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!
Diane absolutely stunning photo. Did you take it?
Birdie's DU Summaries 2018 https://www.imagicat.com/
Thanks to Everyone for the birthday wishes.
Today we went to Oundle and decided to park in the Coop car park. To our surprise the normal entrance was closed and there were 2 skips at the side of the building. On further inspection part of the building where the cash machine used to be had been demolished. Apparently last night someone had taken a JCB and removed the cash machine along with half the building and part of the roof. They got away with £8k but the cost of repairs will be much higher. The landlord of the pub next to the coop saw them in the car park and shouted at them but he ended up getting his car damaged. They must have known what they were doing as the whole thing only took 2 and a half mins.
After all the excitement we went to Barnwell CP and had a picnic in the car. It has been a beautiful day here and quite warm. Later went to the Elton garden centre and bought some Cyclamen.
Afternoon all ... had a busy day here ... doing lots, but not achieving much :-))
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Alan from me too! Stunning card from Diane!
Diane - glad you and your Dad liked the photos of the lighthouse ... I love them too.
SheilaFE - I too can stand (or sit in the car!) and watch the sea and waves for hours, especially when it is rough.
margobird - so sad to hear of the death of your OH's friend ... and so young. Also sorry to hear about your friend's husband ... I hope he makes a speedy recovery. Glad that you are managing to stay on and enjoy the farm, even if it isn't what was planned. Meerkats ... how exciting ... they sound quite pampered!!
AQ - more lovely pics ... love the red flowers ... so vibrant ... and your magpies are great.
Brenda H - glad your daughter's move went smoothly ... I'm sure she appreciated all your help.
OG - my OH says thanks for another engine photo! I loved the squirrel pics ... how can such a pest be so cute? :-))
Tiger - great link to the penguin story.
TerryM - that link you gave to the marine traffic is brilliant ... my OH is addicted now! He has an aircraft one that he looks at, but he says this is better!! The link to the aircraft one for anyone interested is:
http://www.flightradar24.com/
Thanks to everyone for chat, links etc
Take care
Joan - avid bird and nature watcher in Northumberland!
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Belated Happy Birthday from me, too, Alan. Didn't know the JCB was used to make cash withdrawals in England - it's quite popular in parts of Northern Ireland! Doesn't do the buildings much good, though.
Thanks all who have posted lovely pics. Weather here is a bit miserable now - heavy rain after I've watered the new grass - so the sunny pics have cheered me up.
Just heard about the nuclear sub which has run aground off Skye. Who wasn't watching the 'road'?
Happy Birthday Alan from me too
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Further to your comment Patricia, concerning the beached nuclear submarine, I checked out the ship movement site which Terry gave us recently - guess what, no sign of any shipping around Skye!!
SheilaFE said: Further to your comment Patricia, concerning the beached nuclear submarine, I checked out the ship movement site which Terry gave us recently - guess what, no sign of any shipping around Skye!!
I did exactly the same, Sheila!!
Weather turned nice so OH pulled up remaining Carrots and Beetroots to store and brought in final lettuce leaves. Then it started to drizzle, so he has been removing cucumber and tomato plants from the greenhouse – next job will be to clean that side and put geraniums there and then clean the other side ready for preparations for next year. I have pootled about indoors, taken a long phonecall from friend whose house we used in Derbyshire and then prepared a salmon and pasta bake for dinner.
Next steam picture. This was the little saddle tank engine, No 2000, built by Pecket and Sons in Bristol in 1942, which lives at Barrow Hill and which I think does their regular steam rides. They had it on the back of Tornado’s train – I think it was for weight at the back, extra braking power and to keep the carriages in line when the heavy engine was in reverse at slow speed. (Looking backwards was to communiucate with driver of Tornado as they stopped alongside the platfrom!)
Tiger – loved the Lucky Penguin story – amazing that it thought boat was a safe place to be!
Alan – belated Happy Birthday. Sounds like a good day out. A different way to use the cash machine! Hey, Tiger, did you the Birthday listed from last year?
Diane – great B. card for Alan!
Patricia – did you see Autumn Watch last night? Parts of it were from Strangford Lough – including Kate having a magical encounter with a Conger Eel. Prog was a bit disjointed as usual – sometimes I want to give Chris Packham a shake and tell him to act his age!!
Good afternoon – nearly evening – to anyone I haven’t mentioned.
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
For those who expressed interest: The technicians are putting the wheels on the new Mars Rover right now. Kind of interesting. http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl Heard about the beached submarine. Hope everyone there is safe.
OG Facebook is the answer! :)
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