HAPPY NEW WEEK!
Last week's Weekly Chat thread is HERE.
The code for this new week's thread is WC040813 (in case you ever need to search for it from the search box).
Hi everybody. Some more pics, from day 2 of our trip to Scotland in July. Firstly, Loch Lomond at Inversnaid, on the eastern shore near the top end.
Inversnaid Hotel's car park was where, in 1993, Billy Connolly ended the first episode of "Billy's World Tour Of Scotland". This was the very programme that first made me want to visit the country. This was our first visit, in beautiful sunshine.
A Loch ferry was just departing as we arrived...
A hot dog! Just happy to be out of the car...
Then to the north end of Loch Katrine. at the landing at Stronachlachar. The place was quiet as a mouse. Then the boat from the south end of the loch arrived. and the place became bedlam!
Sights from around the Loch Lomond Highland Games at Balloch. Above, Major James MacRae declares the games open.
Above, the worlds bravest photographer. Or the world's craziest photographer. He did survive the day without being badly injured, fortunately.
Above, Robert the Bruce, to whom Mulberry asked "I am English, am I safe?", to which the Bruce smiled, and pointed to the stocks beside him.
Or did he point to this? They take their re-enactments very seriously here!
Below, rescued birds of prey on display, in front of huge crowds
And just to mention, much of our first three days in Scotland was spent in the unforgettable company of BLACK JAGUAR and SNOW LEOPARD, undoubtedly the coolest cats in Scotland!
What great pics and a great description of your experiences, Mulberry.... enjoyed those. I too was inspired by Billy Connollys programme, although I had in fact been to Scotland several times already by then! His programme was so full of love for his country and such great scenes of the beautiful countryside. (but then we always enjoy his programmes, anyway, LOL!)
Heather - Thanks once again for news of dear Margo - her poor OH must be trying to keep all of their relatives and friends in the picture, so a busy and worrying time for him, too.
Thanks Lindybird. Yes, Billy Connolly's programme was completely my inspiration to start exploring Scotland. Before that. I had only nipped over the border to Gretna Green with my dad just once, whilst camping in the Northern Lakes. My first proper trip there was to Fife in 1997, and on that trip we had a long drive right across to Oban. The sights and sounds on that drive alone got me hooked for life. Mind you, a week ago I was sat atop one of the hills beside Porthmadog looking up the Glaslyn valley into osprey country, and my thought was "Wales isn't bad either!"
Myself and NiteOwl are so grateful to Margo's OH for keeping us informed of her progress. We do hope she is able to be back with us soon. Heather, thank you so much.
Forgive me if you all have already seen this. You may want to take steps to prepare for the update coming on Thursday. It may be helpful to make sure you've recorded your password and saved the address of this current Chat Thread to your favorites/bookmarks, etc. You may need to clear your browser cache after the update. I'm not a tech expert, so others may be able to offer more valuable advice.
The following is the post by Frankie Wicks, one of the RSPB technical staff.
"Hi All,
Had hoped to run the update to fix a few of the issues today, but I think if we wait till thursday we'll knock a few more off, and save some disruption to the site (we'll probably need to put a "closed for maintenance" page up during the release).
So, we're delaying the release of the fixes until Thursday. I'll do my best to post tomorrow to tell you exactly what those changes are and when they'll be happening.
At that point this thread will close for new comments and a link to the new thread will appear as the last post.
Thanks,
Frankie."
P.S. from me (Diane): If you find yourself lost -- but have access to this site's search box -- you can find this current Weekly Chat thread by putting its code in the search box. Just enter WC040813 in the search box, and it should bring up the current chat thread for you.
Now, to catch up!
Mulberry and NiteOwl: Lovely photos from your holiday. I'm so glad you had a nice time. Loved the bubble wrap story.
Heather: Thank you for the update on Margo and also thanks to her OH for keeping us informed. Very nice of him.
Lindy: I'm also glad that you had a nice weekend. I'm impressed with your OH's Cube abilities! I really enjoyed your flower show photos!
Brenda: Sorry you lost your long post. That's so annoying.
Alan: That heron is glorious. The heron on my land eats the little toads (frogs?) that sit in the trees and sing at night.
Dibnlib: Loved your photos of the boats.
Clare: I'm glad you enjoyed your concert!
OG: I loved the photo of your new little fledglings. I've never had house martins here.
bjane: Nice to hear from you! Hope everything is going well for you, and you're healthy and happy. I would love to have another dog, but I need to wait until I'm more secure (financially, etc.). I would definitely rescue one. I love boxers.
