Weekly Chat, Sunday 24 April 2011

Easter dinner slips away for this osprey:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGqOrt0P8-Y

Alan thanks for the link to the osprey with the one that got away.  I found it amazing that it was close to humans.

Gary just watched the video of Toffee having a swim, she looked as though she really enjoyed it.

Afternoon all ... it was grey and cold first thing and they promised rain, but mid-morning the sun came out and it has been lovely again. We didn't do much over the Bank Holiday ... OH hates crowds and traffic jams! Our schools still have another week before they go back, so this week won't be much better.

HeatherB - glad you enjoyed your narrow boat holiday .... sounds idyllic.

OG - we had no rain yesterday or today ... although it was promised ... and I've had to get the hosepipe out! More lovely details of your holiday and of course the photos ... those 'coos' are fabulous :-)) I have copied them into my folder ... I just love the bad hair one!

dibnlib - Happy Anniversary ... I hope you are enjoying your day.

Diane - haven't looked at the "God Particle" link yet ... will do it later ... sounds interesting!

margobird - pleased you enjoyed Ken Dodd ... sounds a great night. Your OH seems to have found the way to Billie's heart .... 'Treats'   :-))

Alan - great blackbird pics ... they are very photogenic birds in the sunshine! How is Hamish's paw? I hope it is better.

Thanks to everyone else for chat etc.

Take care.

First of all    HAPPY BIRTHDAY AQ

Managed to get to the gym this week as last week we were dealing with the aftermath of dau's accident.

Auntie - That must have been a marvellous site - 10 ospreys, wow.

Alan, just love the pics of the blackbird.

Thank you all for all your news and goings on over the Easter Break.  Went out for lunch yesterday and had son round on Easter Sunday as our dil had to go to Exeter to see her dad who is recovering from a major op.

Cool and cloudy here, we've been spoilt with all the lovely weather so soon.

Looks cloudy and breezy at LG at present.

Been out all day and what a lot to catch up on.After our endevours in the house and garden it was nice to have a day together even better as OH is only working 2 days this week. Mission critical in Elgin and took the long way to Inverness and on to Chanonry Point. First highlight was to find that they are building a Sainsburys in Nairn...quite a sad thing to be excited about but our choices up here are limited to Asda and in Inverness Tescos and Tescos.

Sun all the way to the Black Isle but a bit of a breeze. Tide was out so had a walk on the beach. Gull dropping shell fish from sky onto beach to get it to break, watch him for a while with OH telling him to "go higher" but he didn't and gave up in the end. Tide turned on the way back so sat on a bench for a while watching a small cargo boat coming in....in front of it 2 dolphins playing...went to garden centre for coffee and cake feeling a little smug. Quite looking forward to August as we are going to do the boat trip to look at them at close quarters...maybe.

SheilaFE: It is a long way to come for the meet and for a lot of folk coming up it is their one and only trip of the year so understand fully. If you change your mind just let either Gary or I know as we will be meeting for cake and even more cake first. Another member here is coming as she thought it was just a really good excuse for another trip. .

Margo: Spoke to youngest and she said they had dolphins in Swanage bay but the jet skiers were giving them a hard time....Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Hi, all. Hope everyone is having a nice Tuesday! I was just looking out my bathroom window, and a squirrel popped up on my deck rail, put it's front paws on the window screen, and looked me right in the eyes. LOLOL "Hey, watcha doin' in there?" LOLOL The little fella was very cute.

Has anybody looked at Google's search page today? The Google logo is made of birds in honor of the birthday of John James Audubon.

AQ: I hope you had a wonderful birthday. I looked at your Cheesecake Shop menu. Here's my order: A Jamaican chocolate baked cheesecake and a Boston mudcake and a lemon meringue and a tiramisu. Please ship those for quick delivery, so I can have them for May Day weekend. LOLOLOL!

Joan: I read the barn owl diary. I hope they can get a camera streaming from the new nest. I wish the birds every success.
Alan: Remarkable video of that osprey. Thanks. I felt sorry for him because the people were probably scaring him. That was a big fish! Beautiful blackbird photos! I'm going to do "houseworkly things" here today, too. LOL
Wendy: Congratulations on completing your decorating!
dibnlib: I'm so sorry that they felled so many trees in your woods. They do that here, too. I just don't understand how people think. Glad your dental work is over.
Heather: I'm glad you had a nice narrow-boat holiday. I would love that. I used to do a lot of canoeing. Thanks for telling us about it!

Margo: I'm so very sorry that your sister had to make such a difficult decision. My thoughts are with you. You have made such progress with Billie. I'm sure that when autumn comes around, she will find a nice soft place in your house to rest -- probably your bed. :-)

Lindy: Sounds like you had a very lovely Easter. I'm glad. Hope your meds are kicking in and you're feeling better. Thanks for the explanation of the unprecedented UK holidays. The wedding coverage starts at 4:00 AM here on Friday. I'll probably watch it, though, because I usually watch all big world events. I saw a speech by the London police chief (I think). She was quite stern in her warning that no disrupton of the events would be tolerated!

More replies next post.

Wendy - how lovely to see dolphins - hope you get a chance to see them closer, later.

I've come on to warn folks that I've been getting some strange phone calls-

The phone rings, then when you answer there is a pause, till a woman's voice says  "Goodbye!"  & you can hear the line go dead   -  I assume that you are suposed to be intrigued and then ring them back, probably thus incurring a huge phone bill - it is an 0136......   number.  My advice is to ignore it - I had some calls like this late last year and now they are at it again.

Thanks for the warning Lindybird.  These sorts of calls are really irritating.  We signed up to the Telephone Preference Service (in the UK).   People are supposed to check against the list before making unsolicited calls, and it certainly works in the main for UK calls.  But of course it doesn't extend to the Indian call centres!  But they come up as International in the digital display, so I just ignore them.  I'm not sure what happens if someone I know from overseas calls, but they would leave a message and a return call would be at my expense!!!  If someone does manage to get thru from the UK I can be very awkward and ask all sorts of silly questions to prolong their call/expense. 

OG: Your photos and descriptions of your trip have been wonderful. I love the coos and have made desktop wallpaper out of all of them. Wish my Dad were here to see them. The lambs are gorgeous, too. (If I don't get a chance to mow my lawn soon, I'm going to need some sheep and goats!)

I envy you your trip to the Clava Cairns, the neolithic burial sites. That's the sort of trip that I would really enjoy, especially at the solstice. Thanks for the picture of that! I'm surprised that they let people directly on the site. In the U.S., people would trash it, I think. :-(

The beech tree near the castle was magnificent. I liked the color of the castle. My favorite picture was of the little brown fluffy ducks. Wonderful!

Recently, I watched a very interesting documentary about the gardens and community at Findhorn. A fascinating blending of ancient and contemporary spiritual beliefs and values. The pioneering of new ideas and eco-friendly ways of living is admirable. And those gigantic vegetables are extraordinary. I'd like to visit there, I think.

Thanks for all the photos and descriptions! I'm glad you like your new minister, by the way. I believe you said that your son is doing better, now that he is settling into his new job? I'm glad. I hope he thrives.