Hi everyone: And a good Sunday and rest of the week to you all. Don't forget to check the last posts of last week's chat for clever moving graphics from Tiger and Alicat (and maybe some others), pix of OG's friends' garden, late updates on one thing or t'other - and pix of my trip north! :-)
Weather these last few days are more like a not-very-nice English summer day. Unbroken gray skies, low clouds, and a constant soft drizzle. All very odd. On telly they were saying we had a couple of days of summer and now it's back to May Gray and June Gloom. Although tomorrow through Tuesday they're forecasting rain and possibly thunderstorms! A good day for doing inside stuff - like researching a new laptop. Spent ages reading about replacing the LED bulb in my laptop and it does sound a tad daunting: The Dell forum folks gave a link to a video, but you apparently - according to several folks who know - have to be "very, very careful." I didn't mind that but was especially put off by the news that the LED bulb (long and slender) was made of a very brittle glass that likely had lead in it, not to mention mercury. Also, do not have the tiny soldering iron or the special tape. Sounds like one of Alan's "Destroy It Yourself" projects! :-)
OG: Poor son with bad toe - definitely not a good time to develop problems - but ugh! - what a nightmare to find his new apartment so trashy. Just awful. So good of your OH to go up and check out the appliances, etc. Don't you hate it when "our" kids run up against this kind of stuff!
patriciat: I suspect there's more than one Mission San Miguel - wonder which one Lonnie Donegan (and U.S. artists) were thinking of. There is an old pueblo next to the mission I visited, which oddly has a Scottish name - The Rios Caledonia Adobe. According to the history page: In 1846 William Reed, Miguel Garcia, and Petronilo Rios bought the San Miguel rancho from Pio Pico, Governor of the Mexican Nation. Rios and his wife, Catarina Avila, had twelve children and moved into the adobe in 1851. In 1862 German-born Warren C. Rickard purchased the property from the state of California on a possession claim. In 1868 George Butchard named the adobe the Caledonia, a Scottish word meaning Scotland. He operated a stagecoach stop, tavern, and inn. According to local legend, Jesse James and the Dalton Brothers visited the inn.
Enjoyed reading all the posts; back tomorrow. Take care dear friends!
We had a frost on Wednesday, had to scrape the car windows, but it’s a little less cold since then. A small amount of rain in the air today, and quite windy. We were cutting a cupressus hedge and saw a flock of presumably fieldfares flying around (they were thrush-shaped, but we don’t see flocks of thrushes).
AQ, really enjoyed your Lizarda story, wish I’d seen it! Thought the magpie looked rather pushed.
Diane, actually, I thought of you when I found the marine traffic site : )) My name’s going to Mars too! Watching that NASA cam is a bit like a James Bond film where the villain is about to launch a rocket to take over the world and JB is about to foil his plot, dressed in a disguising coverall with helmet.
Heather, I join with every one else hoping you will pop in from time to time. I have enjoyed hearing from you about SiL etc, we can’t all be here every day. Mind you, if you’re addicted maybe cold turkey is best.
Congratulations, auntie, on still being good enough to do your job! I sometimes think it would be a good idea to examine people in their work...
Thanks for the Pale Male trailer Alan, wonderful. Another weepie I expect.
If I’m not too late, have a good hol, Lindy, and glad you’re having a good time, Margo, despite your friend having to leave.
Sheila/Joan, I also looked for the sub on Marine Traffic...wouldn’t be much good if we could all see stealth submarines would it??? LOL
OG, further to your mention of the racehorse Blue Peter, he was buried at Mentmore Towers, the home of his owner, Lord Rosebery. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Peter_III We bought our second house from his estate back in 1978, just before The Towers was sold to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. We were allowed into the grounds before it was turned into a Yogic flying school and saw several horse and dog graves in the grounds. They had the villagers in once to look around the house, we went in to the Flying Room but didn’t see anyone flying, although they did show us pictures. (hmmm).
I briefly saw Phoebe land on the nest she is building, but since I came back from watching New Tricks............no, I was going to say I haven’t seen her but she’s just been in twice : )) later now seen her several more times, she’s pushing her chest into the nest, just like EJ and Odin. Nice Pic Alan, and belated happy birthday. I think Tiger must be a wiz at spreadsheets/databases and notes down all the info we give in case it might be useful later.
Terry in Cumbria
Hi all: Started off gorgeous and sunny here; now clouds showing up - again! Boo. Had a hard time getting on here this morning; finally gave up.
Diane: Thanks for the "deep" website; another to check out.
