Hi all: Here's to a problem-free week on the site. Check out the last week's final page or so for updates from everyone, including one from Maureen (HillaryH) who's back with us after a hospital stay due to a chest infection and wants directions to Google Earth. Maureen - assume you downloaded GE before? If not, just go to http://earth.google.com/ and click on the Download Google Earth 5 button at right. I can't remember right now how to load Rothes and Mallachie's route; perhaps someone else will let you know if you need additional info. Glad you're back!
Alan posted a hummingbird link (http://vimeo.com/hummingbirds#8409299) for those who missed it and the week's chat ended with a long post from OG, who'd been composing it for days but was unable to get it on the site due to the techy problems! And no OG, haven't attempted the printer-wireless problem yet; can only handle one techy problem at week it seems!!
Have a nice Sunday all. Let's see if this posts
Hey Diane, so nice to see ya! How are you and your father coping with the cold weather?
It's so bitterly cold here we just run from the building to our cars and from the cars to our destination. I can't linger outside feeding the birds either. Today the sparrows were sitting on our cement window sills in the sunshine, probably trying to warm up the poor little things. I thought of putting a bit of seed out there but am afraid the pigeons would spy it first and then I'd have pigeons pooping outside my kitchen and dining room windows. Yikers!
Diane: Thanks for good advice and wishes (and thanks Caerann for seconding that!) Yes, Diane, how are you and Dad coping!?
Hi, Caerann! Glad to see you!
Very cold here, too, and another snow storm on the way on Wednesday night. I don't mind the cold at all, but I try to stay off the ice. I walked to the mailbox today, and the squirrels were frantically digging up their little caches of walnuts. The yard was full of squirrel bums sticking up out of the snow. They were so delighted when they would find their hidden treasures. I left the garage door open for the birds and animals to have shelter, and I think the building is full of Wild Things now. Of course, the car is sitting outside. LOL
Take care of yourself and stay warm!!!
Hey, Annette: We're fine here. Thanks for asking. I'm going to make a run to the nearest town for supplies before the snow hits. Then I intend to spend a few days getting organized for the new year. Filing personal paperwork. Inserting all the birthdays, etc. into my new datebook. Taking care of business, insurance and other matters. I can stand an inch of dust on the furniture, but I have to be organized!!! LOL I'll feel refreshed when I'm all done. Take care of yourself, Annette!
By the way, this Sunday, January 10, the Nature series on PBS is showing: "Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air". I think that it will be a remarkable show. Here's a link with several video clips: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/hummingbirds-magic-in-the-air/introduction/5424/
Hope everyone can enjoy this at one time or another.
Unknown said: . . . Get enough rest, eat well, and take a break once in a while to rejuvenate!!! Deep breaths, some chocolate, a chapter of a good book, a peek at Phoebe, the hummingbird...
. . . Get enough rest, eat well, and take a break once in a while to rejuvenate!!! Deep breaths, some chocolate, a chapter of a good book, a peek at Phoebe, the hummingbird...
What wonderful advice for everyone. We should frame it! On second thoughts, I should ignore the chocolate as I am trying to cut down on nibbles. The heat hasn't put me off my food alas. This is Day 3 and I am starving LOL.
Oh, aquilareen, my friend, I sympathize! I've got to start cutting back or I'm going to turn into a candy bar! Stay cool and take it easy.
Diane - Wow! Those Hummingbird videos are fantastic. Thank you.
Thanks Diane: I'll def have to check out the hummer videos and the program too.
Anyone on this side of the pond been watching Simon Shama's Power of Art series? What a great program!
AQ: Please send heat to us, we needs it! =O)
I'm off for the night. Toodle-ooh!
Hazel b said:
Diana I can see that you have an interest in great horned owls. I think that some appeared on the Blackwater osprey cam yesterday.
I have also been wondering how GHO's get it together?
Are you a member of Hancock Wildlife?
Hi, Tiger!
I have a pair of Great Horned Owls living on my property, and I'm very dedicated to them. There's something very primal and soothing about hearing their deep hoots in the evening, and my heart skips a beat when I catch a glimpse of one of them.
Great Horned Owls are a miracle of evolution. They can live almost anywhere and eat almost anything -- even skunks. You might be interested to know that the Great Horned Owl is called the Tiger of the Sky, because of its fearlessness and its ability to catch prey much larger than itself. GHOs take life-long mates. In Indiana, they start nesting in January, and they raise their families in the dead of winter, which is amazing to me, given how bitterly cold and snowy it can be here. It will be -20C/-4F with 6 inches of snow here this weekend. Can you imagine raising babies in this weather? They are wonderful parents, and they feed and care for the chicks for several months (as late as October). Woe be to anyone who wanders close to their young, because they will aggressively attack anyone or anything who threatens the owlets.
I know the big fellas can be a problem, because they will prey on ospreys, peregrine falcons, and other birds that conservationists are trying to protect, but they are so strong and adaptive, and I still love them. I consider them one of my personal symbols.
I'm not a member of Hancock Wildlife. I used to belong to several environmental and conservation groups, but I've had to curtail my activities, as well as financial donations, since I moved back here from the city to care for my Dad.
Hope you are doing okay in the bad UK weather!
Caerann - You are welcome to the heat. I'll take the snow. Wouldn't that confuse the weather experts!!!! They are busy saying SA has had an increase in temp over the last decade.