Site is not letting me type directly into the Reply box.... sigh - so copied and pasted and here I am.
Check yesterday's posts for long update by OG and news from BrendaH (who has NOT been on vacation somewhere exotic but taking care of her OH).
I'm going to use ALL caps again since I don't want to spend the evening trying to get the site to accept rich formatting. :-(
LINDYBIRD: How nice to see Santa through young eyes..... Various Santas arrive at various venues here; wonder if the kiddies don't get confused....
OG: Daughter's primary interest has always been horses; thank heaven she doesn't have any now. much too expensive! She's interested in plants for her patio and is coveting some of my succulents; they're easy to repot so I got some succulent and cactus mix and will start a few pots for her. She gave me a honeysuckle and two roses, all in pots, to babysit prior to her stay in Arizona. I had to plant the honeysuckle because it was complaining loudly about not having enough space and she has repossessed one of the roses - a gorgeous yellow one that I "saved" two years ago and was hoping to keep! I suspect she'll want the other one (Just Joey) back too once I've nursed it back to health! What a pain that the power cuts are keeping you all up; do hope it all gets sorted on Tuesday.
SHERYL:: Ironing and how much we hate it is a recurring theme on this thread! AQ in OZ has been trying to outsource her housework recently, so watch out. :-)
Have a lovely Sunday ALL.
Hi, all. I'm back and better. It was just flu, so no worries. It has hit my area hard. I finally fasted for 3 days -- only drinking strong Bengal Spice tea -- and that seemed to rid me of the virus. I Iost 5 pounds, too. Woo-hoo! Thanks for all your good wishes.
I went to the mailbox this past week, and I heard a hoarse shriek coming from the woods along the driveway lane. Then I heard it again...and again. I scanned the nearby trees, and I saw the Red-Tailed Hawk looking right at me. It continued to screech and then flew right toward me. I thought for a moment that it might land near me, but it gained altitude and flew over, gazing at me with that Hawk stare. THRILLING! It made a big circle around the garden and flew back into the woods.
I know that it's the same hawk that wintered here last year, because it has a distinctive hoarse, broken call. I need to investigate whether it's a male or a female. The coloring is very bright, burnished red, even on the chest -- not like the famous Pale Male at all.
I think it must be a rufous-phase Red-Tailed Hawk (a morph that varies from a bright, orange-rust red to dark brownish red). There are many morphs/subspecies of red-tailed hawks, and the color can vary a lot from bird to bird. I'd try to get a photo with my new cell phone, but I don't want to scare him or her. I want the bird to stay through the winter. There's a little clearing there in the woods that's a very good hunting spot for a raptor.
Replies in next post.
I've been reading all the posts, but I'm not going to try to reply to all of them. Everyone just know that I always appreciate all of your news and photos.
Annette: Hope your daughter is feeling better. Thanks for starting the new thread! Enjoy your gardening this week. I have no idea how to tell when a mandarin orange is ready to eat. Ask it??? LOL!
Alan: Thanks for news of Phoebe's eggs. I understand that there's some hope for Leri. Good news. So...38 Degrees members are "zombies"? *#@&*!!!
Patriciat: Glad the optician visited your OH at home!
Joan: Beautiful photo of the Greater Yellowlegs! Charming bird and good capture!
Lynette: I have so enjoyed your wonderful vacation photos. My favorite were the storks. Thanks so much for sharing, and I'm glad you had a nice time. I hope your OH's health is improving. Sorry you are housebound.
Brenda: Welcome back, and I'm so very sorry to hear about your OH's eye problems.
Margo: What a beautiful photo of Billie. Lovely to see her at last. She's gorgeous. Hope you're coping.
Mary: The photos you posted were very beautiful! You asked me about the video of Earth taken by the International Space Station. I think the flashes of light in various spots were lightening storms. Thank you so much for the wonderful aurora borealis video!!! Loved it.
AQ: I really enjoyed your photos of your Adelaide Hills tour. Lovely places. Wish I could visit. By the way, my National Public Radio station carried a very interesting piece about the life and times of Ned and Dan Kelly, the infamous Irish Australian outlaws. It was fascinating history and politics!
Lindy: Well done, Tomasz, on taking his first steps!!! Yay!!! I owe you an email. I'll try to catch up this week. Have missed you.
OG: So sorry to read about your ongoing electricity battle. I especially hate that you haven't been able to sleep properly and your health has been at risk. One would think they could have bumped you up to high priority on the repair list! At least you can now see the light at the end of the tunnel (pun intended!). I believe I read that everything should be sorted on Tuesday? I also hated to hear that you have some vision/eye problems. That sounds really disturbing and annoying. Hope you can get the problem resolved. Wishing you good energy!!!
Welcome to Sherrill. Apologies to those I've missed.
Sheryl – good to have you on board posting. Funny you mentioned ironing – that seems to be one of our most frequent topics of conversation! I also have some to get through on Sunday.
Annette – thanks for starting our new week. As you might guess, we were up early with power tripping at 5am and again at 6:30. It had been a noisy night with high winds anyway, and I have been fully awake since 4:30. We are going to try to keep the dodgy RCB warm tonight by leaving the heating to make it less sensitive, as it is quite happy all day – but this could mean no sleep because we shall be too hot – worth a try, and it’s now only two more nights until new one comes Tuesday! Thankfully, J has only been woken one night so far, and his general sleep pattern seems much improved. It’s good that you can share the plant interest with your daughter and help her to populate her patio.
