Weekly Chat, Sunday April 10, 2011

Gloriously sunny here today - hope you are all having the same.

Brenda:  sorry to hear that you have 'the cough' and hopes it's a mild case.  Perhaps this lovely weather will help.

margo:  You are so wise in not rushing little Billy into accepting you, and I'm sure your previous patience has already paid off.  He will no doubt soon be making himself at home!

Sheila:  Sounds like a hard thing to live with - its coming on here that takes our minds off things, though, even if only for a while.  How wonderful to see sea otters!   I would just love that!    Agree with you that confidence comes with age - I don't really care a lot about what people think, now!  I sing in the car with the windows open!

Afternoon all,

Brenda : Sorry that you seem to have caught the virus that is going around.

Alicat : Thanks for the cute pics of Bobbie.

Annette : Well done seeing the whale and calf. All those dolphins must have been amazing.

Everyone else thanks for the chat etc.

This morning we went to Short Wood to see the bluebells as the rumour was that they are out early this year. We were not disappointed. It is a haven of peace and quiet with only the birdsong which was quite lively today. Here are some pics I took:

  

 

 

Hazel b said:

JSB and everyone. Have you ever seen this link of when Red 8T  was at Loch Garten in 2005?  See Loch Garten 2005.

No I  had not seen this before, it will interesting for me to fit this record in with information from  Roy Dennis' site and book. Thanks for the link / info.

Going further back, one thing that I need to check is my collection of 35mm slides from the 1960-70's, that may uncover some pictures of LG at that time. But if there are any surviving, they will not be telephoto close-ups. :(

 

DjoanS said:

There was an article in the Daily Mail today about Lady at LOTL ... extracts from Helen Armitage's book http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1377436/Britains-oldest-osprey-Lady-settled-Highland-roost-21st-time.html

An interesting article DjoanS, but given that it was written by the Helen Armitage I am surprised at the error over the size of the nest.  I am sure all those in the know describe the nest as being the size of a DOUBLE bed, not a single one!  Beautiful photos in the article, particularly the one on the nest with Lady holding the trout.  I wonder how that was taken.

Wow Alan, your photos weren't there when I was busy writing my last piece.  They are lovely and so well sum up Spring for me.  I can just imagine the beautiful smell!

I have just sent this out on Neighbourhood Watch as an information item, for your info. This applies to England and Wales, for Scotland and Northern Ireland, please check.

Copied here for info.

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Hi folks,

Bank Holidays cause some bank delays?

Just a quick note to say there is a period of 11 days coming up that only include 3 banking working days, excluding, the bank holidays and weekends. Some payments/credits could be affected, so some planning needed?

The clip from BBC Radio4 starts at about 17 minutes into the programme and they say 12 days, which seems odd. The  22^nd April to 2^nd May inclusive refers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b010dd49

Alan beautiful photographs.  It seems so strange to me that after the very hard winter we all  had bluebells have come up earlier. 

ALICAT  thanks for the photos of Bobbie.  She is so cute, love the one of her fast asleep.  Big "cute factor" here.

margobird said:

ALICAT  thanks for the photos of Bobbie.  She is so cute, love the one of her fast asleep.  Big "cute factor" here.

Thanks margobird i see billy is getting braver by going indoors

Morning all: Hallelujah! (Is that how you spell it?) Just successfully installed Flash Player and there's Lady for the first time in a week!

AQ: Have a lovely time in the country. I find that when it comes to home redecorating projects, my definition of "perfection" changes the nearer you get to the end of the project. Aftershocks are likely to continue for months; all very discombobulating. Can't imagine 7-pointer aftershocks like the ones they've had in Japan; 5 is bad enough.

Alicat: THanks for Jason update; can't say I like the idea of mounting but assume the educational benefits make it worthwhile. Sounds like Bobbie is on schedule with potty training. Cute pix of her snoozing - all that running and playing is obviously hard work.

Sheila: Three (or four) years ago we had one or two otters showing up each season. The next year ago we had about 30 lolling and splashing below our vantage point; that was so unusual that the Department of Fish and Wildlife sent folks to observe them. I think they tend to stay farther north....but yes, according to Wikipedia info under California sea otter (just saw your later post) agricultural run off has poisoned them and their food source has become contaminated. Apparently some were relocated to one of the channel islands some years back but they didn't like it and migrated back to the coast. Good that some UK otters are doing well; never seen a pine marten in the flesh!  Re whales, "Squirt" is funny coz as you can see from the photo, the calf puts out tiny little blows (so sweet!). Re bad backs, I've had a couple of episodes and was told to be sure to do regular daily excercises to keep the muscles and tendons down the back of my legs stretched; otherwise the muscles in the lower back have to work that much harder.

Brenda: Orcas indeed are no friends to migrating Moms and calves, which is why the whales with calves stay extremely close to shore, often just beyond where the waves form. We'll probably never know how many calves they actually kill. The dolphins were in a parade line - one after the other - that stretched, Mike estimated, about two miles. They also travel in what's called a "chorus" line - yes, coming at you head on (good thing they're friendly).

Alan: That photo of the bluebells is just like the one I posted last year of my visit to the lupines at Figueroa Mountain - you commented on it at the time. Just to refresh, here it is again. Seems like Spring is the same in many places.

　

　

Off to have breakfast with friends this morning. Take care everyone. Thanks ALL for pix, posts, and links.