Weekly Chat, Sunday November 15, 2009

Just got back from a walk with the Thunderdog and what an amazingly mild day it is. Lots of bees around and even a painted lady butterfly. Strange weather for late November. Latest temp. 15.2c.

I was watching pictures of the floods on the news earlier and they were saying it was a one in one thousand year event. It must be devastating for all the people who have had their homes flooded and the shops with all the Christmas stock ruined. Over 12 ins rain fell in 36 hours.

Lindybird glad to hear you are Ok but tragic news now about the policeman who was washed away trying to protect the public.  Having watched the news I feel so upset for all these people whose homes have been ruined and so near to Christmas as well.

I am so very sorry for those who have sustained loss due to the horrific weather in the UK. I hope all of our bloggers are safe. A 1 in a 1,000 year event is truly unsettling. Everyone please take every precaution. Don't try to drive through high water or take any other risks. My thoughts are with all of you today.

Wattle and aquilareen: I also hope that you stay safe in the extreme heat. Wattle, I hope your spouse doesn't have to fight any fires. I looked at the website that you posted: a frightening and dangerous situation.

We have dense fog here this morning. A beautiful doe deer just stepped out of the misty fog of our woods and ambled toward the creek/burn. A stunning and mystical sight to begin the day.

Lindybird: Thanks for your kind words to me.

have been reading but not blogging over the last few days so now time for a few replies.

To OG and TerryM and anyone else in Dumfries and Galloway and Cumbria. Dreadful weather for you all, do hope that you and yours are all safe and sound.

to Annette, Poor you, poor cat and poor carpet. Wonder if cats make the same "i am going to be sick and there isn't a darn thing you can do about it" noise as dogs do. Remember Harvey making that noise when I was reading the newspaper so i quickly shoved the paper down in front of him only to find him desperately avoiding it and being ill either side, so i had only made matters worse.

Alan - 3rd week of Nov. definitely a month later than the usual final grass cut.

Auntie, love the 2 dusks idea, we used to get that in Shetland, and it stands to reason that in 6 months time you will have 2 dawns facing each other. your English by the way is superb. Very impresed you know the invaluable word PUKE!!! though i guess that isn't one of the first things you are taught!!!!!LOL

Caerann. amazing piccies of barred owls (haven't heard of them before. they almost don't look real.

Margobird. hope you have a good break in Cornwall, you may even be there now

Good Morning/Day Everyone

My thoughts are with those in the flooding and the heat. Sounds like Alan and Thunderdog Hamish have a boys day to themselves so I wonder what mischief they might get up to?

We have a Bald Eagle cam over here where the birds are prepping the nest for the coming season. This cam was also up live last year until something chewed through the wire, that is. I thought some of you might also want to see the interesting slide show of the camera being installed where you can also see how large the nest is. (My understanding is the nest holds the weight of a man.)

Slideshow (yes Annette, that is Bob Anderson, raptor expert, in some of the photos) is here:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=657584994805%3A1752703899&cm_mmc=site_email-_-new_site_share-_-core-_-View_photos_button

For the live webcam you need to click on the tab for "Login in as a guest" and then click on the white arrow when the next screen comes up to start viewing. As I write as 9:50 a.m. local time there is a bird on the nest.

http://katie.luther.edu/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?inpopup=true&id=100467

Yay, eagles!!! Thanks, Caerann. I so miss the bird cams.

Morning all: Was just watching amazing video of all the flooding; bridges out, water 8 feet high?!?! And one fatality. :-((   I gather than cleaning up after a flood is an awful process; wonder if many folks managed to move stuff upstairs before the water got there. Wonder how many people have flood insurance.....

Wattle: My friend lives in one of four houses at the end of a cul-de-sac and they had exactly the same problem when power went out during the Jesusita fire earlier this year. They were days waiting for their power to come back after their neighbors' was reestablished.  Just went to the RFS website and you have a lot of fires there; saw one of them on our news last night.

Diane: A deer in the mist sounds like a soothing start to any day.

dibnlib: Carpet is fine (and in the greater scheme of things,  such a tiny problem compared to what others have to deal with). I think cats do make a "warning" noise, but on this occasion just heard hubby yell (didn't help). Ooooh. two dawns facing each other - so poetic.

AQ That is one fattening and delicious-sounding chocolate pie. I put on two pounds just reading the recipe.  :-) 

OG: Maybe workmen will get your job finished soon?

Auntie: Grey wet wool sock? What a perfect description of a cloudy day.  I pottered around the Hailuoto region yesterday on Google Earth. Several people had uploaded several shots of the ferry and surrounding region to GE, and I had a lot of fun looking at pix of little towns, churches, etc., AND a shot entitled only "those double floor miniature cottages" which looked like the seaside cabins you can rent in the UK. It must've been two of those I saw off loaded from the ferry the other night.  Also, GE included shots (you have to zoom in really close to notice all of them) of the ice road that apparently replaces the ferry when the water freezes over. Beautiful.

Caerann: Just checked the live nest cam; no bird; only a car zipping by in the distance. Wonder how many times you can log in as a guest....guess we'll find out.

Plan to spend some time at the roses this morning, raking up neighboring beds (no leafblower); de-petaling, pulling weeds; it's a very relaxing place to be; then I'm meeting a Scottish friend for tea this afternoon.

Everyone: Have a good day/evening.

Hello everyone

Just thought that some of the bloggers on this site might like to watch the last Autumnwatch on BBC2 tonight (repeated tomorrow afternoon) with Roy Dennis finding golden eagles for the crew to film in the Highlands earlier this week.  Apologies if this info has been posted already - didn't have time to read the week's chat

Annette:

Some people flooded this time are in areas where it has flooded before, with large insurance claims, so they can't get cover now!!

Things are still going wrong with the work, so we have asked for the designer to come and see!  This afternoon, today's plumber had to leave on time to return the faulty washbasin for advice, so OH ended up helping the joiner (the only consistent one) who stayed late to put up the mirror cabinet.  We now have a shower installed but awaiting rectification of tiles and more sealing, a toilet and its cabinet which seem fully done apart from the seat being fitted crooked, a basin cabinet but no basin, a mirror cabinet which is very good, a heated floor which today blew all the house electrics, a fan waiting to be wired to replace the one the tiler broke - and our radiator which they have so far failed to put back because somebody had moved a pipe (it is possible that the plumber's attempt to refit the radiator today by moving the pipe back, entailing hacking up a floor tile, is what has damaged the floor, which may have to all be taken up and we start again!)   But among all his other stuff today, including having to rebuild the toilet cabinet because the one ordered was wrong for our set-up, the joiner finished around the door, fitted a threshold and shortened and rehung the door, so I no longer have to sleep next to the rather depressing mess which is my wetroom!

Next Monday we enter week six.  Am I fed up?  Yes!!!!!