Welcome to another new week. No much longer to wait for E-day.
Beautiful autumn weather - min temps 13-14 C, max temps 27 C. Long weekend for Adelaide Cup (horse race), Womadelaide is on in Botanic Park (World of Music's 20th year), also the Arts Festival & Fringe continue.Last night Daus, OHs & offspring came to dinner. I wanted them to come last month but my OH had not wanted any fuss for his birthday, so I claimed the dinner was an early birthday party for myself. Dau1 gave me a 2000 piece jigsaw for "Afterwards" with a card attached "Happy Birthday, Happy Mother's Day & Get Well Soon". The jigsaw is a German scene with (what a surprise!) a church, er, two churches in fact, there are reflections. I kept the meal simple, just chicken pieces wrapped in proscuito, roast potatoes, plus broccoli, cauli & carrots. For desert I resurrected something that I haven't made since Daus left home as OH didn't like it much. Pear halves in walnut pastry. He doesn't remember it!!!! What's more he now likes it!!!!! Dau2 remembered the surprise - a crystallized cherry hidden beneath the pear. Miss16 managed to leave her mobile phone. She rang asking us to search, there we were scanning the front lawn by torchlight before we found it inside, beneath a lounge chair. This morn at 8am the weierdest noise had us searching. Yep, it was her phone alarm.
OG - I can do plenty of FH while on "home detention" as I can search digitized newspapers that have appeared in recent times. And send emails. I also have a backlog of transcriptions & photocopies from library & archives to data enter for my projects. Plus old photos to digitize with software given my by Dau2. And then there are books, knitting and the jigsaw . . . Watch this space - I bet I complain I'm bored LOL.
Lynette - After 25+ years researching family history, I find there are times when I reach a plateau and nothing, absolutely nothing, happens for months, and then when I least expect it, Wow!
Sandra, Lynette & Alan - Thank you for numerous bird pics.
Annette - Great pics getting up close & personal to the raptors.
I snapped this yesterday just as LittleMiss was being taken for a walk to put her to sleep. True to form she woke during dinner! Too bad I didn't get it in focus.
I don't remember posting this one last week. Apologies if I already have. LittleMiss with her grandfather.
Evening all: Stuffed after Mexican take out tonight. Worked in garden all day - finished feeding and mulching roses and feeding/tidying up other plants. Not much else to do for another few weeks but must get out the ladder and pick the Valencias now that the tree is putting out blossoms (orange blossoms are wonderfully fragrant).
Lynette: iPads are really expensive and they keep bringing out new ones. As Tiger notes, you can buy used ones (but I still like old-fashioned paper books).
Trish2: Ugh, don't even mention window cleaning.
OG: Sounds like a lovely day out. Good to stand your ground in the rusty metal shelves debate. OMG - 300 photos in one day? Eeeek.
AQ: Ha! I see Dau1 has covered all the bases with her card. I bet if you do those pear halves again, your OH will forget he liked them. My OH drives me dotty by liking something one time then claiming he wasn't wild about it the next time I make it. Grrrr. Love that shot of cute Little Miss in her shades. What a sweetie!
Planning a lazy day tomorrow except for trip to Trader Joe's for some basic eats. Take care everyone.
Good morning Everyone!
It is a beautiful sunny day so far, OH is biting at the bit to go out so I had better get myself ready, Lovely pics of little Miss.
Nice to see the BOL here last night, yes poor Muscovy duck must have been blown of course to end up there and all alone, :(
TerryM You have two Lavender Ducks, how lovely, I kept Ducks in the mid 90's for a few years, I loved them to bits till someone decided to take them one night, I hope they chocked on them!! I know it wasn't a fox as not one feather was lying anywhere, and later that day one of the ducks came out of hiding and I saw it had been shot with an air gun, I let my neigbour have it as he had animals on his allotment and it went on to live for another year, I really missed having them around they used to cheer me up no end. :)
Well I hope you all have a good day and weather where ever you are... Not long now till we're all glued to the screen! Lol :)
http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/
Afternoon all,
AQ : Thanks for the family pics and glad the weather seems to be cooling down at last.
Annette : Great pics of the raptors the other day.
Everyone else thanks for the chat,pics etc.
Yesterday we went to Stamford for our usual saturday morning wander around. On the way we saw 3 red kites just off the A1 near to the Burghley estate.
Today as it is a beautiful day we went to Barnwell CP where we saw another red kite and no less than 4 buzzards soaring high on the thermals. There were plenty of wigeon about and the swans with only 3 out of 8 cygnets left with the parents now. The male was busy trying to chase the remaining ones off as they will be nesting again soon. Current temp is 16.6 c and rising.
Swan pic at Barnwell today:
Another good spring day – opposite way round to yesterday – more sunshine this afternoon, but morning was good enough for gardening – now very stiff and being outside has allowed ironing pile to grow!
Terry – good to see you posted last evening – I hope all is well with you and OH. How lovely that your aging Ducks (and Hens, I suspect) enjoy a pleasant retirement!
AQ – thanks for starting us off on yet another week. Pleased current temps suit you better! Sounds like Adelaide is the place to be this weekend, but maybe not for locals! Family gathering sounds good – funny about men and foods they do/don’t like! Lovely photos of Little Miss – beautiful big eyes (in the one where they aren’t covered up!). Looks like she is doing really well now.
Annette – how lovely to have “finished” the garden, until something else needs doing!) Enjoy your time among the Orange blossom picking the fruits, but take care up the ladder!
NiteOwl – I hope you are having another lovely day out. Muscovy Ducks are fairly common in the UK – I think some were escapees from Ducks kept for eggs – I know my Grannie had Muscovies (and she always used Duck eggs for baking). How sad that your Ducks were taken like that!
Alan – beautiful Mute Swan – and lovely clear and still water.
A few photos from WWT Caerlaverock yesterday: a few of the many Collared Doves gathered in trees:
These look like a couple, although they do have their backs to each other:
Robin:
Same bird, but different posture makes it look so much slimmer!
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
Quiet on here today so imagine everyone else has the same lovely weather as here.
OG no OH working this week so it's just me and Mia. Good forecast so hopefully lots of walking as well as the jobs. OH has done all the outside windows :-))
ALAN what a fantastic swan picture. Love the reflections.
Hi, Trish - have a good week of walks around the spring-cleaning!
Finished my share of ironing while OH showered. Now he is doing the flat stuff - including the dreaded duvet cover! After this very short sit down, I must now get myself hosed down ready for church this evening.
Afternoon all ... its a beautiful, sunny day here ... the breeze is cool, but its gorgeous in the sun!
I have enjoyed reading everyone's chat, pics etc, even if I haven 't been posting :-) I really must get back into the habit of regularly posting ... not long until our birds re-appear!
OH hasn't heard about his biopsy yet ... they said it would be up to a fortnight, so a few days yet. I hope no news is good news. (Thanks for enquiring NiteOwl!)
OG and Diane - I have been watching the barn owls every day ... I hope they nest in this box this year ... it was so disappointing when they chose another box last year. OG - lovely photographs ... I have a pair of collared doves that cuddle up to each other on the top of the bird table ... so cute!
Alan - lovely pic of the swan.
We had a lovely trip out to East Chevington NWT this morning and it was great to see all the signs of Spring ... including the pair below! They were right beside the path and OH nearly stood on them!
Thanks to everyone I haven't mentioned by name.
Take care.
Joan - avid bird and nature watcher in Northumberland!
Index Thread
Two Falcone's at Nottingham at 6pm
If nothing goes right, go left! :-)
The nearest one is having a good look around at 6:20pm :-)