Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey Topics), 13 May 2012

Yes I did Sandra. Amazing! Funny seeing you here and over there, but lovely too. Although it's an African project, most of the posters are American.

Brenda - I think I will come and live near to you (are you reading this, Annette? lol)  Because my OH has an accountancy background, over the years several older neighbours have asked him for help. He is always willing but always cautious - I used to ponder on this but since involvement with our immediate neighbour, I can see where he is coming from!

Speaking of which, said neighbour's NOK and her friend (who has power of attorney) have  both been in contact with me today. They are both of the opinion that S would be better off in a residential home. I agree, but S is completely compos mentis so it will be her own decision. POA lady seemed to think that she could just step in and organise residential  home!!!  Neighbour is rallying somewhat with change of meds and total care. I hope that a solution that suits her needs will be found. We leave for Denmark on Wednesday so I hope by next week when we return that something will be in the pipeline.

Hi, everyone! Thanks for all of your concern. I'm fine, just really busy. Annette, I'm not lying injured in the back 40! :-))) I PROMISE I'll come back here tonight and catch up with all of you good folks!

I have to deal with a rabbit crisis this afternoon. Long story. I'll explain later. LOLOL!

Good to hear that all is OK DIANE - hope you are not inundated with bunnies, remembering that you once had a problem with lots of dust bunnies!!!

Hi there, looks like a big catch-up for me again!  Busy this morning, shopping at Morrisons after lunch – including cuppa at G Centre on the way home, then watering garden this evening – and discussing how to find space for all the things needing “hardening off” from greenhouses.  Weather was cloudy with bright patches, but a very heavy shower just after we set out this afternoon.  At least it is still windy, which dries it up quickly!

Annette – dollars to spend and a voucher – where in the garden will you put all those new roses?!  Pleased breakfast with Daughter was good.  Both slept better last night, and OH’s cold is drying up now (hope that’s not too much information!)

AQ – terrible to read that A&E has patients queuing in ambulances – but glad UK isn’t the only place where such things happen! 

Linda – some interesting truths among the smiles this week - thanks!  ‘Twasn’t me who asked about Turkey – but interesting!

Patricia – sounds like a wonderful chaotic moment with Phone, Dogs and District Nurse!  I hope your chest infection is clearing up – I assume you are taking antibiotics for it, with your history of asthma?

Heather – of course S would be better in a home – these old folk cling on to what they call “independence” at home, but expecting help from neighbours, however willing, is not being independent!  Pleased she is rallying, but how long until the next incident?

Diane – Rabbit crisis sounds intriguing - do tell!

Sorry I couldn’t answer all posts – but have read them and enjoyed pictures etc!

Hi, all. I'm sorry that I haven't been posting much. Even though I look in every day, I'm finding it difficult to keep up. I feel I should acknowledge everyone's daily news, but I just haven't been able to keep everything straight to make meaningful replies, mostly because I'm trying to catch up with my yard work. Here's the reason.

After a record-breaking warm winter, we started having freakishly hot weather by early March. The U.S. had the warmest March ever recorded --15,272 warm temperature records were broken! The vegetation here exploded in growth way too early, and we've also had early and ongoing storms/rains. (Climatologists are calling our weird weather "stranger than science fiction" and "beyond unbelievable"!)

So...now I'm playing catch up, trying to get the tall and still wet prairie grasses and weeds cut on my land. I'm making progress though, and I should have everything under control in a couple more days. VERY HARD WORK! Phew!!!

Back later to tell you about the rabbit crisis. LOL!

Rabbit Crisis

Every spring, I have these beautiful little white wildflowers that vine around the front of my house on the ground. I like them, so I don't strip out the plants until after they've bloomed (even though they're technically weeds). This year that was a big mistake!!!

I looked out my porch window at dusk yesterday and thought, "I'd better get those vines pulled!" And then a cottontail rabbit appeared. She gathered some bits of brush and took them under the wildflower vines.

Oh, no! NO! I thought, "Please don't have a nest in there!" I don't like to humanize animals, but I swear, when she came back out, the rabbit looked straight at me, as if to say, "I'm leaving my babies here for you to protect."

