Weekly Chat, Sunday November 21, 2010

Morning/evening all: Off to catch up on today's posts.

  • Afternoon all ... slightly better day today ... heavy showers ... BUT ... the yellow globe has been spotted briefly in the sky!

    Just back from lunch at our favourite country pub. They have a bird table in the car park and there were loads of birds around ... couldn't help getting my little camera out and snapping away! This is one of the pics

     

    So ... the wedding date is 29th of April ... a very auspicious date ... my birthday :-))

    Linda - delightful poem ... looking forward to lots more after Sweetpea is born. I predict Saturday morning, just before noon!! Hope your stove arrived early and that you are having fun playing with it!

    OG - lovely photographs of the flying swans ... and I love tufted ducks. Your roadworks sound interesting ... bet you can't wait for them to finish ... and then they'll probably be back to tinker with them!

    Alicat - great pic of your swans too.

    Paul - great description of the shed work ... and your conversation! I, too love starlings ... such entertaining birds. Like OG, I had a mental picture of you in The Wizard of Oz :-))

    SheilaFE - I must make a note of the Lady of the Loch book and order it nearer the time.

    Diane - sorry to hear your dad is still not well ... you take care ... hugs to you both :-)

    patriciat - my congatulations to Tweed and yourself ... you obviously make a great team!

    Hi to everyone else I haven't mentioned!

    Must go and do useful things ... oh dear ... raining again :-(

    Take care.

    Joan - avid bird and nature watcher in Northumberland!

    Index Thread

     

  • Just back from a nice walk along the Spey, very damp underfoot, river quite high and there is fresh snow on the Ben.

    My dustbins are very popular with my bird population and they are much loved by my fleet of pheasants who sneek in to hoover up whilst sorting out the feeders. The pheasants are leftovers from about 3 years ago the local estate put out the youngsters but for some reason they have stopped shooting near us so this little lot have a charmed life. Rubbish parents as each year they proudly bring there broods to see us but one day we get 6 next day 5 and so on...quite sad really. Left the lid off the other day and a fieldmouse fell in and had no chance of getting out and watching her run round and round was like watching the ride at the fair un the old days where the bike stuck to side of the wall the faster they went. Managed to get her out in the end...what a cutie.

    Had 2 male greater spotted woodies together this morning...love the markings down their tail.

    Up here in the Highlands most people will be on a 4 day week as they seem to not have the Monday of Easter as a Bank Holiday it seems to be taken on a different day in different areas...known as local holidays.

    Well off to do the ironing and watch the tennis...hope it lives up to the hype that they have just given it.

  • Not Starlings

    But

    Barnacle Geese.

    Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!

  • Brenda, how exciting for your son but sorry he can't take photo's. As you say, a 'reason" for you to see it yourself:) Hope he enjoys it

    Dibnlib, glad you're not in too much pain. The time is flying by, soon be time for your check up.

    Wonder if we get the day off over here for the wedding...

    Joan, hope you had a nice lunch.

    Wendy, that sounds a lovely walk. Those pheasants sound a lot of fun to watch. I love the woodpeckers we get as well. They are so feisty! Hope the tennis is good.

  • wow! Great photo's OG:) spectacular.

    I can't compete but here's a photo of what we had around today.. lol

  • Aaah Gary!  She's lovely, send her a virtual pat from me!

    Dog was snuffling around in the garden after lunch, & I watched him send a young pheasant up into the air! Neither of us had any idea there was one in the garden, so just shows how effective their colourings are at disguising them!

    Lots of  Goldfinches on our feeder today, they are such cute little chaps (3, that is, which is lots for us!)

    Nice story about the fieldmouse, Wendyb - I can just imagine it running around in that bin!

    OG:  Lovely Barnacle Geese - love to see flocks of anything in the air! 

    There was an item on the North West News at lunchtime about Waxwings being visible in parts of Cheshire, but unfortunately, not near to us or I would be out there, looking!  Can't leave the house today until stove is delivered, anyway....  still waiting....

  • Thanks for the pics OG and Gary. Tennis is rubbish. It's all Federer.

    Latest waxwing sightings:

    http://twitpic.com/393xcn

  • Thanks for that, Alan - didn't know there were so many sites!  It was a nice item on the TV - pics of the Waxwings (from the archives, the camera man obviously hadn't found one yet), pics of the Birders with their scopes, looking out.  Described the birds as red polled punks!

  • Yes Alan...rubbish and I think my ironing will take longer than the tennis!!!!!

  • Had time this afternoon to play around on a photo sizing site: here is a little friend we made on holiday:

     

    ---those are OH's huge size 12's, to give an idea of how big he was!!  Any ideas as to species?  we thought it would be a moth, as there were a lot on the island, although we did also see some lovely butterflies.  He was marching towards the large car park, and I dare not pick him up, as I know that some of the hairy ones can be allergic!  -hope he survived the day.