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Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 3 April 2022

Diane in Indiana
03/04/2022 00:11

HAPPY NEW WEEK! 

I hope everyone has a safe, serene week. 

It looks like the enormous, squawking Pileated Woodpecker has decided to nest right at the beginning of my driveway lane, across from my front door, this year!

  • 09/04/2022 08:49
    Thank you, Lynette. Good morning Everyone. Its a sunny start again here, although it was freezing last night. Hope the flowers don't mind this see sawing of temps.

    Preparations under way for our family visit next week, at Easter.

    I was telling my OH about the sad death of Max, the famous springer spaniel (like our Bonnie) - he lived in the Lake District and was very popular under lockdown, as his cheery walks which his owner filmed regularly were said to be of great help to those suffering from depression. He had two friends, also springers. The report I saw was not repeated later on the TV, however, which is a shame. He had a statue erected in Keswick not long ago.
  • 09/04/2022 10:46
    LYNNETTE - thanks for your wishes for the weekend. More gardening in store but we had a heavy rain shower about an hour ago!
    LINDY - love the tulips. I watched Max, Paddy and Harry on their walks all through lockdown - and still do - morning and evening. I am going to see the statue later in the year when I visit the Lake District with family. It has been obvious for a while that Max was unwell and tired and his owner did the right thing for him. (He was 14 and a half) I have to admit I was in floods of tears when I read what Kerry said about his passing.
    Regarding sweet peas. I keep a patch of ground vacant in my sunny border and plant them in there having bought them as little plants at a garden centre. If I have a few left, I put them in a pot and, frankly, they never do as well.
  • 09/04/2022 12:04
    Good morning on a sunny Saturday – still quite cold but nice to have it looking brighter and all the bulbs still magnificent – even some later Daffodils. I did get to look around the garden yesterday and found that OH had moved a small shrub to under a bigger one instead of into a gap I had pointed out – so this afternoon there will have to be a quick reshuffle there (in the front garden) – before more potting and some sowing.

    LINDA – your Son’s kitchen has taken even longer than ours! I hope they are both liking it. Enjoy the Easter visit from the other family. Sad to read about Max in the Lake District – used to enjoy seeing him pop up on Facebook, but had missed his demise.

    RUSTY – a tip for when you find you are signed out: copy what you have written onto your clipboard (or even a spare document), sign in and then paste where you want it! One reason for waiting to visit Worsley was because it was too new – also haven’t yet planned accommodation, and we were still locked away due to my vulnerability! May not even happen this year, could be 2023 or 2024 if ever! Do you have Beech Trees in the local woodland? I always think the fresh green leaves show of the best of the bluebells.

    AQ – glad your S-i-L fixed the reluctant loo cistern. Liked the thought quote. I couldn’t stay awake this morning – started getting up with 7am alarm and eventually reached breakfast after 9am!

    HEATHER – good that weekend sleepovers can resume for the Elgin girls – amazing to note their ages now.
  • 09/04/2022 18:34

    Morning all:   Was listening to the World Service on the way to Trader Joe's this morning and heard the tail end of a segment on Monarch butterflies along the California coast.   As they were saying, the numbers are way up this year after a few years of being alarmingly low.  Monarchs have a favorite spot down among the eucalyptus near the beach about 10 minutes away and they huddle in the branches in the 10s of thousands, waking up when the sun warms them up to flutter and float about.  It's magical...     Haven't heard much about the gray whale migration this year though I think the west coast strandings have dropped.  My buddy/former whale count volunteer and I took snacks down to Coal Oil Point the other week and sat and chatted with one eye (each!) on the horizon.  Didn't see anything, but the cow/calf pairs that come so close to the beach should be showing up any time.....  I really do miss that gig.  The Natural History Museum never did pick up the study after our lead investigator retired and Covid hit.....

    Heather: I too am amazed at how the girls have grown - I still think of Mia as 11.....

    Rusty:  OG has good advice re copying posts just in case....

    OG:  Thanks for asking:  Daughter is home, can now put full weight on leg but that only means she has to be more careful moving around - at least until muscles are stronger.  Hope EE managed to replant that shrub (had to smile at your missed "X marks the spot" suggestion).  

    Unseasonably high and ghastly temperatures should give way to the ocean influence late today.. Not a minute too soon.

  • 09/04/2022 22:48

    Annette- Those Monarch butterflies must be quite a sight. I first saw them some years ago on a TV documentary, and they've been mentioned a few times since, due of course to their wonderfully epic migration. Wish I could see them for real.

    Rusty - Perhaps I should go back to putting my sweet peas in the ground, then. I used to, years ago.

    Put some laundry outside and got it back inside twice! Very sudden showers today, and even hail at one point. We've had a couple of early butterflies, a wasp and some more bumble bees around.

  • 09/04/2022 22:59

    You can just see Bonnie here, muscling in on my pic of the hail bouncing off the patio outside the conservatory door.