Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 19 February 2023

HEATHER That was the original treetops which was little more than a treehouse I think. Anyway it was burned down in a fire and a new one built close to the same site. It is much bigger of course but as the name implies it is built of trees. As well as meeting other guests in the corridors you were also likely to brush last a baboon or two. We were warned not to touch them, The roof was flat and as well as people taking in the view there were also baboons and we did see one grab a wallet that some poor chap had left on top of a bag. A daily diary was kept to be filled in by guests and when we looked back there were some sad incidents..............but hey ho, this is wildlife we are talking about!! Most people stayed one night before moving on.

A quick update from me - yes, we are still around!

Various health and other appts etc have caught up with me and I find I can only cope with sorting one thing at a time.

J's happening last week was that he got lost out in his car again one day - only between here and Carlisle! He didn't recognise things he saw and could not tell us where he had been. He found his way back to Gretna by using the motorway (which scares him) and has decided he needs to give up driving altogether. He seems a bit better in himself since making the decision. He now knows he will be working at Gretna primary three days a week though March.

My scooter had its annual service this morning - at home. Tomorrow I am getting my shingles vaccination - apparently delayed almost five years by covid!

OG Don't rush things OG

Sorry to hear of Js car trauma. Glad to hear he has March fixed at Gretna primary. Will it be an easy journey for him on public transport?

Morning all:

OG: Good to hear from you but not that J had an unsettling experience in the car.  I'm guessing that should be a familiar route for him? Still, it's good that he recognizes the risk of it happening again. Does he typically drive to Gretna or is there bus service?

AQ:  Sympathy re the heat.  :-(

I'm out grocery shopping this morning to avoid the worst of the storm, which is due tomorrow.

Meanwhile, dinner prep was interrupted for a few minutes last evening when a large and healthy-looking hawk stopped by our fountain.  Of course, the binoculars were on the other side of the room, so I went on hands and knees behind the kitchen counter to snag them; had just got them focused when off it flew!  

Annette - that happens to me a lot when I am birdwatching!!!! Good idea to go grocery shopping before the storm. I do hope it isn’t too strong and disruptive.
OG - that sounds a very scary thing to have happened to J. I didn’t realise it had happened before. Very worrying. He will surely feel good about the fact that he has employment for March. Good luck with the shingles vaccination. I don’t remember any side effects after I had mine. Hope you are OK afterwards.
No one will be surprised to read that I have been birdwatching today. The weather was beautiful and sunny. There was a cold breeze but we were all well wrapped up. We were on the Welsh side of the Dee estuary for high tide. The number and variety of ducks and waders was wonderful to see. There were also lots of little birds (meadow pipits and linnets for example) plus the usual hedgerow birds. The stars though were the singing skylarks. I feel so uplifted when I hear that song.

dibnlib - I visited Treetops about fifteen years ago. It was quite basic, but you don't go there for comfort! The 'alarm' system is wonderful - you have a little board in your room and if you want to be 'alarmed' when certain animals appear overnight, you will be 'bleeped'. I set it for everything - hippo, buffalo, elephant I think were the choices - so didn't get a lot of sleep. The highlight for me was standing out on the balcony when it was almost dark ... a large bird flew into a tree quite a distance away and I was able to identify it as an eagle owl - the first one I had ever seen 'in the feather'. I was very chuffed. A wonderful experience, one I will remember always.

Skylarks, Rusty -- Oooh! one of my very favourites. The sound of them transports me back to being only 7 years old, when we lived in a rural area and I thought then that they must surely be magical.

Glad you had an enjoyable birdwatching day.

OG - Nice to hear that there is progress there, although I agree that it sounds worrying that J is losing his confidence in driving. Maybe if he drove for a while accompanied by EE he might feel he is once again coping with it.

We've had a mixed day - I got lots done this morning including going to town for errands and trying out a new walking stick I have bought for myself, as I went around. When I returned home I found that the washing machine had been doing strange things, so I reset it and it did a whole wash all over again, including the detergent, which mustn't have been distributed properly the first time. Upshot of this was, that by the time it had once again been put on "spin" at the end it was way too late to get anything out on the line. Still not sure if the machine needs attention or is just throwing a strop! Sorry, I seem to mention laundry way too often these days.

I put away some winter sweaters including Christmas ones (one had needed mending on a seam anyway) and rooted about in the big sweater drawer. Then I found a pretty pink sweater I had forgotten about - but when I got it out, it was full of holes! Dratted moths.... Now I'm searching through to see how many sweaters I have made of wool, as they don't touch the others, thank goodness.

My OH came back from his afternoon walk reporting that he and another dog walker had been watching a Kestrel sitting high up on an electricity pylon, seemingly ignoring them. He's seen it before.

Dibnlib and Pat - How wonderful to go to visit Treetops, which is sometimes mentioned on the TV as a very special place.  Pat, I'd love to se an eagle owl. Something special about owls, isn't there?

My late brother lived in Johannesburg and often went on holiday to the north, staying in holiday chalets built in the safari areas, where they saw the usual creatures including magnificent elephants and masses of zebra.

Too hot to reply but reading your news.
Horrible night, temp didn’t drop below 30 C. Strong north wind blowing which means it’s coming from the hot dry Centre and lots of red dust. No, I’m not washing today. We are impatiently waiting for cool change late this afternoon.

AQ: Sending some of our very cool wind your way. We have sprinklings of snow on the hills behind us and the storm isn't arriving until tonight.