Weekly Chat, Sunday March 27, 2011

Crikey Alan there are now 24,300 plus watching the Decorah cam.

Margo/Lindy/TerryM I am a slow reader!  I bought the Gessner book way back in August last year, and what with wind farm matters and other things getting in the way, it took until our Switzerland holiday for me to settle down to read it.  It was worth the wait!

TerryM your volunteers meeting at Bass sounded really interesting.  I know you are Cumbria, but are you close enough to be able to pop into the reserve?  Will you be doing a week/fortnight stint or slipping into a daily rotor?  How exciting for you!!  So we have another female back waiting for her man.  Given the huge number Alan has reported making their way up thru France there must be a lot of males among them including Odin and the Laird!

Lovely photo of the peregrine Alan, any my goodness what a shot of the Decorah bird and the egg!  Ah ha, and a sneaky edit too!

OG your garden sounds amazing and very organised.  OH and I have split jobs in our garden.  We have a large garden, more or less open to the elements and wildlife, which we have developed over 23 (24 in July) years. OH looks after the grassy (a lot of couch grass unfortunately!) area, the hedges/trees and the veggie plot.  I have created far too many flower beds during this time which has been a little neglected over the past 4 years (wind farm!!!).  But my big gripe is how come the weeds keep coming?  As I think I've mentioned before we have an alkaline soil, southern slope and prevailing winds blow up the little valley we are in.  I have got used to planting drought loving plants!  The planting has developed on a totally ad hoc basis with little thought given to 'design', but hey, that's fine. 

Cirrus I hope your cut hand is feeling better today.  Typing with one hand is soo slow!!

Diane I don't know about your Dad's old friends and technology - I think that sounds too much like me.  And talking about spatial awareness, I lack it totally!  I am sure I would lose the car in a huge car park!  I've been to the Royal Show in the past, and if it were not for OH I am positive I would be walking home!  It's the same wandering around towns.  I have absolutely no idea where I am!  One of these days I will get one of these smart phones with a GPS app.  Well, at least I know some words!

I did see EJ briefly late lunch time.  She flew in with a fish and almost immediately took off with it, but I guess she's not far away, keeping an eye out for intruders and the return of Odin.

Lady makes NPR news:

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/30/134975937/lady-may-be-worlds-oldest-osprey

Morning all: Sunny again here; friend of OHs (now a Mac user) due here in a bit to try and open some old PC files on his desktop. Grandson had problems with his dressing late last night; I'm going to call the doc this a.m. since I'm not convinced unskilled workers (that would be me and his girlfriend) are the people who should be in charge of his dressings at this stage...

Diane: Nice that you can help your Dad's friends. When I was a secretary (back in the Jurassic age) the guys in the office always got suddenly helpless when it came time to change a typewriter ribbon....

Jay-Me: Makes sense to take something portable to read when traveling; I'm still saving paperbacks and then only taking one or two, so yes, space is a big consideration (especially these days - I can see the airlines adding a surcharge for a second paperback any day now....)

Lindybird: Nice your OH had a chance to celebrate a bit; very thoughtful of elderly neighbor. At book club last time, someone asked at what age do people become elderly; needless to say, it was much older than anyone there!

Tiger: Hmm. Will have to think about your comment on time for a bit - maybe will get it after a second cup of coffee! Sounds a bit like the theory of relativity.

OG/Lindybird: Delilah may have lactose intolerance; stay tuned. Parents seem to be calling the nurse quite often but that's normal with a first baby. I'll probably go visit in May.

Sheila: Congrats on getting the electronics working (we hope). Weeds survive no matter what - they will probably be the first things to show up when Japan's earthquake/tsunami area starts recovering. I'm no good at spatial awareness - or maybe I should say I have a hard time "seeing" something that isn't there. When it came to redoing the house/garden, I had to have measuremens marked out on the floor/ground before I could imagine how a finished section would look.

patriciat: Do be careful "hauling" your OH about. What's the news with in-home/respite care for you?

