Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey Topics) 17 June 2012

HAPPY NEW WEEK!

Please check back to the end of last week's thread for chat and pics. I would really hate for anyone to miss OG's wonderful photos of gardens and raptors. Seriously!

News for This Week

One of the greatest achievements of the human race is happening now. Voyager 1, a spacecraft launched by NASA in 1977, has signaled that it has reached the edge of the solar system. It will be the first object built by humans to sail out into interstellar space. It has enough batteries to last until 2020. What will it see?
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Happy Summer Solstice -- the longest day of the year! The Summer Solstice is:

12:08 a.m. on 21 June in the U.K.
04:08 p.m. on 20 June in California, USA.
07:08 p.m. on 20 June in the east, USA.

The Winter Solstice is:

08.38 a.m. on 21 June in Adelaide, Australia.
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The New Moon (the dark moon) is 19 June in U.K. and U.S., and 20 June in Adelaide.

Everyone have a good week!

Snowy Egret
My photo, taken at Venice, Florida

Evening all: Daughter came down for the day and we went out for a bit. She went home around 5 and then I prepared BBQ and veggies (well, ready to cook) only to have OH say he wasn't that hungry. Turned out neither was I, so we pecked at various bits and pieces and called it dinner. Town is full of parents arrived to cheer on kids who are graduating from Univ. of California campus this weekend.  Hopeless traffic and don't even think about trying to find somewhere to eat out - the restaurants are jammed!  Sun was out early though which is nice for visitors who come to California for the sunshine and then wonder what happened when it's June and overcast, at least by the beach.  In the next couple of weeks, college kids will be moving out of their apartments, often without bothering or being able to sell furniture, etc.,  and the sidewalks around the Univ will be piled with sofas, chairs, desk, lamps, etc.  I think the city puts it all in one place and then holds a sale (which probably doesn't offset the price of cleaning it up).  Anyway, our neighbors have a sign over their garage congratulating their daughter (a really nice girl) who's just graduated from the Veterinarian school at California Polytechnic Univ up the coast in San Luis Obispo. All in all a busy Saturday, though never got around to doing any work on the French doors.

Diane: Thanks for starting us off.  I'm fascinated by the Voyager's journey; closer to home, just popped out to see the dark moon but couldn't find it.  :-)   Can't believe we're almost at the Summer Solstice. Not only do the weeks, fly by, but the years too.  Eeek!   Gorgeous egret; looks extremely elegant in that black and white outfit.

Alan: Regarding Washing Line Management, it was a team effort in our neighborhood when I was growing up. If you put your washing out and then went out shopping and it started to rain, one of the neighbors on either side would rush over and bring it in before it got soaked. These days you'd probably get arrested.  Of course, those were also the days when mothers routinely left babies in prams outside stores and you could chat to other people's babies and kiddies without being glared at. Oh well.

OG: I like the look of the Macmillan Garden. Was trying to figure out what those pink flowers were in the next pic.  And oh what wonderfully delicate coloring on that owl!  I think there's something about the eyes of a Falcon - maybe the coloring or the shape - that makes them look more friendly than other birds of prey (though I wouldn't want to test that hypothesis!). Nature does come up with such beautiful creatures; then there's us!.  :-))

Have a lovely Sunday all.

Heather - How fantastic you found a house for Dau & family so quickly.

OG - What beautiful colours has the falcon.

Thanks for starting us off Diane.

Annette - Why don't they store the unwanted furniture for next season's students? Or is it too battered to bother!

OH & I decided to go out on a photography expedition yesterday as the weather was sunny. Well, by the time we had lunch & set off, the sky was half-covered with dark gloomy atmospheric clouds. However it made some interesting shots. I won't inflict them on you - they're all of churches. LOL
I've been AWL again and forgot it was Friday so here are the belated Smiles (bumper stickers)

If you can read this, I'm not impressed. Most people can read.
My other car is a broom.
Danger: I drive like you do.
I brake for . . . Oh, h***, no brakes!
I'm just driving this way to make you mad.
Don't drive faster than angels can fly.
I may be slow but I get there.
Honk if you're impatient.
The closer you get, the slower I go.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY to all DADS.

The wind has calmed down and the sun is trying to shine.

We are off to meet the children for OH's special day. We don't know what they have arranged. Hope you all enjoy your day.

Diane – thanks for starting another new week.  Thanks fro Solstice and Moon dates – and your wonderful Egret photo!

Annette – I hope you don’t need to negotiate streets with extra traffic and pavements with goods for sale today!  Maybe a Sunday for relaxing in the hammock?

AQ – pleased you felt up to a photography expedition yesterday – especially having to get in and out the car over and over. 

Brenda – I hope you and OH have a wonderful day with your children – and that the sun shines for you.  OH had a card from Dau#2 (the one who is usually late) but nothing from the others – maybe Dau#1 is the late poster this year!  I had thought J might leave a card with me since he is away for the weekend.

