Morning all: Check back the last page of the previous week to catch up with bits and bobs of news.
We put our clocks back tonight - and I also pulled out the space heater as my feet are cold and I haven't dug out my toasty slippers yet. We had more lovely showers today, but it's supposed to warm up later this week for a few days. We're in this in-between stage when it's quite warm during the day but decidedly cooler at night.
OG; Thanks for letting us know Diane is expecting snow; I hope it's not too severe. My NY friends are dreading a repeat of last winter, when the temps dropped sharply early in the winter and stayed there all winter.
Take care all.
Good morning, all! Thanks for starting the new thread, Annette. It's still very mild here but that's forecast to change today as we're due a load of rain and a big drop in temperature.
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
Good morning, ALL. Thanks, ANNETTE for our new week.
DIANE was fine Sat evening - Friday's snow was the wet kind, but didn't blow into the house with the accompanying winds.
Here, we had wild wind in the evening yesterday and buckets of rain overnight, but supposedly expecting some sunshine this morning, same as first part of yesterday - ie usual mixed bag!
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
Hello all and thank you ANNETTE for getting us started.
A quiet Sunday here, no rain, OH did a lot of raking of leaves (again) and I did a lot of thinking about what to pack for our holiday. I always take far too much stuff.
Thinking is really quite exhausting (!) and so I had a couple of hours reading time. I always struggle with daytime reading since my upbringing was quite work ethically orientated.
Tomorrow,I will attend Sheana's Social work review. Once again. They have cancelled twice now, but I will check with the Home before I go, this time. I am pleased to report that her improvement has been maintained. It seems so strange that a week ago she was talking about dying and seeing her parents again, and now she is laughing and joking.
I hope that GEORGE is OK. September/ October are difficult times for me too, George xx
What a quiet day on here. It has been raining all day here and set to continue all night and tomorrow.We went out for lunch today as I didn't want to spend the whole day looking at the continuous rain, and then went to the garden centre, where I bought some more pansies for the patio pots.
Annette, Thanks for starting the week for us, yet again. Glad you have had even more rain. I can see that our roof gutters are full of leaves, but it is not worth having them cleared until the leaves have finished falling. None of the trees are clear of leaves yet and the majority still look green as I look at the wood, to the side of our garden. The house is far too high for OH, or myself, to contemplate clearing the gutters ourselves. Hope it won't be too arduous a job when you clean your gutters.
OG, Thanks for the update on Diane's snow. Good to know that she is fine. I had to smile at the thought of the students trying to spear apples with forks, but I can understand why it was necessary. We used to call it 'duck apple' and only played it at home. We had never heard of T or T in those days.
Hi Heather, You have to spend time thinking about what to pack and then change your mind when you actually pack. It is part of the ritual :-))
Pleased to hear that Sheana has improved. She must have been feeling depressed and not very well. Good Luck at the review meeting.
All kinds of weather here today – latest surprise was hail about 6pm with a sudden dip in temperature – now rising again. Robin was singing in the gloom at 5pm. This afternoon we were both in the garden, arranging bulb pots on the deck – crocuses are up! We also swept and sucked up some leaves – during which we found a lovely wee Common Frog; it showed us where it is living, and looks safe for the winter, very near the warmth of the house.
Heather – will all leaves be down before you set off, so OH can relax in Tenerife without thinking about them? So pleased Sheana has really picked up; must have been an infection or something affecting her. Good of you to attend her review, but I really feel the Nephew should be summoned!
Brenda – I don’t bother with winter colour in our garden, I just leave it to nature. At present, we still have some of the late flowers left on the Weigela bush, and Nerines, Chocolate Cosmos, Bellis (daisies), Verbascum, Dianthus, Japanese Anemones and Dahlias! We don’t cut the perennials right down in autumn, for the benefit of the birds and invertebrates.
Tomorrow is a food shopping day – specials at Loch Arthur Community (and lunch too) and then general groceries in Morrisons.
Finally found out today that my leave request for the last week in Nov has been granted. There was doubt as my bosses wife is expecting twins and expecting to be induced towards the end of the month. Anyway I was working with him today and he quietly put a couple of weeks rota in front of me and said "you might like to see this" and he has me down for hols no matter what. OH has hols booked and wanted to visit his family as he hasn't seen them since his Mums funeral a year ago. He really didn't want to go without me. Only hope we can get Benson into our favourite kennels at this late date. Can't take him with us as they have a cat and although we know he is cat friendly, OHs family think their cat would not be entirely happy.
Pleasant day so far but temp creeping up again. Terrible bushfires in Blue Mts (NSW). A farmer died last week fighting a fire about 60 miles north of Adelaide. Only 38 & has a young family. The local farmers have promised to harvest his crops for his wife, but how can she carry on next year & after? Sorry about the doom & gloom. Here are pics (heavily cropped) of 2 buff banded rail we saw in Albany WA.
Hi all, and thanks to Annette for starting off the week.
AQ - lovely pics of the rail. Do hope the bush fires are brought under control soon and that no-one else will lose their lives. Hope it cools down for you soon.
Well today started off rather damp with an almighty downpour just before 10am. Eventually all cleared away and its been a fairly pleasant afternoon.
Did you hear about the mini tornado striking in Coalville, (I think the place name is correct) Leicestershire?
Weather is all set to change to a lot cooler this week.
http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/
RSPB Giving Nature a Home
Evening all: Planted a couple of Salvia today, then tidied up some Serbian bellflowers and reorganized the irrigation, though we have it off most of the time these days. Was looking for something else to do so cleaned (scrubbed in fact!) one of the patio umbrellas, which the birds seem to have used for target practice, before we put it away for the winter.
AQ: That's a terrible situation for the wife. Good that the neighbors will harvest this year - maybe it will give her a chance to think about the future, though I guess the planting season will come quickly enough. Hope her family is nearby.
dibnlib: I bet your OH is pleased you'll be going to see his family with him. Are you planning anything else while you're away?
Heather: I know what you mean about daytime reading! I eat lunch outside and read then, but feel very lazy if I put my feet up otherwise. That's what was so nice about being at my friend's house on the lake - there was nothing to do really. Suspect we should leave home more often! Are you taking books (electronic or?) on your vacation? I felt like a real Luddite in NY, especially on the flight there, because everyone had their noses in their iPads or Kindles (or iPhones) and there I was with an old-fashioned book. Good luck at Sheana's; she's soooo lucky to have you. And yes, as OG says, any news from the NOK or is life easier with his help?
OG: I do like the idea of a little frog all cozy for the winter near your house. :-) We haven't seen our possum for a while....
Brenda: I was kidding about high altitudes - our house is just one floor and OH announced today that he had no trouble cleaning out the gutters; maybe it's the orange tree that makes him dizzy, speaking of which, it's full of all kinds of green round balls!
OK, it's time for the evening (bad) news, which OH likes to watch while I shout at the telly and cook dinner.
Take care everyone.