Weekly Chat, Sunday, May 23, 2010

Oh woe, the webcam. Didn’t I do enough housework last few days to satisfy the gremlins? Last night we had rain (yeay, another 10 mm) and wind. The crab apple has been green & gold all week, now so is the back lawn with the leaves blown off.

OG - Bad luck about your holiday. Why can’t people be honest about their facilities. Love the mandarin ducks in their fancy dress.

Diane - Glad you reached the video of the flying foxes. Apparently they are very smelly & messy but I think the removal method leaves a lot to be desired. Hey, I have a question for you or any US person - In UK farms have fields, in Australia farms have paddocks. What are they called in the US?

Annette - My mother was always sneaking extra cash to me which my father probably guessed about. Both parents believed their girls needed to be independent. Now that’s got me thinking, my Dad would have been 100 today.

Dibnlib - Lovely garden. I remember when our crab apple was that young. Here it is today with branches that sweep the "floor".

The white square / red cross gremlins got my crab apple pic. So deleted. Try again, she sez.

AQ. OMG. That crapapple tree is spectacular!! It looks like an Impressionist painting.  What a marvellous photo!  

Night all. Take care everyone, do hope the cam gets fixed soon.

AQ: re: your question to me on paddock vs. field, etc. Well, I can only speak for my own region, the midwest U.S. 

A paddock is more of a specialized term. It's an enclosed area -- usually small -- where animals are kept or exercised. You often hear the term paddock at horse races. That's the area were the racehorses are saddled and displayed prior to the race. This term isn't widely used in my area, but it probably is in horse country.

A field is the common term that refers to any expanse of land that's free of buildings and has been cleared of trees. Farm people use the term field to describe any large area of land where crops are grown or animals are pastured. Here in Indiana, the word often describes land used to grow a specific crop, e.g. corn field, bean field, wheat field.

A pasture is a field covered in grass (or other vegetation) where livestock graze.

A meadow is a grassy field -- either in its natural state or seeded in grass or alfalfa to produce hay. Animals might graze in a meadow. A field of wildflowers is also called a meadow.

A ranch is a large tract of open land used to raise livestock, usually cattle. This term is common in the western United States. Indiana has farms. Wyoming has ranches. Ranch land might also be called a range or a spread.

A lot or a feedlot is an enclosed area, usually a building, where animals are fattened for market. I think in Australia you might call a hog lot a "piggery". Many hog lots in Indiana are enormous and are more appropriately called factory farms.

A factory farm is an operation that houses animals --  such as hogs, chickens, or dairy cows --in vast buildings where thousands and thousands of animals are confined together and made to grow or produce milk or eggs very quickly. These systems are more like industrial factories than farms.

Probably more than you wanted to know. LOL!

Thanks Diane  for all that. Yes paddock is used here at horse races too. There is a term "the long paddock". This refers to the grazier in drought years droving his sheep olong the road for the grass growing on the verge. Don't know that we use pasture as an enclosure - more the stuff growing in the paddock. No meadows. No ranches. Outback we have stations as in cattle station or sheep station (measured in square miles rather than acres (oops, in old measurements)). Yes feedlots & piggeries. And alas battery hen farms. All very interesting.

I read your repy to Himself. He joked "what is a hog". OK we call them pigs. But that leads to another thought . . . do you have road hogs too? Now it is nearly 5 pm and i planned to decorate some pizzas for tea. I'd better get moving. Bye.

We have plenty of roadhogs, too........

Morning, All.  Damp and drizzly here today,with more rain forecast.  Mind you, the garden needs it so musnt complain.  Enjoyed yesterday's shopping trip with Friend yesterday, we had a girlie couple of hours looking at kitchen stuff and buying an extravagant fruit bowl for her new kitchen, then hit M & S for clothes:  she spent way more than me, honest!  Came home with some food for the weekend, too, and enjoyed M&S  Haddock Mornay last night with Cheshire New Potatoes - have to stress the Cheshire bit, as Husband claims (being from Cheshire) that nothing else will touch them for flavour, including the famous Jersey Royals.

Quiet weekend as no visitors, but hope to do more in the garden when it stops raining, and also going to a Street Fair on Monday which is usually fun.  It's in Knutsford, which is where the novel 'Cranford' is based upon, so the stall holders are going to dress up in 'Cranford' era type clothes this year to  honour Mrs. Gaskell's bi-centenary. Will try not to buy too many 2nd hand books etc.......

Have a Good Weekend, All.

Good morning Lindybird glad you had a nice girlie day yesterday, nothing like buying new clothes is there.  My sister and I regularly have gir days and thoroughly enjoy them.

Street Fair sounds fun  hooe you have a lovely day and buying books is one of my favourite pastimes.  Have a good weekend and hope weather improves, it is raining here this morning.

Morning all ... watery sunshine here ... but forecast rain by lunchtime :-(

Thanks for the lovely pics of rockeries, blossom,dogs, trees etc!

Have just completed the dusting and hoovering so can grab some time on here!

Have a good weekend and take care.