Weekly Chat, Sunday, October 24, 2010

gary a said:

I came on now mainly to see if Diane was Ok and thankfully I can see you are:) Here in CT we are spared any of it but it looks a monster of a storm. Glad you're safe even if it was a rough time for you and your dad. Thank goodness.

Gary: I really appreciate your concern. I didn't get a phone call, an email, or even a lousy Facebook post from my own brother. He apparently doesn't care whether his Dad and I lived or not. Grrr.

The storm was very strange. Weather officials are saying that it was more like an "on land hurricane". We had record low barometric pressure. Made my ears hurt all morning, and this old house popped and creaked. I think it bothered the animals, too. The birds were all alarm calling, the fox was barking, and the deer were rushing around wildly breaking brush. 

Our property didn't have any damage at all. We live down in a valley, and the storm wall passed right over us without touching down. Luckily, the state hasn't had any fatalities reported so far -- just trees uprooted, trucks turned over, rooves blown off... The Red Cross has arrived because some folks were left without shelter, but it could have been worse. Hope Caerann in Chicago is okay. Oddly, we didn't really get very much rain, which we really need because of the drought.

I guess there were some impressive Depression-era type dust storms in some places because the harvest is in, and the twisters and straight-line winds picked up the dust/dirt from the fields. The last time I looked, the storm wall was holding together in Ohio, so I hope you don't get any of it.

Annette: Nope, we don't have a cellar or a basement. Every room has windows, and this very old cottage house doesn't even have modern closets (!), so no where to hide. The house has been standing here for well over a hundred years, so I just trust that it will continue to stand for a hundred more. LOL

Hi, all.

Annette: So sorry you have to serve on the jury. Hope it's not a distressing, gory trial. I can't think of a better person to be a juror, but what an inconvenience and I'm not sure you need all that right now.

Patriciat: Thanks for your concern for me. Your winter walk sounds very lovely.     Margo: So sorry about the tragic loss of your husband's friend.     Chloe: I'm late in saying so, but those full moon pictures were stunning. Wonderful!

Auntie: Nice to "see" you. Sounds like a lovely autumn in Finland. If some of the hateful and truly goofy candidates win in our elections next month, I'm going to move to Finland. I'll buy you a nice dinner when I arrive. Annette will probably be with me. LOL

OG: Sorry you're feeling so poorly. Air quality sounds awful. I don't know what Canada cakes are, but I'm hungry so I'll be over. :-) Loved your water fowl pics!

Dibnlib: Lovely to hear from you. Good luck with your dental work. I hate being in the dental chair. I'll send good energy to you. Your photo of Alfie brought a wee tear to my eye. My parents and I have always had boxers. They are the most wonderful, special dogs. I loved them all dearly. Such big personalities... They all slept in the bed like that. Thanks for the very sweet photo.

George: Lovely photo from you!     Alan: I'm really enjoying Phoebe (or New Phoebe?). Loved the little hedgehog.     Sheila: Loved your story, but terrible about the theft of your bag and the damage to your car!     Tiger: I want to hug that lion. Oh, and rest in peace, Paul, the psychic octopus. We hardly knew ye.

Joan: So exciting to see a live otter!!! What a great experience. I'm glad for you. Muskrats or beavers (I could never see their tails to identify them) built a tiny lodge in my creek/burn. I thought I was going to have to relocate them, but I think they've moved on. Thank goodness. In the spring, though, I need to hire a backhoe guy to remove their dwelling so my creek doesn't flood. They were cute little fellas, though, sort of similar to an otter. By the way, my Dad asked to see the lighthouse photo again today. :-)

AQ: Thanks for more Port Augusta pics. Very lovely and interesting. I want some of that Eremophilia for deep sleep and pleasant dreams. Pack that up and send it to me. I'll take my chances that you picked the right plant. Last night, I actually dreamed that I was back with my ex-husband. Now, there's a nightmare. Seriously, send the plant.

Morning all,

Nice and sunny this morning after overnight rain.

Diane : I am glad you missed most of the storm. It seemed really bad in some areas.

Annette : Sorry you had to serve on the jury. The interrogation sounds worse than croos examining the accused. I have never been on a jury up to now.

Alicat : I must check Phoebe at 3pm to see if she has laid her first egg.

Georgeg : Nice pic,

Djoans : You were lucky to see the otter. I have never seen one in the wild.  I have this pic of an otter taken at the Buckfastleigh butterfly and otter sanctuary in Devon:

Hi Defenders of wildlife want help  to end brutal unfounded earial wolf killing programs that have aready claimed the lives of more than 1,000 of these animals, I have signed the petition i have put the link here in case any one would like to sign it Take action now to help save these wolves -- sign our petition to urge the Obama administration to put an end to unscientific and brutal aerial wolf-killing in Alaska.     

Diane, so glad you're OK. That was one nasty system. They were explaining about it here and said the same thing. Like a hurricane on land. Glad you escaped without damage. I suppose you go to the center of the house if you need to shelter? We have a basement so head down there and that's scary enough but we feel safe. We are fine here, just a bit of rain and wind this morning.

Annette, sorry you got on the jury, but as Diane says, you are perfect for it. Just need to get elected foreman.. Hope the laptop is fixed/repaired OK.

Alan, thanks for the nice picture of the otter.

Alicat, thanks for the link, have signed it.

Hope everyone is having a good Wednesday

Good afternoon all and at last the rain has stopped and the sun is shining.  OH arrived home last night at 11.15 absolutely drained.  It was a very long day for him and obviously emotion was running high.  I managed to get him to go to bed and not stop up as he had to go to work today.  He is very busy at the moment and says it is good he has so much to do which will help come to terms with the loss of his friend.

Diane and Gary so pleased to see that you are both OK, but it sounds horrendous.  I would be terrrified.  When we get some high winds in the UK I am a bag of nerves but it is nothing like you have been experiencing.  My fear of strong winds goes back to losing part of our roof in our last home when we had some really fierce weather. 

Alan  lovely pic of the otter.  I have never seen one in the wild although when we were in Cornwall we went to Paradise Park and they have quite a few there.  Lovely creatures but with a fierce bit I believe.  DjoanS was very lucky to watch one for 20 ninutes in the wild.

Been thinking about Lindybird and hopefully she is enjoying the sun and the rest after her very hectic time. Hope everyone else is well and OG hope you are on the mend.

Margobird, glad your OH got home OK. As you say, perhaps being busy at work is a good thing at the moment. Luckily, I didn't get any bad weather this time, poor Diane was right in the middle of it.

Here is a bit of "Pumpkin Art" made while our niece was here:)

ALICAT eant to say I have signed the petition about the wolves.  They are the most amazing animals.

Been browsing and found the following videos, the first one is a young tawny owl having it's first batch.  The second is of Phoebe taken yesterday when she was busy nest building.  The music goes really well with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bFmwp-p1Sc

Whoops forgot to post the link for the Phoebe video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7Rrtoyg6pc