Took ages getting up this morning – think I was affected by fumes from curtains which had been dry-cleaned, despite having windows open when we hung them, spraying lots of air freshener and having the window open and fan on a night as usual.  Rain earlier, but seems to be drying up now.  Hordes of hungry birds outside kitchen window!  Out to F Day lunch today – Happy Fathers’ Day to all Fathers out there.

And finally – Gardening Scotland Part 3 – Floral Hall.   Inside, there were home, kitchen and gift suppliers as well as flower arrangers etc.  The growers’ stands were excellent, as usual.  I have edited the photos down to the twenty best, but will only inflict a sample on you – may use others for birthday cards! 

Sun is now shining – looks like a nice day!

The 3 of us have just been for a walk round Swinsty reservoir.  Rarely if ever have I seen so much water in it.  It's gushing out of the end of Fewston down the run in to Swinsty and gushing out of the end of Swinsty on the way to the next one down the valley.

Very sad news at LG but now the camera's been pood on so we can't see.

NEW BLOG FROM RICHARD

Afternoon all,

Diane : Thanks for starting the week off and all the astrological news and the heads up on the new blog.

OG : more lovely pics and they would indeed make very nice cards.

AQ : Thanks for the belated friday smiles.

Trish : Not surprised your reservoirs are overflowing, it is the same at Rutland Water where it was 99% full before the last lot of rain.

Thanks to everyone else for the chat etc.

Decided to go to Barnwell CP after an early heavy shower and a reasonable forecast. When we got there they were collecting the car parking money at the gate as some morons had stolen the parking meter and its contents. Weather was still against us but managed a walk around the north lake and saw the late nesting swan still on its nest. Also saw the swan with 2 remaining cygnets. Did not manage a walk around Mill Lake so did not see the other swan with 7 cygnets. The rain started again and I did not get any pics today. The river Nene was very high at Barnwell, higher in fact than it had been all winter and some water was still in the fields off the Oundle bypass.

Hi all. I see we have another person that is called Sandra too. Sandra, if you read this post, I would be very grateful if you could put a number at the end of your name, please. The reason is, I had to change my name from Sandy to my full name because someone else joined after me and used that name. Thank you. :-)

OG, beautiful pics again. :-)

Morning all: Not happy news at LG nest today I see...   Interesting that Father's Day falls on the same day here as in the UK/OZ, while Mother's Day doesn't. Is Father's day "new" in the UK? I don't seem to remember it growing up (but I do remember "Mothering Sunday").

AQ: Storing unwanted furniture for next year's students makes much too much sense. Seriously, I don't know why - probably a combination of being battered and not cost-effective for some reason.  Had to smile at "Honk if you're impatient."

OG: A day with the paintbrush I suspect; with just OH to negotiate.  Love those photos (although those rows of "trees," look too arranged for me), What's that spectacular brown and white Lily thing?

Trish2: Too bad the LG camera wasn't pooed on an hour or so earlier.  Swinsty must've been where the government was hiding all that water that fell during the drought. :-)

Off to start the day. Take care all.

Well I never thought that grass court tennis was a rough game until now. Just been watching the mens final at the queens club and David Nalbandian has been disqualified for kicking a line judge, knocking him off his chair and causing his shin to bleed. I think I will stick to footie at least the players rarely kick the linesmen.

Edit : I have just watched the action replay and he actually kicked the boarding which cut the line judges leg and caused him to roll off his chair.

YOU CAN NOT BE SERIOUS!!!!!!

Back from having Fathers’ Day lunch out with OH.  J has been on a “Busman’s Holiday” – helping take kids from another church’s youth group away for the weekend – this after a full week in the Academy, and then leading his own group tonight, and back to work tomorrow – he’ll be shattered!

Well, the inevitable happened at LG – I never did think much of little Runt’s chances, but Chick#2 was the most vicious I have ever seen – did “she” know this was not a full-sibling?  Anyway, this gives EJ’s chicks with XD a better chance, so could be better genes for survival (though, of course, we don’t know whether Garten and the family of three unringed chicks are still out there somewhere!).  But, of course, XD has reared many chicks with Green J!  Since RD told us that any interference inevitably disadvantages a bird, I hope only one of the two surviving LG chicks gets satellite tagged this year.

Trish – pleased you got a dry walk – not surprised at all the full reservoirs.

Alan – always disgusted by people robbing car park boxes.  Sorry it turned wet on you.  That is unusual behaviour for tennis – worse that anything McEnroe ever did!

Annette – brown and white “Lily thing” is an Aresima – we’ve seen them in various paces visited, so were really glad to have a name for them!  Haven’t yet looked up to find more about them but they seem to grow in shady, slightly damp areas.

J is now back home, so time to make a salad before we go to church.

As I wont be posting on here very much I dont see the difference changing my name will make. I dont have my picture on either so I think everyone will know its not you.