Post a good thing that happened in your life today

[gvallee]

12 hours ago, Sally R said:

 

Wow, well done on the climb Gen! You were brave to climb the rock face. I think I may have freaked out at that point 😮 It's nice to see the country around Alice Springs. Glad you are getting some good weather for hiking.

 

Thank you Sally. I almost turned back at the rock face. I stared up vertically in disbelief for a few minutes before figuring out where to place my feet. The 360 degrees view on top is stupendous. We can see the West and East McDonnell Ranges, Pine Gap. We would like to cross over to WA in about one month's time but I don't believe that interstate borders will be re-opened by then. I read that it might be 6 months down the line. As always, we'll take it as it comes. We are very flexible with our plans. In fact, our plans are 'go where the wind pushes us'. It's certainly been a gale force wind!!

[gvallee]

8 hours ago, Broad Norfolk said:

 

Thanks for sharing your images, Gen. It's always nice to see other parts of the world. Scotland is as far as I get these days and your trek reminds me of last October when I set off in bright sunshine to climb Stac Pollaidh (pronounced Stack Polly) at a mere 2,008 feet. It has a shattered sandstone crest and about half way up a large black cloud appeared, the wind reached gale force, and the sleet was horizontal. No shelter and had to retreat. The weather can change so quickly here and I made the unforgivable mistake of setting off without waterproofs!! This is something to try again after lockdown! 

Jim.

 

 

 

I'm glad to enjoyed the pictures Jim. Although I lived in the UK for 28 years, I've never been to Scotland. The weather there sounds like in Melbourne, all four seasons in one day they say. It must be hard to get a huge temperature drop intra-day. I remember someone saying that, as a young boy, he would go climbing in Scotland with his father. They would wait with anticipation for their waterproofs to freeze as it would protect them from the wind...  

[Marianne]

11 hours ago, NYCat said:

The greenmarket has been open through all of this and apparently that includes the plants as well as food. Actually, the small plant stores near me are also open. They don't have the flowers that will grow in our very shady garden. The old-fashioned impatiens like shade and I can usually get them at the greenmarket. I will have a longish walk home with a flat of flowers on my little cart. The police presences around here have been friendly. Cops in Washington Square to look out for us. There was some mugging activity at one point and not surprising given how empty the streets have been. It seems spooky sometimes with people masked. I usually try to give a smile to the officers but hard to do when masked! 

 

Paulette

 

Yep nurseries are essential businesses here in NY. My hubby picked up potting soil, lyme and other garden items I ordered on his way to the grocery today. 

 

Walking through Manhattan with a flat of impatiens makes me think of the first time my roommate and I carried a Christmas tree from a lot up around 110th street or so to our first apartment on West End Avenue and 92nd. The next day a friend and her cousin each bought one, so we hiked down from there to Amsterdam and the 70's, four of us two trees in tow. 

 

Scary to think of deserted streets in daylight. Here a coyote has been walking our street in broad daylight. Seeing photos of the empty streets in NYC seems soo surreal. Saw an ad for a free course (by Adobe I think) on how to shoot drone video of empty streets for the commercial market. But can you really fly a drone in Manhattan safely without a lot of practice and a license. 

 

Best of luck with the flowers. Seeing things grow, new life, whether it's plants or cute ugly ducklings, is balm for the soul these days. 

[Marianne]

@gvallee Gen, Amazing hike. I'd need an oasis halfway through, and a donkey for the rest of the trip. You rock! (pun intended)

[gvallee]

1 hour ago, Marianne said:

@gvallee Gen, Amazing hike. I'd need an oasis halfway through, and a donkey for the rest of the trip. You rock! (pun intended)

 

I'm not telling you how many times we sat down on the way up. And down. I was seriously wondering if we would be able to walk back. We bit more than we could chew.

[Allan Bell]

 

Had my usual walk down to the river today. Not so many people about. When I returned I decided to relax with a mug of milky coffee and watched a car restoration program on TV.🙃

 

Next job?

 

Allan

 

[Betty LaRue]

I prepared a new recipe today, involving pan-seared chicken. Then briefly sautéed garlic and red pepper flakes. Heavy cream and chicken broth added along with sun-dried tomatoes and Italian spices. Simmered a couple of minutes, then the chicken added back in and baked covered for 30 minutes. 
It was tasty, but not so much I’ll go to the trouble again. I only save recipes that the results knock my socks off. Otherwise I’d need a plastic tote for a recipe box and never find anything. I still love my Poppyseed chicken casserole I’ve made for years.

 

I have one of my homemade pie crusts thawing (I make extra crust when I bake pies and freeze them) and I think I’ll bake a custard pie.

It’s thundering and raining. I love it. My kind of perfect weather.
I’ll post pictures of me fat after eating a whole custard pie by myself. (Not)
Betty

[Michael Ventura]

Shot my first magazine assignment today in nearly 2 months.  It was of a gifted high school senior for a cover.  We shot outside, I used a 70-200mm lens so I could maintain a distance of 6 feet or more...also wore a mask.  All went well. It felt good to be working!