Diane – there is a strange malady going around here – it was in the local paper. “Foot, hand and mouth disease” – apparently mostly affects children, not a notifiable disease but extra strict hygiene practices are recommended to avoid spreading. It’s good to know you are so much better now, and a wonderful account of your encounter with the Hawk – I do hope he stays around and that you can get a photo. Optician said he is not seriously worried about my eye, but is concerned to check it out and may need to make a clinical referral – really hoping not to be visiting yet another hospital department!
Having had a slice of toast for survival (!) at 6:30, now going to get porridge for real breakfast. Will have a slow, gentle day – nothing very demanding in mind.
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
Wind has died down a bit here Id say its now a stiff breeze compared to gales, but we have bright blue skies and sunshine so that makes a change from the horizontal rain.
Annette ~ You must have green fingers being able to revive flowers and plants like that, I guess you dont get real cold weather so no doubt you will have such a nice choice of flowers to pick from to put in your garden.
Diane ~ Glad to hear you are much better now, and to lose 5 lbs is a bonus, not the best way to do it but at least its like a consolation prize for your suffering. I do hope that your Red Tail Hawk stays and that you take a nice photograph of it, would be great if it stayed all winter.
OG ~ Enjoy your relaxing day, plan to do the same. Hope the toast and porridge went down well, I like the real fine Oat Meal and use the Aberfeldy Oatmeal which comes in a white paper bag and usually buy it in Baxters or Dobbies. I have just looked at the bag and found although its called Aberfeldy Oatmeal, it says on the back "Milled at Kelso Mills, Kelso", and packed by Gray retail in Arbroath. Ha Ha.... Makes the mind boggle!
EJ's Memorial Balgavies Loch Ospreys 2023
Mary - our weather is very similar today - great to have continuing sunshine instead of having it popping in and out as it has been! I have to admit to using T's Porridge Oats - sorry to offend the real Scots on here! Been to Aberfeldy Mill - it's a very nice bookshop and cafe! Second daughter phoned - our Christmas halfway meet-up will have to be in New Year - with the bonus of Grandson and his wife possibly being there too. I will be sending a PM later today to ask you for some local knowledge about restaurants! For now, must cook lunch before J gets back from his church.
OG ~ My Mam always used Scotts Porridge Oats which was always good, but we used to go to a B&B in Ullapool that served the Oatmeal with Cream, since then I have always used Oatmeal, it negates the goodness when you have it with cream though Ha Ha...
Well if your meet up is postponed to New Year with added bonus of Grandson and wife, the more the merrier and worth the wait.
Afternoon all,
OG : Always use Scotts porage oats here, anything else is sacrilege.
Sheryl : Ironing? Is that the thing you do with a flat table like contraption that your fingers often get trapped in and it is almost impossible to open up?.
Linda : Thanks for the film review and good news that Tomasz is taking a few steps.
Diane : Glad you are feeling better and your Red Tailed Hawk has returned.
BrendaH : Nice to hear from you but sorry to hear that your OH has been unwell.
Thanks to everyone else for the chat
Yesterday we went to Matalan. Enough said.
Today we went to Van Hage and had a wander round. Lady P bought some presents in the Past Times shop. Then we went to Elton for lunch and I bought Lady P one of those knitted hats with a panda s face on it and 2 ears that stick up. On the way home we saw a red kite, a sparrowhawk, a kestrel and some redwings or fieldfares in a short space of time.
Shocking news about Gary Speed being dead. Wales manager and only 42.
Good Afternoon Everyone: Dry here, and not very cold at all, especially if you are out of the wind. Went out this morning to buy paint as my OH has suddenly decided to paint the dining room (over the existing wallpaper) and we thought that if we got the paint today, he could make a start first thing tomorrow on the job. We prefer to decorate in winter, as we don't risk missing any good summer days then. I started taking pictures off the walls before lunch, and will remove all the ornaments tomorrow (lots of old teapots on top of a wall cupboard, as I have collected them in the past - had to stop through running out of room to display them all!)
Thanks to Annette for starting us all off again on yet another week. The Site seems to be playing up a little, lately. Sometimes impossible to post a pic, & the other day I had to give up altogether to post anything at all.
Alan: "Yesterday we went to Matalan. Enough said" !!! Must rate up there with Tesco, for you, then... My OH hates it too, but does not object when I come home with cut price underwear or shirts for him from there. Although on reflection, I must say that its another place where there are often unruly noisy children running around.
Diane: Great to hear that you are nearly back to your old self,now. Don't go doing too much all at once, just because you're on your feet again.
Sheryl: Welcome, and nice to hear from another who also hates doing all the ironing: there are many of us on here, although I find its the time that it eats up which annoys me the most, when I could be doing other things (like watching ospreys on webcams).
OG: Glad to hear that you are having a quiet day, for once!
Very shocked to hear about Gary Speeds death - so young, and with young children, too.
ps: Forgot to say to Diane, that we are all now on tenterhooks waiting to see if you get a chance to take a photo of the Red Tailed Hawk - he sounds wonderful.