Annette - Nah, I don't bother betting. Hey, would you like to become my Physio? I like your exercise regime. LOL
LINDY how exciting to have a holiday home. I see it's a she, have you named her?
It's actually stopped raining. We had over 48 hours constant varying between heavy and torrential.
Good Afternoon ALL. The gales have died down, although still windy. Sunny intervals at the moment. Heavy rain again tonight. So sorry to see peoples homes and businesses flooded in Lancashire and Yorkshire. 100mm of rain in places. The Isle of Wight festival seems to be a mud bath.
Dibnlib, Such lovely photographs.
Alan, I am sure Lady P is feeling very sore with all her bruising. Hope she is taking it easy.
Linda, Congratulations on the purchase of your cravavan. Enjoy. I am sure you will use it a lot when this perpetual rain stops.
Annette, How big was this creature that Lightning murdered
AQ, I have seen all the news about Black Caviar. They showed an interview with the trainer, Peter Moody, on his arrival in Britain two weeks ago, when he said, " It is strange that we have to travel three -quarters of the way around the world to race inferior opposition for inferior money (£283,000) to stamp her greatness". The owners have only won more money on five occasions after 21 races. ( newspaper records ). He seems to be rather an aggressive person, but the public would love to see the horse win. Pleased to see your recovery is progressing so well. You must be so pleased.
I must leave now. Will look in later.
Hi, all! Hope everyone is safe in the foul weather. It's still over 32.2 here every day. Farmers are complaining about the drought.
Lindy: Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed your time away in your lovely new home away from home! Wonderful Black Welsh cattle!
Patricia: I hope everything goes peacefully when the Queen visits NI. I know that she and Martin McGuinness are going to meet. Thinking of you.
dibnlib: Very beautiful photos from Shetland! Sorry you missed seeing the dolphins. Loved Nessie!
Alan: I'm glad that Lady P is better. I hope the docs can identify and treat the reason she fainted.
Heather: I'm glad that your daughter will be getting settled soon. So very sorry that the cat has to be rehomed.
Lynette: Glad your OH's check-up showed that he's okay! Hope your daughter can find a great new job soon!
Margo: Sorry that the lousy weather has ruined your roses. :-( I'm sending you some of this heat!
Annette: Sorry about the murder on your patio and the forensic evidence! I'm sure that Lightening will deny the charges and plead not-guilty. I do hope that your foot is healing well and the antibiotics are working! Go easy on it!
OG: I loved all of your garden photos. My favorite garden was the Cornucopia. I liked the railroad display, too! I think I neglected to say that the raptors were all glorious. I loved the little Eagle Owl and the Barn Owl. That Barn Owl was particularly elegant because it was so light coloured. Very distinguished. Thank you for the Pipes and Drums of the Queen Victoria School! Beautiful! Some friends of mine went to an informal wake the other day at a Pub in Indianapolis. Someone (I didn't know him) in full Highland dress played Amazing Grace on the bagpipes.
AQ: I'm so very proud of you and your good progress with the new knee. Woo Hoo!!! Did you see that scientists have unearthed the bones of 50 Diprotodons -- giant marsupials -- in Queensland? The fossils date back to 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. It's an amazing find!
Hi to Brenda, Trish, George, Sandra in Wales, Alicat, NiteOwl, Joan, and anyone I've missed.
I forgot to say that I got my car repaired. The bad news was that a field mouse chewed a hole in my fuel line. The good news was that I found a really skilled, honest mechanic, and the bill was only $87. Not nearly as bad as I expected.
I was embarrassed, but he explained that the lines in today's cars are plastic made from soybeans. It smells wonderfully appetizing to mice, chipmunks, etc., and they can smell it from quite a distance away. I told him I lived in the woods, so he replaced my line with one made from tough nylon.
I stopped at the small supermarket in Rockville for some groceries. All of the shops in Rockville have hitching post areas in the car parks to accommodate the Amish horses and buggies. It seems so funny to pull into a car park and see horses lined up. I saw only one Amish buggy on the roads on the way home.
