Hi everyone. Happy Sunday! As usual, check out the last few entries of the previous week's chat to find out who left a plant at the supermarket checkout counter and ate a bag of chocolate donuts for lunch.
Brought Oro for home visit today; was lovely and sunny and daughter sat in the garden feeding him treats. He had a little snooze and then while my daughter took a nap Oro and I went to the beach and walked along the grassy area behind the sand for about a mile or so. (No trash cans to crash into!) Marvellous afternoon with brisk breeze and big surf, but now they're forecasting more rain for Monday through Wednesday!
Hullo from frosty-cold Chicago where it's 12f/-11c out and we have a trio of Mourning Doves sunning on our porch this morning.
Cirrus: So lovely to see you back again! Please visit more often if you can.
Alan: Loved the sledge dog photo and I'm not bored with the boars either. =O)
Margobird: Thank you for the Eagle cam link and I'm looking forward to checking out what else they have to offer on that site as well.
George G: So nice to hear from you and I hope your shopping excursion goes well. I'll be making one of those myself today too.
Lincoln has some wonderful photos on his Palemale site today of a female and a male American Kestrel. The female comes up in the first few photos, she's the one with the striping on the feathers and streaking on her chest while the male has brilliant blue on his head and wing tips. We had a male come through the garden on Monday and swoop up a male house sparrow that had been feeding on seed.
Have also had a Cooper's Hawk visit nearby and yesterday an unknown hawk in the tree 3 doors away but I was on the phone so couldn't see it clearly and the bird flew away after just a minute or so anyway. I suspect it was either a Red-shouldered Hawk or possibly a Rough-legged Hawk, it sure was a beauty.
Alright then, I'm off to start the day. Take care everyone!
Morning all: Had a wonderful night's sleep, although at one point awoke to a faint scrabbling sound - thought it was a possum or some such critter close to the bedroom window, but found it was guest hampster, Shadow, going about her nocturnal routine. I'll be taking Oro and Shadow home in another day or so. Really don't like to see animals in cages, although daughter does let her out regularly to explore the wider world.
Caerann: That book sounds scary and depressing. If Canada weren't so cold and I were younger......
AQ: By handcart across Australia? Hmmm. And I thought our pioneers had a hard time in wagons. :-)) Sorry about the weather there.
OG: Lemon and ginger cheesecake sounds very exotic - and yummy. Love lattes. Stopped at the coffee shop near my daughter's apartment en route home yesterday to get one for the road;also a bad chocolate chip cookie that I threw away after a few bites. Enjoy your time alone. I like having the house to myself, too. Indeed, I wondered at the spiffy vacuuming job and wondered if grandson's girlfriend hadn't had a part in it.
Cirrus: Great to see you! I was reading on the Pete's Pond Facebook page that they had a problem with the webcam yesterday and it was stuck. Afke (the woman who runs it) was gone and they were waiting for her to get back to fix it. I see OG has passed on the link also some helpful tips.. I know it takes a second or two for IE/Real Player to get the image moving, but then all is okay. Hope you get it sorted out soon.
Djoan: Sounds like you've been just as busy with OG, reorganizing stuff. I still have to open boxes that we packed up before the kitchen remodel. Now that daughter is on the mend, maybe we'll get back to it; though OH is now involved in annual tax returns.
Alan: Congrats on successful MOT - I think. Wow. Only 8 hours of sunshine for the month so far - that' is low. Wonderful sunshine here today (sorry!) and good forecast for next seven days. When I was driving home from daughter's yesterday, was thinking I could be in Ireland due to the vibrant green of the surrounding hills. Would love to watch Crufts but doubt we'll get it here. Did anyone see "Best in Show"? Hilarious (I thought so anyway). Quote is so true - Oro is a happy dog and always thrilled to see me (I take him for lots of walks,even when he's back home with daughter). And yes, the evening light in Estonia is special, especially when there's a visible sunset.
George: As with everything else in the U.S., we suffer from extremes when it comes to moral dilemmas, and those people always manage to out-shout the moderates. Farm shop sounds like a nice outing.
Margobird: Thanks for additional lnks; will watch when I get a minute. Watch out with the feeder defrosting mission! What a shame your real-life mission was ended because of your eye problem, but glad medical advances came along in time. I have a bike I ride around but I'm much more cognizant of potholes, etc., than I ever was when younger and used to tool around Hertfordshire on my Raleigh "hands-free" and ride in really icy weather too! Eeek.
Sorry this is such a long post. Better get moving; can't loll about all day - or can I? :-)
Quick update from me. Been for injection and blood tests so just had to have latte and carrot cake on the way home. Weather slightly improved so OH is doing some more tidying on the decking – annoying goldfinches! We had a cloud of them here this morning – too many for “a charm” to fully describe them! Something must have disturbed them in the fields.
DjoanS – funny how we get these spring urges to re-arrange the nest! Hope yours is going well.
Alan – pleased Thunderbird is well and back on the road. Still awaiting my new car – apparently being built this week, expected mid-Feb. Agree with you about light in Estonia – somehow makes it all look so clean and unspoiled.
GeorgeG – hope you enjoyed your coffee and bake at the farm shop – and got all the supplies you needed.
Margobird – sorry you had such a cold night – we seem to be around +4 or 5 day and night right now. Thanks for links – will hopefully follow them up when I have time.
Caerann – not often here at the same time as you, so hi there! Your hawks sound spectacular! Didn’t realise there were so many different ones.
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
Caerann: Thanks for the link to the kestrel shots. We often see them around here but never close enough to get such great pics.
Just managed to capture eagles mating on the xcel energy site:
Annette Replying to your question yesterday; I've never been an active user of Facebook - are you thinking of a different Sue?
Know what you and Margobird mean about there being too many cams. I've been watching Lily the bear too over last few days and love the cub's "motoring" sound. The camera buzz is infuriating though - think I'll leave it till you can see more of the cub.
Annette: Of course you can "loll about all day" ! Why not? Had to laugh about the bathroom not being cleaned properly by teenager- my son is a great deal older than your grandson, but I'm sure he only cleans some of the rooms in his house when he is expecting company! (or me!)
Have been enjoying watching the boars grunting & snuffling about in Estonia. They seem to have a pecking order, & like to shove each other out of the way, even though there's plenty of room for all.
OG: See you are on the carrot cake again. I must go & buy some, I'm getting so jealous. (used to make it, but its not the same as the commercial kind somehow.)
Off now to watch Lily as Sue has reminded me I've not popped in there yet, today.
If you like tiger cubs, go to this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8079547.stm
!!!!
Hi Alan,
do you know the link to the owl that has laid 7 eggs that everyone is talking about on the humming bird site if you know i would like it
Alicat
index thread
lg stats
Hi Alicat Sounds like Starr Ranch Barn Owls - first egg due to hatch early next week.
http://www.starrranch.org/blog/?page_id=2
and.....another list of cams I've discovered
http://www.beakspeak.com/
Thanks Sue C you beat me to it re the owls.