[Bryan]

Received a WhatsApp invitation from our elder son to us and his brother to share his forthcoming 40th birthday celebration remotely by drinking a glass of wine. It will be a happy occasion tinged with sadness.  

Edited May 8, 2020 by Bryan

[Marianne]

They finally had active dry yeast at the grocery store so I can make myself bread. 😎Since finding out I had a gluten intolerance several years ago, I have really missed good crusty bread but haven't baked any kind of rising dough bread in decades, so it should be interesting. I tend to bake pies, cookies and quick breads. I toyed with purchasing a pricey Emile Henry baguette pan, but found a silicone 3-loaf bread form on Amazon for roughly 1/10th of the price so figure that's more appropriate for a neophyte bread baker. I actually love baking in silicone - I have red silicone muffin tins and loaf pans, they cook evenly, nothing sticks, and they clean up easily - even in the dishwasher. Easy to store too. 

 

I did get myself their medium sized Dutch Oven for Mother's Day - on sale - I've been making so many soups, stews and chili in my huge 12-quart Caphalon stock pot but my freezer is getting full with all the leftovers/extra so this should be perfect for when I just want to make enough for the two of us with maybe leftovers for one day - and it's supposed to be awesome for no-knead bread (of course, when baking gluten-free you don't knead the bread dough anyway) - but it's a crusty round loaf and I found a GF recipe. 

 

Look for photos in a couple of weeks when all these cooking goodies arrive. I've been baking like crazy but haven't been photographing any of my efforts. Too busy eating!

[Betty LaRue]

I hear there is a new standard called the Covid 15. Pounds gained, that is.

[NYCat]

A baby robin in front of my apartment door! I kept thinking I heard a chirp in the hall and finally decided to investigate. I guess I should have grabbed my RX100 but I grabbed a scarf instead in hopes of catching it and taking it outside. I managed to save a sparrow once by throwing a light cloth over it. They sort of go all limp in the dark. It was at a client's house and their three cats were fascinated by this little sparrow caught between the screen and the window. I put the cats in the bathroom and did manage to get the sparrow and release it outdoors. My little robin chick wasn't so easy. It kept flying and fortunately it flew downstairs, not up, but it was flying against the front door. I finally got it going towards the open back door and it flew out into the garden. I saw an adult a bit later so I'm just going to leave things be so the little one can be fed. I wonder if we have more than one. Very exciting in the BIG CITY.

 

Paulette

[Bryan]

Birds fly into our greenhouse occasionally and, confused by the glass, struggle to get out. I've found the best method is to walk around outside to the  rear of the house when the bird will fly towards the open door at the opposite end.

 

We currently have blue tits nesting in both our home nest box and that at the allotment. I'm surprised at the success with the new!y installed allotment box as it's just 6 feet off the ground and adjacent to a busy walkway, but the birds just ignore us humans, even when standing right next to the box. I only hope that the itinerant cat that is sometimes seen there doesn't take too much interest, there are rats to keep it busy.

[Allan Bell]

7 hours ago, Sally R said:

wildlife does seem to be on the increase

 

That may be so Sally R but I still have to see butterflies around where I live. So far I have only seen two Orange tips and two whites in a 6 to 7 week period.

 

Usually there are Small tortoiseshells and Peacocks in abundance this time of year but not seen one so far.

 

Allan

 

Edited May 11, 2020 by Allan Bell

[Allan Bell]

 

A good thing. No post = NO BILLS.

 

 

Allan

 

[NYCat]

A little robin chick in the tree by my fire escape this morning. I don't know if there is more than one but at least one is being fed. Later I saw an adult with a worm in its mouth. I couldn't see where it took the worm but it was wormless when it flew away. Then when I was watching later I saw the two adult robins, then a red-tailed hawk flying by from the direction of Washington Square Park. Finally a sparrow showed up. We have an abundance of sparrows in the city. Every now and then I'll see a bush full of puffy fledglings. They are really cute at that age -- as are we all, I think.

 

Paulette

[Betty LaRue]

As a child, I used to climb trees and scamper around them like a monkey. When a baby robin, just starting to feather, fell from its nest in my backyard tree years ago, I cradled it and climbed the tree to put it back in the nest. Way high. 😲

Much to my surprise, when I went to climb down, my knees began to knock. I had developed a bit of fear of heights, or just become aware of the damage that could be done from a great fall.

My teenage daughter stood below saying, “now, Mom, take your left foot slightly to the right and feel that limb...now, lower the right foot straight down about 18 inches....

That was my last tree-climbing excursion.

 

Yesterday, Mother’s Day, I went to my daughter’s. Ray grilled a salmon, we had baked sweet potatoes and a salad, and apple pie. We maintained proper distance. It was so good to visit and have conversation face-to-face. My son in Alabama gave me Amazon credit in the amount of $100. Yay!

