Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 29 March 2020

HAPPY NEW WEEK! 

I hope everyone has a good week and keeps healthy. I'm hoping that everyone on this forum will avoid the virus. Sending you all protective energy. 

BIRD NEWS FROM MY PATCH

The big Barred Owls are nesting at the bottom of the ridge right across from my front door. Every time I go outdoors, one of them gives me a booming hoot. Last year, they nested in a tall, old locust tree on the levee by the creek. We had so much flooding that the nest site turned out to be a precarious perch. I think they remembered it was a dangerous location, so this year they’re nesting low in a tree across from me. They are incredibly loud. Their call sounds like, “Whoo cooks for you? Whoo cooks for you?” They can also caterwaul just like large apes when they're feeling aggressive. They can chill my blood sometimes. LOL!

I walked up the hill to town last week to get a couple of meal items at the little general store. I looked up, and R.T. Hawk was flying above me. He landed on a tall silo and watched while I went into the store. Then, he escorted me back. I think he thought he was protecting me from the big Barred Owls, which are his enemies. I hope they can all stay away from each other. R.T. and his mate are nesting far back in the flood plain away from my house right now.

  • In line at the post office. Three people came in wearing masks. PANIC! Then they said “This is a robbery” and we all calmed down.

    Memo to people who are buying 30 bottles of hand soap, leaving shelves empty. You do realize to stop the spread of viruses you need other people to wash their hands too.

    “Day 2 without any sports to watch. Found a lady sitting on my couch. Apparently she is my wife.”

  • AQ:  No groups of more than two?  It think the word they're looking for is 'couple.'  Oh well.

    OG: That lunch did sound tasty.  We're having leftover bits and pieces this evening so I can reorganize the fridge. I managed to lose track of the frozen blueberries this morning...,,

    Finished the work out front; was going to rake and tidy up but then it got super windy and I figured I'd let Mother Nature do it for me.  Knowing her she'll blow it all up around our front door.

    Take care everyone.

  • ANNETTE – I think some people can’t count. . .  or are they the ones who think regulations don’t apply to them? Increase in spitting on police. Idiots are not getting bail, hah.

    I just checked all pre-cooked food in freezer has CLEAR labels in case OH has to feed himself. I only have a tiny freezer at bottom of the fridge, so all is packed very carefully.

  • AQ;   A woman in the UK got sentenced to 12 weeks behind bars for deliberately coughing on a policeman and telling him she'd tested positive (she was drunk). Who has time for this idiocy!

  • I see the Great Orange Prophet says it will all be over by June 1. What happened to his prediction for by Easter? I wish I could ask my mother what life was like at the beginning of WWII, then a young married with 2 children. I doubt the Great Depression would have affected her as she left school to help at home. She would now be107.
  • Enjoyed your jokes, AQ!

    Good Morning. A little damper here - a few spots of rain on the windows. My OH has washed an old raincoat he wears to walk the dog, by hand (we inherited a wonderful ceramic sink in the garage) and I'm going to rinse it out in the w machine before hanging it out. Hopefully we can dry it outside.

    AQ, Your restrictions are getting closer to ours. I too, wondered if my OH would understand my system in the freezer if I fell ill - sadly we have to think of every eventuality. I found an unmarked tub of liquid yesterday and thought Oh joy! - It's stock, and we can make some soup, but when I took off the lid, I could see it was milk which had been leftover sometime. Useful anyway. Sadly, we won't be welcoming Awful Cousin with open arms this year - what a shame. Their rules in Canada sound much the same as ours,too. She is having to be careful as she is nearly 86 and has a bad chest.
  • Thank you for the good wishes for my OH. He sort of enjoyed his birthday, I don't think he likes the reminder of the passage of time.

    We had realised at the beginning of this year that although it's three years to our 50th wedding anniversary, it is in fact 50 years this summer since we first met. We had decided to celebrate this (any excuse!) and I said that my best plan would be to tour around Scotland, as I so wanted my OH to see The beautiful Trossachs area, plus of course going north to see The Kelpies and then to .........Loch Garten at last, as we've never been. This will now have to be put off till next year, sadly.
  • Your post did make me chuckle, thank you
  • Good morning – another sunny day – all helps the solar generation (OH is out doing messages and one is to pay the latest solar cheque into the bank!)

    Grandson#2 has messaged on Facebook to ask if I would like to hear from him at 7:30 tonight! Not sure I would think of anything to talk about so soon, but I have suggested he could speak to his Grandad this time! I think he has decided he should do something for the isolating elderly – so sweet!

    LINDA – Rosie does seem to be struggling to get her first tooth through – but it won’t necessarily take so long every time. Sorry Awful Cousin interrupted the meal preparation. I love a roast ham dinner. Did you have the pigs in blankets (aka Kilted sausages) for breakfast? I hope you can hang the raincoat out to dry. I keep a file listing the freezers’ contents, and it is usually accurate – and OH does know how to find things. We even list the contents of the wee freezer indoors as part of the fridge.

    LYNETTE – pleased your minister is staying in touch. Our 25% minister is not able to be here but is keeping in touch. One of our old ladies died Friday night – not corona related – so will be one of the many who will have a restricted funeral. If we lose a few during the lockdown, we shall probably have a memorial service for them all when the crisis is over. Apple Pie sounds nice, but we don’t normally do Pudding, other than fresh fruit.

    AQ – I had expected Down Under distancing and isolating rules would have been in place ahead of ours! Exercising advice is not easy for people with children – only one type of exercise per day. I heard of a man in Glasgow whom the police reprimanded for walking his kids to the park and then playing games, should have done one or the other! Loved the jokes – a lot of good entertainment online right now.

    My OH did well with digging yesterday, so hope he can continue today. I did successfully order Tomato plants and Growbags last evening – hope we get a good crop to make the expenditure worthwhile.
  • Good to hear most churches are doing what they can during these extraordinary times. I am not able to produce our monthly magazine for the duration, so found myself 'volunteering' to produce a weekly news sheet to circulate via e-mail. Oh well … no magazine to prepare, so now have taken on something even more frequent! First issue went out on Friday, and I have had some nice comments back. Already working on this week's. We also have an active Facebook page, and two live services a week. The younger members are shopping and running errands for the older people. Home Group leaders (yes, I'm one of those!) are keeping in touch with Group members regularly, and trying to sort out how we can meet online. Anyone know anything about Zoom? I'm trying to arrange a trial meeting for this afternoon …

    We are all acquiring new skills at the moment, and the learning curve is very steep. I'm sure this will stand us in good stead when we return to a different sort of normality.

    Keep well, everyone.