WEEKLY CHAT (non-osprey topics) SUNDAY, APRIL 4, 2015

Thank you BRENDA, I meant to say Happy Easter to you all, but forgot the 'to you all' bit !!

We have some sunshine this morning but plenty of cloud. The breeze is not as cold as yesterday.

Thank you for your Easter wishes and Lynette for her lovely card.  

Thanks for starting the week, Annette. You sound as busy as ever.

AQ, Pleased to hear you enjoyed your trip. I will look at your photo's asap. I also had problems posting an Easter card this morning. I just gave up :-((  I guess the people to the back of the coach must have thought you were going through some strange ritual every half hour LOL. I love it when the medics say that we should stretch our legs and walk up the aisle when on an aeroplane. It is nigh on impossible to pass other passengers and food/ sales trolleys.

Heather, Glad to read that your OH is now feeling well enough to be gardening. Love the idea of a climbing fuchsia on a trellis.

OG, Enjoy your lunch. We will have our meals at home today as we haven't booked anywhere and I would think that the restaurants will be fully booked today. It really does sound like a 'race against time' in your garden. I hope you don't do too much, that you get too weary before your trip up North. Well done to J for providing the music at both church services today.

A HAPPY EASTER to you ALL

from LINDA

Thanks, LINDA, and BRENDA for posting it.  Sounds as if broadband is worse this year than last at the caravan!

Happy Easter All!

Hello everyone, Have not been on here for a few days as very tied up with other things but I have been keeping up with all the news.  It is a glorious day here today so have greenhouse wide open, conservatory wide open and in fact everything wide open!! and I am wearing much more springlike clothing at last!  I got my Tortoises up today from their long hibernation, all washed and weighed and lying in the sunshine!  Have been very busy in the garden, feeding the roses, tying up the various clematis, etc.

Have been watching all the Osprey webcams, there are still a lot of birds that have not returned,I am getting a bit anxious now.

OG - You have been busy in the garden, it puts me to shame!

Heather - Hope you are enjoying your quiet time this Easter, glad that your OH is feeling up to doing some gardening.

Lindybird - Hope you are having a lovely time in Wales with little Bonnie, she must be having some fun on her walks.

Limpy - Hope you are having a good day at Minsmere, plenty of visitors today I expect.

Lynette - thank you for your Easter card and for all the pictures you post, especially the Eagles with all those fish!

AQ - I am glad that you managed your bus trip, I enjoyed all the photos, you must have a huge collection of Church Pictures now, a very interesting hobby.

Morning all: Oh dear, got the date wrong again. Thanks Clare - and I checked the date on the computer, but I probably had an attack of dyslexia and got the 4/5 the wrong way round.

Thanks all for all the lovely Easter greetings.  We are expecting a bona fide late Winter Storm Tuesday and Wednesday!!  Fingers crossed we get the 1" of rain they're expecting (not that it'll make much difference but we'll take anything).  :-)

Didn't buy anything at the jewelry show yesterday, but would willingly have sprung for some take-home slices of a wonderful Lemon Poppyseed cake and Apple Galette that my friend's jewelry-making son baked.  Managed to stuff down a few slices before waddling off to yoga. 

AQ: That Farm Fair sounds like something I'd have enjoyed. Love the brickwork on some of those buildings and that organ at St. Bartholomew's looks lovely.  A beautiful "In pastures green...." stained glass window at the Adelaide Pilgrim church.  Also like the Mary MacKillop statue of the smiling nun walking with two kiddies (makes a change from all the solemn depictions!)  St. Francis Xavier church looks very grand; I like the St. Patrick's windows. Where are you off to next?

Heather: Just Googled images of the climbing fuschia - I imagine they'll do very well in your climate. Glad your OH is back to puttering.

OG: Am definitely pacing myself re activities and planning get-togethers with friends accordingly. Have also decided to hire someone to dig holes in the garden to plant a couple of things: A native Western Redbud tree and an Arbutus Unedo Compacta (strawberry tree), which does very well here in spite of being native to - Ireland???  Go figure.

Rita:  Re your tortoises, was interested to read you got them up; don't they wake up naturally after the hibernation?  Smiled at the image of you giving them a bath. And is weighing a part of the ritual?  Sounds interesting.

Wolf Hall starts tonight - hurray!  We've also heard that the next season of Downton Abbey will be the last. What WILL we do?  :-))

I have some photos to post and will be back with them in a bit.

Rita, The sun came out and the sky eventually turned a lovely blue, so I left the doors open to the garden It was fine in the sun but if we moved into the shade it  was quite cool. Just put the heating back on as the house is now very cool.

Annette, I can understand why you want some rain, but a winter storm doesn't sound good and it will only produce 1" of rain. I presume it will send strong winds though.  Why am I not surprised that you wanted cake, but not the jewellery LOL  

OK. Here's what I came back to after my AZ trip:  A garden alive with the scent of orange blossoms - this tree didn't put out a lot of flowers last year, so I was thrilled to see and smell so many this year.  The fragrance is marvelous.  (You can see an orange lurking in the background; most are only just turning color so it'll be a few months before I'm up the ladder again).

Also came home to this: First shot is of Monarch butterfly caterpillar getting ready to go to chrysalis stage (he'd moved from the Milkweed pot to settle on the branch of a Plumeria - I had the Milkweed pot sitting in the much larger Plumeria pot) ; the second I took yesterday just after the self-same creature emerged from his cocoon. He was sitting on the saucer of the Plumeria to dry out and try his wings.  He measured about 3 inches wing tip to wing tip.