HAPPY NEW WEEK!
Last week's chat thread is HERE.
I hope everyone has a wonderful week, especially OG and Eagle-Eye, who are on holiday.
I had a wondrous experience on Thursday. Temps had cooled a bit, and it was very windy. I went outdoors, just to check my patch. I saw R. T. Hawk come from the direction of the creek flood plain. He was riding the thermals and soaring around and around. If a bird can look happy, he did.
Shortly, his big pale mate came from the same direction. She, too, was floating gracefully on the thermals. She saw me and stared at me for a minute or so, then she started soaring downward, floating in circles in my direction. She kept watching me and moving closer. I froze and made sure she could see my open hands (so she'd be reassured that I didn't have a gun).
She descended quite close to me, and I thought for a moment that she was going to come to me. I thought about holding my arm out to see whether she'd land, but I was afraid I'd scare her. She never screeched at me, and she wasn't diving aggressively -- just floating above me and looking at me curiously. Finally, she caught a thermal and lifted back up into the sky.
R. T. Hawk had been unconcerned, and he was soaring over the creek. His mate followed in his direction, and then they flew toward the ridge together.
I was very honored to see her so close.
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The annual Perseid meteor shower will appear on 11-14 August. The waning crescent moon guarantees dark skies, so the meteors should be dramatic. Folks in the northern hemisphere should see 50 meteors per hour, with a third of that number in the southern hemisphere. Most of the meteors can be viewed in the wee hours before dawn, but you could get lucky and see a beautiful earthgrazer in the earlier part of the night. Info HERE.
NASA government photoLabelled public domain (copyright free)
You got home before the thunderstorm then, DIBNLIB! My Elgin grandchildren are jealous, they hope the storm will reach them soon!
Poor Bonnie, LINDY. I'm sure that she will get used to the gate.
OH and I got a fair bit of sweeping and pruning done before the weather broke down. He is now doing a crossword and grumbling under his breath (again)
I just happened to be watching the LG nest, HEATHER and I could hear the thunder. I can still hear the rain.
HEATHER/ BRENDA we got home after lunch at Little Italy. OH immediately cut the grass, then the rain started and boy oh boy, thunder and lightning like I haven't seen or heard in years. Just before this started a church friend arrived with flowers and a book on Vienna. She is such a lovely caring lady and we love her dearly. She told me she felt bad that she had talked too much yesterday and not listened to me which is rubbish as OH and I remarked on the way home what a wonderful person she is and how lucky we are to know her and her husband.
Benson was outdoor having his supper when there was a roar of thunder. There is not much that puts him off his food, but that certainly did!!!!
Here are a couple of pics taken at the canal this morning
and the lovely flowers from my friend
I guessed it must have been a bad storm, DIBNLIB, I hope it has all passed through now. The rain sounded extremely heavy too.
What a lovely lady, to think that she dominated the conversation. I know a couple of 'ladies' who never let you say a word. I try to avoid them.
What lovely flowers, dibnlib. Thanks for posting your pics. We are off out now, as my Friend has invited us to dinner: she & her OH have some friends staying over who used to live in our town years ago, but who now live in the Midlands. Looking forward to some more gossip & giggles! Will describe our meal later, as my Friend is an excellent cook.
They are a lovely display of flowers, Dibnlib, and your photographs are excellent. Thank you.I hope Benson has now eaten his supper. Poor fellow.
Enjoy your evenings with your friends, Linda
Annette and anyone interested: Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are harvesting the first food ever grown in space -- lettuce! They're going to taste it shortly. Watch live on NASA TV. Also, the cosmonauts are spacewalking today.
Hi, everyone. Back later, after pizza.
That was good to watch, Diane. "Awesome," they said, when they they ate some lettuce. A trial for future flights to Mars. Thank you.
Morning all:
Diane: Hope your bro likes his job - that's a pretty good commute without bridge closures.
Lindybird: What are those flowers? Wonderful that you found your Mom's bracelet - maybe she knew it was back in style and decided to give you a nudge. :-) Ha - my sister and bro-in-law are replacing their ancient freezer, which was in a utility room between the kitchen and the garden. They then decided to also replace the matching large and equally ancient refrigerator (they have a small under-counter one in the kitchen). They moved those out of that room, then realized it was as good a time as any to replace the ancient and tatty flooring before the new appliances arrive this week. The domino effect strikes again! Will be interested to hear how Bonnie gets around/over/under that new gate.
Heather: Yes, groundwater supplies in the Central Valley are a great source of concern at this point. Unemployment would be especially hard on those families where everyone works in the fields. Went for a walk in a different neighborhood this morning and many houses haven't just let their lawns die, they've been completely removed. I'll take peaches in any size!
Re missing jewelry, etc., did anyone ever see that story about the UK girl who fed the crows that in turn brought "gifts" to her? One was a camera lens that her mother had lost - she found it some time later on the feeder where the crows hung out!