.com.au for my favourite once-a-year feast.

Tree dahlia – Dahlia imperialis – is not a tree but a fast growing tuberous perennial, native to South America. They can grow to 10-15 feet tall (ours about 7-8 feet). They have thick bamboo-like stems, large bipinnate leaves and clusters of single mauve flowers. Stems blow over easily in the wind. Stems are cut off at end of flowering and the tubers re-sprout next season. New plants are easily grown from a piece of stem with two nodes. Some of our old stems tossed along the fence (in our makeshift compost heap) sprouted. Then Mrs Next-door, who hated anything in the garden, was seen one day hitting with her walking stick the flowers that dared look over the fence. LOL. It is said that the Aztecs used the stems as pipes to carry water. Some pics http://www.strangewonderfulthings.com/105.htm.

Watching the Olympics, I have done lots of knitting. Grand-dau’s jumper only needs sewing up. I have been panicking ever since halfway up the first sleeve. There didn’t look to be enough wool. Recipe (oops, pattern) says 12 balls (x50 gm) for her size and also the next size up. I buy my wool by mail order in 200 gm balls, ie 4 balls in one. I had thought 3 of these should be enough. So glad I wasn’t knitting the next size as I have finished with about 20 gm to spare. And I need some of that for sewing up.

Continuing SA history . . . The Burra copper mine opened in 1845. Free passages for emigrants resumed. Miners & smelters arrived from Cornwall, Wales & the Harz mountains in Germany.

Within a year 400 bullock teams were carting ore to Port Adelaide along numerous tracks. A ten-day journey, no roads, no bridges, longer in winter, if they could travel at all through the mud. Along the way, shanties were erected roughly every 10 miles, a day’s journey for a bullock dray. An inn or a grog shanty, a blacksmith and so on to serve the needs of the bullockies. Some of these settlements remain as towns, others have disappeared with the advent of the car.

Soon another track wandered across the country towards the head of the gulf where Port Wakefield was established. At first the ore was sent to Swansea in Wales for smelting until smelters were erected in Burra and nearby Apoinga. Mules and muleteers were brought in from Montevideo in South America to cart the copper. Then in 1857 another change - the railway reached Kapunda, so the ore was carted there.

A company town named Kooringa was built. (Kooringa, an aboriginal word meaning the place of sheoaks.) Outside the company’s boundaries more than a dozen small settlements sprang up – Aberdeen, Redruth, Lostwithiel, Copperhouse, Hampton, Llwchwyr, Graham, Millerton, Nelson, etc, etc. Many names reflect the origin of the emigrant workers, Cornish, Welsh, Scots, English & Germans.

Other miners set up home in dugouts excavated in the steep banks of the Burra creek. They had a whitewashed room or two, a door, a window, a barrel as a chimney. The waterholes of the creek were outside the door. Some kept pigs or fowls. In such insanitary conditions typhus, typhoid fever and smallpox were rife. By 1851 the census recorded 4,400 inhabitants in Burra which included 1800 living in the dugouts. Disaster struck when flash floods washed these families from their makeshift homes. The mining company while failing to build further cottages for their workers, refused to employ anyone living in a dugout.

At one time Burra was the world’s leading producer of copper. Within a year of opening ore worth £100,000 had been raised. By 1851 Burra was the seventh largest town in Australia. (Sydney had 54,000, Melbourne 29,000, Hobart 24,000, Adelaide 18,000). The mine was closed in 1877 when only low-grade ore remained. During its 32 years the mine produced copper worth almost 5 million pounds. High dividends were paid while keeping wages and welfare low. The Snobs became very wealthy. Many SA ancestors spent time on the road as bullockies carting copper from Burra.

Nowadays the town consists of two sections, Burra (original Kooringa) and Burra North (Redruth & Aberdeen). Most of the villages have disappeared, while Hampton remains as a few tumbled walls and chimneys. The town serves the farming community and tourists. Some of the mine buildings have been restored and two dugouts have survived. Then there are the old gaol (which later served as a girls reformatory), lovely old churches, chapels, cottages, not to mention the second-hand books, antique & collectible shops.

Burra from the site of Hampton in Nov 2007. The mine in the background, with the open cut to the right of the restored engine houses. In the valley in the centre can be seen a few grey roofs of the former Redruth & Aberdeen. Kooringa is further along the creek, away to the left of the photo. Trees were taken from the hills for the mine and haven’t regrown.

<Edit> I have removed the 'missing' photo (1 Mar 2010). Maybe I'll try again later.