Lindybird: Yes indeed - very bright moon here. Love Bill Bryson; think he has a new one out....
BrendaH: Hope the boiler dude showed up on time. Moving takes so much energy - and that's before you reorganize everything.
OG: I love steam engines - very impressive beasts. Didn't mention that the other day when you posted the first batch of pix. Do remember the chugging of the engine, which I associated with holidays in Folkestone in the old days... Indeed, when we see the first northbound gray whales, can ospreys be far behind? Phoebe very thoughtful letting us know what her nest-building plans are, right? :-)
Tiger: Wow! Amazing penguin clip - lucky isn't the word for it. Wonder if he knew what he was doing or didn't care at that point. Don't think a single penguin would be more than a very small appetizer for one killer whales, let alone three. I'm also surprised those people were out among killer whales in such a tiny craft. Hmmm.
Alan: Happy Birthday and thanks for update on Rothes. Great pix Diane! Good grief. Wonder if you can expect more ATM (automatic teller machines = cash machine) thefts from that speedy group. Thanks for Phoebe photo. What a sweetie! Hope she has good luck with her eggs this year.
Alicat: What!? Possibly not Phoebe?? Harrumph! Must check it out.
Sheila: That whale that took the path less traveled and ended up in the Mediterranean created quite a stir. Haven't heard more since then but the southbound migration from Alaska is underway now, so who knows where they'll show up next.
TerryM: Also had a chance to look at that marine traffic site last night - watched vessels off our coast, including a cruise ship that seemed to be on a direct collision course with a tanker until I zoomed in and realized they were two miles apart.
Djoan: We have similar flight tracking sites here - I "watched" my daughter fly from Santa Barbara to Phoenix in August. It gets scary watching them around major airports like LAX though.
AQ: Hope your neighbors don't have any bad intentions toward Lizarda! When's the next wedding? Bottle brush very popular here.
Heron: I can just see birds with little hat/umbrella combinations; it's a wonder someone hasn't invented them yet. Hearing from you is much better than scratched CD; not to worry - we all get busy from time to time.
OK, it's time to go talk to the roses at the mission. Back later. Take care all.
Alison W said: Hi the mods on phoebes site think its a new bird to last year that this one is a young bird
Hi the mods on phoebes site think its a new bird to last year that this one is a young bird
Oh thanks Alicat, I haven't seen the chat. Maybe just as well, Phoebe was obviously having trouble with viable eggs through last year and might be getting on, they don't know how old she is. Strange that someone else has found the rosebush though, so quickly.
Hallo Annette, nice to overlap with you!
someone in the chat said that do you think its one of phoebe's young one of the mods said it could be but we may never know
Annette it doesn't tell you at the top of the page about it not been phoebe it was during chat mods was chatting to someone when they said they thought it was a different bird and younger as well
index thread
lg stats
Hi the mods are compairing pictures of phoebe from the last time to this bird to see if it is same bird
Hi everyone
Sorry I haven't managed to post this week. Have been busy collating information required for tax return which I want finalised by the end of next week. So time-consuming but my plan is to have this out of the way before Ch****m*s and long before the 31 Jan deadline.
Thanks very much to everyone for their contributions.
Carrying on from where I left off last week:
Alicat - glad you were so delighted with your mysterious gift which turned out to be a spotting scope and that you celebrated birthday with meal and visit to local pub. Dancing to the music eh? Thats what you are supposed to do. Sounds like you enjoyed yourself. Hope you have been playing with your new toy this week. Heron - suspended ceiling project sounds like it went well. Glad you are keeping busy. I am always noticing "wee tasks" that need done, much to Steed's displeasure! We too are having worse than deluge weather at the moment.
Annette - delighted for you that trip with daughter and granddaughter went so well. What a tonic. Really good news. Mountain lion fur - what a souvenir! Can imagine you all making a quick exit. Your grand-daughter is very pretty and looks really happy and relaxed in your picture. Mountains out of molehills....My elder daughter falls into that category and I keep reassuring myself that she will grow out of it. Am I deluding myself? Wine and phone - that will be my coping strategy when she leaves home. So pleased for you that you had an opportunity to chill out with friend on your way home and your pix of Placerville, etc are great. I feel I have shared your adventure. Thank you. Glad storms have eased a bit for you. Dell are not flavour of the month in this household. Battery and charger unit have caused problems for Elder Daughter after only two years with the result that laptop must remain connected to mains at all times :((( I recommend extended warranty if you choose this brand. I do know of others who have not had any problems with this make.