The drive through the hills and deep forest was nice. I didn't see any bald eagles, but there was a big flock of Canadian geese on the nearby lake.
I did see the buck deer in my woods this morning. He gave me a sort of half-hearted snort-roar!
A short NEW BLOG from John Ingham including a new poem from Patrick
Hello all
I am so grateful to you all - this is a very supportive and happy group. I clicked in error on 'Gabfest June' instead of 'latest post 'there,while browsing and read their group guidelines. I think that most of us here would not qualify!! No matter, I have said before that we should applaud and respect our differences and still think so. It is true that we will all find the group that we are comfortable with.
Middle daughter was very, very upset last night but today is another day and things in Folkestone seem more settled. They will all be here next Friday, thank goodness. I have to go to the letting agency on Monday to sign my part of the lease.
Horrible day here but thankfully not getting the torrential rain that others are having. I wonder if OG is getting it?
Got a lovely picture from brother yesterday, showing their garden flowers in Brittany. The miles between us certainly show! Here, poppies are in flower and the iris in the pond look good. Everything else is mostly in bud. Baskets are slow, oh for some sun-------------
Morning all: Ghastly rain for some UK folks again - lots of very unfortunate people with flooded homes. Awful.
Brenda: The victim was about 7 inches long and about 4 inches wide, but was spread out, so to speak, lengthwise. I immediately thought it was a bird, but couldn't see feathers or beak or legs, just a lumpy bloody mess. When the cat has killed birds before, she hasn't typically spread their innards all over the place - sorry, too much information. My OH thought he saw some feathers when he cleaned up but I didn't feel like reexamining the corpse again.
Diane: Aha! Fuel lines made from soybeans; well that explains everything! Whodathunkit! Sounds like a nice grocery outing through the woods.
Heather: Suspect your daughter will be on am emotional rollercoaster for some time. I wonder if she'd "seen it coming." Can't be pleasant for you coz we all know how mothers fret about their kids, no matter the age. I understand what you're saying re guidelines. Oh by the way, I'm still taking the meds for my toe! :-)))
Sunshine first thing this morning here as weather changes bring wind from the north that has chased away the typical June Gloom. Out into the garden! Take care.
AQ, I see that Black Caviar won the Diamond Jubilee Stakes. TV report says that it was roared on by thousands of travelling supporters, the 1-6 favourite narrowly beat the French trained horse, Moonlight Cloud (5-1) into 2nd place by a head.
Heather, Quite understandable how your daughter's emotions change day by day. I really do feel for her. This week is going to seem a very long week for you. When your daughter is home and settled, I think you should plan your next trip to Brittany. Do take care of yourself.I had also read the guide line. I don't understand why they are necessary. We seem to have manged all this time without any rules or leaders and remained such a happy group, but as you say ' we are all different' and 'each to their own'.
Diane, I must tell my neighbour, who also had fieldmice, which damaged her car heater wiring. Very interesting about the soybeans.
Hello all I had quite a bit of catching up to do as I had another vertigo episode (not as bad as the earlier ones but couldn't have looked at a computer screen.
Linda Congratulations on buying a caravan. It's great that you'll be able to take Buzz on holiday now. Friends recently bought a small, second-hand towable caravan, to use as an 'office' at some of our dog agility events. They used to caravan when their kids were young and, having had a weekend away with this little 'van, are now thinking of buying a slightly bigger one and starting again.
HeatherB I do hope your daughter's move will go well and with as little stress as possible, though her whole situation is distressing for all concerned.
Looking forward to the Queen's visit. One has to admire her energy (and Prince Philip's too). Not many such 'senior' citizens could keep up the pace. I just hope the weather here will improve - we don't want a repitition of the Thames Pageant weather!
patriciat - this vertigo strikes without warning, doesn't it, and can ruin many a plan :-(
I spoke too early, the heavens have just opened! And how.
Diane - we have fieldmice in our garage - the little blighters appear from nowhere and seem to be able to squeeze through the smallest gap.
Linda - Yes, you will enjoy your caravan. I love being in a cosy space especially if it is raining. Lovely to hear the patter of rain on a roof and be all warm inside!
