Weekly Chat, Sunday, October 24, 2010

It is that time for a new thread again. We continue from  Weekly Chat, Sunday, October 17, 2010 Last week had so many fascinating topics I am not sure what should be carried forward.

It was such an eclectic mix, my  memory is of birthdays, bears, steam engines, hedgehogs, hummingbirds, osprey pictures, computers,  relativity, quantum mechanics and cats of  all types. No doubt it will be repeated in the week to come.

Oh I forgot. Outlaws and inlaws! :)

 

  • Tiger - an apology - just done a re-read and you had mentioned Phoebe, so sorry about my comment earlier - I totally missed hummingbird in the list - I am now fully awake!!

    Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!

  • Unknown said:

    Tiger - an apology - just done a re-read and you had mentioned Phoebe, so sorry about my comment earlier - I totally missed hummingbird in the list - I am now fully awake!!

    No need to apologise.You did not miss it,  I edited it in after you suggested it! :)

  • Lovely blue sky and sunshine which fast melted the early frost here and the fieldfare were back.  I read recently that they migrate over night, and that you can hear them if you step outside.  I must remember to take a photo of the cotoneaster - a before and after shot as the birds eat the berries!  It was quite noticeable last year that they started at the top and worked their way down the plant! 

    I absolutely loved Farewell to Tarwathie Tiger.  Quite haunting.  Reminds me of my youth when I used to go to various folk clubs at least twice a week.  I checked out some of the other versions too, and although different in presentation, all were lovely.  I guess you could imagine the early vessels being large rowing boats and the rhythm could resemble the pulling of the oars, or perhaps the hauling of the sails. 

    Annette thank you for the info on the whale watching.  I am keeping an MS Word doc of references, links etc, to save ploughing back thru all the wonderful data which is appearing, and have added your piece to it. 

    OG I woke in the night and realised a bit of misinformation I gave on the Munro climb.  I did indeed climb the Buachaille, but not to surprise the friend on the top.  It was an eventful few days.  My OH phoned me at work to ask if I could leave work (London) early on the Thursday, and get a day off on Friday, with the aim of surprising the friend on the summit of his final Munro - Bidean nan Bian, not the Buachaille - on Saturday.  We drove up as far as Penrith area and camped in a field overnight, to awake to a field of inquisitive bullocks.  Never packed a tent so fast in all my life.  We arrived at Glen Etive in plenty of time to climb/scrambling up the Buachaille in brilliant weather.  I had changed into shorts and bikini top (yes, those were the days!!!) to do this ascent.  A wonderful day with mind-blowing views.  But we were brought back down to earth on returning to our car.  A large rock had been thrown thru the window and my weekend case stolen.  OH was more sensible and his gear was in the boot with the camping gear.  There I was in shorts and bikini top, and the blouse and trousers I had thrown in the back of the car!!  We were going to camp, but I was so distraught that we stayed in the King's House Hotel, instead of camping.  They were great.  The police were called and statements taken.  Next day we drove back up Glen Etive to ascend Bidean in this blistering heat.  Our friend was delighted when we appeared on the summit with a bottle of champagne! 

    How lucky you are Alan to have hedgehogs around.  We enjoyed their company for two or three years when we first moved here, some 23 years ago,  But have not seen any evidence since.  We do see the occasional sighting of both stoat and weasel, for which I am grateful - they help keep the rabbit population down.

    ChloeB what a super moon photo.

    Have a great day.

     

    Birdie's DU Summaries 2018   https://www.imagicat.com/

  • Hazel b said:
     

    No need to apologise.You did not miss it,  I edited it in after you suggested it! :)

    I applaud your honesty!  Thank you.

    Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!

  • Good day       swim this am and we went out for carvery lunch at Daviot.

    Loved Alans hedgehog pic

    Finally as promised ages ago 2 pics of our recently puchased work of art. The first so you can see in full and the 2nd a close up so you can see the backdrop is actually newsprint

    Before I forget for anyone who got Inv Courier on Fri the photo on page 7 is of our close friend Jo who won a bronze medal at the European Bikejor champs recently and in the P & J on Sat is Charles her husband who is now Chairman of the SDAS. Great photos both

  • Good grief! Where was I last evening?  Was busy thinking about taking the computer in and thought, "Oh, i can start the new thread before I take it to Best Buy tomorrow."  Something was nagging in the back of my head about that, but it didn't register that I'd be a day late and a dollar short (as they say) starting it. So Thank You  Tiger!

