Evening all: Been out all day; now starting to think about dinner. Back later to catch up.
Afternoon all ... beautiful day here ... only 3.5C when I went out this morning, but up to 8.5C an hour later!
Diane - great pic for the Monday Smile :-)
I came the 'scenic route' home from my supermarket visit this morning , via Whitley Bay & St Mary's Island ... can't resist posting these two photographs ... makes me think warmer weather is not too far away. (Sorry all those in Scotland who are enduring more snow!)
Thanks to everyone for chat, pics, links etc. Off to do some tidying in the garden now!
Take care.
Joan - avid bird and nature watcher in Northumberland!
Index Thread
Afternoon all,
Lynette : I think your pics were fuzzy due to fading light judging by the time you posted them. It was lovely and clear earlier at hatching time.
Dbnlib : Sorry you missed the Crufts final. The winning dog was a beauty with a lovely shiny coat and wagged his tail through the whole competition. He was also 9 years old and in superb condition. I remember being close to lots of flat coated retrievers at the East of England dog show and I thought they were great then so definately pleased about the winning breed.
Diane : Thanks for the monday smile.
Everyone else thanks for the chat etc.
Today has been bright with some sunshine and temps about average for mid March so we decided to wash Hamish which he hates. Eventually managed to get it done with the Malaseb shampoo but what a struggle. He is due a check up at the vets on wednesday re eye problem which seems to be under control now.
A bit surprised that there have been no more osprey sightings but the weather has not been great around Gibralter so I expect that is where the delay is. We are now behind last years total sightings at this stage.
Feeding time for the little bobblehead:
Morning all: Panasonic folks are due here before 10 and, of course, naughty TV has decided to behave itself. Grrrr.
Diane: Thanks for Edit update - ah yes, we have Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant up the road about 3 hours, built, they assure us, "to withstand an earthquake of the same magnitude" as the Japanese quake. Hmmm. How did they ever get the name Bald Eagle with all those feathers - that's a very cute shot, wonder how far the photog was from the nest.
OG: You're right! Hadn't thought about all that extra time (and lost hour) messing with clocks. I thought "no mess" seed meant no mess at all. I wonder if that's the same as "no grow" which I haven't seen. Now we have a proliferation of fat little Junco's that like to jump up and down in the feeder and send waves of seed flying over the side. Maybe I should issue them little brooms and dustpans. Or put up a sign directing them to all the worms that I saw yesterday in the garden. Re kids, sometimes I wonder if I'm smart to phone kids to see how things are going (the old "ignorance is bliss"). Nothing new on the baby front. Do take care of yourself.
Trish: Don't know about Mia, but Oro seems to take pains to avoid stepping in other dogs' poo, although he does stick his nose in it. Oh dear, charming eh?
Brenda: Allergies are reckoned to be worse than usual here this year after all that rain... Where did you read the warnings about those Potassium Iodide pills?
Djoan: I would be taking the scenic route every day if I were you. When I take the "scenic route" home from Costco, it takes me past citrus and avocado groves with the chance of seeing coyotes and other critters.
dibnlib: I'm sure someone must've taken video of the winning dog at Crufts. May you could find it on YouTube?
Alan: Love the word "bobblehead" for that little bundle of down.
OK, must do some sorting out of credit card bill before Panasonic folks arrive. We're expecting blustery winds this afternoon along the coast; do hope whale count doesn't get cut short....
Hi everyone. The weather here could best be described as argumentive. It's mostly quite dreich but the sun occasionally puts in his tuppenceworth. The day has went in very quick so far but I'm not complaining because we are very close to EG's return to Loch Garten, so the days can go as fast as they want until then.
Annette: Thanks for starting the new weekly chat. Glad you managed to get a new saute pan.
AQ: I hope you have a great time in Vienna.
Diane: The thought of the effects from a nuclear fallout from Japan is very frightening indeed. Thanks for the brillaint Monday Smile.
dibnlib: I'm glad to hear Dillon behaved on his walk with you.
auntie: Its always great to hear from you whenever you post. Don't worry about replying to all the posts. I usually find when I've not replied for two or three days its impossible to reply to everyone. Brilliant line about the Osps :-)
Wendyb: I'm not surprised you're bored with the snow. I live jsut outside of Glasgow and when I saw the snow on Saturday morning I remember thinking that we'd had enough of that stuff a couple of months ago.
