HAPPY NEW WEEK!
I hope you all have a wonderful week! I'm thinking of all of you in the monster Storm Dennis. I hope you all stay safe and secure! Take care, everyone.
http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/
RSPB Giving Nature a Home
Sorry you're still not well, OG. Hope the abs eventually make a difference. Cold wind here but quite bright. Went into the garden to see how things are going and found these looking colourful:
(Roseanna was called a lot of things yesterday, and seemed quite nonplussed by all the attention! "Sweetie" "Princess" "Sweetheart" "Blue Eyes" & "Gorgeous"!!)
Also, my 1st daffs this year!!
Although these are tiny ones.
My Youngest, holding his youngest! -- Proud daddy!
Morning all:
Lynette: Do hope your BiL is eating - any chance someone could smuggle in his favorite food?
Lindybird: Lovely pix of Rosie and proud Dad - and I too appreciated the photo of that very pretty cake with her full name.
Heather: Good Lord - another big family event at your house! Time to downsize to a one-bedroom bungalow? :-)) Still, you do seem to get a lot of help with planning; let's hope the clean up isn't too overwhelming. When is all this happening?
OG: Not pleased to read you're still under the weather (and what weather!). Fingers crossed the doc will be able to shed some light.
Diane: I see they finally got Cygnus off the ground with supplies for the ISS (which included Valentine's Day chocolates). Good to see they've got their priorities straight. :-)
I went for a walk down to the area where we used to count the whales (the new organization is still hustling for funding and hoping to do a very late count starting in mid-March but I suspect it won't happen until next season). Anyway, it was a lovely day. Saw this Great Egret (it must've been a good 3'6" tall). That white line on the right is the surf down at the beach..
The real treat was that I got to the bluff and was there just about 1 minute before I saw a whale! Was so thrilled! I watched it for about 45 minutes as it slowly went north passed the Point, blowing every 7 minutes or so. It was alone; not unusual given that this is just the beginning of the northbound migration. The experts are watching this year with some trepidation given that the southbound migration in November/December included the same worryingly low number of undernourished whales noted the previous year that heralded a very low calf count. Just over 200 whales washed up on the West Coast last year according to a recent Los Angeles TImes article, raising speculation that many more had perished at sea (not sure if you'll be able to access the link) https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-01-24/gray-whale-migration-deaths-california-alaska-oceans. The last unexplained die-off was in 2000 - not sure what's going on now.
Anyway, a very busy week ahead here. My friend is finally holding a memorial for her late husband next Saturday (her daughter is working at the US Embassy in London and this is her first opportunity for an extended visit since she was here when her Dad died). A friend and I are 'hosting' a rushed lunch at the home in between two services so lots of scheduling, set up, etc. involved. Plus two friends in town, doc visit, etc., etc...
take care all