WEEKLY CHAT (non-osprey) SUNDAY JULY 12, 2015

Hallo all:

OG: Love the photo of the two ducks (not sure which kind). But which of you got down on the ground to get that shot?  The details on the drake are really striking.

Heather: I remember Circassian Circles - but only the name!  What a wonderful time you had, sounds like so much fun.

Rita: Congratulations on your knee.  Good for you.  Seems like a lots of folks on here will be happy to cheer you along in rehab.  :-)  Do you have one of those walkers? (I think they call them Zimmer frames over there).

I'll be up at 6 a.m. to watch Federer/Djokovich game.

Here's to a good week for everyone and hope Margo is doing okay.

  • Good morning, all!  We've just had a beautiful young green woodpecker in the neighbourhood - I've been hearing it fairly regularly but I haven't seen it until today.

    Good to hear from you, Rita - I hope it gets less painful in the near future.

    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, Everyone. How exciting Clare - I've never seen a green one. Hope you get chance for a photo of it. Dull and damp here, but supposed to brighten up as the week goes on.
  • AQ - not surprised you had to take some time to rest on your trip! You certainly did a lot. Thanks for posting your pics.
  • Hi, Lindy.  I see them very occasionally here, though they don't always stay long enough to snap them.

    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 Everyone. Raining here. The garden does need it.

    AQ, So glad you are photographing more stained glass. I will certainly take quite a while looking at them, especially. Thank you. You really do fit so much into your trips.

    Clare / Linda, we do see the green woodpeckers. There are a few nests in the village cemetery, which we use as a short cut to the bowling green and the two village shops. The woodpeckers love eating the ants. I was surprised a few days ago, to see so many various butterflies, sunning themselves, on the cemetery footpath. We walked around the headstones rather than disturb them. 

  • Always nice to hear of butterfly sightings, Brenda.  There really don't seem to be as many these days, nor as many different varieties around.

    We ventured forth this morning, my OH dropped me off in the town to get various errands done, whilst he went to the Vets to pick up some wormer for Bonnie - we do have an exciting life!  Its been very damp and slightly drizzly, but I didn't need a brolly.

    Love to dear Margo - I hope you're not feeling too bad, Margo, after the latest round, and that you managed to have a restful weekend with your OH.

  • A cheerful picture  - my d.in.law sent me this one of our little Matthew, standing up unaided for the first time ever!

    EDIT:   Well, almost unaided, if you discount the ghostly hand on the left LOL!!

  • He is a ' Darling' little boy, Linda. Another milestone for him.

  • Growing up so fast, Brenda. He has only been a babe in arms for a few minutes, I feel. Likewise little Amber, who is going to celebrate her first birthday in only a matter of weeks. She is now attending a nursery four days a week as her Mum has gone back to work - she is much fussed over there and a popular giver of hugs! She eats almost anything put in front of her, unlike my two who were fussy eaters!
  • Morning all:

    Lindybird: My goodness, didn't M just get here?  He'll be in college before we know it.  :-)  My day will be about as exciting as yours. Must get to Costco and the local home improvement/nursery store at some point, then yoga this afternoon. I may spend that hour in a "restorative" pose, possibly after a nap in the garden.  Last week was too busy.

    AQ: That is some very nice stained glass in those pix. A day off puttering sounds perfect.

    Clare: Have never seen/heard of a green woodpecker. Just Googled the images - very nice. Amazing how Google works. I typed in 'green woodpeckers in....' and while I thought about whether to put in 'UK' or 'England' it popped up with 'Scotland.'  Has the whole world been Googling green woodpeckers so it already knows where we need to go?  Apropos of Google, I was looking up the definition of a professional qualification yesterday and couldn't find one at which point granddaughter (on the phone) says, "If Google can't find it, it probably doesn't exist."  :-)

    Brenda: There's a large Monarch butterfly preserve near our house where they migrate each winter and you often see them lolling on the trails.  I've planted a bunch of milkweed this year, which means I'll probably be inundated with them next season.  I was reading about Monarchs and didn't realize (maybe it's the same for all migrating butterflies) that only the fourth generation migrates (probably because they have such short lifespans that the three in between don't live long enough from one season to the next). Amazing creatures.

    Margo: Major hugs to you!

    Off to start the day.

    We only have black, white and red ones.