Weekly Chat, Sunday, March 14

Latest on Twitter from Rutland ospreys:

   Lyndon Visitor Centre re-opening from Sat 20th March- First Rutland Osprey in 2009 returned on 20th March

OG - I forgot to say I enjoyed your autumn musings. I just wish autumn would get on with it. Another hot day 34 C expected. Re the hair. Both girls plus one other guest commented favourably. Very elegant. (Compared to my usual knot or hanging loose - yes.) But I didn’t like it - too much of a lumpy bun on the back of my neck. Design needs some adjustment. Looks like another trial - and more expense. Considering I brushed it all out when I got home as my head was so itchy from the spray and washed it twice next morn, it was per minute very pricey. Things we do to try to look good!!!

Auntie - I hope you warm up soon.

Annette - Brides have a ‘shower’ but they are known as ‘hen’s nights’ (as opposed to ‘buck’s nights). I have not been to any of these modern do’s but I understand they play silly games and drink too much. Not my thing. Staid oldie !!!! In the What If dept, Aussieland could have been Dutch as they kept running their ships into WA coast as they sailed across the Indian Ocean to spice islands. Then there was Nicolas Baudin, a Frenchman, who was mapping the coast of Aust from the east. He met Matthew Flinders (British, doing the same from the west) in what Flinders named Encounter Bay (later location of Victor Harbor in SA).

Rather weird that I mentioned Breaker Morant yesterday as today’s paper says a federal parliamentary committee sat yesterday to discuss his & Handcock’s pardon. Generally accepted they did shoot unarmed Boer prisoners but were following orders.

Continuing SA history . . . During the 1914-1918 war, 39% of the male population of Australia aged 18-44 years enlisted. South Australians were anxious not to miss out and 35,000 enlisted in SA. Some were unable to wait and others, rejected for health or age reasons, went to other states to enlist where they were not known. The SA War Memorial names 5,500 who were killed or died of wounds. In every town a memorial was erected, some in the form of a statue, others as a hospital or institute building. Anzac Day, commemorating 25 April when the Aussie’s first landed at Gallipoli, is a public holiday sacred to the memory of all servicemen & women who did not return. Remembrance Day on 11 November also commemorates the war-dead.

As well as Gallipoli and France, Australians served in Palestine, where they defended the Suez Canal and reconquered the Sinai Peninsula. The Australian mounted infantry charge against the Turks at Beersheba is famous. Pozieres, Villers-Bretonneux, Fromelles and Noreuil are names in France that Australian families came to know too well. The battle of Fromelles has been described as "the worst 24 hours in Australia's entire history." Australian nurses served in Egypt, France, Greece, and India.

There were differences from the British forces. Two referendums in Australia rejected conscription. No deserters were shot as the general feeling was against the infliction of a death penalty on men who had volunteered to fight in a cause not primarily their own. Aussie soldiers had a reputation for insubordination but fought hard when required. Many of the soldiers who returned had their lives shortened by wounds and disease.

Greetings, all I'll just be popping in and out ffor a few days - watched live streaming of some wonderful dog agility from Crufts, which used up a lot of my monthly 'allowance' - don't think I can change my payment method until end March so will have to 'economise' (saving some for when 'the osprey has landed', we hope!)  Will check posts daily.

Another sighting earlier today not too far away from Rutland Water:

15/03 22:09  NORTHAMPTONSHIRE : Osprey, Moulton  [S]
one reported this morning, in flight between Holcot and Moulton, and heading towards Pitsford Reservoir

Hi Jane, hello back.

hope you are doing ok

happy Tuesday everyone

Unknown said:

AQ how DO you remember it all ? I am so impressed.

Cirrus - I only remember odd bits and I have to check my collection of books to fill in the rest. I have cheated on some topics as I have copied chunks out of a few articles I have written. And, let's face it, I am addicted to history equally with ospreys. LOL

Hi, all. Had a bit of food poisoning, not flu. I almost never eat fast food; now I know why. Didn't know whether to call a doctor or a lawyer. LOL So I just drank some ginger tea and got over it. :-) Thanks for all the good wishes.

OG: Your crocuses photo was absolutely beautiful!!! Sounds like you have been very busy in the garden. I should be so energetic.

Annette: I must be a grouch, too, because I will do or say just about anything to get out of going to a wedding/baby shower. I can't even pretend to enjoy all that squealing and silliness. BTW: Did I miss a post? Did you do the whale count Monday or was the weather too bad?

AQ: I can imagine your beautiful gladioli. They are gorgeous flowers. I sympathize with your hairdo dilemma. I hate getting my hair cut and just want it to be done as quickly as possible. And in a small town, the beauty salon is where everyone asks nosy questions and intrudes into other people's personal business. In our local town, both men and women get their haircuts at the same place and both genders are equally gossipy and judgmental. I have a lot of trouble being "nice". LOL One nosy biddy asked me so many prying questions that I finally said, "Dear, are you writing a book?" Yup, Annette,  I am a grouch! hahahaha

Gary: Hope you're okay in the bad Eastern storms.     Hi, Cirrus, good to see you!     Alan:     Loved the captures of the eagle bobbleheads and that spectacular peregrine shot. :-)     HeatherB: So glad that your daughter has heard from her husband in Afghanistan. And I'm so sorry that the son is having such a hard time with his Dad's departure. Poor little fella.

TerryM: That big rig trucker adores his little cat. In one video I saw, he was kissing her on the top of the head. Very sweet. LOL You're right, she has lead an extraordinary life for a cat. I agree with you; I find Google Street View a bit intrusive. Street View doesn't show my house yet, but Google Earth provides a close up of our entire property, and it clearly shows all of the access points where people can come through the woods unseen and reach the house. I love technology, and I think it's wonderful that they show public buildings, sites of interest, etc., but I'm not sure they should have the right to show detailed images of private property and people. (Wow, Annette, I'm really a grouch. LOL)

For those who expressed interest: The truckcam is up and running again. His trip this time takes him from Washington state to near Chicago, Illinois. He'll be running through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin...

Our trees are budding out. Yay!!! Okay, taking my grouchy old self to bed. Very happy Tuesday everyone! Almost osprey watching time!!!

Evening (morning) all:  Unseasonably warm today - in the low 70s on the bluffs, where we counted a total of 20 gray whales - just two on my shift, along with five humpback whales that were hanging about a couple of miles out and generally confusing everyone.  Book Club was at my house tonight (Half Broke Horses), helped along by a wonderful raspberry tarte (from Trader Joes and imported from France), chocolate coated ice cream bonbons and tea.  Yum!

Diane: Food poisoning!  Yuk!  Not yum at all. Glad you're feeling better now. Hope you wake up feeling chirpier!  :-)  

Gary: The evenings news reported lots of power outages in CT - yet another winter blast for you guys. Very odd weather all around....

Just had to e-mail my grandson an update of his resume (a dazzling creation given the raw material); he will be coming by prior to an interview tomorrow morning down the road, then he'll be hanging about for another appointment at 1:30 so he will be cluttering up the computer and decluttering the refrigerator! 

Off to bed; have a good Tuesday all, and thanks for the pix and posts.