Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 8 December 2019

Very tired now after lugging some of the furniture back into place, and putting some of the larger books on a shelf.

Had a difficult conversation with our Eldest, who seemed to blame us for the fact that he'd been trying to get us on the phone - I didn't dare ask why he hadn't tried our mobiles in that case. He was grumbling, wanting to know what time we were coming on Friday, and neither of us in the mood for niceties. Still, we're looking forward to seeing them even though when we do, it's a case of not talking about politics which could be difficult when we will all be awash with the Election result by then, whatever it is......

Hi all, just been reading all your news.

Its been wet and windy down here but we always seem to get the tail end of any storm, nothing too bad. Heard it hit the West coast from the South West up to the North West. More apparently on the way and then getting colder. Well it is almost winter.

Went to church on Sunday and we had two baptism's - really lovely. Two members of one family with fully immersion baptism. Mum had already been christened as a baby but the whole family will be made members at our next communion service in January.

Just been watching Rick Stein in France, makes you want to go there and check out all these places but I know we won't be going over there any more as OH feels he doesn't want the hassel of driving on the wrong side of the road any more. Still, watching the programmes you at least can imagine yourselves there.

Heard about the volcano erruption on White Island, it seems another person has since died. Also the air pollutoin in Sydney is causing some concern - from the fires raging.

Stay safe and warm.

Today is International Animal Rights Day. Also, I just loved THIS PHOTO , which the Mountain Lion Foundation put on their Facebook page for Animal Rights Day. 

I've posted here before that a female mountain lion used to visit this land when my parents lived here. She hunted raccoons, and she even pounced on our deck once! She had a profound effect on me. She stopped coming here about 20 years ago. Officially, mountain lions have been extinct in Indiana since 1860. However, there are a few around, especially here in western Indiana. They've appeared on trail cams in some of our dense forests here. The population is expanding into the Midwest. The bobcat population is increasing, too. Unfortunately, though, the big cats are now under hunting pressure in the plains and Midwest. Anyway, I just wanted to acknowledge Animal Rights Day. 

Hope everyone is well. 

Evening all:  

Diane: The moon is bright tonight. It will be hard to miss the full Cold Moon tomorrow because we get a first-row view from the couch out the patio doors (assuming a clear sky).   I have to tell you, I eat lunch at Lure now and then with a friend and she has always had the Key Lime Pie, which I'd always found way too sweet. The last time we were there she got some, I tried a spoonful and found it much mellower and the waitress confirmed it was from another supplier.  If you ever get out this way, I'll treat us both.  :-)  I nteresting about mountain lions and bobcats expanding their territory but are hunters sport shooting or protecting livestock?

Heather:  Let's hope your son's experiences will stand him in good stead for 2020.  Here, it's malls that are struggling too....

Lindybird:  Sounds like eldest might have been bothered by something else and you bore the brunt of it because trying a cell phone would be the obvious alternative to getting no answer on a house phone.  When things have mellowed and if the opportunity arises, maybe ask him why he didn't try that.  Meanwhile, good luck with avoiding election topics so soon after the event!  Arghhh.  A minefield.   (I sent a card to a Brit friend wishing her a Brexit-free 2020.)   :-)   Meanwhile, our own political fiasco is like a recurring and endless nightmare....

Everyone  here seems to have a mild bug causing creaks and aches, etc.  I've been guzzling water all day and taking it easy....

Annette: Wait...you're providing Key Lime Pie??!! I can be there in 48 hours or less. LOL!!!

I hope you recover quickly from the bug causing the aching. I haven't heard about that one. I think you have health insurance; see a doctor if you don't feel better very soon. 

re: Mountain Lions  I don't have statistics, and I can only speak for the Great Lakes Midwest, not the Plains states (I've never spent much time on the Plains). But here in the Midwest, mountain lions prefer deep, remote forest--not agricultural areas. We have a big over-population of white-tailed deer, which is a preferred food for mountain lions, so they don't need to risk being near humans to kill livestock. (However, wild elk and wild bison have been reintroduced in several Midwest states, and I've read that at least one mountain lion has preyed on the elk.)

Young mountain lions usually follow the river corridors until they reach a suitable deep-forest habitat, and it's possible that one could raid some chickens or bring down a cow on the way, but it would happen rarely if at all given the very tiny population of lions in the Midwest states.  

Also, we don't have many small farms left, at least here in Indiana. Although rural folks often raise a few chickens (somebody near me has a loud rooster), most of the livestock is grown on vast factory farms, packed into feedlots or buildings (don't get me started about inhumane factory farms...). Mountain lions would not have easy access to these facilities. So, hunting of mountain lions would be trophy hunting here (don't get me started on that, either...).

We've had a couple of police departments here in Indiana issue warnings about the presence of mountain lions in the last couple of months, and one wasn't all that far from me (taking into account how far they roam). It was just the next county to me. I'm more afraid of the people at my nearby pub, though. LOL! Seriously...

Good Morning. Still dark here, and quite cold: I'm up early as I'm off out Christmas shopping with sis in law, who wants to get some stuff from John Lewis and we're also popping into M&S for some treats.

When I get home we have to attack the plugs and cables which make up our desktop pc, dismantled in the carpet fitting. Fingers crossed! Annette, I did think that our Eldest must have had a bad day, but he is often grumpy which is a sadness to me.

Diane, that's interesting about the Mountain Lions. What a shame that the human population seems to have squeezed them out. We used to have wolves here in the UK and some are keen to reintroduce them in wild parts of Scotland but there is some opposition to that.

Key Lime Pie!!! I'm on my way over........

All: I'm going to be following your election tomorrow. I know the polls open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 10:00 p.m., but can anyone tell me approximately when the election result will be clear? I know there's an immediate exit poll, but is that really reliable? When will the result be more or less decided (UK time)? Thanks for any answers!

DIANE - BBC World Service Radio from midnight GMT on Friday, as far as I can see and BBC Radio 4 from 1am Greenwich Mean Time. That will be a running commentary........By 4am they usually have a good idea of which party is likely to form the next Government.