Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 15 August 2021

Diane:  I just came on to blather and maybe start the new thread but it was a longish blather and now you've beat me too it.  Thank you.  How are you doing?

Previously mentioned blather follows:

Hallo all:

Gosh, what a week.  Got all my freelance stuff in Friday (wasn't due until Monday but who wants it sitting around all weekend?). As it is, have a to-do list in place for Monday morning and it's all about auto insurance, cable/TV, etc.,  bills and Why Have They Gone Up! plus must find a physical therapist due to sciatica flare up last week that has had me creaking about.  Had it very mildly for about 8 weeks and  thought I was doing all the right exercises, but no.  Saw doc who prescribed an anti-inflammatory stronger than OTC options, plus therapy.  Diagnosis reads Lumbar Ridiculitis (or something like that, although it sounds right). I read the insert that came with the meds (almost a tome) that seemed to hint at sudden death lurking in every capsule.  Good grief!  Am keeping the dose to the minimum and have supplemented it with frozen peas, which I've been endeavoring to anchor by various means around the base of my spine.  It's been a challenge to say the least (and the least said about it the better).   Actually not as creaky today.    Am supposed to be driving up to Northern California Wednesday for five-day visit to two old friends; we'll see......   Meanwhile, seems like every bird in our vicinity is molting right now as I keep finding clumps of feathers around the sides of the fountain and am having to catch them with a little net several times a day  C'mon guys, give it a break!

Heather:  Visits are wonderful but yes, a darkened room and washing machine churning away sounds like the typical post-visit recovery.

OG: What a nice treat to see daughter.

AQ:  Too bad about your friends’ trip cancellation.  Wonder if they could get airline credit toward a future flight?

PatO:  Nice that you had sunshine for your garden event.  My sister lives in a small village with horses in various nearby fields and it’s a sort of family tradition to take carrots down the road to Boris and friends.  Glad you got all your documents safely sent.

Have a good Sunday everyone.

DIANE - Thank you for a new week. This report on Aussie owls may interest you.

ANNETTE – This would have been Friends’ first ever flights. They could get a credit but where in Aussieland could they fly and be sure they would not get caught by state border closures.? Currently our state is closed to returning travellers from NSW, VIC, QLD, ACT (I think)- states change almost daily. WA doesn’t want any of us there!

Just a thought

Nothing the heart gives away is gone. . . it is kept in the hearts of others. (Robin St John)

@AQ

Hope you find some more interesting bits in La Vuelta ...start yesterday
whc.unesco.org/.../

Hello. I seem to have forgotten to post this morning. Not surprising, as I seem to be muddling along lately.

Thank you to Diane for starting us off again. Diane, I hope that all went well with your doctors appointment and that it's nothing too serious.

Spent an hour in the garden this morning just ripping out weeds and pruning off things which are getting too wild. We filled our "green" bin which was only emptied last Friday so will have to wait now for nearly a fortnight for this lot to be hauled away!

Annette, sorry to hear about the sciatica. Such a nuisance. Those meds sound serious!

The weather here is so British today- half an hour of sun followed by dark skies and a downpour. Then more sun, just for ten minutes. Only 16 degrees so I have a cardigan over my blouse.

Sue is enjoying her stay in Wales and finding her way around some places we have described. She has bought an extending lead for Toffee the dog to go on the beach, as she seems worried that he might make a run for it. He has settled in well and is probably expecting to be sent somewhere else shortly, as he strikes me as a dog who has had quite a chequered history. So sad. Hopefully they will bond and he can have a more settled future.

AQ - Thanks for the barking mad Aussie Owls!!!!!! Did enjoy them.

I heard a dog,

'Twas barking mad --

Quite the worst, it was so bad.

I thought if I ventured close, it really might

Be tempted soon to give me a bite.

I crept towards it, only to find 

The dog had gone, and

Left behind

A small and crossly featured owl

A noisy, grumpy, ugly fowl!

He stared at me, and I stared back:

I didn't think he would attack, so I

Stared some more - he began to look at the floor

When suddenly, quickly, off he flew

Goodness knows to where or who, or

Even to Whit or to Whoo.

Lindybird: :-))

AQ: Interesting re the owl. From the videos it seems like it only barks twice each time.  Also saw a video of two barking owls in conversation. I was trying to figure out  how on earth they could understand what the other was saying. I was also reading that it's also known as the 'screaming woman owl' and has launched police searches for 'victims' after people have called in about the racket.  

Ghastly state of affairs in Haiti - that country sure has had a bad time; never able to recover from one calamity before another hits and never mind the political instability. And an even ghastlier state of affairs in Afghanistan.  I got on FlightRadar24 this morning and have been watching a steady stream of mostly U.S. military flights from Abu Dhabi to - I assume - Kabul, given that their radar signals disappear once they turn north out of the Gulf of Oman. What a calamity.  I'm so upset about the situation the U.S. is leaving in Afghanistan - and not the first of its kind.    Sigh. And sigh again- and again......

Agree, ANNETTE. What a mess, and not the first time...