Weekly Chat, Sunday November 15, 2009

Hallo folks. Not much action yesterday afternoon on last week's chat, though SueC quoted a poem by the Wolof fishermen of Senegal about ospreys, which I found reassuring.

  • Annette: You had an adult Turkey Vulture there. It's interesting that as juveniles their heads are dark colored which makes them sometimes mistaken for a Black Vulture whose heads are actually a wrinkled gray.  Both have a face only a mother could love though, as I've said before. lol! We don't have Acorn Woodpeckers in this part of the country but I've read about them and they're fascinating.

  • gary a said:

    Hope all OK there OG

    All OK now, thanks, after a few really wobbly days.

    I don't often fall out with someone but when I do, I really do!  We have been pestered by what our daughter calls a limpet - an insecure person who has a legitimate reason to call occasionally, but cannot see that three or more times a week - unannounced, bemoaning the stress in her life with no sensitivity to ours, and not knowing when to leave - is over the top!  I think it was Wednesday that I sent her packing - after a nasty argument, I removed myself to the study and she followed me through uninvited, invading my space, so I just said "please, go!".  The upshot is I have resigned from a voluntary post which gave her the excuse to come here - it was already stressing me and I had realised I should never have taken it on, so I would only have carried on to the next AGM anyway.  This means I have been spending a few days completing tasks I needed to hand over, tidying paper and computer files etc to make a complete break.  Finished all that and my resignation letter last night, and feel much better!!!

    Friday was when we found things wrong in the wetroom, but I cheered up when I had a lovely phonecall from my Uncle in the south of England.  When the joiner arrived just before lunch, he was quite positive about how things could be put right, and he got on with fitting my support rails.  The electrician could not refit the fam which the tiler had pulled down - when he saw it he said "he told me he'd taken it apart, but he didn't say he'd disembowelled it!" - so a new one will be ordered.  But he did make the connection of the heated floor and its wonderful!!!

    Both had piggy flu vaccine on Friday - and I have to have a second one in three weeks due to my suppressed immunity!  Both very restless with sore arms the first night, OH's is OK, now but mine is still very swollen and painful.  I believe I'll react less to the second one.  OH started some painting in the wetroom Saturday and today - ceiling touch-up then a full coat, and covering the bare plaster patches on the untiled parts of wall.  I think we are expecting joiner (and maybe plumber) Tuesday to do some major fitting - loo and washbasin and their cabinets.

    Been busy today with a different voluntary job which I really enjoy - also caught up with some ironing, which I always hate the anticipation of, but then enjoy when I do it!

    "Fattest Pigeon Ever" came while OH was washng up yesterday.  He sat on the head of a stone owl.  I used to worry that owl ornaments would frighten garden birds away, but it's been a seat for about five different species, so all's well.  Second picture shows him after he had preened and was fluffed up even bigger!

     

     Anyway, FPE sat until OH finished, then came and fed from the Robin Feeder on the window!  Don't know how he balanced right on the edge of the sill, but he stayed about half an hour!

    Phew!  Seem to have written an awful lot - sorry!!  Hope all is well with everybody.

     

    Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!

  • hi gary       wonder where you are visiting in the UK and when?              I am now going to try and show you a photo of Dillon. Haven't done this before so here is hoping!!!!

  • Wow!  That is some fat pigeon, OG!  Glad to hear of progress with your wetroom, hope its nice when finished. Friend of mine was raving about the wonders of underfloor heating the other day, she reckons its the "best thing since sliced bread"   so enjoy!

    Sunny here for most of the day, so took ourselves off on a long walk on disused railway, with Dog, who enjoyed himself hugely, smelling everyone & everything on the way.   English walk in Autumn, for our overseas friends:

     

    DRAT!  Won't download again,  will be going back to my old camera soon at this rate....

  • dibnlib:     Aaaaah!!!!!!

  • yipee this is a first for me. this is dillon coming out from his hiding place behind the curtains. he frightened the life out of us one evening years ago. we couldn't find him. looked in every room twice, in the garden - no dillon. have we left the gate open (panic) then we saw 2 paws just peeking out from behind the bay window curtains. majoir scare over,we had to laugh. now we know were to find him most evenings, though of course he has to go without in summer when we don't close the curtains. i am naughty and sometimes can't resist creeping up and just tickling the hair between his pads!!!           hope you like the piccie

  • what an awkward situation OG. glad it is resolved to your satisfaction.

    we have 2 carvings in our garden ( there is an really good carver locally) one is an eagle the second an owl and like you i wondered if it would scare the birds. anyhow they are obviously not so bird brained as to think they are real.

    glorious day here so took dillon out for about 90 mins in the forest. after that i raked up a stack of leaves then started moving the garden ornaments around where the tubs had been My back is going to suffer tomorrow then i gave them all a thoroughly good clean. We have quite a menagerie. A fox, a bambi, otter, tortoise and the 2 carvings to name but a few. When we get a new one Dillon immediately goes to have a sniff, has a wee on it and then it is allowed to stay

  • Dibnlib, what a great picture and so glad it worked! There will be no stopping you now. He is a great looking dog and love the fact he hides behind the curtains. I am coming back to Kent (where I used to live, almost 9 years ago now) as my brother in law is getting married. So, back in April. We normally come back once a year to visit the family and need another holiday after that as it is all dashing around and enjoying ourselves:)

    OG, sorry about that lady. What a pity it came to that. Still, glad the wetroom is getting back on track and that you enjoy the heated floor. That pigion is SO fat (I feel a joke coming on after that). Makes me wonder how he flys at all.

    Jeanette, sorry about nature in the raw like that. It is spectacular but gruesome.

    Caerann, so what do you mean, about wearing " a flannel with long pants". To us UK folks that means a face wash cloth and underwear!!! LOL

    Annette, had a chuckle about you not putting your washing on the street side:)

    Lindybird, glad the walk went well. I take it you aren't having much luck uploading photo's

    Quiet day here, went for a run this morning and some jobs later

  • hi there

    yip. i too was a little confused about caeranns choice of outfit. it does make it fun when we have to clarify what each other means. as you now live in the USA gary you probably do know what she means. i am going to hazard a guess at t-shirt and trousers. do tell caerann.

  • I assume the same as you Dibnlib (I think a flannel shirt/blouse )but I have been wrong many times before LOL