WEEKLY CHAT (non-osprey) SUNDAY JANUARY 12, 2020

Lindybird: I think you have to leave a trail of breadcrumbs each time you visit Ikea - it gets confusing because the departments have several ways to get in and out of each and it's so easy (for me at least) to lose my bearings.. Sounds like a nap is in order after your excursion to M&S.

Thank Crunchy its Friday! Anyone else remember that TV advertisement - or am I showing my age again. Work has dragged all week so I could not wait for home time.

Diane - I loved the Mountain Lions video and as I watch a lot of webcams was also surprised to see a family of 5 - I wonder if it was 2 females with cubs.

Lindy your M&S experience was similar to one I had last year - I had parked up in a park & ride in Oxford - which was huge - so I deliberately focused on where I was before getting on the bus. When the event was over it was getting dark the the heavens had opened and I could just not find the car and was getting panicky. Then a car pulled up next to me - with a couple that had been at the same event and bless them- they both got out and we all took different parts pf the car park and luckily the wife spotted my car! - It was no where near where I thought I had parked it! So relieved and thanked them profusely.

Heather - you would be surprised how much G plan furniture sells for around here - the young people all want it.

Im off out tonight for a curry - I belong to a MeetUps group and we have a curry every new year. We also go to the cinema and theatre and play Boules in the summer. I think it is a world-wide organisation and it really helped me make new friends when I moved to Suffolk.

Nothing major planned for the weekend apart from Library - returning and picking up - I currently have 9 books reserved but only 1 is ready for collection.

Have a good weekend all.

Just calling in to say we are okay - just busy!

Harelady: You could be right about the mountain lion video. I don't think anyone knows why 5 of them were present in one group. They're normally completely solitary critters, except for mothers and cubs. Glad you enjoyed the video. I hope you have a nice weekend after a hard week at work. Also hope your MeetUps group was fun. I wish I had a group like that here, but the people in my area just don't share any of my principles, values, politics, etc. I mostly find them exhausting and aggravating, and I wouldn't enjoy their company.

Lindy: I so hope you enjoy your trip to Norway. I would love that holiday. You mentioned the Great Lakes in Canada. A couple of years ago, some friends of mine went to Nova Scotia, Canada, on vacation. They loved it.  I watched that stag shedding his antlers, too. I think the skin must have been itchy around the area where the antlers were loosening to fall off. I can empathize with you losing the car. I have no sense of direction. My Dad used to say that I could get lost in the backyard. LOL And, I drive an old car that doesn't have any of today's bells and whistles like GPS that could help me.

AQ: I'm glad you're getting a break from the oppressive heat. 

OG: All best wishes to J today for his eye operation. I'm thinking of you. Hugs!

Annette: Speaking of crows: When I lived in urban Indianapolis, one day I was walking home to my apartment after work. A big crow came flying fast right at me! He was holding a glittery, shiny gift bag that he'd retrieved from a dumpster. He dropped the bag in front of me and barely missed me as he flew by. I froze, a little alarmed.

Then he flew at me again at full speed, swooping down to pick up the bag. This happened twice more. I finally realized that the crow wanted me to play. I picked up the bag and held it in the air. He flew fast right at me and took the bag from my hand. He landed in the parking lot and strutted around so proud of himself.

Then he picked up the bag again and dropped it right in front of me. I retrieved it and held it in the air again. He barreled toward me and grabbed it from my hand. He dropped it, and I held it up again. He swooped in, took it, and then repeated his triumphant strut around the pavement. I played with him for several minutes.

The next night, he was waiting on me to get home, and we once again engaged in "Get the bag!!!" I never saw him again after that. I reckon the bag finally fell apart. LOL! 

Hello to everyone!

Twin-sitting was a breeze yesterday. As I neared home I could see murky sky to south. Smell of smoke at home. Once again all doors & windows closed. Clear today. It seems some idiot was using an angle grinder near Clarendon (southern Adelaide Hills). Despite the cooler weather, 20 hectares, 1 koala burnt.

In NSW the Wollemi pine survived the bushfire. Not so lucky the nightcap oak Eidothea hardeniana, a Gondwana-era rainforest plant.

Diane - What a lovely story about the crow playing with you. I'm sure we don't give wildlife enough credit for either intelligence or sense of humour. I have a robin who visits my bird feeder regularly. He eats his fill and then sits on the roof singing to me - I'm convinced he is saying 'thank you'!

Very frosty this morning, but dry - hooray! A friend and I are doing our occasional 'running away' today - a winter walk by the sea at Eastbourne, followed by fish and chips. Great to drop out of our busy lives for a few hours and just enjoy simple things.

Lindy - Meant to say I really like your new piece of furniture. I particularly like the small drawers half-way up - I have already decided what I would put in them!

Have a good Saturday, everyone.

Good Morning. Just getting light now, and a bright day predicted here.

AQ - Good that twin sitting went well. Sad about the ancient trees: I did read somewhere that special measures had been taken to protect the Pines.

Diane, that's a brilliant crow story!! How wonderful that it wanted to interact with you. A memory to keep forever.

Harelady - I remember Thank Crunchie it's Friday! - I loved Crunchies at the time, but find them too sweet now. I think we've all lost the car, in a panic, sometime. Hope you enjoyed your curry.

Annette, I did indeed have a short snooze after my unplanned exercise around the car park. It was vast, too big to see the whole place in one glance, and I had walked the length of it there and back, twice!

Pat, I see that you came on whilst I was writing. There's nothing in the small drawers, yet! Enjoy your day out!

Some car parks are sooooo enormous these days, it's simple enough to lose your car! Not quite such a problem for those of us (me!) who drive bright metallic green cars - they do tend to stand out in the crowd of silver and black! It's rather fun to stand with a friend on the roof of Knole (a National Trust property in Sevenoaks, Kent) and be able to point to the only bright green car in the packed car park and know it's mine! When I told said friend that I was going to buy a bright green car she said she may have to rethink travelling with me - she has changed her mind over the past couple of years, and now quietly admits she quite likes it …!