    I had the Judy Collins version of that song on an LP - the one with the whales sounds I think. She had  - still has I believe - a voice as clear as a bell. Thanks OG for giving us more info on the song's origins.

    Sheila: What a rude awakening - not only to get your overnight bag stolen but to have the windshield smashed in too. Awful. 

    Sun is out here today, but for how long.....

  • Where are they all?  Maybe having trouble getting on – I had to enter via my profile page.  Been to village Craft Fair just six miles away – lovely day for country drive, and sun is reflecting off the Firth.  Didn’t buy much, met a few folk we know, enjoyed refreshments (had soup and banana before going) and had a long chat on the way out with a born and bred villager about gardening and local history!  Saw something different on the way home – two men were walking along the road with not the usual dogs on leads but with two Shetland Ponies!

     

    Sheila – we saw a flock of something cross the road from hedge to hedge in the moonlight last night, and Fieldfare went through my mind - must check if we have them around here.  What a horrible experience for you when you climbed around Glen Etive – but at least you achieved the climb, and the next one to greet your friend!  Our car was broken into when we took my disabled Mum to scatter my Dad’s ashes among a patch of Heather on a hill in Lancashire.  The other story about that was when Mum told a friend in Somerset that we thought the wind would take Dad’s ashes back to Exmoor, where they had lived most of their retirement, he commented that if he had a speck of dust in his eye while out walking, he would say “Ah!  There’s George”!

    Dibnlib – pleased you have recovered some energy for a swim.  Like your Penguins picture - very cleverly done!

    Annette – Tiger looked after us this morning!  Did you get a firm quote for laptop repair yet?

    I wonder where Margo is with those animal photos?  I do hope she hasn't had bad news from her friend - it's so unusual for her not to come on when she gets home.

    Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!

  • Normal 0

    I have tried copying and pasting from a Word Document, it was easier to refer back to earlier postings - and now I cannot resize the text.  Sorry if you have to peer!

    dibnlib what a lovely picture.  I do love puffins, they are so endearing, particularly the little croaky voice they have.  I hope you enjoyed your meal at Daviot.  A carvery sounds an excellent idea on a Sunday! 

    I do enjoy these exchanges.  It leads me to so many interesting snippets.  Daviot.  I had no idea where that was, so yet again I bring up Google.  Daviot has one of the "best examples of Neolithic stone circles" in NE Scotland.  Schlumberger has moved an explosives facility here – there is a large Schlumberger operation on drilling in Cambridge.  And last but not least the "first GM crop field" in Scotland is also here – I am a little surprised at this, but perhaps Scottish Ag College at Aberdeen undertook them.  I was interested in this as the company I worked for prior to retirement ran trials on a number of varieties back in the 90s when GM hit the headline for all the wrong reasons.

    Annette, I too listened to one or two other versions of Farewell to Tarwathie, including Judy Collins and the Corries.  I thought the JC version was particularly poignant with the calls of the whales in the background.

    OG I love the idea of dust in the eye.  I have friend who went to Scarborough beach to scatter the ashes of his mother – they had to take care they were standing upwind on a breezy day!  It proved to be a happy family affair, full of memories.

    I was doing a bit more gardening this afternoon when I had to make a hasty retreat – a heavy hail storm lasted over 10 minutes, and made the ground far to wet to continue.  Must start dinner now, so see all you tomorrow.

    Birdie's DU Summaries 2018   https://www.imagicat.com/

  • OG:   WIll have to leave computer for quote; must ask them about security, etc.   Oh how typical! You're out there scattering ashes and some major jerk breaks into the car.  Grrrrr!     Yes, where is everyone? Lindybird if off in the sunshine, we hope; Margo must be recovering from her trip....

    dibnlib: I love puffuns - such fun.  The painting(?) would make me smile when i looked at it.

    Off to gym.

  • Just a quick reply to Liz LFW, sorry, don't know whether Marine Traffic is for RN.  Perhaps you could look for a particular ship name?

    Terry in Cumbria