Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 3 April 2022

Is anyone else finding it slow to get on this page today?
I have been birdwatching to my local reserve. Saw my first ever little gull. What a lovely, delicate, pretty little bird it is.
LINDY - so glad you can get your dental problems solved - and quite quickly too.
AQ - your dental problems sounds horrid. Hope all will soon be well.
I think we all must have had the same sort of dental treatment when we were young. I have a mouth full of fillings. I remember that heavy horrid drill. No injections for me either! Hard to imagine now isn’t it?
OG. Glad you will be able to access the garden more easily after the garden tidying. My garden is only small but I do appreciate being able to walk round it in an evening and look at things whilst listening to the birds.
HEATHER - Sorry to hear about your son. I hope the problem turns out to be benign.
Finally, great to see all the ospreys arriving back. I particularly follow the Dyfi nest as I went past there on the train a few years ago.

Rusty:  Hi there.  I haven't had a problem with the site today; it can be very slow around the first of each  month (and is often not worth the wait).    I also love walking around my garden to check up on this and that.  We have a Cecile Bruner climbing rose that is approaching full bloom and the fragrance is very heady.  Was going down the hall yesterday and with the windows open, the fragrance filled the whole back of the house.   Our gulls are big, clunky and rude; they will steal the food off your beach blanket!  

ANNETTE - I once had a herring gull take my whole packet of home made chicken sandwiches!!! I was devastated as I had been really looking forward to them!!! I had to go to a cafe and buy some!!!!

Rusty: I had one take off with a plastic bag full of snacks. I and others on the beach chased it around, not so much for the food but we didn't want it ingesting the plastic. We have scrub jays in our garden that will take the food off your plate if you wander of for a few minutes; they like to hang out at restaurants too, as do most birds in search of an easy meal. I love it though.

This page has been slow to load for the last 10 days or so. OK, it is a long way from Loch Garten to Adelaide; maybe the satellite is taking the longest route <grin>

We had rain yester-eve & night. All of 6 mm. Should be great for the. . . weeds.

Good morning - thank you for all the kind thoughts about my brother's health. He is being very pragmatic about it - and yes, ANNETTE I've told him that he can function with one kidney etc. I await more news. 

HEATHER - Sending good wishes & healing thoughts to your brother. A worry for you when he is so far. S-i-l is living a life of luxury LOL. I expect “Sally” is the Salvation Army; in our state we call them Salvos.

Good Morning. A bright start here and warmer, but we are warned that it could be frosty at nights again by the weekend.

I've found it hard to get onto the Site for about a week, now.

One of my d.in laws has only had one kidney since childhood: she is careful to drink plenty of water, but keeps good health.

Some family members (not our children) have flu like symptoms but are testing negative. Taken to their beds to weather the storm. There are still other nasties about.

E-E is delivering the roof racks as the collection van never arrived (apparently, it’s full of stuff going to Ukraine). When he gets back, I can talk to him about next intended garden tasks – quite cloudy out there but reasonable working temperature (not for sitting).

LINDA – dentist sounds quite promising – hope he can carry out as intended. Pretty double Daff. Beautiful portrait of Bonnie! Glad family kids are testing -ve for covid – plenty of other viruses about still.

RUSTY – where is your local reserve? We are near WWT Caerlaverock, and not far from RSPB Mersehead – both on the Solway coast. There is also a small community reserve in Lockerbie, which has numerous Red Squirrels, and water birds on the pond.