Weekly Chat, Sunday, December 20 2009

Annette: I'm just fine here. We are right on the edge of the front and are only getting a dusting of snow. We had freezing fog rising from the ground and swirling through the woods. And several huge ravens were cawing and pecking about in the snow at dusk. A very spooky scene! Felt like I had stepped into a Stephen King novel. :-)  Seriously, I'm a little worried about Gary, though. Hope he and his wife are okay.

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I have moved my post and links from the old thread to here (see below). Gary and some of the other members of our group are in the danger area, and I thought folks might want to see this info.

Here are a couple of links describing the monster blizzard that has hit our east coast and is lumbering further north toward New England. At least 5 people are dead and hundreds of thousands of people are now without power. Thousands are trapped in cars awaiting rescue.  National Guard troops have been called out throughout the eastern states.The storm is affecting 50+ million people. 

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Weather/winter-storm-blasts-east-coast/story?id=9380794

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34477381/ns/weather/

Very bad.

I once googled a place in France and reached a French website which described it as "commune francais" (or something like that). The online translator turned the place into a "common Frenchwoman", rather than a French district.

Bilbies are being nurtured here in SA at Warrawong (Adelaide hills) and Yookamurra (near River Murray) Sanctuaries. Our wildlife have lovely names - bettong, dibbler, kowari, mulgara, potoroo, quokka to name a few. I haven't seen any of these in real life!!!! If you are interested the website http://www.australianfauna.com/australiananimals.php has descriptions and pics.

It is quite scary how much money, energy, carbon, you-name-it, has been wasted on this talk-fest in Copenhagen. They're planning another !!!!!!!    What's wrong with them sitting down and chatting on the internet, or even by phone. Is all this face-to-face talk necessary? Just look at what we have learnt in the last few months chatting.

Gary/Caerann/Diane and anyone else in stormy parts. I do hope you are OK.

Hey Diane: On the weather this evening, the storm covered the entire eastern seaboard - and there's still the one north of us that will head East too and will probably hit you guys next week.. I feel so bad for those Christmas travelers who are going to be caught up in all the traffic delays.  Didn't look too good in Europe either, what with the Chunnel closure.  So you have ravens, eh? Even the crows we have around here seem a tad sinister when they gather in the late afternoon (though haven't seen that lately; must be seasonal).  Hope Gary and wife are well supplied and not too adventurous in this weather......

AQ: Think we should invite the Copenhagen crowd to the RSPB site? Hmmm. Maybe not.

The silly season continues. A reporter has gone to the trouble to check out the 12 days of Christmas gifts . . .

 

Two turtle doves – An introduced species, they are freely available across SA, thanks to a pair that escaped from Adelaide Zoo in 1938. They are not protected and it’s not illegal to trap them. Cost: Free, if you can catch them.

Three French hens. They aren’t a specific breed – just any chicken that happens to have hatched in France. There are 4 main French breeds and we should be able to pick them up from one of only a few French chicken breeders in SA for about $60. We’ll also need chicken feed. Cost: $222

Four colley birds – Apparently colley means black or sooty, so the common blackbird, introduced to Australia in 1850s has done a pretty good job of taking over the south-east of the country. They are so common we could trap them in our own backyard. Cost: Free, if you can catch them.

Five gold rings – Forget Tiffany, we’ve spent enough on poultry – Cash Converters has second-hand 9-carat gold rings starting at $55. Cost: $275

Six geese a-laying – One of the few geese breeders recommends pure-bred Chinese or Sebastopol varieties as the best egg layers for about $80 each. Hopefully their lawn-mowing service will make up for the fact that we won’t get any eggs until July. Cost: $480

Seven swans a-swimming – Swans are protected species in Australia, so unless one is prepared to pay a minimum $2500 fine and possibly spend 6 months in gaol, you can’t take them from the wild. If the true love isn’t one to take things too literally, why not hire the next best thing – a live Sydney Swans (football) player? Cost of having one attend a function is about $1200, airfares about $2800, accommodation about $800 (if they share 4 rooms), plus $500 for miscellaneous expenses. Cost: $12,500

Eight maids a-milking – With technical advances they are thin on the ground. And they are not called milkmaids – they’re station hands. Each will cost $18.18 an hour on a casual rate. Then there are the cows. A good Jersey will set us back about $800. Add $5 a day for feed. We can recoup some of the expenses by selling the milk. Cost: $6,702.08

Nine ladies dancing – For $195 we can get a "raunchy fully choreographed" 20 min show. Or an Adelaide belly dance expert can supply 8 hip-shakers for $1050 an hour. A cheaper option is Irish dancing at $200 for 30 mins. Cost: $200

Ten lords a-leaping – Given the distinct lack of lords in Australia, we are going to have to shell out to fly some from England. Airfares, first class of course, at least $130,000 for 10 return trips. 5-star accommodation plus breakfasts about $3000. Lords are also entitled to a subsistence allowance of $157.75 a day, plus overnight expenses. Cost: $137,947

Eleven pipers piping. There’s only one question – Scottish or Irish? The Adelaide Irish Pipe & Drum Band will cost about $400 for ½ hour including transport. Cost: $400

Twelve drummers drumming – We could always buy some bongos for $20 a pop on eBay and rope in a dozen strangers of the street. A drumming group in Clare raises money for disabled children in southern Africa and can supply 12 professional African drummers for $300 an hour plus transport. Cost: $350

OK, a pear tree is easy enough, Bunnings (hardware & garden centre) have them in various varieties & sizes from about $32 to $179. A partridge breeder says a live bird will set us back $50. We can get an oven-ready partridge for about $20 but there aren't any until around Easter time – so best get the order in early and keep it in the freezer for 2010. Cost: $90

 

Oops! Just look at the time! Almost 5 pm . . . I've frittered away the whole afternoon. Oh dear, I had planned to clean the kitchen. Never mind, I'm sure the grime will keep. Too late to start now, isn't it <grin> Take care. "see" you all tomorrow.

AQ: Definitely too late to start cleaning - best to make a cup of tea and put your feet up.  What an expensive Christmas list that is - can't imagine what the total cost of flying in 10 lords would run.....   Off to bed; night all.

aquilareen said:

 The silly season continues. A reporter has gone to the trouble to check out the 12 days of Christmas gifts . . 

The reporters prices are way below cost - he/she has forgotton the items accumulate, so he has to pay all that lot on just the final day, and so on!

Not sure whether anyone has already mentioned this:

Country Tracks this morning is Ben Fogle in the Cairngorms - must be the one we have been waiting for.