HAPPY NEW WEEK, HAPPY NEW MONTH, and HAPPY FULL MOON!
I hope everyone has a safe, healthy, joyful week!
The full Harvest Moon is 2 September. It's late on the night of 1 September for Annette.
For the gardeners on this thread, HERE is a photo of cardinal flowers blooming on the prairie at a state park near my hometown. Cardinal flowers (lobelia cardinalis) are wildflowers native to our prairie. It's a member of the Bluebell family. They depend on hummingbirds for pollination. I just thought they were a happy sight.
Morning all:
Clare: Didn't realize Parkinson's caused those kinds of symptoms. At least you got out during the lockdown (though I'm not sure that's enough of a compensation)
Lindybird: Pretty sure it was on the BBC website that I spotted 'covidiots.' I've been on that train up Snowdon - it was darn cold. When I was a kid we used to go to Folkestone every year and always went to ride those gorgeous little trains that ran from Hythe to Dymchurch. I always liked the blue engine. :-)
AQ: Oh right, castles, churches and quaint villages. I get it. Have you ever Googled live webcams around the world? Half the time they don't work but it can be fascinating when they do. Not sure about quaint villages though. If they put a live cam on the main road of my sister's quaint village you might see her puttering out to get the mail and the old guy up the road who likes to lean on a fence and watch the grass grow, but not much else. I often wonder about the 'Made in China' syndrome too but as long as WalMart et al can sell T-shirts, pants, etc., for next to nothing , I don't imagine the average American would be willing to pay what it would cost for a similar item made here. Global trade is good on the one hand, but...
Harelady: So we've been nattering nonstop for eleven years. Now and then I still think of Maureen, Margo and Brenda. I too was there for Lady's dramatic recovery! That was so thrilling. :-) How nifty that you and Clare share a friend. Six degrees of separation and all that..... Hope the fish and chips didn't get cold on the trip home.
OG: Gosh. Hope you can get that leg sorted! We've had take-out a couple of times from our favorite Mexican place which also has a huge area available for even more outside seating. The city has shut down lower State Street to allow restaurants to spread out and - given the previous problems they've had attracting locals to downtown businesses - I'm pretty sure they'll make some of those changes permanent. What they really need is affordable (ha!!) housing that can support small businesses. I just saw that a developer has proposed some upmarket condominiums - just what we don't need. I assembled my Ikea Poang chair in about 40 minutes. It's extra seating in 'my' room, doesn't take up much space and I can pick it up and move it easily. :-) How did EE's office chair work out?
So yesterday I spent the morning mostly upside down (or almost) uncovering the irrigation hose that was buried under two large roots from the schefflera. It was quite an operation but - hurray! - we now have water along the back of the house. I toppled into my zero-gravity garden chair after lunch for a well earned nap. Had barely sat down when I heard a strange noise in the tree and almost immediately, our Coopers Hawk landed on the fountain and stayed there for almost an hour!! It kept dipping its legs and head into the water then, after about 30 minutes, decided to drop down to the lower and deeper level and - marvelous to watch - proceeded to splash around for 10 minutes before departing. Lots of wings and white underbelly feathers on display. Amazing. I didn't move the entire time so ended up with a numb derriere, a stiff neck and no nap, but it was so worth it. That's the second time in three days it has landed then stayed on the fountain and I'm sure it'll be back given that we're supposed to have a very hot weekend.
What a long post!
Take care all.
Unknown said:It’s a small world, you knowing Harelady’s neighbour!
Quite a lot of people know her - she was on the Osprey Team in 2007 and 2008. She remains a huge EJ fan. A small world indeed!
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
OG - Sorry that your leg is being such a nuisance. Hope the new treatment works. Harelady : I often think of our lost members from on here. So much has happened at LG and indeed at the Loch of the Lowes nest since those days. I well remember the dramatic situation when we all wept for poor Lady, looking so poorly, and was cheering when her mate stepped up and took a look at his hungry chicks. He seemed to know that they would die if he didn't feed them, & it was so moving watching him tentatively offer them tiny pieces of fish. I cried as if it was a relative of mine when Lady recovered!
Lindybird said:Clare, it's so nice to have you back. Good to know that you've both been able to keep up with your birding - you live in such a lovely part of the UK.
You're too kind. I'm so glad we live where we do - we never have to go far to see something. It was particularly good when loads of whimbrels and a short-eared owl arrived on the local golf links! All sorts of things took advantage of the absence of golfers - sadly, this included certain people and their dogs (mostly off the lead). I was actually very pleased when the golfers got the thumbs-up to start playing again - that particular golf club is known to be sympathetic to wildlife.
Clare - My OH plays golf in a pretty part of the Cheshire countryside, here. Several of the people he plays with are quite knowledgeable about the birds to be seen around, and they are all respectful of a very large Buzzard who seems to know that as long as he keeps out of the line of fire with the golf balls, they will not bother him, so he marches around on the greens, entirely happy to be near humans!
OG; Glad to read you saw the nurse.
And yes, it's nice to see Clare popping in. :-)