Woops! Nearly forgot to post this, having prepared it last evening!
I hope Emma will look in here during the weekend, and is enjoying a wonderful day.
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
That's lovely, OG. Just preparing some more pics to put on here.
= = =
Right, I'm back again. Thanks for all your lovely posts. I do enjoy reading what everyone is up to, good and bad.
Diane: Soo glad that you got the car fixed, and not too large a bill either. You do seem to have some unique problems, where you live! Love the description of the buck snorting at you!
patricia: Sorry that the vertigo has returned. That's rotten. From friends who have it, it sounds rather unpredictable which really does interfere with your life.
Trish: Yes, I'm sure she is female: I think that they all are, rather like ships/boats etc. When we looked around her the 1st time I did not have a name in mind, but after we had parted with our cash we found that they all have not just a Makers name enscribed on them, rather like cars, but also a model name: she is already called "Amethyst" and its written on her side, and I was so pleased as its my favourite gemstone. So Amethyst she has become! We are very fond of her already and she is having every care lavished upon her: we took down all the ceiling lights and cleaned them out, and polished them before putting them back. Then I went around every single door and cupboard door and put little dampeners on them so that nothing goes "clunk". She now has a new kitchen tap as the original was worn and beyond repair. Its been such fun choosing new cushions and china to put in, I have almost forgotten to do the housework at home!! (any excuse.....)
Here is a pic of Buzz enjoying his new surroundings: he has settled in well [and sleeps at the foot of the bed].
I don't want to put on pics of the outside as the WWW is very public. Here is what we saw on our last day there in the sunshine, last Wednesday:
There is a good statue in the Town Square of Caernarfon, to Lloyd George, the former Prime Minister of whom they are rightly proud. It says on the inscription that he was also a "Constable of Caernarfon" so I shall have to look that up to see what it means.
The youngsters were enjoying the fountain in the sunshine:
-- it leaps out of the pavement in an unpredictable manner, causing lots of shrieking!!
- will put on some pics of the wonderful Castle there, tomorrow.
Again, the weather is not so bad as forecast – I think the worst was when we heard the wind howling last night – we’ve even had some dry patches today. I hope nobody on here has suffered the serious stuff, with floods etc – our nearest floods were about 15 miles away, just over the border, on the approach to Carlisle station, so no west coast trains between there and Scotland for a while.
Linda – sorry no comment yesterday on the Ragged Robin (I think, or is it a Campion?) and the Welsh Blacks – they hadn’t been there when I first looked, I think you added them after! Sorry your garden (especially Poppies) has taken a thrashing from the wind and rain. Will watch out for your new photos!
Annette - sorry about the demise of the unidentified creature on the patio. I assume you are not speaking to Lightning today!
AQ – J quite enjoyed the “work do” last evening - not something he has been involved in much before. He’s been relaxing today – and this will tell you how dry it has been – sanding his project guitar out on the deck! I see it was the un-replaced knee to blame for the extra two minutes walk – are you planning to get it done some time? Congrats on Black Caviar’s win in unfavourable (for her) conditions!
Brenda – Lancashire floods were not far from where we used to live – never did that when we were there!
Diane – long posts from you - I hope this means that there is no storm danger now. What your farmers need is a long spell of gentle rain, but I don’t think Indiana does gentle! I wonder whether the Piper in Indianapolis also played “Highland Cathedral”? It is a favourite at many funerals here, but was actually written by a pair of German tourists after a visit to Scotland! It was good that your mechanic replaced tasty soya-bean pipes with nylon – less environmental, but hopefully less tasty too. Pleased the buck deer acknowledged your presence this morning!
Heather – so pleased it’s not long to wait for Daughter and Grandchildren to arrive! Sorry she had a bad day Friday, but I guess that’s inevitable, and measuring the one week left down there probably made it seem all the more final. As you will see above, the awful weather seems to have gone round us once again! Patter of rain on caravan roof is not so good if you have a small caravan and the toilet block is a field away!
Patricia – sorry the vertigo hit you again – glad it was not quite so bad, but still very unpleasant for you – do take care!