The General Chat Thread (2023)

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karadekoolaid said:
Same thing :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: (with all due respect to Mr SatNav)
NEVER get other people to buy things for you. Ask my wife.:D:D:D
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Sadly I've not had much choice recently (or in the last 9½ years) due to health problems. He's usually pretty good, I've almost trained him to spot bad veg and not buy it. 😉

Generally he's pretty good and he can cook reasonably well as well but since I don't work and he does, I now do most of the cooking. He tends to do the shopping because the last few times I've been I've ended up with a chest infection a couple of days later and we're both fed up of me being on antibiotics. I've just spent the last 4 - 6 weeks on them.
 
Soooooooo, I was sleeping, but woke up and heard a rumbling sound. I was a bit alarmed, so I went to the window, and looked out through the blinds. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, followed by a BOOM. I was really startled. But then I realized that, "I've seen and heard this before."

As I pondered that, drops of a clear liquid started falling from the ski. And again, I thought, "I've seen this before." Flash of light, a big boom and a clear liquid falling from the sky... is this... rain? :scratchhead:

I had to think back for a while, but I determined that this, indeed, is rain.

CD
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
We've still not got the hang of seeing water in our local lake (Lake George) or the even more recent development of a squadron of pelicans on it. They are surprisingly large birds.
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Pelicans are interesting to watch eat. They swoop down into the water, scoop up a fish, and swallow it whole. I've always wondered if the fish is flopping around in their stomachs for long.

CD
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
We've still not got the hang of seeing water in our local lake (Lake George) or the even more recent development of a squadron of pelicans on it. They are surprisingly large birds.
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Most are very accomplished thieves as well. They will try to take fish off the line, while you are cleaning the fish, and any food you have for a picnic.

Unfortunately, their thieving gets them into trouble via swallowing fish hooks and getting tangled in lines.
 
Go to the beaches in Venezuela, especially where there are fishermen, and there are dozens of pelicans. Watching them fish is wonderful: such a big, clumsy-looking bird, yet impeccably accurate when fishing. When the sardines appear (and there are usually hundreds of thousands of them), the pelicans have a field day.
Just out of interest, I looked up the collective noun for pelicans.
A Scoop, a Pod, a Pouch, or a Squadron.:D:D
 
medtran49 said:
Most are very accomplished thieves as well. They will try to take fish off the line, while you are cleaning the fish, and any food you have for a picnic.

Unfortunately, their thieving gets them into trouble via swallowing fish hooks and getting tangled in lines.
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Most lakes, like most land, is privately owned here, so water sports, fishing and such typically doesn't occur. Lake George, the largest freshwater lake in Australia when it's actually got water in it that is, is no exception. There's no fishing, no boats, not yatchs and so on. The only exception is for people who own land at the lake shore (and the paragliding club).

We've seen 2 wind surfers in the 7 years we've been here. That's a hazardous sport when under the water's surface are kilometres and kilometres of barbed wire fencing! The lake has been divided into fields for sheep grazing and cattle, both of which currently are elsewhere and the cattle at least explain the 2 beef cows I've seen hit on the highway. First one was by a lorry who just didn't seem to comprehend what was standing in the carriageway in front of him, despite my hazard lights and very rapid lane change. The second was hit by a car. The 2 occupants were air lifted to hospital in a bad state.

What you see more often are paragliders by they either have to be very careful now or use the alternative jumping off point. They used to land on the ground well into the lake area and someone would drive out to pick them up. Not so practical currently! Lol.

But it is great watching them soaring and spiralling on the thermals. Just wheeling around having fun. Watching us from the car as you drive along the highway or from one of the rest spots along the lake shore (no less than 5.) To be honest, everyone here is happy to see them back because it means the lake is recovering from when it dried out completely for several years before and during the black summer fires.
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
Most lakes, like most land, is privately owned here, so water sports, fishing and such typically doesn't occur. Lake George, the largest freshwater lake in Australia when it's actually got water in it that is, is no exception. There's no fishing, no boats, not yatchs and so on. The only exception is for people who own land at the lake shore (and the paragliding club).

We've seen 2 wind surfers in the 7 years we've been here. That's a hazardous sport when under the water's surface are kilometres and kilometres of barbed wire fencing! The lake has been divided into fields for sheep grazing and cattle, both of which currently are elsewhere and the cattle at least explain the 2 beef cows I've seen hit on the highway. First one was by a lorry who just didn't seem to comprehend what was standing in the carriageway in front of him, despite my hazard lights and very rapid lane change. The second was hit by a car. The 2 occupants were air lifted to hospital in a bad state.

What you see more often are paragliders by they either have to be very careful now or use the alternative jumping off point. They used to land on the ground well into the lake area and someone would drive out to pick them up. Not so practical currently! Lol.

But it is great watching them soaring and spiralling on the thermals. Just wheeling around having fun. Watching us from the car as you drive along the highway or from one of the rest spots along the lake shore (no less than 5.) To be honest, everyone here is happy to see them back because it means the lake is recovering from when it dried out completely for several years before and during the black summer fires.
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In Texas, most lakes are man-made reservoirs, and are accessible to the public. Many are Army Corps of Engineers reservoirs. Some are "constant level lakes" that permit private boat docks to be built. Others rise and fall according to rainfall. They were built for to purposes, flood control and municipal water supply.

Frisco touches one pretty good size reservoir, Lake Lewisville, and that is where I took my boats and SeaDoo. There are boat ramps all around the lake, some private, but most are State Park owned. I could buy an annual pass, and use the State boat ramps as much as I wanted.

Boating and fishing is big on Texas lakes. Corps lakes were stocked with bass when they were new. They are pretty much self-sustaining now. About twenty miles north of Lake Lewisville is Lake Ray Roberts. That is a really good fishing lake.

The lakes actually have seagulls, and Sandhill and Whooping cranes, but no pelicans. You find pelicans down on the Gulf coast.

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Whooping crane, not my photo.

CD
 
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Well, we had one week under 100F. But, it returns next week. These temperatures in September are well above normal... well, what normal used to be.

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CD
 
So I went to the hospital late last week to get my cast removed - yay, what a great birthday present!

The doctor poked and prodded my hand, determined I was not adequately healed, and so they put a new cast on. Not a great birthday present.

Apparently my superpower is the opposite of Wolverine - I heal slow. Which is weird, because generally most cuts and scrapes and things I get heal pretty fast. Just the two broken bones I have had have taken a while.

Anyway, back in a cast for another two weeks. New colour this time!
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