Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 3 November 2024

HAPPY NEW WEEK!

I hope everyone has a good week.

The harvest is nearly complete here in my area. The leaves have almost all fallen off the trees, and they're dry and crunchy. Indiana has had the 3rd driest October in recorded history and the driest since 1964. My county is officially in drought, and there's a burn ban and red flag warnings because of the elevated fire risk and high winds. Lots of field, brush, and forest fires in my region. Just a few miles north of me is "severe drought". All very, very unusual for my state. We usually have the autumn rains.

The birds that migrate have left. The pileated woodpecker is staying the winter in the woods across from my front door. I'm continuing to leave apples for the groundhog. He hasn't begun hibernation yet.

Love and hugs to all.

  • Lovely place Rusty, even with the gray skies.  But wait - no lunch out today?  :-)

    Lynette:  'Fair' and 'wise' are not in the new Prez's dictionary (along with many other words of that sort).   

    Diane:  Just saw your post and also that the Fed has indeed dopped the interest rate again, also that the Dow shot up.Will be interesting to see how the economy does when Himself has finished.  I like Marketplace too!    You could be right about the higher prices in April, though most of the people who've seen the house are Phoenix folks who had a record number of 100+ degree days this summer, unusual even for them. And of course, not enough water down there for all the recently built homes.  We have a good well on our property:  A good flow and good clean water, but in the greater scheme, how long can all those aquifers last?  They only took millions of years to fill up.

    I really have to do something about my keyboard; shall have to take the back off the laptop and blow it out, but am worried I'll just make matters worse at this point. 

    Just got a call from grandson who's on his way to help with the fire in Ventura (northwest of LA).  20,000 acres so far and no containment at all yet. 

    Take care everyone.

  • ANNETTE - I was reading about the wildfires yesterday and wondered how far from you . Also thought about your grandson. 

    AQ - I hope that your OH hasn't had any further falls. 

    We are having unseasonably warm temperatures up here in the North of Scotland. Some areas around 18c. And blue skies ! Apparently being pulled up from the Canaries. I hope that LINDY is enjoying her time there. My OH and I were always there at this time of year. Happy memories...

  • Heather - please send the blue skies down to North Wales. It is STILL grey here. I will be back later. Am off to visit my friend in the assisted living to try to sort out a couple problems on her iPad!! 

  • CLARE: I agree. The morning after the election, I wrote the following essay and posted it on my personal Facebook page.

    ‐-----

    I woke up before dawn this morning. I wanted to cry, but I was too numb. 

    I stared at the wall and listened to the red-bellied woodpecker drumming on my window frame. The groundhog whistled his alert of nearby danger. I thought, "You don't know the half of it, buddy."

    I drank three cups of coffee and raced through the five stages of grief. Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance. I think I'm holding on to anger.

    I thought about the harsh conditions my Scottish ancestors endured here. I heard the covered wagons arriving just before winter.

    I realized that if I'm going to face this new fascist dystopia here...alone...on this land, I need to get real strong, real smart, real fast.

  • CIRRUS: We can still be friends, even though we disagree on this one issue. :-) Have a good weekend!

  • AQ;  Two intriguing 'headlines' and two interesting critters.  Blue-banded bee is unusually colorful and Gus the penguin's trip was impressive, even though I assumed the other Denmark.

    Diane:  Sorry you're alone in a land of MAGA folks there in Indiana.   At least I've lots of company here in CA.  Am reading that Newsom and governors of other like-minded states have been strategizing for a year on legal challenges to any attempt by Himself to overturn current rights to the point of having already written legal briefs.  (Thinking of send 'better luck next time' messages to a certain Middle East country that also seems unhappy with the state of things.)

  • ANNETTE: I just heard a report on the near-LA fire. I wish your grandson safety. That's awful.

    Glad to know that Newsom and the other governors are getting prepared. Looks like Trump will take the House, so he will have a trifecta and full power.

  • AQ - thanks for the article about the penguin. He/she is a long way from home. 
    Annette - I hope your grandson is safe. I didn’t realise until I read it here that there were fires about in your area. 
    I was semi successful on my visit to my friend in the assisted living. I got the iPad problems sorted quickly. However, last time I was there, we ordered a new remote for her DVD player *** recording device. So, we put the batteries in and I got it all connected and linked to the TV. Then, she couldn’t find the instruction book for the DVD/recording device so I was stuck as to how to use the remote. Because the other one had been lost for so long, she couldn’t remember what she used to do. If I had been and home I could have fiddled around but I didn’t want to leave her without TV so we left it. She is going to have a look for the instruction book. I was frustrated because I like to help if I can. Then, this morning, I have been asked by another friend if I can help her get the Internet back on her phone. The company locked her out apparently because they thought her data had been compromised. They have sent her a code to put in to get it back and she wants me to do it!! 
    I have giant choc chip cookies which we can share when she comes this afternoon!! This evening I am going to to golf club prize giving. Miraculously, I won a prize in a major competition this season so I am going to go to receive it!!