Hi All: I'm a bit early starting this since it's right before midnight your time. Anyway, on the last page of the previous Weekly Chat, Tiger had some interesting info about what's involved in putting forward Big Ben. I had no idea. And Cirrus posted a shot of two very noisy creatures (thankfully we can't hear them!). And Soosin is looking for Karen. Had a nice day out with daughter; won't be around tomorrow evening your time as I'm taking the train down to Burbank Airport to meet a friend for dinner who's got a stopover there for a few hours en route to her home in Sacramento. Won't be home 'til around 10:30 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. UK time.
Hi all: Spent busy morning organizing files again - what a headache. Then took yet another smooshed avocado/whole wheat snack (sorry Diane!) to patio where read then snoozed for an hour. Totally unheard of! Then puttered in garden.
Welcome ChrisyB! Wish we could give you a door prize for being #300. FYI, just in case you may not have noticed, we start a Daily Update for osprey news every night and a new Weekly Chat every Sunday, where we typically post news about dogs, cats, kids, cakes - you know - the important stuff! I generally start them only because I'm in California and further behind everyone else time-wise (and in other ways too, truth be told!) but anyone can start one or both. :-)
Tiger: The Milford male (if it's the same one) feeds the kids and the female!? He's got my vote. Haven't looked for Mercury; still have my print out for the April 5 International Space Station flyover on hand.
AQ: Oh now, snakes don't bother me too much (well, as long as I don't find one round my neck). I think I'll just use my cell phone's world clock option to figure out which day you're on.
Friday night is "take out" night at our house, so no cooking. Now have to figure out whether we want salads or fajitas.
Unknown said: - - - - - to figure out which day you're on.
- - - - - to figure out which day you're on.
Ha Ha Ha Annette. Tis Saturday morn 11.23 am and I am eyeing the choccy eggs I bought for gr-son. Miss 14 no longer eats chocolate (exploitation of children in production of cocoa) so she is getting some "natural food, no preservative, blah blah" snakes. If she doesn't eat them, she can take them to holiday camp and give them to any friends who do. School hols started yesterday for 2 weeks.
Unknown said: I fancy a mango/banana flavoured pawpaw, Diane, but don't fancy one in the garden if the flowers smell of rotting meat (per Wiki,...)
I fancy a mango/banana flavoured pawpaw, Diane, but don't fancy one in the garden if the flowers smell of rotting meat (per Wiki,...)
TerryM: LOL!!! The smell is actually really faint (trees often fail to fruit because the smell doesn't draw the insects for pollination). We also have wild American Persimmon trees (Diospyros virginiana). Diospyros means "fruit of the gods" in ancient Greek, and it's true: the fruit is heavenly!!! Persimmon pudding is divine! It's a baked pudding that looks sort of a like a pumpkin pie-brownie and is topped with whipped cream. We have entire festivals dedicated to it. Persimmon pulp is quite prized here, and people carefully guard the secret if they know where to find a wild persimmon tree. If you're looking for a fruit tree for your garden, I recommend it. It's part of the ebony wood family. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persimmon
Hi, all. Thanks for all the chat, pics, and personal insights. Hope everyone is settling into spring. Our daffodils are in full bloom. They smell wonderful -- that is, until Spot, the neighbor's dog, pees on them.
AQ: I love snakes. You would like Stinky, the snake who lives in my yard. He's 6 feet and quite elegant in his glossy black scales tipped with white. He looks like this: http://canal.mcmullans.org/black_snake.htm OG: Thanks for the light/dark nest explanation.
Annette: Sounds like you're making progress on the paper purge. Hope you're coming here next. That's interesting that you left a jam jar outside so the wasps wouldn't come in the windows. We can't leave the windows open here, even with the screens. In the summer, we have those "no-see-um" gnats and they would come inside to the lights by the hundreds -- also, mosquitoes. Hated to hear that the swallows don't really return to Capistrano. Is no legend sacred? :-)
Hey, a lot of new people are joining the site right now, and the numbers will probably increase as the nesting season gets underway. Do you think it would help new and returning people if the titles of the threads were made more explicit? Maybe something like:
Weekly Chat (all topics welcome), March 28, 2010
Daily Update (LG nest chat), April 3, 2010
Feel free to ignore this suggestion. I honestly don't care what people say anywhere; I like the spirit of community here. But I thought the change might keep you from having to explain the threads so often, and it might help maintain organization and harmony. No big deal to me either way, though.
Hey Diane: Howzit going? I'm bone tired tonight - don't know why but have been feeling creaky all day, so will probably sneak off pretty soon. Re the Daily Update and Weekly Chat titles, I think the clarification is a good idea - it'll help everyone. Thanks for thinking of that.
Get some good rest, Annette. You've had a lot to deal with recently. Your body may need to catch up. Take care.
Two invaluable tools for webcam watching.
See http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/cgi-bin/srs_uk.cgi?Grid=1&Map.x=198&Map.y=168
and a superlink for webcams http://home.pages.at/nadt/?lang=en&daylightMap=1
Tiger Signature
Just to say. I agree with Diane's idea about putting in a note to clarify the use of the threads, especially as we are getting so many new members. I think it is useful to keep the Daily Update focused on LG, as it provides a way for people who've been out for a while, to catch up on events.
You may have noticed I've chosen an avatar at last - a peacock butterfly photographed in the garden. I had been meaning to get round to it for ages, but yesterday noticed that someone else called SueC (without a space) had joined and was posting in the Diary comments. It was bound to happen sooner or later I suppose!
Gorgeous butterfly, Sue C. And I too agree with the suggestion clarifying threads.
Morning, All. Great idea about clarifying the threads: easier to read the Daily Update if its not too clogged up with personal stuff, really, when you want to know the latest news on LG. (tho I don't care either, which one people use or what they write)
Welcome to ChrisyB : we are a friendly lot, as you may gather, so hope you join in and don't feel that because youre 'new' you have no input. All is allowed here! The Chat varies from day to day, but is always interesting.
Thanks to Diane for holding the fort on the Daily Update when Annette took some rest (get some sleep, Annette!).
Dashing off now as visiting Son No 2 and wife, with Easter Eggs and birthday presents. Shall be jealous if Odin or Another turns up whilst I'm gone today, but at least EJ won't look so lonely. Have a Good Day All.
ps Like the butterfly avatar, Sue C!