Betty

[Bryan]

Consulted via WhatsApp by our 12 year old grandson for help with his maths homework, makes a person feel moderately useful.

 

However, we spotted a, presumably wild, rabbit in our garden yesterday, other people are seeing rats, think I would prefer rats. Maybe due to the lack of cars on the streets?

Edited May 12, 2020 by Bryan

[Cecile Marion]

Two good things happened this morning. I found the exact pair of shoes I’ve needed (same as my last pair) on sale in our little, locally owned sporting goods store. We’d gone in first thing this morning to look for a pair of running shoes for my daughter, who is a competitive athlete. Our retail shops were only allowed to open yesterday and, since my daughter had worn most of the tread off the bottom of her running shoes, she desperately needed a new pair. While there, I just happened to check for the shoes I wanted, thinking I was going to have to place a special order, and there they were. Half price!

 

The second good thing was a reported sale for a decent $$ amount (US magazine). The photo is of a French hospital and was zoomed several weeks ago. I’ve been extremely discouraged lately. My zooms have been good, but I hadn’t had a sale reported since mid-January. I know sales are down for many people, and I’m sure this doesn’t mean more sales are soon to follow for me in upcoming days, weeks, or months, but this at least gives me a little encouragement. 

[spacecadet]

The council are restarting the green waste collection so I've been making sure all the bags are full of the trees we've been cutting down over the last 6 weeks. No more bonfires necessary so that gives the street a break! Seriously, there's not much smoke if you leave stuff to dry out for a week or so.

And I won't have to take the paper and cans and bottles down to the recycling point in a wheelbarrow anymore.

There was a fox sunbathing in the garden again this morning- we usually see a few of them in the garden but gardening and foxes appear to be incompatible.

Edited May 12, 2020 by spacecadet

[aphperspective]

9 hours ago, Bryan said:

Consulted via WhatsApp by our 12 year old grandson for help with his maths homework, makes a person feel moderately useful.

 

However, we spotted a, presumably wild, rabbit in our garden yesterday, other people are seeing rats, think I would prefer rats. Maybe due to the lack of cars on the streets?

Found a use for a couple of my old plastic tool boxes. Took out the trays cut a 3" hole in the end near the bottom, perfect for holding 1 rat trap, nothing can get in apart from Rats and mice. lift the top lid to see results. Bait with a peanut. So far 6 rats caught near my compost heap.

Andy. 

[Betty LaRue]

9 hours ago, aphperspective said:

Found a use for a couple of my old plastic tool boxes. Took out the trays cut a 3" hole in the end near the bottom, perfect for holding 1 rat trap, nothing can get in apart from Rats and mice. lift the top lid to see results. Bait with a peanut. So far 6 rats caught near my compost heap.

Andy. 

Wonderful! Good idea.  Are you laying the dead rats on a fence post for the hawks?

[Bryan]

14 hours ago, aphperspective said:

Found a use for a couple of my old plastic tool boxes. Took out the trays cut a 3" hole in the end near the bottom, perfect for holding 1 rat trap, nothing can get in apart from Rats and mice. lift the top lid to see results. Bait with a peanut. So far 6 rats caught near my compost heap.

Andy. 

 

We have to use poison to deal with the rats at the allotment, not keen on this but can't see an alternative. People keep chickens and they go after the feed. The one occasion when I have deliberately killed an animal was when I found a dying rat and, to end its suffering, cut off its head with a spade. Grim.

 

Whilst on this topic I once came across a deer in a bad way lying in a roadside ditch, it having been struck by a passing vehicle. I felt obliged to kill it, but being on my bicycle, had nothing to hand to bring a swift end. Had to leave it there, felt bad about it.

Edited May 13, 2020 by Bryan

[aphperspective]

6 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

Wonderful! Good idea.  Are you laying the dead rats on a fence post for the hawks?

I have a pair of Buzzards nesting not far away that are benefiting Betty. I chuck the rats over onto a stream bank at the end of my garden, I think they keep a beady eye on my garden because it only takes a few minutes and one swoops down. 

Andy

[aphperspective]

2 hours ago, Bryan said:

 

We have to use poison to deal with the rats at the allotment, not keen on this but can't see an alternative. People keep chickens and they go after the feed. The one occasion when I have deliberately killed an animal was when I found a dying rat and, to end its suffering, cut off its head with a spade. Grim.

 

Whilst on this topic I once came across a deer in a bad way lying in a roadside ditch, it having been struck by a passing vehicle. I felt obliged to kill it, but being on my bicycle, had nothing to hand to bring a swift end. Had to leave it there, felt bad about it.

I agree with you about the poison Bryan, it kills the rat but also kills anything that comes across the poisoned animal (cat, dog, owl etc) Warfarin travels!