Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 5 November 2023

OG So sorry to hear you were in so much pain. Glad things aren't so bad for you now.

Rusty: Yes, that's ginko biloba. According to Wikipedia "It is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales, which first appeared over 290 million years ago." We see them around here.

OG; I was wondering if we had the right cruise - even the right ship! Who knows. Lindybird could be sunning herself in the Azores while we're all fretting about a messed-up itinerary. It'll be interesting to get the real story when she returns. Is there nothing that helps the pain in your leg? Poor you (and EE an J). Any stretching exercises? Or just that just reveal how clueless I am?

AQ/Harelady: Thanks SO MUCH for the links. I'll check them out in due course.

Busy here. Take care all.

Hello Diane

Certainly am safe where I am. My heart goes out to all who suffered loss and property damage.  Simply awful. Didn't know about Heather  so thank you. I also send healing thoughts to her : Heather I speak life to you. Zoe life (that's the life of God) and may you fully recover very soon from your fall.

I feel very sorry for Turkeys everywhere         . But, wild birds must taste so much better than farmed  ones. And I hope all hunters are snipers and can bag their bird as humanely as possible.

Wishing you a good week too Diane

Rusty - Lovely pictures - thank you. Most of our colour has disappeared in last week's gales. But our ginko biloba tree is still looking good and about the same colour as the one you showed. Ours is very tall and thin. The grounds where I live were once owned by the Evelyn family who had a long history of collecting trees (can't think of the scientific title - arborealist or something, perhaps?) and we have many beautiful and rare trees in the grounds. Including (I think) the only monkey puzzle tree actually pictured on Google Earth! We frequently get people just coming to visit our trees rather than us! I look out on the ginko biloba, and a very ancient mulberry tree which last year suddenly produced masses of fruits - delicious! This year, not so good ... and the blackbirds got most of them.

Good Lord. Where is everybody? Off to pick up daughter who arrived back from Arizona last evening with her horse in tow. We are going to get the animal settled in its new temporary home before it moves to the therapeutic riding center where her other horse is working. Meanwhile, city crews and their huge trucks parked along our street for annual city tree pruning. What a racket! Chain saws, chippers and the beep, beep, beep of their trucks all day plus lots of shouted instructions. Still, it's a good thing.

Annette - I did have to smile at your description of the 'horse in tow'! Gave rise to some interesting pictures in my head ...

PatO; :-) Literally in tow, but in a trailer.  EDIT:  Move has been rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon.  I'm off to the gym

I had assumed that - but my pictures were more fun!

ANNETTE Hope all goes well with the horse move. What a lovely thing to be doing.

Pat - it sounds as if you live in a place with lovely surroundings. Your own arboretum!
Annette - I hope the final horse move goes well. As Dibnlib says, what a lovely thing to be doing,
I have had another lovely day out with friends. This time at Chester Zoo. We walked 3 miles in all but stopped half way round for a very nice lunch. We saw the new black jaguar, a very cute baby sifaka (type of lemur) and a baby anteater on its mum’s back. Pygmy mice 3 cm long from nose to tail!!! Also a pigmy lemur - very tiny too. Pygmy is still used to describe these animals although I know the people of small stature in Africa aren’t called that any more. At the other end of the scale the huge male white rhino and the elephants. The young elephants were having a wonderful time in their huge deep pool.
Nice to see lots of school groups. The zoo has its own educational programme.