Alan: Thanks for the link to the eagle story. Thanks for the bobblehead pics.
Chloe: Glad you had nice weather on Sunday.
Brenda: Hope you enjoyed the leg of lamb yestarday.
Lynette: Nice to hear you had an easy day yestarday. To be honest I avoided watching the rugby. I think the last time Scotland managed to record a win at Twickeham was before the Lady of the Loch was a bobblehead. ;-) Thanks for the webcam pics.
Trish 2: I totally agree with you about folk cleaning up after their dogs.
Joan: Thanks for the pics :-)
Happy Monday everyone!
Paul.
Warning! This post contains atrocious spelling, and terrible grammar. Approach with extreme edginess.
Sunny, blue sky and by mid morning 8 degrees in shade, so change of plan – OH to shops and bank this morning while I sorted the kitchen, then both in garden this afternoon.
See loads of posts – will reply later – coffee break over!
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
Annette, if you click on Diane's link, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/35.html and then scroll down to, Are there safety concerns ? and then read the rest of the page.I often wondered why the Bald Eagle is called bald when it has a head full of white feathers so I looked it up some time ago and it seems that bald is an obsolete English word meaning "white".Hope all your TV problems are solved today.
Joan, It is definitely not like in your photographs here today. I would love to see your blue sky. I think we are having one of OG's ' no weather days'. Thanks for your lovely photographs though, which show just what it could be like.
Alan. I feel sorry for poor Hamish. I hope you were using plenty of warm water for his bath. Another lovely pic. I think it is a miracle that the mother can transfer food from her extremely large beak to the chick's beak.
OG Hope both you and son are better soon. At least you have managed a decent nights sleep and that will hopefully help you.
ALAN I saw black/gold Retriever pups for sale in the P & J so phoned up to find out more. Seems son was a bit careless when walking his flat coated and a Goldie got far too interested. I had actually wondered if it might be a new mixed breed and if they were going to breed again later in the year would have been most interested. The pups are actually near Peterhead which is probably a good thing. If they were closer we would probably go and see them and then it would be impossible to leave without one and OH is reluctant till I am much better. There are 12 pups and they are 8 weeks old. The lady I spoke to breeds Goldies, Flats, Labs and Bassett Hounds so she did say she would call me later in the year when she is hoping to breed the Goldie. She tells me that Flat Coated Retrievers are actually less bouncy/energetic dogs than Goldies.
Thought I would make this a new paragraph although it is really a continuation of the above. While we were talking she suddenly said. "Sorry I really must go, I have a Barn Owl to catch" Turns out that as well as dogs she keeps Raptors. Didn't find out more as she went to catch the Owl but am presuming they are rescues. Am I right that you need a licence to keep Raptors? She lives in 38 acres near a place called Maud and did say if we were over in her direction to pop in and take a look. Must now work hard on OH as I don't drive anymore but would be most interested to drive over and find out more.
Back to Crufts. How amazing that the winner was a 9 1/2 year old, and what a beautiful dog.
Ophelia, the Great Horned Owl, is sitting on 5 eggs that she laid at the end of February. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/oms-owl
Barn Owl babies galore right now at the California Audubon Starr Ranch Sanctuaryhttp://www.starrranch.org/blog/?page_id=2
Hummingbirds, toucans, and other gorgeous birds. There are now 3 South American cams available at this site (1 in Equador, 2 in Brazil). The Buenaventura cam (the 1st one) is playing up today, though. Just a temporary problem. The others are working. They take a few seconds to load, but are worth it. The birds are very colorful.http://www.coolwebcams.net/live/cam1206-1258032449-buenaventura_webcam_in_the_forest.html
More South American cams here: http://www.ornithos.net.br/ A lovely hummingbird feeder and fruit feeders.
Joan: Your photos are completely stunning and fabulous!!!
DIANE Thank you for the Monday smile.
Had another E-mail from OH's cousin. She said that they are getting between 10 and 20 aftershocks of varying degrees per day. Her house along with many others will have to be demolished and rebuilt. Have been trying to contact my Godmother whose oldest son is married to a Japanese lady.