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.

  • OG - We're not posh, just large! With 55 units there is a lot of rubbish. Now we are in lockdown, people are making good use of the time by sorting through and shredding paper, reading magazines etc, so the 'bins' are filling even more quickly. I was always under the impression that the large communal rubbish containers usually found at, for example, sports events, blocks of flats (and communities of elderly people!) were called paladins. Having checked online dictionary, I am probably wrong! But the idea of chevaliers chomping up our rubbish was amusing … At the moment our council doesn't seem to be cutting back on rubbish collection … but I imagine it will come. When it does, particularly if the weather is hot, it will possibly cause another health hazard …
  • OG our nearest recycling centre is in Grantown on Spey and only open weekends in normal times so we all have 4 bins and one box for glass. General rubbish every 3 weeks is a pain ( I do have 2 and they have been known to take both) but I won’t be putting recycling in them as it defeats the object of the whole thing.
  • As DIBNLIB said, we pay for garden rubbish per bin in Highlands. That has now been put on hold. Our recycling bins are still being collected, that is paper, cardboard and tins. We have no glass collections anyway. Food waste still being collected as is general household waste ( landfill). Our recycling centre is closed for the duration. I'm afraid that there will be fly tipping... Not by me!
  • Goodness! Lots of posts today!

    Will not be able to reply to all, but have enjoyed reading your news. OG, Its good to hear that your blood tests are OK and also that you won't have to turn out for one for a while.

    Found treasure today: was looking for the extension lead so that I could do more ironing, and found that I'd tucked a 4 pack of baked beans into the back of the cupboard as I'd bought some on offer and there wasn't room at the time to fit them into our tin cupboard. Yay!!

    I organise the freezers into rough drawers full of things - 2 for meat and already cooked stews, etc, two for veg, one small one for our own summer fruits, etc. One drawer is designated "oddments" so has ice cream, ice cubes, crumpets, muffins, cold blocks for putting into cool bags, etc.
  • A virus outbreak in |Barossa Valley caused by US & Swiss tour groups last week. Schools, wine tasting venues closed and visitors to region discouraged. Elsewhere bottle shops have decided to impose limits on wine, beer, etc! Our state has had 3 days with numbers of new cases falling. Let’s hope tide is turning.

    I didn’t realize 13 was an major birthday – I was brought up in the era of 21sr birthdays. A family, unable to have the party their daughter wanted for her 13th, arranged for the friends to drive past, flashing lights & tooting horns.

  • Just a thought
    The most wasted of all days is that during which one has not laughed. (Nicolas Chamfort (1740-1794))
  • AQ - Thank you for your 'Just a Thought' posts. They are thought-provoking indeed. Please keep them coming! I'm sure I'm not the only one who appreciates them.

    Annette/Diane - A thought has occurred to me. With lockdown in America, how will this affect the election? Presumably no-one is able to electioneer (hooray!!!), but will this just mean a continuation of the status quo? Or will they/can they postpone the election? The Orange Peril seems totally out of control with his predictions - will you have to endure another four years of these scatter-gun statements? (that was my 'Just a Thought' for today …)
  • Good Morning. A little rain on the window, but hardly enough to dampen the soil, says my OH. Never thought I'd say we need a little rain for the garden now! Things are coming up ,& I'm going to have to go around dumping a can of water on some of the plants.

    Will have to get on with some boring HW today, bleh!

    Have a good day everyone:-)
  • Facebook is telling me that it is OG's birthday today ! Happy birthday :-)