Happy new week folks! Don't foget to check the last few posts of the previous week. Heron posted a photo of a female reed bunting, AQ saw a "ginormous flock of corellas" (must Google that!), OG has found a nice B&B for her trip, Alan posted a nifty shot of the changing of the guard at the eagle nest, folks are wondering how Diane is doing with the storm the big storm back East, and much, much more! :-) We had almost 2 inches of rain in Santa Barbara today, which is brilliant. Still sorting files and likely to be doing so for a day or three to come. Take care all.
OG, glad you got to see the sun today. What a pain about your son. The snow is here now and coming down heavily but we don't need to go anywhere so just staying in and watching:)
Lindybird, sounds a nice day but sorry you didn't get to see the puppy.
Hello all. Haven't even been able to read posts for a few days. My sister has been in hospital since Monday because her heart rate is very low (she didn't know that) and she had a momentary blackout. She's now waiting to have a pacemaker fitted. For a VERY nervous person she is being amazingly calm about it all and is not complaining about her 'incarceration'. Hospital visiting takes up a lot more time than just the hour allowed by the bedside, not to mention trying to ensure her OH takes her the correct nighties, etc!
Lindybird What a happy dog - it's the prospect of stick-chasing that does it. Glad the vet gave him a clean bill of health. What age is he?
Caerann Glad your earthquake wasn't too bad but I don't know how you slept through it. Clear conscience, obviously.
Diane and Gary I hope you won't get too badly snowed in. A friend is in New Hampshire leading a school ski trip from Northern Ireland. My geography isn't good enough to know if they are likely to be affected - sorry.
We have had several days with the blue sky and the elusive yellow orb! Supposed to continue until the weekend, which would be wonderful as we have our dog agility Winter League on Saturday - a 'double-header' as the last heat was snowed off.
All Keep well and warm (or cool in AQs case).
Hi Patriciat
Sorry to hear about your sister. Hope she comes out soon.
I think NH is far enough north to have missed these really big storms so they should be OK (I think) Have fun at the dog agility this weekend:)
Hi all: Phew. Busy on here today. The car we are thinking of buying looks to be a good deal and is in basically good condition, so I think we'll be getting it - it'll just be for driving around town; we've got the '06 Accord for longer trips. We have temps around 70F (21C) forecast for the next seven days. We drove down the highway to Ventura to shop for a couch and stopped by Lowes (like Home Base) where all the BBQs and patio sets are now showing up. OH is out for evening at a lecture, so I have house to myself. Do like that!
Patriciat: My friend's OH had a pacemaker fitted the other year and suddenly had all kinds of energy. Amazing. I hope your sister notices a similar improvement.
So many posts to catch up on. I'm not complaining - I do enjoy reading all the chatter. And the pictures. And the links. Thank you all. Another hot sticky day in Adelaide. Overcast, no sign of the yellow orb. A rather strange day. Currently Adelaide city is 22 C, 72% humidity. Airport (near us) 24 C, 59% humidity. Usually we are 3-5 degrees cooler than the city with a sea breeze but not today. Oh, and the max temp so far today is 29.9 C soon after midnight !!!!! I envy all you cold people with your snow and ice. Perhaps not your storms though.
Margobird - so sorry you are unwell again. I wish I could send you some of our weather.
Diane - Lizarda Da Vinci resides in our compost heap - a fancy name for the weeds, prunings & other vegetation that gets thrown against the side fence. Since the heap is about 15 feet long, I don't suppose there is a lot of territory for a collection of skinks.
OG - Colonization was organised by humans, so no wonder things didn't run smoothly. I'll try to find some more positive history. LOL
Help Help Help. It must be an emergency. It's 1.50 pm and there is this strange damp stuff falling out of the clouds. Very unusual. I wonder what it is.
