HAPPY NEW WEEK!
I hope everyone has a wonderful week. Don't miss the Total Lunar Eclipse on Sunday night/Monday morning. The moon will be especially close to earth, a so-called supermoon, so the eclipse should be a beautiful sight. Totality (the "blood" moon) begins at:
4:41 a.m. Monday morning in the U.K.
11:41 p.m. Sunday night in the eastern U.S.
10:41 p.m. Sunday night in Iowa
8:41 p.m. Sunday night in California
Totality (the "blood" moon) will last 62 minutes. The duration of the entire eclipse from beginning to end is 5 hours, 12 minutes. The eclipse is visible in the U.K. and the U.S. Sorry, AQ, not in Australia.
A temperature map of Australia has just been shown on our News, AQ - it looks horrific. I wouldn't sleep well. Hope the littlies are not too fractious for your Nanny duty. They must be weary, too.
A day doing HW again for me, I never seem to get to the end of the list, these days. :-(
AQ: From the map that Lindybird mentioned, it looks like you guys are in the hottest area. I also just saw that about 90 wild horses died around a dried-up water hole (in the Northern Territory) and more will be put down due to their poor condition. Surely some humans must have succumbed too - at least to the heat. Also, on a lighter note - a lady answering nature's call in the middle of the night got bitten by a (non-venomous) carpet python.
Lindybird: Hope G makes it to the Burn's night dinner.
I also heard about the wild horses and wonder about human casualties in the intense heat, AQ
Quiet day here, was at hospital yesterday, New splint, must wear it as much as I can and up to six months. Sore and many sweary words !!
What a shame about the poor horses, how sad. Heather, sorry about the new splint: it must be very frustrating.... you are allowed several nasty swearywords for that!
Annette, I hope G makes it to the dinner, too. The landlady at the pub had steak as the main course on the menu but has promised that she will cook almost anything else, if it suits. They're finishing with cranachan which is a yummy Scottish treat. I will ring her tomorrow and ask if she was able to make it to the dinner, its not far but over cobbled streets.
I finally managed to change my avatar from the Christmas tree, yay!! (still find this Site endlessly frustrating.... wonder how it will go down with those coming on this weekend to record their BirdWatch findings??)
HEATHER – People are arriving at Emergency Depts with heat related illnesses, some hospitalised. I read somewhere that deaths during the 2009 heatwave were 62% higher than normal. Many warnings on media to drink plenty, stay indoors, turn on a/c. Red Cross provides a free service, up to 3 phone calls a day to check the vulnerable. One simply has to register. Pics of people giving water to distressed koalas. The wildlife are suffering.
ANNETTE – Media claimed that Adelaide was the hottest city on earth on Thursday. OK the record was broken, now please can we move on to autumn. Oh dear, another 6 weeks or so of impossible weather. This current humid weather is just as draining as the high dry heat. I shall have to use oven today & Sunday to restock freezer with quick meals. Ready meals from supermarket not as tasty and far too expensive.
LINDA – I want to gatecrash your friend’s dinner. I adore cranachan. I haven’t seen it here. Almost worth another trip UpOver!
This site is driving me mad. Sometimes it won’t load, or, appears to do so but gives me a blank screen. It is not the heat affecting my computer, as it is not happening with other sites.
AQ - tthose temperatures!!!! Hope it cools down soon for all. Sorry to hear about the fires in Tas. Keep cool if poss and safe.
OG - let's hope J's op gets underway soon, must be frustrating for him. Sorry to hear about your cold, hopefully you will feel better soon.
Also Happy Burns Night to all up in the High Country, a little late I know.
BGBW tomorrow
http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/
RSPB Giving Nature a Home
AQ: I've also found the site very slow for the last week while others are loading normally. Sincerely wish your Fall would arrive sooner than later for everybody's sake.
Heather: Geez. Is this a different splint designed to do.....what?
Lindybird: Congrats on the new avatar! Cranachan looks wonderful; I gather we can't reproduce it perfectly due to not having access to two key ingredients: Wonderful Scottish raspberries and Scottish cream.
We are having somewhat warm temps here with a chance of more rain next week. Fingers crossed we get it. Meanwhile, I gather that Diane is in for more really cold temps there; sending warm wishes to her....
Take care all.
OG: Wonderful that you've had the special sighting of the Long Tail Tits. Hope they return often.
AQ: I am hoping you will stay safe and healthy. I've been reading and listening to the dire consequences of the record heat in your region. I was sorry to hear about the horses, camels, and human victims.
Heather: I'm so very sorry that you will have to wear the inconvenient splint for so long. Hang in there and do a lot of reading or watching TV.
Lindy: Lovely new avatar! I can remember my grandmother making cranachan. However, I understand that the U.S. version is lower quality (less sweet raspberries, poorer quality cream...). My Dad loved it, though.
Yup, Annette, the next week will be miserably cold here. I hope bjane will be okay in Iowa.
I think this website has lost functionality because it was overwhelmed by people who were registering for the Big Garden Bird Watch this weekend. It may be slow for awhile during the event, especially during peak times when people are on their computers/devices.
Hello to all.
Diane: Good point re the Bird Watch; let's hope it speeds up afterward. Take care! bjane too.
Good Morning. There's definitely been an effect on the site already from extra people looking in to get ready for the BirdWatch. I will be doing my counting later on today. Apparently there are more wrens in the UK - a bird which has previously been in decline, but we do have some here.
Just seen another report on the horrific temps in Australia - what a shame it's causing such suffering to the wildlife.
Hope that OG is now recovering from the worst of her cold.