WEEKLY CHAT (NON-OSPREY) SUNDAY MARCH 28, 2021

Thanks very much. Mike. That is really helpful, I did discover a car park where I believe the canoeists meet, but the footpath from there was extremely muddy and I didn't fancy it. I'll go back when things dry up a bit. I'll also investigate the Forest Row area - when I go along there I'm usually on my way somewhere else!

Morning all:   Re the volcano, those people hiked from the main road for what seemed like miles; you could see the cars parked along the highway in the distance.  I assume Icelanders are very hardy and have no problems schlepping across barren landscapes.  That volcano is an effusive one (like the one in Hawaii), rather than an explosive one (St. Helens, Mt. Etna), so apparently more predictable and safer to approach.

Diana:  We were so busy when I was in Arizona that we defaulted to burritos four nights in a row.  Easy to toss together, lots of protein and yummy with avocado and salsa.

AQ:  Good grief, I wonder how international pilots can keep track of the time when they're heading back and forth across time zones and hemispheres.  

Lindybird:  That's a shame about the patio table. Maybe one of the kids could use it?  We have an ancient metal/glass table and four chairs that came with the house.  My favorite - the comfy swivel one - broke a few weeks back and the others are rusting.  I could sand them down and spray paint them, but not sure I'm up for that at this point.  Went to see some friends during the week; we met in the host's garden and she had a lot of outdoor seating - mostly plastic 'Adirondack'-style chairs in some lovely colors - but I have a hard time buying plastic (unless it's already made out of recycled plastic).   Moral dilemmas at every turn!  :-)    Nice of Sue to make a special desert; hope your OH has a nice day.

PatO;  Fingers crossed the weather is good for your outing.

Need to do some garden work which involves digging three holes.  I moved two Iceberg roses last Fall, one of them is doing brilliantly but the other one, which was already ailing, isn't doing well at all.  I have another spot that needs filling, so will put one there.  That only leaves a remaining 'hole' that needs something greenish and two others where the irrigation is so puny that only rocks will survive.  We've had just half our normal rainfall and last night the weather guy was fretting about fire warnings in Montana - so early in the year for that.  I have some photos from my trip to AZ and will try to upload them....

Looking forward to your pix from AZ, Annette....

Its dried up a bit here - my OH and Bonnie got half drowned during their morning walk. Happily in spite of it being breezier & wet, not many of our daffs have blown flat. 

Might offer our table to our Youngest as he has the biggest family, but then their back garden is mostly sloping and if it was put on their tiny paved area, there would not be room for chairs around it.  Hmmm.

Trying to remember which pix I have already posted. 

Pure white flowers on small magnolia in a pot.

The flowers were described as "pure white with a pink blush inside the petals" when I bought it, but there's only a hint of pink around the sepals.

The top flower went brown due to getting wet when it dropped its protective bud casing.

Here goes:   

Typical sign at Rest Stop on the AZ/CA border at the Colorado River.

First morning in Prescott Valley - light snow.  Cleared up and warmed up for the bday party though...

Down the mountain again and on the way home, but not just yet.....

Yawn......

When my sister and BiL were here a few years back, we went to New Mexico and my BiL counted 108 carriages on a similar freight train.....  Fortunately we were on the patio of a hotel at that point, not stuck at a crossing.

The camellia is still producing some stunning dark pink blooms.

A plant I bought last year is already flowering.

Good evening. What a night that was last night and sounds as if it could be the same tonight – wind roaring and whistling, so none of us slept well. We have had rain – some of it heavy – all day too.

ANNETTE – thanks for starting our week. Enjoyed your AZ and journey pictures – hard for us to imagine the countryside and big spaces there.

DIANE – don’t like to read that you had run out of food – I hope you can get out for supplies very soon.

AQ – enjoyed the church quotes, but I don’t think I dare put them in the magazine!

LINDA – sorry the garden furniture is suffering damage before you give it away. Are you hoping to replace with something smaller for the two of you? Lovely Magnolias. Good to see how dark those Camellia blooms are – usually later ones are a bit faded. Your new plant looks happy – they are usually later in the spring.

PAT – our church is doing a hybrid service next week (EASTER) – limited numbers in the building (prebooked) and Zoom for anyone else. I shan’t go, which means OH is free to be a steward re precautions – because he has said he will be there he has mysteriously been asked to do a reading too. I hope you will have good weather for your trip to Nyman’s. I hadn’t realised there were Osprey down your way – do they ever nest there? Many are arriving back here now – several finding their nests occupied by Red Kites!

Thanks for starting this weeks thread , Annette.

Diane do hope you managed to stock up before those thunder storms hit.

AQ - At present with our services online they last no more than half and hour. Re-opening for Easter Sunday but
usually at present only last three quarters of an hour until we're allowed to sing again.

Pat O - I think keep them going if you can, looks as though you are reaching out into the community. Our minister carries on with his podcast and I think will do so until we are fully open and functioning as a church in situ again.

Volcano programme sounds great anyone got a link. Remember visiting one with dau when on holiday in Tenerife some years ago.

Aneete - nice to see some pics of AZ and your part of the world.

Lindybird - love the flower pics - brightes up the day

Been dull again today and windy