Weekly Chat, Sunday, April 17, 2011

Hi, all. Just checking in to read the chat and the daily update. Very cold here today: 5 C or 41 F. Still rainy. The storms last night were bad. Lots of damage locally. A tornado hit the town where I do my grocery shopping, doing property damage and injuring one person. It also knocked out our 911 Emergency Dispatch for my county. 80 mile-per-hour straight-line winds and golf ball-sized hail locally. A barn was picked up in its entirety and put down in the middle of a highway. Lots of 18-wheeler trucks were turned over. Lightening burned several homes. Widespread flash flooding; two people missing and presumed dead in the water. I'm okay here. My property is in a valley, so the worst of the winds went over me, and I didn't get the hail. My creek overtopped the levee, which worried me, but the house is okay. Only small limbs down. Will have to do some clean up.

Across the state line in Illinois, the storms were much worse. Clarksville, Missouri, had softball-sized hail; that's the size of a grapefruit!!! I can't even imagine that.

Lindy: I'm very sorry that Buzz is so ill. I'm sending hugs and positive thoughts to you and to him. Hope they can successfully treat him quickly. The little chipmunks are adorable. Good photos! They look slightly different from our chipmunks. Very cute.

Alan: Lovely goldfinch pictures!

Lynette: Will have to take a look at the goshawk site. I liked it last year. I hope your daughter recovers from her accident soon. Car accidents can be very emotionally upsetting.

Annette: Grandson's girlfriend sounds very dedicated, also very bold and efficient -- for treating the nasty wound. Hope the relationship works out if you like her. That's so awful that the calf count is down again. Not surprising, given what we do to the environment, but a shame! You might try doing a Google search on the names of both your printer and your router. That might uncover known issues that would explain why they aren't communicating. Maybe it would offer a solution.

Everyone have a good evening!

Glad to know you are alright Diane, but obviously a very frighening night for you. I feel very sorry for those people whose homes have been damaged or destroyed and especialy for the families of those who have lost their lives.I have been reading about all the recent storms and saw some reports on TV. They were described as exceptional and dangerous.

Oh dear Diane.  My geography is dreadful, but I did wonder about you when I heard of the terrible damage in the Carolinas.  I imagined they were east of you, and hoped it wasn't heading your way.  80mph straight-line winds sounds desperate.  I am so glad you were not too badly affected.  It the creek overflows your levee, what are the possible repercussions?  Do you have flooding surrounding you?  It must be such a pain having to clear up after an event like that.

I have been missing (well, did you really notice) for nearly two days.  Talk about withdrawals.  For some reason my computer just would not connect to any RSPB site, and on the rare occasion it did and I was able to write anything that little old circle just went round and round and round.  And even worse I couldn't get the camera up.  OH had one or two suggestions, but wasn't entirely convinced it wasn't to do with a local issue, ie the user!  I rang him at work today and he told me to delete the temp internet thingys???  Where, how??!!  He suggested I took my laptop to the dining room where he usually works for less distraction - I sit in the kitchen keeping an eye on 'my garden birds', and rather than use wireless, I plug in.  That didn't help either.  So I went out into the garden again.  He came home early and did a bit more fiddling, including hoovering the router.  However, he has now decided it is the router which works plugged in, but not wireless.  What a pain.  I means I have to do something else (I don't know what yet!) if I want to print.

Given that I seem to have lost quite a number of shrubs in the garden, including a big eucalyptus which I (well, OH) have keep to about15 feet by hard pruning every so often, I am now being ruthless with plants like forsythia, bring it down to five feet in the hope they will sprout out.  I have a seedling rowan, now over four feet, and a small laburnum which I hope to plant to fill some of the gaps.

I have decided I am not as old as I sometimes feel!  Last night I went to see a new Pink Floyd tribute band (http://www.britfloyd.com/) in Cambridge!!  It was superb.  The lighting, the effects, the musicians, the music, the noise.  I half expected to see folk dancing in the aisles, but somehow their music didn't, and still doesn't lend itself to that.  Just whistles, cheers and applause at the end of each piece.  The four female singers were excellent too. 

I will catch up with everyone properly tomorrow.  But a hello from me.

I'm pottering about, now that my OH has gone to play a Bowling Match locally.  This afternoon went to see my Doctor as I have had a recurring problem which has worried me somewhat - however, she assured me that it is treatable and quite common (old age!)  - I am so relieved - not just for myself, but was keeping the fact that I have been unwell from my Friend who has had enough on her plate lately, if you have been reading my posts.  She herself has lost so many friends in the last 5 years she pleaded with me one day "please look after yourself and don't ever get sick, I have lost enough of the people I love already"  Now I can tell her that she will have to put up with me for a long time yet...  Think I'll have a small sherry tonight to celebrate.  That's one worry out of the way, now we have to gird our loins for tomorrow and the Vets.

Have enjoyed all your posts and pics - too many to reply to, except to say glad that Diane is still with us after all the awful storms. Good that you missed the worst of it, Diane - those hailstones!

Lindybird so sorry you have been rather worried with a health problem but relieved to hear it can be treated.

Will be thinking of you both tomorrow when you take Buzz to the vets.

Diane that sounds absolutely horrendous but i am relieved to hear you are OK.  Saw some of the damage on the TV and sad that people have lost their lives and so much damage has been caused.

It is that time for the ISS (international space station) again. There is a pass at about 9pm.

See  path of ISS.

thanks Tiger that was so nice to watch.