Weekly Chat, Sunday July 17, 2010

Hi folks At last I've read my way through all the posts and have a chance to comment.

Annette The snakes from Britain didn't get across the land-bridge before Ireland became an island!  Glad you got the update for your OH.  It will have made a long flight much more comfortable.  I travelled from Belfast to Toront a few years ago in the upper cabin of a 747 and while we didn't get special food we did have a lot more room and a dedicated flight attendant. 

Diane Love your pic of the emu though he looks a bit wicked!

Alan Hamish obviously shares my girls' liking for being in a commanding position to keep an eye on events in the house.  Lucky you to  see and photograph a water rail and a Little Egret.  i see the egrets at the head of Strangford lough in winter but haven't tried to take pics.

George G So sorry that your BiL has had to be readmitted to hospital so soon. You must be a great source of strength and support to your SiL.  Do take care of yourself, too.

HeatherB So sad about your step-daughter's liver problems.  Hope the hospital is sorting out her treatment.  Your daughter must have been really surprised about her husband's appearance in the media.  Hope he enjoys his R & R and that he doesn't have to serve in Afghanistan too much longer.  Our boys are doing such a great job with incredible fortitude and bravery.

OG our LG pics make me want to be there - roll on October!  We're treating ourselves to 2 nights in a hotel in Nithsdale on the way to Nethy.  It looks lovely and welcomes dogs, which is great.

Have tried to include my snake pic (from a Picasa 3 folder) but am obviously doing the wrong thing.  Help!

Hi, all. Have to get up really early in the morning, so off to bed. Will catch up with everyone tomorrow, but wanted to say thanks for all the terrific photos and chat. Annette: Behave yourself while you're on your own there! LOL

For those who watch the barn owlets: The Barn Owl Trust has posted this message on their diary: "as it has become apparent that the youngest owlet starved to death, we again welcome any observations of prey deliveries by the adults. If you can let us know what time you notice prey being delivered, that would be extremely helpful. We will also visit the site to check on the condition of the two remaining owlets." http://www.thewebbroadcastingcorporation.com/barnowlcam_nestcam.html

Evening all: Just caught up with posts!   Can you believe, have been cleaning, doing laundry all day; decided to move "my" room around since it just didn't work; sorted through some ornaments and other knick-knacks I've had for years but really don't "connect" with anymore and put them aside for charity folks.  Very serious omission (sp?) though - forget to get more wine!  Did have a nice bottle of white in the drawer, but decided it was too nice to open and guzzle with abandon, so finished off the cheapo stuff. Memo to self: Buy more wine tomorrow.

Gave Lightning lots of attention (in between chores), but she's quite lost without OH since she parks herself beside him at night. I've put her little bed on a chair by me and lifted her into it, but she isn't  ready. She really does need a new bed - it's impossible to get the cat hair out of this one at this point. Tried but gave up pretty quick.

OH arrived just fine and called me from his lodgings in London; he loved Business Class and the lie-flat beds but woke up with a sore back!  He has an old Peace Corps friend who now teaches art in Houston, Texas, who's touring Europe and they're meeting up for dinner before OH heads to Cambridge for the seminar.  OH is due back August 17. 

Sad news about the little owlet.  :-(   

Sorry I haven't responded specifically. Loved the pictures of haughty birds, etc., and Derwentwater (did they make colored pencils by that name?)    Take care all. Must go see what's going on the cams before I totally lose the plot.

Unknown said:

Sorry I haven't responded specifically. Loved the pictures of haughty birds, etc., and Derwentwater (did they make colored pencils by that name?)     

Hi Annette,

Glad to hear you're doing useful things with OH away. I'm just not keeping up with Chat these days, but I can at least answer your last question. Yes the artist's pencils come from the Lake District and are still made at a factory in Keswick, near Bassenthwaite:

http://www.pencils.co.uk/heritage.aspx   

Morning all,

Thanks for all the overnight chat and pics. All good as usual.

This morning we dropping Hamish off at the grooming parlour as he was getting mighty hairy. Also had 5 goldfinches visit the garden this morning. One on the feeder and 4 on the ground below. This is the most we have had in the garden at one time.

Lovey photographs Alan. That looks like a nijer seed feeder. We get plenty of goldfinch here but we gave up with the nijer seed as they mostly ignored it and just eat the sunflower hearts. ( as fast as we fill the feeders). There are people though, who say that it was the nijer seed which attracted the goldfinch in the first place.

EDIT, just looked again and it is not nijer seed.

Morning all ... lovely morning here after all the heavy rain and gloom and cold of the last few days!

Lindybird - brilliant pic of the cranes ... and the whistling duck sounds cute. I sometimes go to the Wetlands Washington reserve, and love wandering round , particularly the 'wild' areas that they have there. Hope you have a great day at Tatton.

Diane - I saw that message about emailing sightings of prey deliveries to the BOT ... I saw a couple last night so duly obliged!! The other two seem to be doing ok, but they said they would check them over too. I have followed that webcam for a good few years, so am quite attached to them!

Annette - glad your OH arrived safely and is getting sorted out ... fancy you forgetting to buy the wine :-)))

Alan - lovely pic of the golfinches ... lucky you to have so many ... mine visit in pairs ... not sure if its always the same pair though!! They have become alittle more adventurous lately ... it used to be feeding and then off, but now they have a drink or a splash in the bath and a sit on the roof of the bird table.

Thanks to everyone else for chat, lins etc.

I went on a shpping mission to Sainsburys this morning, and went on the back road ... the 'scenic route' OH calls it! Along that road there is a flooded part of a field and I sometimes see 'serious' bird watchers with their scopes and huge lenses. This morning there was a crowd of them so something reasonably rare must be around ... I would have stopped but there were cars in every available little spot ... not really a road for stopping on :-(    I shall have to check the rare bird website to see if I can find out what it was! Might have a trip along later, see if its still around!

I have wittered for far too long so shall go and do something useful.

Take care

My efforts to dig out a raised flowerbed this morning, were watched/assisted by an enterprising robin, who only earned one dry looking worm for his patience. At a depth of about one metre so far there is no sign of moisture, in this dry spell.

Alan: So now we know where my goldfinches have gone, I'm down to two. Various tits have taken up the slack though, with voracious appetites, as has aleady been noted, in the posts.

Unknown said:

Lovey photographs Alan. That looks like a nijer seed feeder. We get plenty of goldfinch here but we gave up with the nijer seed as they mostly ignored it and just eat the sunflower hearts. ( as fast as we fill the feeders). There are people though, who say that it was the nijer seed which attracted the goldfinch in the first place.

EDIT, just looked again and it is not nijer seed.

You have to persevere with niger seed, the birds are now on their second bag, the first one  was slow though. Most birds are taking some now, I quess it is a bit like 'follow my leader'.

We have had great success with niger seed. I knew there were goldfinches in the area but until we put up the niger seed feeders they did not venture into the garden. They have got through about 3 kg of seed this year.