There seems to be a disproportionately large number of young gulls who aren't surviving beyond their first flight. We see two more dead youngsters on our morning walk - one on the pavement outside the language centre and another outside chapel. Further along the road we see that the gate to the small communal garden is closed and has a hand written noticed attached to it. On the grass , inside, there's a young gull asleep under a heather bush. Seems we're not the only folks in town worried about our squawking neighbours.
Friends have gone to California on holiday. They phone to let us know that Palm Springs is rather hotter than they'd anticipated. ' It's 48 degrees' they say plaintively. We tell them to go up the cable car in search of cooler temperatures. Even here , where the mercury is barely pushing 20, the tourists are sensibly eating under the fish and chip shops awning. The northern sun can be surprisingly strong. Perhaps this years strong tourist season is nothing to do with 'revenge' travel but is actually driven by people rationally seeking out cooler holiday destinations ?
A new flower shop has opened. It's the only one in town. The previous flower seller went out of business during the pandemic. The owners are a cheerily enthusiastic young couple from Crieff . The shop replaces what used to a firm of estate agents. Behind a rather bland store front lies a series of wonderful medieval vaults. This cool spot is where they store the flowers in the summer. The i-Phone camera can't do it justice but the young female sparrow hawk has returned. She's sitting, almost hidden by a buddleia, on the roof of the small hut that is used to store the garden tools. Once again the goldfinches are keeping a cautionary low profile.
Our last day of calm before the builders return tomorrow . The metal fabricators are due at seven thirty.
This morning Angus and the Manhattanites discuss President Trumps plan to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Seems he told Fox News that he would tell Zelensky 'No more help, you gotta make a deal'. Then he would call Putin and threaten him with more support for Ukraine :" If you don't make a deal we're going to give them a lot ". We all wonder what could possibly go wrong.
8 comments:
That's actually not a bad shot of the sparrowhawk. Good to see.
I suspect Zelensky is more worried than Putin about a second Trump presidency.
A bit of a warm summer, Scotland sounds like a good destination. So He Who Must Not Be Named, secret plan is to LIE to both sides. Playing his his strong cards.
It took me a while to spot the Sparrowhawk, it helped to enlarge the photo.
Could the unusually hot weather have anything to do with the untimely deaths of so many young gulls?
I found the sparrow hawk on the edge of the shed. Beautiful!
It sounds like the pace of progress on both properties has improved.
I’m wondering if the young gull death rate is greater than in previous seasons?
I’m reluctant to blame the climate outright until other factors are examined.
It sounds like the golfers have more pleasant weather.
I think it is warm in a lot of places right now.
Who goes to Palm Springs in July? During a heat wave? Your suggestion was a good one, though. My parents used to live there. One time I left their house in the late afternoon when it was 117, and I drove to San Diego through the mountains. When I got up to the top, it was 75! It felt glorious. I didn't have a/c in my car back then :)
The note regarding the young gull is quite touching. And thank God that is former president Trump typically proclaiming nonsense.
At least Trump doesn't lie to the American people as per ol' J et al.
Trump is playing his bluff cards. They then don't know if or not he will do what he says...but you can be sure he will do something...just plays his cards right when he should.
Back to Scotland and the most wonderful of stories about new businesses and great hearts that care.AND the most interesting photos on earth.
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