Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 22 April 2018

HAPPY NEW WEEK!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Prairie Dog
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service photo
Labeled Public Domain (Copyright Free)

  • Unknown said:
    I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

    Especially EJ!

    What a lovely start to the week, Diane - I didn't expect a prairie dog to remind me of a meerkat!

    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!  Thanks to Diane for starting us off.  Clare, I thought they were all in the Mongoose family. (?? maybe not??)

    Dry here, which is a surprise as we were expecting some of last night's storm, but we only got that heavy feeling of it approaching.

  • Hope that ForestBoar and his family enjoy their lunch out, and that Annette has a good journey over.

  • Lindybird said:
    I thought they were all in the Mongoose family

    I honestly have no idea.

    Our herring gulls are red listed birds.  Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.

  • Just Googled both species - meerkats are a type of mongoose but prairie dogs are a type of ground squirrel, making it a rodent.

    You learn something new every day!

    Our herring gulls are red listed birds.  Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.

  • Monty and 3J have an egg!  Yay!!!!!!!!

    Our herring gulls are red listed birds.  Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.

  • Well, I'll have to make a mental note of that..... I always thought they were related, Clare.  You do indeed learn something new every day. :-)

    Busy running a bath (I have about two a year.....)  and watching the London Marathon, where it looks very warm. Hope no one is seriously ill trying to do too much in the heat.

    And it just started raining, here!!  Hooray!  -we need it for the garden.

  • Good morning, all.  Thanks for the Prairie Dog to start the week, Diane – always enjoyed them in zoos – small enough to be given sufficient habitat – but Meerkats took over in popularity.

    Linda – we also expected last night’s rain and continuing into morning, but nothing so far – white cloud all over, nothing sinister.  Got to have an indoor day to catch up after twelve hours outside yesterday.

    Annette – welcome to the UK – and onward to Lincolnshire!

    Clare – thanks for clarification on burrowers ID!

    Very pleased with Saturday’s garden effort.  I managed to do a few small jobs (deadheading and pruning) and supervise the renewal of the perennials patch.  OH didn’t finish the replanting until it was getting dark – 9pm by the time he cleared up all the tools.  He watered everything thoroughly – just as well, we could have assumed a good soak from the rain which never came!  I came in at 8pm, by which time I could hardly walk, and we were both very tired last night, but pleased with the end result – first time planting of that patch has been planned – always planted randomly as and when new things arrived!  We refused to cook last evening, so J made himself a meal and we just had bread and cheese – the lunchtime pie had filled us up.

    Just had a very short rain shower – not enough to stop the Goldfinches stuffing themselves outside the study window - up to nine of them at a time!  Willow tree is now full of leaf, and I noticed the birch is turning green at last.  Enjoyed the Blackthorn among the gorse when we were driving on Friday – very pretty; one of my Grandads used to say it was Spring “once the Blackthorn was blooming on Maidenhead Thicket” in Berkshire!  I wonder if the thicket is still there, or is it swamped by housing and motorway?

    I see we have a pod of Orca on the inner Clyde – the water there looked so blue on the news footage from yesterday.

    Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!

  • Weather is approaching, just looked on weather radar. Oh well, we enjoyed the past few days!

    My youngest son in law has arrived in New Orleans and I imagine that ANNETTE will be on her way up to Lincolnshire soon. SiL is in his stopover hotel, sleeping still, I'm certain. I think that he gets a helicopter to the drill ship tomorrow.

    Sounds as if OG and EE had a good day out on Friday!

    Frustrating gardening, LINDY, with Bonnie undoing some of your good work. The Jack Russell next door didn't like me working close to the boundary fence. He barked non stop and kept throwing himself against the fence. If he is outside, there is no such thing here as a peaceful gardening day.

    Next door (at the bottom of our garden) has decided to drastically prune his sycamore tree. It was, in a way,completely unsuited to a smallish town garden. Anyway, my leaf raking down there will be greatly reduced in the Autumn/Spring so I can't help but be pleased! Also no more baby sycamores here, for a good while :-)

    Thanks,DIANE for starting us off. Hope that you all have a good day and that Forestboar and family enjoy their Sunday lunch!

  • Just spotted your post, OG. I had a phone call from youngest daughter after writing and before posting. You and EE will be tired. I remember(quite a few years ago, now!) when my OH and I would be working until dusk. Such a good feeling when a lot has been achieved!