AQ: Congrats on the new camera. WOO HOO! I hope it serves you well. I look forward to photos of LM, churches, and Australian creatures and countryside! Especially Lizarda da Vinci. I assume that she's hibernating right now. Brilliant suggestion to build log cabins for the critters here. I know they would appreciate them in the cold winter! I could have a series of them in the woods: a big one for the deer, smaller for the fox family, smaller yet for the groundhog, rabbits and squirrels, tiny for the chipmunks, and wee ones for the toads. Maybe I'll put one in a tree for R.T., the red-tailed hawk!
Annette: I have never eaten a white peach. I don't think I've ever seen one. Glad you're getting a lot accomplished. My grandmother always said that she was giving the house "a lick and a promise" when she cleaned lightly, but she never referenced a cat. LOL Snakes can move very, very fast when they want to. When I startle the big Black Snake in the yard, he doesn't move, though. He just ripples himself up and freezes (like this). Sometimes he releases stinky snake musk. He doesn't do it if he sees me first and realizes that its me. :-)
Everyone have a good week!!!
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Lindybird said: Diane: See that you are still waiting for the end of the disastrous tree story. I do hope there's a Happy Ending.
Diane: See that you are still waiting for the end of the disastrous tree story. I do hope there's a Happy Ending.
You'll all be happy to know (because I'll finally stop talking about it!) that the giant old locust tree that was struck by lightning is now safely down. The view from my front door will never be the same. That ancient tree probably saw my Scottish ancestors arrive here. I'm not a woman who cries easily, but Sunday I put my arms around that old tree and wept for it.
I was relieved that I didn't see any bird nests in the debris, only abandoned woodpecker holes.
My heart was in my mouth for the duration of the felling. When the tree service man cut the big branches, they shook the ground and exploded with a boom when they landed.
The man confirmed that it was a very dangerous tree because of its towering size and instability from the lightning. He got to a certain point and the tree split in two, flailing wildly. He had to move his bucket to keep from being hit. He was visibly shaken. Poor man.
I was so relieved that I slept for 14 hours last night! I was so afraid that the tree service man would be injured or killed, that the tree would come down on my house, or that it would fall into other tall trees and create havoc with power lines or other structures.
I was also worried that I might have a dispute with my neighbors, because the tree was right on the property line. But the neighbors were delighted that I had my insurance company take care of it. They want the timber and were happy to have the logs stacked on their side of the woods, so it's off my land and off my mind! Woo hoo!
Sorry if I've whinged too long about this tree saga. This was a difficult few days for me. My brother was promoted and immediately moved to Evansville, Indiana, down on the Ohio River several hours away. He left this morning. So I've also been worrying about his kids, etc. and feeling a little abandoned by everyone.
Anyway, I'll be more positive now! :-)))
Evening all: Another busy day; got a lot done (am on a real roll with my to-do list). It's great.
Lindybird: What!? Posting in your dressing gown? Oh my. What next? :-) Good you had a nice relaxing time; not sure I'd want that particular sculpture in my garden - it looks really menacing. I'm not having that many problems with the site, although I guess they plan to work on it this Thursday, so who knows what challenges await.
Alicat: That's a lovely selection of pix! Thanks so much for taking us along on your trip. :-) Hope you're not working as hard as before....
Alan: Love the David and Goliath pic of Mr. Heron and the crayfish.
Heather: So what's your g'daughter's next move - is she on to college (don't mind me, I've no idea what "Highers" signifies). Thanks for leaving the message for Margo's OH - and passing on the latest news.
Mulberry: Your trip looks like huge fun; glad you managed to avoid the stocks. How is NiteOwl these days? She's MIA.
Diane: Thanks a bunch for letting us know (again!) of the pending fix on the site....wonder how long it'll take.. Good grief! Never seen/tasted a white peach? They're just paler than the yellow ones. Had one for lunch today with blueberries/raspeberries - it was wonderfully sweet. (Two more in the bowl!) Gosh. That snake really lives up to its name - not as, um, pretty as some I've seen. Ahhhhh, I hate to see trees come down, they're so sort of noble and rise above all the daily racket quietly doing their job of cleaning the air for us ungrateful humans. :-( But really, I can imagine how nervous it must've been having such a badly damaged one literally hanging over you; so glad it's been sorted out with no harm done - and happy neighbors to boot! Hurray! Do hope your bro's job promotion is all he wishes; you'll just have to plan more trips to Evansville!
Off to bed as trash/recycling trucks come on Wednesdays - bright and very early (and very noisy).
Take care everyone!
DIANE I know it had to go but I am sad for you and your tree.