Margobird: Congrats on getting Billy Whizz to take the next step - it won't be long before he's taken over the most comfortable chair. Glad you're feeling better.

Alicat: Here's another big hug! Would it help to change your routine (go out for lunch perhaps and be around people so you can be distracted, or go somewhere nice for the day?). You don't want to get sick. Is there an animal rescue group that needs volunteers where you couldvisit and maybe make another animal's day a little happier? Sometimes that kind of activity gives us a lift even though taking the first step can be hard

TerryM. Sounds like an exciting evening learning all about the plans for the season.

Alan: Oh my! I listen to NPR's Morning Edition all the time - thanks for the info! Wonder if schools are tuned in to the Decorah cam.

Okay, gotta get started; take care all; back later.

Weather for lawns.........today's rain leaves UK on the right and tomorrow's early rain arrives from the west, as at 1600hrs.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/radar/

Alan:  thanks for the sound link to the report on Lady.  She is one famous Osprey now.

jsb:  you are right about the weather for lawns - never thought I would say it was much needed rain!

Had lunch, done a few small tasks, now for a catch-up!

Margo – pleased Billy has taken a step nearer!  And that you are recovered from your recent virus.  Sorry about name label in the Celandine photo – have to mark where it is because it dies down completely each year.

Joan – Lettuce and Radish in the cold frame came up last week, after only about five days.  I somehow have Radish seedlings at one end of the Lettuce row and the Carrots.  Some Tomato seedlings up now, in the greenhouse – real promise of summer – and sowed a few Cucumbers yesterday.

Lindy and Tiger – love the toilet roll quote!  Time is relative – I think we should measure our days by what we achieve – that doesn’t have to be earth-moving stuff, just make every moment count.

Alicat – you won’t have much energy if you don’t eat!  Would Casper have wanted you to starve?  And what about your OH – he needs you.

Terry – sounds a very interesting evening with the Bassenthwaite volunteers.  Enjoy Sunday.

Sheila – our garden is probably much smaller than yours – just a suburban plot, but on a corner so bigger than many.  It isn’t really organised – there is no grand design!  This is the first year I succeeded in persuading OH that composting needs care and management!  Veg are planted in two raised beds, following a three year rotation, and planting only a few things to get the lovely new summer veg taste  - haven’t got room for brassicas or roots for winter storage.  I have limited mobility, so am responsible for the planning, and sowing in the greenhouse, and any other bits I can reach.  My mowing and digging days ended about ten years ago, but I can still hoe, a little at a time.

Annette – here we would have District Nurse look after dressings for a while – either on home visit or at a local clinic.  Must be quite difficult to keep it in place where it is – and possibly shifted if rubbed by clothing.  Sorry about Delilah’s apparent lactose intolerance – I assume she is feeding her formula milk?  One of our missionary friends (a Doctor) was breast-feeding, and her baby developed intolerance to certain things the Mum was eating;  she left those things out of her diet and was losing so much weight herself that she had to put baby on a special formula instead!

Jsb – still dreich here!  Good job grass had a first cut - this should make it a bit greener!

Better start dinner – a veg cobbler tonight.

Just catching up with the news. Thanks for links and pics from everyone.

OH had a bit of a bout of pain last night but took some antiinflamatory drug and it seemed to help. Went for a checkup at the heart clinic at our docs today and all was well - one less worry.  Still waiting to hear from the hospital but the nurse said he must ring them if nothing is heard by Friday.

Alicat - just remember that Casper is well now in doggy heaven.  We have had two lots of cats put down during our stay in Northampton - sad but necessary as they would have suffered and that is the point - He is not suffering any more.

Glad to hear there are eggs at Nottingham and soon might be at Derby - spring is well on the way

Alan - fantastic capture at Decorah.

Miserable day here.

Just had a look in at Norfolk - just see the eaglets now have lost their downy coat and are growing first feathers. What a messy nest!!

How quickly those eaglets have grown, Lynette.