Mother rabbits only nurse twice a day: dawn and dusk. The milk is very rich, and the young only nurse for about 5 minutes. The rest of the time, the moms stay away from their nests, so they won't draw predators to the young.

So this morning, after I was sure that she was gone, I put on a pair of medical gloves and gingerly pulled back the plants. At first I didn't see anything, so I started pulling the vines. Then, there it was: a shallow little hole in the ground covered by grey fur. Inside were several wriggling baby rabbits, no more than 24 hours old.

Baby rabbits are adorable when they get fur, but when they're born, they look like little red, bald rats. (Actually, they really look like human penises. Can I say that on this site? I don't think I can.) The babies make this disturbing little shrill grunting sound from the nest. They can't see or hear when they're born.

I didn't touch the babies, and I covered them back up with the vines and nest material. I even added some dried grass to keep them warm and dry.

So I'm wondering how I'm going to mow for the next month when I have tiny baby bunnies hiding all over the front yard!?! And I'll have to move the car, because I don't want them sitting under there with the adults. I'll be terrified to pull the car out of the driveway. And then I had another awful realization.

Continued in next post...

Decades ago, my grandparents had a well (for water) right beside the porch. When town water became available, they covered the hole in the ground with a thick sheet of concrete, like a small patio. My grandmother always put beautiful pots of flowers on it . The rabbit nest is right up against the concrete. But at some point, probably during the last earthquake, the concrete developed a crack -- a crack big enough for a baby bunny to fall through!!!

So now I'm wondering how I'm going to patch the crack so the bunnies don't fall in the well! I can't pour new concrete, because the mother might get stuck in it. I can't use wire or mesh. I can't glue plastic on it, because glue would be toxic. So I went off to find a large rock (small boulder) to put over the hole until the bunnies are grown and I can fix it permanently.

I lowered the blades on the lawn mower and mowed the entire front garden down to the soil. I hope the grass will die off for a month, until the bunnies are grown and gone. Maybe I won't have to mow.

The mother came back and fed them this evening, so I guess everything is okay. The young aren't crying.

So that was the rabbit crisis, and now I'm in charge of a rabbit maternity ward.

AQ: Little Miss is absolutely gorgeous!!! You sound like you're recovering well.

Heather: I think you behaved admirably and ethically for your neighbor. You can go off to Denmark with a clear conscience. I agree with others that you have no obligation to provide extended care-giving. That would not serve her or you well. She needs a comprehensive solution. Have a WONDERFUL holiday!

Annette: Glad you had a nice Mother's Day. Enjoy your new roses! I suggest peach/apricot ones -- my favorite.

Lindy: Your holiday pics are fabulous!!! I love the one of the long path. I also loved the Monday smiles. I enjoyed hearing about your son's trip to Turkey. I've watched several of the House Hunters' International shows from Turkey, and it always looks beautiful.

Patriciat: I had to laugh at your story about the dogs and the District Nurse!

Trish: Healing thoughts to your OH.

OG & Eagle-Eye: Glad you're both feeling better!

OG, thanks for letting everyone know that I'm not lost in the jungle -- yet. LOL!

Sorry I didn't go back any further for replies. Hello to everyone I've missed!

Evening all:  Reassuring to read good reports about NHS experiences.  Today was my last official whale counting shift and it was cancelled due to high winds!  I missed the phone message and ended up going down there - it was gorgeous. I took some pix and will post them later.

Lindybird:  My OH picked up the remote for the TV the other day and, again, asked how to get the recorded stuff; of course, all these buttons have labels on them and there is a handbook......  

Angel: Have I "met" you? If not, hallo!

Brenda: Hmmm. Does not-quite-neighbor lady call before she comes with legal papers, etc., or just show up? That sort of thing is difficult -

OG: Thanks for letting us know that Diane hadn't fallen down a hole...  So no more thrashing around with your OH - hopefully.