Patriciat - How is new lawn doing? Another week of watering? Hope dog agility is on track. Gary - Glad you spoiled the horses after visit from dentist and are enjoying so many visitors. AQ - you are such an entertaining writer. Loved the idea of you playing dead when Jasper the alarm 'clock' yowled at 5am and as for Diane's shoes being muddy in the morn...Thank you for the history of Australia you post on here. My memory bank is completely empty on this score so I am enjoying all your interesting stories and photographs. Lizarda the skink - sounds like a kids character. Again, what a laugh. Suspect home is suddenly eerily quiet for you now but you will adjust quickly. Magpie pics tell their own story. Wonderful.
Brenda - hope daughter's move has gone well. Too bad that a visit to google earth requires a visit to the cyber rubbish dump. I had my hair done last night and of course it was raining when I left the hairdresser :(
OG - What a terrible scenario for son to face in new flat. Unclean and unfit for habitation given the state of the shower. Unacceptable in these days of landlord registration. If he has gas, I would strongly advise a carbon monoxide detector until you/he feel more confident that everything has been checked and is safe. Your friend's large garden looks as though it is carefully tended on a daily basis by a professional. Lovely garden indeed. My goodness you have given a full account of your holiday. Chesterfield's crooked spire is something else. Very nice to 'meet you in the flesh' - I can imagine future words for these sorts of cyber expressions but they don't exist yet. Glad to hear son's terrible situation is beginning to resolve itself. Revolution house - not the image the name conjures up at all but what a beautiful cottage. Pix of squirrels are so cute and many will enjoy the steam trains.
Joan - love the sound of 'Swiss Chicken'. I imagine it had an Emmental cheese sauce over it. Yum.
Lynette - Lovely image of uncle waving white handkerchief and throwing sweets to you. So sorry that your expected news arrived. No matter how expected, the event is still a shock. Thinking of you. Diane - I had a vivid dream about four nights ago and I honestly couldn't believe it. People I work with and barely know were involved so quite why I would dream about them is a complete anomaly. Sorry I'm not familiar with planets, stars and NASA in the way that you are, but I am learning, so thank you. Poor bobcat but thank you for the pics. Superb birthday card for AlanP.
Lindybird - not long now until sweet pea arrives. Due in one month. Woo hoo. Loved the Monday smile as always - especially the bike rider's helmet!! Had to show Steed that one but of course his comment predictably was, "Women! Typical" As for cat manipulation story. VG. Birds magazine sounds interesting. Enjoy your break. Margobird - best of luck with photo captures. Photo of Lady of the Lowes. How kind of your friend. Applaud your stance re posting new arrivals at Denbury Farm. Meerkats. No wonder underfloor heating is required. They are a long way from their much warmer natural habitat. So sorry your friend's OH is in such bad health - sounds serious and so very sad to hear that your OH's friend has passed away. Terry - I saw similar mushrooms at LG when I visited at the end of August. Immediately thought - in nature, red means danger, but what beautiful fungi. Always thought the cartoon red toadstools with white spots were fictitious. Should have known better...I will keep an eye on the marine site. Interesting to note the vessels sailing in my area. Sounds like the trombone lessons will keep those brain cells in top form.
George - chicken Maryland. That takes me back. One of my father's favourite meals and oft served by him at home on Saturday eves when I was young. Must remind him. Glad son and wife will have wardrobe doors sorted soon and am sure you have put them at ease while they have been visiting. Heather - you know I posted on your page. Do look in and post when you can. AP - Scottish conker championships later today. Hope its not a washout. Nice Brugmansia in full flower. Thanks for latest blog alert and Happy Birthday to you advice from Tiger. Well done Auntie on passing test. Hello SheilaFE and thank you for lovely Wm Henry Davis poem.
Apologies to everyone else who posts but I have failed to mention and hello to all those reading but not posting.
Please take a minute to look at the beautiful pix on the BBC website below, especially my favourite of the Tay Rail Bridge. To me its the most iconic structure in the world. If you cut and paste the link into a new browser, it will work.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11550859
Thanks Emma. Those BBC pix are really lovely.
All Lily and Hope have got a den for the winter. See Lily and Hope
Tiger Signature
Annette - you mention that the whales are starting their southbound migration - does that mean that you do Whale watch twice a year, as it doesn't seem that long ago that you were last doing it? Presumably they must do more or less the same route north and then south?
TerryM - I think the marine shipping site you gave is for Merchant Shipping only and not Royal Naval vessels - can you confirm or otherwise?
Pleased to report that all the snow we had the other day has been washed away!!!!!!!!!