Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 28 February 2021

Yes thank you, DIANE, we do have it cooler. Some idiot put on the air con at church, then the overhead fans. They must have heard expected max 27; alas, temp that early was about 20 C and it was chilly in draught.

I have been out pruning my butternut pumpkin to stop any more enthusiastic growth. I am hoping the vine will put some effort into the half a dozen remaining “fruit”. It is getting late for them to ripen. Little people were interested in the “daddy” & “mummy” flowers and the various sized butternuts. I had to check my favourite research facility, Mr G, to learn they are pollinated by bees. Plenty of bees buzzing in the nearby abelia.

Many covid restrictions eased in our state. To the great joy of Fringe & other Festival goers, dancing is now allowed (depending on size of venue & crowd).

Have you ever noticed that anybody driving faster than you is a maniac, and anyone going slower than you is a moron? (George Carlin)

If your GPS tells you to turn around, you won’t be able to see where you’re driving.

Honk all you want. I’m deaf! (bumper sticker)

Thank YOU Diane!!   How are you doing up there in the wilds of Indiana?

AQ:  I see vines are an international topic right now; hope yours bears more fruit.   Nice to see I'm on the same page as George Carlin.

Have a good Sunday everyone.

Annette: Life is better here in the wilds of Indiana. Thanks.

All: The temperatures have warmed up considerably, and we've had sunshine! I still have a bit of snow lying where it had drifted, but most is gone.

The Cottontail Rabbits who were sheltering underneath my car during the blizzard have now left. After carefully consulting the internet about which vegetables they safely can eat, I fed them until the snow melted and they were able to return to their home. I checked thoroughly under the car to make sure that they had lived. On the one hand, I'm glad they've left, because feeding wildlife is generally not a good idea for lots of reasons. I didn't want to habituate them to humans. On the other hand, I miss them! I felt like I was accomplishing something good by giving them food during the emergency, and I felt less lonely! 

I saw one of the juvenile Red-Tailed Hawks that are wintering with R.T. Hawk and his mate. So at least one of their offspring made it through the extreme cold! One morning during the storm, I found enormous White-Tailed Deer tracks next to my front door. The old patriarch buck had been eating the vegetation left on a tall weed that had grown too fat for me to remove before winter. 

I walked up to the bank and the little general store in my small town. The snow melt has turned the ground to deep mud. My shoes were a mess! The creek is high but not flooded. 

Hope you all are okay and coping. 

Diane: Sounds like the word is out that your little house is a good place for snacks and shelter in really bad weather.  :-)   Fingers crossed that's the worst you'll see this year.

I surrendered and subscribed to Amazon Prime. Actually a 30-day trial but I'll probably keep it for the various bennies, including the free shipping, discounts at Whole Foods, and of course the videos, speaking of which I'm three episodes into A Very English Scandal, which is brilliant (funny too).

Good Morning and thank you to Diane for starting us off. So pleased to hear that things have eased for you, Diane, and that your local wildlife seems to have survived.

Sunny here and a decent day forecast here. A bit of garden tidying is on the cards.

(Annette, that was indeed a great series)

The night time frost doesn't seem to have caught my camellias.