Diane:  I'm amazed that "penis" made it onto the sight, but Dick (the abbreviated form of Richard) has been deleted in the past. Go figure! Anyway, lovely story about those bunnies, but what about you falling down that well!? Is it safe?  What about duct tape as a temporary fix?  I find it harder all the time to keep up and feel guilty that I don't watch the cams at night as much as I used to. I'm typically on the computer and can't cope with all these windows open. I have several peach/apricot roses already!

patriciat: Hope DN managed to help OH after Keystone Cops episode.

Sandra: Here's hoping those lovely Cheetahs will be released and survive in the wild.

Trish2: Poor OH - hope he starts to improve soon.

Heather: Maybe we should all buy time shares near Loch Garten?  OK, here's a story. Some time back I helped an older neighbor who'd come down her long driveway in her wheelchair to her mailbox and couldn't get back up - I pushed her in the wheelchair back up the hill. Well, poor old dear died a couple of weeks after that and last week her family had an estate sale at the house (originally the center of a huge ranch that included our neighborhood and beyond - a real bit of local history). Well, I was talking to her DiL at the sale and she told me the lady refused to move into assisted living - same situation; sharp as a whip at 98 (after a lifetime of hard physical work in her case). Anyway, when she was hospitalized the last time, she called 911 (our 999) from her hospital bed to complain about being "held" in the hospital!  She eventually went home, and died soon after. Apparently, she'd run the ranch by herself for the final decades before she sold off the property.  Neighbors have told me she was an absolute terror behind the wheel and they were all relieved when she finally stopped driving. Oh yes, do have a wonderful time in Denmark!

OK: Thanks to EVERYONE for all the news and smiles.  Off to do Other Stuff!

Here's a photo taken from where we count the whales. Offshore winds whipped up the ocean to the point we couldn't do a valid survey; photo doesn't do justice to the greens and blues in the ocean.

Annette in SoCal

...but what about you falling down that well!? Is it safe?  What about duct tape as a temporary fix?  

I don't walk on that concrete slab over the well. It's small, only about 2 feet x 2 feet. It sits back in a little corner where the edge of the enclosed porch meets the house. I keep a heavy plant pot on it, to make sure no one walks on it. I think that Duct Tape would loosen or come off during one of our storms, but a good suggestion.

I can't believe that whale watching is over for another year. Let us know the final count numbers.

Your photo is spectacular. I think you live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I was watching the latest episode of Psych, and they were showing the Santa Barbara coast line. Glorious!!!

Wot a day! OH did the washing; the weather however no better than yesterday and it hasn't dried. Then he decided to vacuum; not the worst part, oh no, starting down the easy end of the house. By the time the burnt smell reached me, far away at other end of house . . . well, methinks he has burnt out the motor. He didn't smell anything. Yes, it was making a funny noise but . . . <sigh> I suggested he finished the rest (3/4) of the house with handbrush & dustpan. Then we were off for my 6-week visit to knee doc. Apparently the pain, stiffness & hot knee is quite normal. And like all good medicos these days he didn't give away anything specific as to how long, how much, etc, etc. Apparently I am doing OK, see you in 12 months. On the way home we dropped into a History Month exhibition at the local library and then the bakery. Oh dear, that plus having demonstated how well I can bend & straighten leg for doc, kmee declared it had enough and I slept away the afternoon. Brought in damp washing. Wracking my brains for something different and easy for tea, I decided to make Impossible Pie. First spent 1/2 hour to find recipe [Memo: Add tidying recipe drawer to list of Things to Be Done While Grounded]. Finally threw Pie & chops & spuds (separately) into oven, luckily decided to clean benches before resting. Uh Oh, there's the eggs that should be in the Pie. I've had just fixed that and OH appeared. He had been watching a DVD, heard noises in the kitchen, thought it was teatime. At least he set the table before he realized he was an hour early.
PS All doors & windows open despite cold, and house still smells burnt. And he still can't smell it. Grr.

Diane - Love the image of you guarding the bunny maternity ward.

Hello.   Whoa!   Lots written since last night - will have to settle down and read it all, quick before my OH comes back from walking Buzz in the fields.

Moffer. I joined Africam a few years back to watch Tracey and Alan's Owl's. You posted a message to me last year on their blog :-)