Hey AQ: Hope that damp stuff did some good - though it sounds awfully humid. Maybe a thunderstorm would help make things less oppressive. So, another month of summer you said a few posts ago? What are winters like where you are? Do you get four entirely different seasons? Ours sort of all run together; we now have trees in blossom while just a minute or so ago others were still dropping leaves. Still, it seems to work out. Our "worst" time is probably Sept/Oct, when the desert winds send dry hot air blasting over the hills toward the ocean and the temps hit 100F+. It's rare that it lasts more than a week or so at a time. On the drive back from Ventura today, saw snow on the tops of the hills in the distance.... Maybe we should collect it all and send it to Vancouver, where they're having a wetter/warmer than usual winter for the Olympics. Pesky weather!
Hi, all.
AQ: I believe you may be experiencing a phenomenon called rain! Good for you. I hope it's a real "gully washer". That's U.S. rural slang for a torrential downpour that soaks the fields and runs in the roads -- also known as a "fence lifter" or an "earth mover".
Speaking of moving earth: Caerann, an earthquake!!! If we were playing poker, I think your Big Blizzard + Earthquake beats my Average Blizzard. You win the money in the pot this week! LOL. I had to laugh at patriciat's post, because I also was going to tease you about having a clear conscience. Probably good that you slept through the rumbling. Seriously, I'm glad you're okay. I hope you have all the supplies you need if you're snowed in. You may not be, though, because Chicago does a much better job of handling snow than central Indiana. We don't have the resources that you do -- and, of course, we have some of the dumbest politicians in the country.
Gary, hope you're okay, too. Haven't seen the weather. Are you blizzarding now? Very nice Snow Plow Guy dug us out this afternoon. patriciat: So very sorry about your sister. I hope she recovers quickly and feels much better with greater stamina. Margobird: I hope you get over your cold. Take it easy for awhile and drink lots of fluids. Paul Heron: Loved the beautiful birdie pictures. I don't believe you about that strange yellow sphere in the sky. All I see up there is blowing snow. OG: Hope your son is very happy in his new home. What a wonderful place to live. I absolutely love the sound of the mandolin. george g: Congratulations on the new bird table and its assembly. I hope the birds love it. There are a lot of lawsuits here in the United States against companies who are labeling real fur as faux fur. Some new laws have been passed to stop it. But our corporations seem to be able to get away with anything here. It was a great experience swimming with the dolphins! Thanks for your good wishes. Hope you are doing well; always good to read your posts!
Sorry to all the people I neglected. Always enjoy the chat, pics, links...
Annette: I'm going to restrain myself from making Toyota jokes. :-) Seriously, hope the car serves you well. Did you find a good couch? If you find a lovely small one in a nice chocolate brown color, send it to me, please. :-)
Thanks for your explanation about whale watching. Such a wonderful thing to do for you and the whales. I'm afraid that I couldn't pass as a Californian for one minute. I'm pale as a vampire right now. Hope you enjoy the walk with Oro. How that dog must love you.
The Royal trumpet vines that you mentioned are beautiful and would be stunning in your garden. I've read that trumpet vine can be very invasive and can take over if they aren't contained. I've never had any problem. My locust trees are towering, and I just let the vines grow up the trees into the sky. BTW: I did read just today that trumpet vine is toxic/poisonous for pets and humans, so if Lightening is one of those cats who eats plants, you might want to be cautious. I never knew that; the hummingbirds sure love them. Poison plant lists: http://www.chelonia.org/articles/plantsthatpoison.htm and http://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/ce/king/PoisPlant/Tox-COM.htm
Take care! Glad your life is returning to normal a bit.
Annette - that damp stuff wasn't much more than damp. It just raised the humidity more. Yuk, yuk, yuk. Summer here seems to last from late Oct to end of March. Usually hot and dry. Not often humid (thank goodness). Our winter (temps 7-15 C on avarage) lasting from May to August, is cool with rain. We used to get the season "breaking" with rain stating in May. Alas it the weather gods seem to have forgotten us the last few years. Our worst is in summer when the hot north winds bring down the heat, and often dust, from the Outback. I don't mind the rain nor the cold (such as we get) but I often meet grumblers in winter. I reckon I can always add more layers, or curl up indoors with a book. Yes I saw on the news the problems the winter Olympics are having. I don't know whether it is global warrming but weather patterns seem to have "gone haywire" across the world.