Weekly Chat, Sunday November 8

No workmen here today. Tiler finished and grouted Tuesday - looks good.  Next men not available till Friday afternoon - Chippy, Sparky and ... ... does anyone know slang for plumber?  Project manager says they will finish then - I wait to see how three will fit and work in that small room!!! 

Told them they will have to arrive in time for us to get to our piggy flu jab appointments - they call jabs "jags" here - makes me imagine them using a blunt needle and jagging (tearing) my skin!!!  I qualify early due to suppressed immunity - OH gets his just for living with me!

Been to Dumfries Bird Club (Branch of Scottish Ornithologists Club) for the first time this evening - very friendly folk there.  Had a talk from a BTO man about "100 Years of Ringing" - watch out for it elsewhere, he seems to be touring UK, and it is very, very interesting.  He touched on modern equipment including satellite tracking, and mentioned our wee Deshar - for newcomers, he was EJ's 2008 male chick who flew a record trip , but unfortunately into mid atlantic - still so sad.

Caerlaverock had an exceptional arrival this week - a bird which flew in from Iceland in 14 hours!!!  Can't remember whether it was a swan or a goose - will find out for later - unless someone else knows.

Getting tired - must away to my bed.  Sleep well .. or have a good day - you choose!

Phew it’s hot. I roused myself from my summer torpor to discover there is a summer equivalent to hibernation – aestivation. Starting Sunday 36, 37, 39, 39, and more 39’s to come with a "cool" change next Monday with temp dropping to 28 C, before rising again. Great I don’t think. Well, I aestivated on Sun & Mon. Then bored with reading & tasks that could only be done beneath the a/c, I took myself to archives Tues and library Wed. Lovely, why use our a/c when our taxes are paying for theirs. Alas the bus stop was hot, the buses were late (one was 20 mins late after I had driven to the GoZone where there is a guaranteed 15 min service. Huh!). And one bus had no a/c. Another was so crowded, the a/c didn’t work. I carry a bottle of water and leave a frozen bottle in the car. That melts and is still cold when I return. There was some light relief. A woman got on the bus carrying a small box, wire on one side, with a galah inside. Next thing she let it out and it perched on her shoulders, moving from shoulder to shoulder, pulled a comb out of her hair. Then she tucked the bird inside her blouse and got off the bus. I had my camera with me and snapped some very poor shots.

I hope Diane & Dad & Margobird are much better. Thanks to Auntie for music tip, Diane for wonderful Nat Geog videos, and many others for pics of penguins, goldfinch, flowers & kestrel. Now I must shut down this heat-generating computer in the hottest end of the house. . . and stop moaning!

I forgot I was going to post my Remembrance Day pics. Australia commemorates the Fallen on the 11 Nov with one minute silence. We had 1 min in the State Library too, except that some people obviously thought that silence did not include stopping using microfilm readers. Since 1997 when the Gov-General officially declared 11 Nov as Remembrance Day, the 2 mins have been shortened to one. Hm, are we too busy these days or is our attention span too short? Schoolchildren plant crosses in the North Terrace lawns near the War Memorial. Not as many in olden days. Apparently some of the crosses got broken. (!!!!!!!) Also the City Council wants to pave the lawns under those trees. <sigh> paving = heat. Schoolchildren also place small Australian flags on the graves of war veterans at Centennial Park Cemetery. So our young are learning about the meaning of Remembrance Day.

and a few of the crosses

Evening/morning all;

AQ: Very cute little bird - a bright moment in a nasty hot day by the sounds of it!  39C = 102F . Eeek!  Too hot either way!

Evening news on telly here was filled with various reports on Veterans' Day events, which was nice, and National Public Radio had some nice remembrances throughout the day from veterans from various wars. The TV coverage iincluded a segment on growing anti-Afghan-war sentiment in the UK, a quick glimpse of the Cenotaph Ceremony, and parts of an interview with Miss James, whose young son was killed there and who was upset with Gordon Brown. Meanwhile, at our house, carpet folks are due back for an hour or so tomorrow because they forgot they had to seal the concrete floor in the family room (actually my "space") and it needs 24 hours to set.  But the dining room table and couch are now back in place; will move the rest of the stuff in soon. Meanwhile, can't do laundry 'coz piano is temporarily parked in front of the washer/dryer.

Caerann: Hope you had a better day

Diane: Hope you're coping okay too.

All: Take care

Good Night/Morning Everyone

Thanks to all for your kindness. You really are a right  bunch of nice folks and I'm so glad I joined here!  Today was better, thanks Annette, as I got to watch the Whopping Cranes on live camera for a bit again and met a good friend for dinner and tea this evening. I had a very tasty chocolate, vanilla, mint roobois tea and this place does tea right, serving it loose in a tea ball and they bring you the whole pot. I must have had 4 cups of tea for $2.95 and my friend even sampled some in a little espresso cup so what a bargain!

Annette: Someone on my Illionis Birder Forum says there are Red-tailed Hawks in a park a couple of miles east of where I saw them. I had no idea!  It sounds like they're resident birds though I'm not sure yet if that's year-round or seasonal but I shall let you know.

Happy Torsdag all!

Unknown said:

Caerlaverock had an exceptional arrival this week - a bird which flew in from Iceland in 14 hours!!!  Can't remember whether it was a swan or a goose - will find out for later - unless someone else knows.

Was a Whooper Swan - and it was last week not this!!!  Sorry.

Caerann:

So pleased you had a better day, and time with your friend too.  The tea sounds a very good bargain.

What's with the Norse (?) days of the week?  Or have I missed something somewhere???

Bright sunshine here - love autumn sun, it has a very different quality from spring sunshine.  Chaffinch and fattest-pigeon-ever shared the ground food this morning.  Four dunnocks were really "playing " in the sun.

Caerann so glad you had a better day.  We all have days when things just seem too much to bear but I believe we all get over these feelings and move on.  Have a good day and may the sun shine on you.

thanks aquilareen  I am feeling a lot better thank goodness.  Nice story and I really hope it cools down a bit for you.