Evening all: Don't miss the last couple of pages of last week's chat. Gary's been at it again, posting incredibly cute puppy pix!
OG: Yes, Los Carneros means "the rams" in Spanish; while La Patera (the original ranch that Los Carneros was on) is "the place where the ducks gather." In the 1700s, after the Spanish settled here, it was cattle country; then in the 1860s,about a decade after California became a state, folks from back East started bringing in sheep, which survived periods of drought better than cattle and whose wool was in demand by eastern and southern states during the Civil War when the cotton industry was decimated. Anyway, in the 1870s, the American family that owned Rancho La Patera planted the first commercial lemon orchard in the state (or the Goleta Valley depending on which source you read). I drive to Costco along Cathedral Oaks Blvd - which runs north of Lake Los Carneros - past huge citrus orchards and the remaining acreage of Rancho La Patera. As for the vineyards, they're over the hills behind Santa Barbara in the higher, dryer Santa Ynez Valley. All very complicated.
Gary: Never been to Yellowstone - was heading that way one October but an early snowfall blocked the Western entry so had to "make do" with Grand Teton National park. Sigh. If you're looking for somewhere to stay, you can always visit TripAdvisor and read everyone's reviews of the options.
OK guys, off to do a crossword and watch some rubbish on telly. Take care ALL.
Margo - My thoughts and prayers are with your sister, you & your family. May she have strength to fight for her good health.
Diane - If you’ve sent cool weather, it must be arriving tomorrow as we expect the temp to drop below 30 C. Currently 32 in city and 27 here with a sea breeze. My birdie friend tells me that blue-wing kookaburra is a "ring-in". It inhabits West Aust, Northern Territory & Queensland. It is not a raptor but it does eat mice and small lizards.
Dibnlib - After you have typed some text into the reply box, if you accidentally hit the control and 1 keys together, the text grows huge. That is the number 1 on keyboard, not the numeric set. I discovered this myself by accident. Unfortunately hitting Control & z together does not Undo, it just deletes everything.
Yesterday eve we had a BBQ at Dau1’s plus a viewing of their pics of New Zealand. Very enjoyable. I had chat with Miss 14 (soon to be 15). She behaved well and spoke like a human. Which has done much to counter the bad impression I gained last year when her mother was away.
Jasper, our grandkitten, managed half a teaspoon of fish yesterday. The original problem, the rash, has been cleared up by the antibiotics. Alas he is allergic to those antibiotics and now has a reflux problem. Dau2 & Sil are feeding him liquids with a pipette.
The last Tour DownUnder this afternoon as the riders do umpteen circuits around Adelaide, North Adelaide and the River Torrens. We have seen a number of cyclists down our way heading for the flat roads behind the sandhills to warm-up or warm-down.
Belated birthday wishes to Lynette! Margobird, I’m so, so sorry ‘bout your sister’s situation. BrendaH, congrats for winning that quiz (again). Diane, thank you sooo much for that stunning hawk-card! Alan, that Rutland diary is truly very interesting read. And glad that Hamish is getting better. And same to Patriciat re Tweed! Gary, seems that we have about the same amount of snow, wonderful stuff, eh? LOLLOL Thanks to all for your ‘get well’-wishes, seems like they’ve done their thing - feeling so much better now. Must be getting ready to late shift now. Wish each and everyone on this group nice Sunday.
my photos in flickr
Managed the early to bed part, managed getting up early, so well on target! Service isn’t until 11:15 but I need at least half the morning for the reluctant bits to get moving! Seem to have green grass this morning, so no frost, and also no fog – where has this coloured world come from?
I see there was lots of advice for Chrisy during the night – hope she is successful with the cams.
Alan – thanks for link to Lily clip – unfortunately neither of us is on Facebook – still fighting against it, but we think we might have to cave in to have any contact with Dau#1 who seems to be conversing with cousins etc but hardly ever with us!
Gary – puppies playing in the snow – fantastic! Enjoy Yellowstone when you go – lucky you.
