Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 26 November 2017

HAPPY NEW WEEK!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

I don't have a picture this week, but I thought I'd include these two links for anyone who wants to look at them. 

(1) This is aerial video photography of the autumn foliage at Turkey Run State Park, which is just down the road from my house. The water is Sugar Creek. The video is 2 1/2 minutes, but the nicest footage is shown at about 1 minute 45 seconds in the video.  

(2) This is aerial video photography of the autumn foliage at Shades State Park, which is only a few minutes from me. The Shades is very, very special to me because that's where my grandfather was a Park Forest Ranger. I spent a lot of time there when I was young, as did my Mom when she was little. The bridge is the Deer's Mill Covered Bridge, which was built in 1829 over Sugar Creek. The photographic drone even goes inside the bridge. Swallows and other birds nest in the rocky canyon cliffs. The video is 3 minutes. 

Here are some videos showing the outside and inside of some of the other bridges near my house. (No one is obligated to look at them.) Every year, over a million people come to my area in October to attend the Covered Bridge Festival. These videos were taken this month, right after the end of the festival.

Jackson Covered Bridge, built in 1861 during the Civil War. In the 1800s, at times of high water, people launched flat boats at this point on Sugar Creek to float goods over to the Wabash River, where they travelled to the Ohio River and then to the mighty Mississippi River and on to the markets in New Orleans. Video is 2 minutes.

West Union Covered Bridge, built in 1876. This bridge and its earlier versions were used by stage coaches on their way to Lafayette in NW Indiana during frontier times. The famous Wabash and Erie Canal was east of this bridge. Video is 2 minutes. 

Cox Ford Covered Bridge, on the west side of Turkey Run State Park over Sugar Creek. Video is 2 1/2 minutes.

The Narrows Covered Bridge , in Turkey Run State Park over Sugar Creek. It's one of the most photographed covered bridges in the nation. The local Native American tribes and settlers from several countries had various names for Sugar Creek, but they all knew the Sugar Creek valley for its maple trees, the source of maple sugar. Video is 2 minutes.

  • Hi, everybody!

    Annette: I just saw something that I thought you might be interested in. I decided to put it here in case any other Brits living in the U.S. and missing home are reading this thread.

    There's a new TV streaming service called Acorn TV. They're providing TV and movie mysteries, dramas, and comedies from the U.K. (and also some content from Australia). You can get a free trial to find out if you like it, and the service is only $4.99 per month. I thought some of the mysteries looked really good. You can see all the TV shows they offer on their website. Pick a genre and click on "View all." I don't know about the actual quality of the content, but I recognized some of the shows. Maybe someone on here could tell you more about the quality of the programming. Anyway, I just wanted to pass it on in case you didn't know.

    Hope everyone is having a good day! I'll catch up in the next couple of days.

  • Diane:  Some of those programmes have been very popular here. Some, I don't know. Can recommend Martin Clunes on the islands of Australia. Those who enjoy detective stories love "Vera".

  • Thanks, Lindy. I looked at your latest cruise photos. Such a beautiful place. I've been working, but I'm going to sit down and look at all your recent photos as a set this weekend. It looks like such a fascinating place.

  • First day of summer DownUnder but it’s only reached 21 C – very welcome after the heat & humidity of last few days. Last eve I’d just sat down about 7 pm when the power went. Enough time to think, Oh no, when with a tremendous clap of thunder, the power returned. Some areas had longer blackouts, some still out. Amusingly some blackouts are near Jamestown where Tesla’s new giant battery is to officially switch on today. Intended to stop summer blackouts! Watch this space!

  • Evening all:

    OG:  St. Andrew's Day must be the reason Turner Classic (TV channel) is showing Brigadoon, Wee Geordie, etc..  Bundle up and take care!

    Lindybird: I'm the queen of receipts: I take them out every night, draw a circle around the date and amount and keep them in chronological order so I reconcile them with the credit card statement.  OH stuffs his into his desk drawer any which way.  :-)

    Diane: My friend mentioned Acorn TV and I just had a look at their listings.  Some shows are familiar; others I've no idea though several look interesting.....but I was struck by a couple that I watched back when I lived in the UK. (Danger UXB for one).  Vera is on here - it's good but sometimes Brenda Blethyn's intonation sort of gets on my nerves).

    AQ:  Hmmm Will be interested to hear how that giant battery works out.  Hope the summer doesn't get too hot.

    Have a good  Friday all.

  • Thanks Diane. I checked Acorn and noted “A Place Called Home”, a series set in NSW. They used a house Camelot near Kirkham which was built by John Horbury Hunt, an architect who designed a number of outstanding churches I saw on my NSW trip. I did watch a few episodes to see the house but I’m not fond of dramatic complicated dramas. I prefer docos. Even then I complain if the commentator spends too much time in front of the camera, obscuring the view. Not to mention “Now we will meet Joe Bloggs who will tell us how blah blah blah. Then Joe repeats what has just been said. Grrr.

    .

    Nanny duty was a breeze again. Excited Twins greeted me, racing around (in the heat). As soon as Dau left for school pickup, I declared Quiet Time, read 4 books (er the last was me singing How Much Was That Doggie in the Window, the 3rd week it has been their favourite), quiet nursery rhymes, cuddled MissL for a few mins & she nodded off. Yeay. MissJ went off to play by herself with a trillion soft toys. I cleared a few chores. Dismissed early.

  • Good  Morning. Freezing here, with a frosty pattern on our bathroom window. 

    AQ -  Good that it's getting easier to entertain the littlies. "How Much is That Doggie....." used to be sung lustily by us in the car, on long journeys as a child. Happy days!

    We must contact our grandson Tomasz today, as it's his 7th birthday.  Unbelievable that the time has gone so fast.....  We will be visiting them with presents a week from now, when little Matthew is no longer infectious with his chickenpox.

  • LINDY   How time flies.    What an amazing pic.

  • Marginally warmer today and still wonderfully blue sky and sunshine.

    Both the men are recovering well from their colds - at last.  Seem to have managed to protect myself from catching the virus - wow!

    Going to check the Ch card list now, and produce the labels - if I can still remember how after a year has gone by!  also expecting several parcel deliveries today - nothing exciting, just practical things like cheese, OH work jeans and kitchen/household stuff.  Well, cheese is always exciting, but we have it all the time!

    Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!