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
Hello Annette you are right about going broke feeding the birds. My OH says we are spending more on bird food than food for ourselves but in this cold, cold weather they need all the help they can get.
Hope your daughter is recovering well. Take care.
Margobird
Morning Lindybird hope OH manages to warm car up enough and please have a safe journey. You do have a wonderful milkman. We don't have milk deliveries here but at least we can get to the shops once OH gets up the steep hill from our bungalow. Nice of him to bring bird food as well as it is important to keep our feathered friends well fed. Have a good day and keep warm.
Cora Linn looks absolutely stunning Alan always look at this 2 or 3 times a day.
Caerann thanks for the pics absolutely gorgeous. Hope she managed to keep warm and more importantly is fetting food. Have a good day.
Thanks for th link SueC as others have said it looks absolutely stunning.
Snow shower again this morning but now looks as if sun is trying to break through. Postman got through this morning. We walked to village shop yesterday, but it took us at least twice as long. Lovely to get out of the house though.
Alan, lovely to watch the 'winter wonderland' at Cora Linn. It felt quite relaxing to watch the waterfall cascading down.
I think we should all sing a chorus of the M & W song, 'Bring Me Sunshine'.......
Thanks Tiger for the good news about Bill. Springwatch and Autum Watch not quite the same without him. I wish him well and hope to see him back on our screens soon. I think it is his enthusiasm for wild life that has attracted a much wider and younger audience. He tels things simply so we can all understand. Have a good day.
Just before lunch I sent out the following to the Neighbourhood Watch members in my street. This is my own initiative and the information relates to my location, but, I thought I could copy my friends here in the UK and hopefully you may find it helpful. There have been other national announcements via the media, but I thought that since the situation is likely to continue, some specific advice was called for.
Weather conditions newsletter.
"Hi Folks,
The weather conditions have prompted me to send some advice on how we can cope with this situation that looks as if it is going to last for several days. The long term weather forecast from this Norwegian website (in English) gives some indication of the length of the likely disruption. You may wish to bookmark the page, as I see that the forecast for next week is showing higher temperatures than it was forecasting yesterday. A return to positive temperatures is forecast for next Wednesday, whereas yesterday, it was almost all negative including next weekend, 16th/17th January.
http://www.yr.no/place/United_Kingdom/
The current rainfall/snow radar is here. By clicking on the options you can work your way round the met office website to get the info you wish.
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/radar/
Roads.
The Surrey CC website states they are only gritting main roads, so we can expect xxxxxxx xxxxxx to remain untreated for the foreseeable future. The council are also getting low on salt. Sand only is being provided for the gritting boxes for public use, but I have not checked on local boxes, they were empty last time I looked. I have not taken the car out since Saturday, but have heard that some of the local roads are proving difficult for small cars.
Prescriptions.
xxxxxxx the chemists at the xxxxx Hospital are not delivering prescriptions, saying that patients have to make their own arrangements, for collection.
In the event of a power cut.
Although this is unlikely, ensure you have some candles and matches and a torch. Also I have taken the precaution is setting my hot water to 24 hour operation to ensure some hot water, if the worst happens.
Ice damage to roofs and guttering.
If you see small icicles forming at the edge of the roof, it would be wise to knock them off, before they grow in size, such that the weight of the ice will cause damage to the inside of the roof, the tiles and pull off the guttering, when it drops down with the thaw. Also it would be dangerous to stand or walk under the ice.
Wildlife.
If you are an enthusiastic nature lover, please be kind and ensure that the wildlife and birds have some food and water put out for them. You will find that the ground close to the house is usually free of snow.
Updates to this newsletter.
I am sure that you may think of other issues that could arise, so please share your thoughts by passing them to me and I will send out further newsletters, as necessary."
oooOOOooo
Note: The Norwegian website goes down to town/city level of detail.
ChloeB & Tiger's Osprey Data Site
Sat track schedule Spring 2014
LG 7 days; RW & SWT nil; LDOP varies
Thanks jsb this is all very useful info. Lets hope the Norwegian forecast is good and we will return to positive temperatures next week. Fairly fortunate here in Poole although they are forecasting snow for Sunday and Monday morning. Main roads OK but it is the side roads that are very dangerous. We live at the bottom of a steep hill and this has not been gritted but my husband has managed to get up every day so far just by being extremely careful.
Hoping that many people are helping the birds out in this weather. I am topping up at least 3 times a day at the moment and it is costing a small fortune but to me it is so important to help them out. Of course water is also important and with a bit of daily perseverance I have managed to defrost the bird baths so the sparrows, blackbirds and starlings can have a bath.
Do take care and keep warm.
Thanks for that jsb. Our local weather station reckons the situation is being over hyped:
"You may be aware today of the media sensationalist reporting of temperatures of '-20°C' in Britain. Weather Watch wants to put this into perspective. The quoted '-20°C' has been hit overnight in Altnaharra, in Highland Scotland, and this is a very localised reading and has not been experienced across large swathes of the country, as the reports on both TV and in the tabloid media, are trying to lead you to believe. It is cold across the UK, but not as low as the hype would have you believe. Some of the very low temperatures being reported are from known 'frost hollows' and again are very localised to these particular locations of the recording weather station and these regions will always get very low with radiative cooling when there is snow cover and light winds. "