Annette – thanks for starting our week – and thank you for the history of Los Carneros. I love to know how places got their names.
AQ – so pleased Miss 14 (soon to be 15) redeemed herself at the BBQ! Poor, poor Jasper – despite his alarm clock antics when he came to stay!!
Auntie – so pleased you are better – but do rest later, after your fist shift back.
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
Gary thanks for the videos!
Loved the videos from ALAN and GARY first I have seen of the bear cubs. ANNETTE thanks for info on how the enormous letters appear. It is a shame there doesn't appear to be any choice apart from to print as it is or start again. Isn't everyone so helpful on this site? Chrissy B has had so much advice from people. Hope she manages to get the eagles and bearcam up and running soon.
Off to church in 10 mins and will walk there for the first time in months.
Good Morning All.
The weather is still the same, very cloudy and grey. Looks as if we have had some early rain. I can't get my shoes on this morning. Tripped over a rug late Friday night and now still have a swollen, bruised foot. Much better than yesterday though.
Annette, Thanks for starting yet another new week.
Chrisy, Hope you have now sorted out your bear den camera problems.
Dibnlib, Sorry your Mum has had even more health problems. Stop being so hard on yourself.
Gary, As always just love the puppy photographs and those clips of them playing in the snow. I wonder how long it took, to get them back inside. Don't envy you having all that snow though.
AQ, So pleased to hear that you have changed your opinion of Miss 14. You can now enjoy a normal g/daughter- g/mother relationship. Just been watching the threat of more flooding spreading into Swan Hill. They showed the expanse of water, which is 55miles long x 25 miles wide !
Auntie, Do look after yourself. Good to hear you are feeling well enough to return to work but it is surprising how tired we feel even after these 'bugs' have left us.
OG, Hope you have got those reluctant parts moving now. We go to church for 9am. so have to move quickly on Sundays.
Thanks for all pictures, links etc.
Morning all,
Thanks for all the earlier chat and links.
ChrisyB : I think Diane is right. If you install Adobe flashplayer 10. You should be OK. I dont think it is a browser issue either.
Weather is dreich yet again with temp at 6.2c. Not sure what is planned for today so we will see what evolves.
Meanwhile back at base:
http://www.dan-dare.org/FreeFun/Thunderbirds/Thunderbirds1960sIntro/Thunderbirds1960sIntro.htm
Good Morning, Sunday, All: A grey day here, but we're not looking out of the window except to glance at the bird feeders to see if 'our' Woodpecker returns!
Only just looked at the above posts - so sorry to hear that Brenda has been tripping the light fantastic & now has a swollen foot to prove it. Its so easily done. Hope it goes down soon, make sure you rest it as much as possible Brenda. Nice to know that auntie feels lots beter and is now back on the treadmill at work - be kind to yourself, auntie!
Annette: Just love that description "The place where the ducks gather!" Thanks as always for starting this thread off again. I'm off now to read what I missed yesterday....
"Supermarionation" Alan! Thanks for the great link - it brings back many memories. F>A>B>
Good morning and you really are all wonderful people, thanks for your kind thoughts and hugs. I am finding it very difficult to come to terms with things, especially as my sister is so much better than she was. OG thanks for making me see why they did not say anything to her and her family before. You are quite right they had to be sure before they told her the bad news.
Thanks for all the videos and pics and also Gary for the puppy videos and pics and your lovely wife standing knee deep in snow.
OH out at the moment on his usual Sunday morning walk along the front at Bournemouth so just popped in to catch up with everything. Latest news from the Lily says Hope has been licking the cubs and is not demanding to be fed. They are even wondering if the motherly instinct has kicked in for Hope. It is very cold there at the moment and Lily is keeping her cubs nice and warm.
Sorry I have not replied individually will try and do better tomorrow.
Have a good Sunday and hope you have some sun, weather here is sunny and not quite so cold. Billy Whizz has already been round a couple of times and has taken to sitting underneath our garden table. OH had to wait to go out until he left as he didn't want to disturb his morning clean.
Margobird