Weekly Chat Sunday, June 20,2010

357 people on the LG Group now.....

Morning all: Spent ages this morning reading the LOTL blogs; Lady looks almost like her old self right now, sitting up and looking around; seemingly alert and interested. Hard to know what to think.  Time will tell.

Contractors banging around; concrete mixer arrives this afternoon; book club folks coming over this evening and all I want to do is hide in a quiet corner..... 

AQ: Does Lizarda da Vinci hibernate (please excuse cluelessness)?   Maybe you're using the wrong detergent for the tree dahlias?  :-)  Not a bad idea to leave the liquidamber stump - removing them is a lot of work!  Our neighbor had to remove a Chinese Elm that the previous owner planted right up beside the house and it was destroying drains and gas lines, etc.  They had someone out - several times - grinding away at the stump and roots, which they had to remove.  Lumberjacks?  :-) That reminds me of the Monty Python song. ("I'm a lumberjack and I'm alright, etc., etc....")

Auntie: Maybe you meant "odds and ends."   Must say I was disappointed to find out that "odd doings" only meant shelves!  :-)

Lindybird: Thanks for Monday morning smile.

OG:  Hope you get the alarm system sorted out and are enjoying the long light summer evening.

Tiger; As usual, always interesting info included in your posts.

Alan:  Always nice to hear about Hamish's day.

Djoan: Oh dear. Wimbledon and no flat screen telly yet at our house.

Sun is not out yet here - that coastal morning overcast.  Must summon up some energy and do something constructive - not that this isn't constructive, but you know what I mean.  Take care all.

Hi folks.  Haven't had time to read and comment on this blog today.  Any 'computer' time was spent on the LG and LotL webcams and the Daily Update.  The change in Lady is amazing and Peter says she has been down to the loch to drink.  Fiona's early morning blog was poetic and lyrical; I found it comforting.

Monday is a very busy 'doggy' day for me with two lots of agility training and a walk for the others.  Also this evening was Fly's time for visiting in a local care home.  She's very popular with [most of] the residents and I know it lifts their spirits, even if only temporarily.  OH is watching the football so I have time to read and reply on here.  Don't even feel guilty about the unwashed dishes - I'll do them shortly.

Can someone please tell me in what part of the sky I should look for the ISS - I don't even know where to look on the internet!

A quick evening round-up.  Very tired – don’t know why as I haven’t done much.  The day was muddled as the alarm engineer turned up at lunchtime (unannounced) so we couldn’t eat till 2:30!  Then it was difficult to decide when to plan to have dinner, because my blood test appointment was at 5:20 (most unusual) which is usually cooking time – but at least that’s done with for another month.

Lindybird – pleased your OH’s eyes are OK and good enough weather for lunch in the garden.

Annette – hope you will enjoy book club this evening – have you read the book this time?

Patriciat – I thought Fiona’s morning blog was beautiful – and, remember, she had been up all night.  How lovely that you take Fly into a care home – wonderful that you share her in this way.

Have to drag myself off to bed as really tired today.  Just a quick couple of notes:

auntie:   loved your pic of the osprey chicks eyeing each other up for a scrap!

Annette:    Thanks, did find that poem on the LotL blog eventually, there was a lot of stuff to wade through as so many folks have been posting due to the drama there.  It was sensitively done. Glad to hear you are managing to put your feet up in the garden, in between workmen and bookclub members. (bookends ?).

Alan:   Laughed at the thought of your trying to wash Hamish - washing a dog is never easy.  We usually just take ours to somewhere with a lake and he obligingly jumps in.....   Someone said the other day that Buzz was very good to stand still while we wiped his feet - problem is, he can't count and starts walking off after only three of them.... I have to drag him back for the last one every time.

Dramatic day at LotL, just amazing even though I suppose that is an overworked word.

Happy Longest Day to All.

Evening all: Well, finally, some time to relax and blather about non-osprey (read LOTL) events - and catch up on older posts I missed last night while zipping between cams and blogs.

What a remarkable day we've had!

Diane: Sorry your brother was true to form - yet again. That's sad. Your dad is very lucky to have you!

Auntie: How long are you off work?  Lindybird: Good that OH's eyes are OK; sorry that Buzz's math skills aren't up to par!  Djoan: Glad your OH got to see the goldfinches.

OG: Contractors a half-day behind schedule and are putting rebar in preparation for concrete as I type. Think Noise.  Oh. they're now outside my window. Think Very Loud Noise  I am very tired today too - a bit of a rollercoaster with LOTL and everything else.  I have cancelled tonight's gathering at my house since I don't think I can stand one more ounce of input (ospreys aside of course!)  :-)   Oh yes! Did read the book (The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls)  Diane: You might like it - Walls published it first, then came out with Half Broke Horses last fall, but I recommend folks read the latest book first since it's a multi-generational story about her family.  Fiona's blog was lovely - sounded like she really did have time to "be in the moment" as some people say.

Patriciat:  Sounds like a busy day. Here's a link to the ISS http://www.heavens-above.com/?lat=51.66185&lng=-0.41079&loc=Santa+Barbara&alt=0&tz=PST.  Under Configuration it shows my location, Santa Barbara, so go to "edit manually" on the next line and type in the town nearest you and the time zone (UK/Ireland) next to GMT+0. and hit enter. Then go back to the previous page and under Satellites, choose 10-day predictions for ISS. Click on that and you'll see a list of dates with the time the ISS will be overhead. Click on the relevant date, and you'll get a map of the trajectory across the sky. Do note the NOTE that the map is not the "wrong way round" which I first thought.  Read how to hold the map over your head to get the correct orientation - and try not to trip over the garden steps or walk into birdfeeders while you're out wandering around.  It really helps if there's a moon because all know what that looks like!  :-))  Good luck!! (And we can thank Tiger for all the info since it's what he sent me when I saw the ISS.)

 OK. Drilling has stopped and folks are sweeping up. Thank heavens.

Take care all.

Hi, folks. Big storms moving in for the night, so I'm shutting down until tomorrow morning. The dangerous weather is north of us, but we're starting to have a lot of lightening. Hard on the computer and other gadgets. Sorry I can't do any specific replies this evening.  Hope you all had a lovely solstice and will have a great Tuesday!

Diane: Do hope you haven't missed all the excitement from LOTL, where Lady, who was at death's door a couple of days ago,  rallied dramatically and took off for a flight to the Loch today (in view of a TV crew that had come to cover the "sad" news), then came back and ate for the first time in days - and fed her chicks. The whole osprey community has been in a lather and we're all just hoping the improvement continues.

Now that things seem to be settling down, osprey-wise again, just check Big Rig Steve and his next trip takes him to Salt Lake City - up through Kansas - and Colorado.  He's going through Denver (called the "mile high city), then through the Rockies, which rise up dramatically right behind Denver and signal the western limit of the Great Plains.