Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 27 August 2023

As you know, I was a long time lurker until I plucked up the courage to ask if I could join the group. I have had nothing but a lovely welcome and really enjoy the chats about such varied subjects. I really hope AQ - will come back. I miss the news from Down Under.

SunnyKate2 said:

Lovely to jog the memory.....

HERE

.

Thanks for posting the link. Enjoyed seeing old familiar (and highly missed) names like margobird, george, etc.

WendyBartter said:

the 'catastrophic storm' imminently due in S Florida

Let's hope it's a certain deity coming after Trump and De Santis.

SunnyKate - Thanks for the memories! As bjane said, several names who are no longer with us. I joined this group as a lurker - for several years - around 2012. It's been a source of information, comfort, support and laughter over the years and I hope it continues for ever! It still surprises me how involved we can get into each other's lives even though most of us have never met in person. In my early days as an ospreyholic I followed several nests, and would watch the webcams for long periods. However, now my life has got busier (I thought naively it was supposed to work the other way round!) this is my main contact, with quick visits to a couple of nests I have visited in person and like to keep tabs on.

Thank you, SunnyKate, for posting the original thread link. A lovely stroll down memory lane. I began posting in 2008 on the original comments page for the Osprey cam, before the site was reconfigured (which allowed for this Weekly Chat, which Annette so brilliantly started).

In those early days, Annette, "Auntie", and I would watch the LG osprey nest together during the wee hours of the UK night. At some point, AQ was there, too. At that time, I was the sole caregiver for my Dad, who had TB and then lung cancer. This website was my contact with the outside world, and it gave me evening respite from the stress. I miss all the folks who used to post: Auntie, DJoanS, etc. Joan and I used to talk about owls. I remember that some of us watched Pete's Pond. the website that showed African wildlife. I enjoyed that so much. Lovely times. and I'm grateful to all who got me through those hard days.

Clare Bailey said:

Let's hope it's a certain deity coming after Trump and De Santis.

if only.....

Thanks, all, for the lovely memories and friendships. Someone who I don't think got a mention so far was Wattle - the "other" Aussie - I think she lived much further north than AQ - maybe even near Brisbane.

Our outing today went well - a pleasant day out as well as successful shopping. No surprise purcheses - just practical things.

Just had a phone call from Dau#2 - she and her OH were to have come for just a couple of hours on 15th September on the way back from a week in Blackpool (memories for her as she grew up in Lancashire) but they have decided they will stay for dinner then drive to Glasgow for a night rather than do the whole northward journey home. We shall go out for a meal - probably somewhere in or near Lockerbie so they can leave direct from the restaurant to be on their way. NIce to have a couple of weeks to look forward to that.

I'm back.

What a trip down memory lane, to see the original posts! Sad to see some of those we have lost. I was thinking of Wattle only the other day, funnily enough - yes, I think she was more northerly than AQ. Very knowledgeable. And Auntie! I missed her when she stopped writing.

Still see Gary on the Facebook pages - he is fine and has been to the UK quite recently.

I got my haircut and then spent a while with my OH on holiday plans which are in the planning stage. I wrote a post this morning about our Welsh trip, which flatly refused to post on here <bah>

(Just noticed that my mobile had changed "flatly" to "gladly")

rusty2 said:

I plucked up the courage to ask if I could join the group.

I think I just started posting!  Asking for permission was never my strong point ...... and still isn't.

Dibnlib - I do remember you breaking your leg, and I worried about how painful that was (I've never broken a bone, touch wood)

Rusty, loved your pictures and descriptions of your brilliant trip. Thanks for posting them!

As I wrote in vain this morning, we had a somewhat strange visit to Wales this time. A good journey there, but as we decanted everything from the car, my OH tripped and fell UP the caravan steps. He was carrying a solid plastic box full of tins & etc, and dropped it heavily as he crumpled, gashing his arm and causing what turned out to be wonderfully purple bruises. I patched him up and we settled in. Almost immediately we realised that the WiFi, which is never very good there, was so patchy as to be non existent.

As it was a holiday period, many people had visiting grandchildren. What upset me was that most of them seemed entirely unconcerned that quite small children were running around all over the place, or riding tiny plastic vehicles, a long way from their home base, with no adult in sight! There are cars of course, and although we all drive very slowly, it is not absolutely safe for the very young. The parents and/or grandparents seemed blissfully unaware as tiny tots careered down sloping roads, or went towards barbed wire on nearby farmers fields. Ugh.