Weekly Chat, Sunday February 6, 2011

Morning all,

OG: We will be discussing the eye op for Hamish on wednesday but I am not convinced he needs it yet.

Annette : The drug company is Schering-Plough. Not sure if they have American connections. I suspect the whole thing is a bit of a con as they were offering free 'dry eye' tests and then if the dog fails it is on £68 eye ointment for life.

Linda : I hope you have a good day with the family.

Alicat :  Nice shot of the 3 eggs. I was watching the Dunedin cam quite a lot yesterday. They are still tweaking the settings as we cant play it through Real Player any more and 20 viewers at a time is not a lot.

Lynette : Thanks for all the screenshots. Bea and Jay are almost bursting out of the nest.

Thanks to everyone else for the chat etc

Weather is dull and damp but still mild with temp at 9.6c. I expect we will be going out soon, probably to Stamford for a walk around the shops.

Raccoons have been messing with the nest at Fort St Vrain eagles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1Un7KsmQXA&feature=player_embedded

Good Morning ALL, Yea, it is not rainning, but everywhere is very wet after yesterday's and overnight rain.  Waiting for the promised sunny intervals now. Very slow trying to get on to the site this morning. I had to come on through my page eventually.

Alan, I wonder what your vet's reaction will be, when you ask for just a prescription for Hamish's cream. That picture of the Dunedin osprey reminds me of last year when EJ/ Odin were swinging the branches around the nest.

Gary, Loved your video. I see you are definitely going to have to share your wife's attention with Toffee. They had obviously missed one another.

Linda, I hope you are able to really enjoy today. You must still feel bad to cancel the family from staying the night, as we know how you love to have your family around you.

OG & Terry, Enjoy your ' meet up' tomorrow. OG, I haven't seen a true murmuration of the starlings. It must have been fantastic.

Paul, Good to hear you now feel more energetic. It has felt like a very long winter.

Lynette/ Alicat, Thank you for the pictures.

Can't get on to page 17 so will have to look again later.

Morning, all. Haven't been able to access the site. Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

I was so happy yesterday evening. I opened up the front door to take a trip to the mailbox, and the big red-tailed hawk screeched at me. He flew out of a tree and made a circle around, screaming at me the whole time. Then he flew down on the ground in the woods. I was so pleased and relieved that he made it through the ice storm and the big freeze. Yay!!! All of my favorite birds are now accounted for. I haven't heard the great horned owls, but I'm not worried about them. They're very hearty and are probably deep in the woods; this is the time of year when they nest and raise the owlets.

Lindy: I hope you're able to have a lovely day with Sweetpea and the rest of the family. We have a widespread flu outbreak in Indiana (several different types of flu). It has been on the local news all week. I've heard that a lot of people are having trouble kicking the viruses. Hope you're all better!

Brenda: Glad you're getting a break from the rain.      Lynette: I saw the new satellite images of the sun -- from both sides and in 3D! Just beautiful!!! Thanks for your posts.

Alan/Annette: Schering-Plough is, indeed, an American company, but they have recently merged with Merck Pharmaceutical. Alan, I know that you want to do what is best for Hamish, but you are very wise to think critically about the drugs and procedures he actually needs. The health care industry, like all corporations, is in business to make money. I just wanted to give you some support because you're absolutely right to be careful.

Alan/Margo: I hope that the U.K. forest sell-off can be avoided. I see that we in the U.S. will be losing the protections for our forests and grasslands. I am NOT pleased with this news at all. http://www.defendersblog.org/2011/02/breaking-obama-administration-seeks-weaker-wildlife-protections-on-national-forests-grasslands/

Margo: You're still in my thoughts, and I'm hoping the best for your sister.
Gary: Oh, that video was delightful. I think Toffee has found a very good home.
Auntie: I just loved that photo of the eagles. That would make a good framed print for my wall. :-) Thanks for the link.
Heather: So good to see you. The canal boat holiday sounds terrific. So glad that your son-in-law was promoted. Like Annette, I hope it keeps him out of harm's way.
Paul/Heron77: I hope you're feeling better.
dibnlib: Hope the calcium tabs help you and that you continue to improve.
AQ: Loved the Friday smiles! Glad Lizarda is enjoying the tomatoes. Dang, I miss homegrown tomatoes. Come on, spring! I buy mine from the Amish farm near here. They are sooo good.

George G: I'm so glad that you and Diesel are happy. When dogs are in a shelter or rescue, they can sometimes have attitude or problem behaviors just because they're under so much stress. Once they're in a loving, calm home, though, the problem behaviors go away. Sounds like Diesel is settling in just fine. Wonderful! (By the way, my boxer dog always hated cameras! I would try to take his picture, and he would get the most pitiful look on his face!)

OG: Must have been great to see the starling murmeration. I hope you have nice weather for your Black Isle/Speyside holiday in April. I'm thinking that we will have an early spring here; hope you do, too. Also hope that you and Terry enjoy your meet up. I know you will enjoy the photos you bought for your birthday. I looked at the photo gallery on the Gordon Yates' site. He is an extraordinary photographer. Really gifted. I saw several photos I liked very much.

Annette: Have a safe trip to Arizona. I hope you enjoy your time with your daughter and granddaughter -- and Oro! If you take any photos, be sure to post them. Hope your granddaughter is doing well.

Must get busy. Hello to everyone I've missed. (Hi, Joan!). Everyone have a great weekend.

Oh, my stars, sorry about the long post!!!

I meant to say hello to Patriciat, too. Hope all is well with you. Don't worry about figuring out how to use the personal pages. :-)

Managed to catch both peregrines at Zurich:

Hi ALL bad news about the horses at newbury two horses collapsed and died and the others were distresed they have been checked out by the vet and appear to be ok the were in the parade paddock just before the fist race with went ahead 20 minutes late but after an hour decieded to call it off the think the were electrocuted but wont know untill they have done tests on the horses and investigated the scene this is so terribly sad

Quick pop in to say that if anyone has a chance in the next hour - check out Big Rig Steve - as I type he's on his way East on I-80 and is climbing up toward Donner Pass at the top of the Sierras. Marvellous views and sunny too!  Back later.

Geez Alicat! That's terrible about the horses....

Alicat, just read about the horses. They think it was caused by an electric cable below ground in the paddock. Those horses with aluminium shoes were more at risk. Very sorry situation.

England 59 ---- Italy 13.