Wildlife Autumn 2007 (spring wildlife Down Under)

[Martin Baxendale]

Mark, do you often wake up and feel too full to eat breakfast?

Re. other wildflife, I knew the something that's been digging up my snowdrops so thoroughly couldn't be just the usual blackbirds! Just went out to the garden and saw a huge fox on the roof of the lean-too. In broad daylight. Cleared off fast when it saw me, but not before I'd hit it on the bum with a windfall apple.

Probably coming for the plums as well as worms in my woodlandy soil. No greengages this year (referring to another thread) huge crop last year but only a handful this year and mostly half-rotten.

Strange year for fruit. The back-to-front seasons seem to have wiped out our apple and pear crops. Plums still okay though. Wonder why plums okay, but greengages a no-show? Probably different weather at different floweringtimes. Wierd year.

Back to wildlife, I hear there've been a lot of bears heading towards Scotland recently. Chased off by the RAF, though, so you're all safe for now. Anyone who doesn't know what I'm on about and thinks I'm barking may be enlightened by tonights's TV news and tomorrow's papers (not the first time in recent weeks either - it's not just the weather that's getting colder - ooh, I've come over all cryptic.)

 

[Maggi Young]

Martin, I was waiting there to read cyrillic, not cryptic!

[Martin Baxendale]

Right on the nose, Maggi! Yep, the 8 (!) Russian Tupolev-95 'Bear' long-range nuclear bombers intercepted by the RAF today heading for British airspace.

It didn't say on the news exactly where they were headed, but the last few times this has happened recently, they were heading towards Scotland, so I assume the same this time, or maybe northern England. Anyway, playing chicken with the northern Nato air defence system as part of Putin's response to plans for the new US anti-ballistic missile system planned for Poland and the Czech Republic (I could have sworn there was a treaty about not doing that - but both 'sides' seem to be tearing up treaties all over the place right now, including the conventional forces in Europe treaty that limits stuff like Russian tank regiments on readiness for a war in Europe).

They say it's sabre-rattling by the Russians. I remember in the early 90s saying to an American publisher over dinner in Amsterdam that the west was going to regret not coming up with the kind of of Marshal Plan that helped Germany recover and rebuild after the second world war. It was promised by the US but not delivered. Now they're facing a resurgent Russia with massive new economic clout thanks to gas and oil, a tough-guy ex-KGB leader and a determination to be a military superpower again and never be humiliated again as they feel they were in the 90s. Who could possibly have seen it coming?

Sorry for that rant. The security services are probably monitoring this forum now, so I'll shut up! 

Oh, Ivi can read and write cyrillic, Maggi, which comes in handy when communicating with the people who publish my books in Russia. And doesn't half impress the local post office person when she mails packets to Russia with the address in English and cyrillic.

[mark smyth]

just heard it on Sky News. Bad Boys!!

[David Nicholson]

It couldn't be,could it, that they were perhaps invited by a certain First Minister to bolster his 'home rule' plans??

As for spiders I can stand them, but meeces frighten me and always have done (think I inherted it from my Mum who used to go hysterical if she saw one). I had one in my garage a couple of years ago eating some dahlia tubers I had forgotten to plant out and it was some months before I would venture back in there for any length of time.

[Maggi Young]

It couldn't be,could it, that they were perhaps invited by a certain First Minister to bolster his 'home rule' plans?? 

Haven't we got enough trouble?

[Lesley Cox]

And Bush is insisting the south Pacific combats global warming with nuclear power. Can't get to APEC myself so I've lined up an Aussie friend armed with a rotten egg.

[Maggi Young]

The security services are probably monitoring this forum now, so I'll shut up!

I don't know whether its that, orthe Bears, but there are explosions outside.....no, wait a second, , not bomb explosions... just some eejits with fireworks... had me worried for a minute, though. Hang on, just remembered, it is the end of the Offshore Europe oil exhibition, the fireworks are to mark that....bet I'm not the only one who got a bit of a scare, though!!

[rob krejzl]

Can't get to APEC myself so I've lined up an Aussie friend armed with a rotten egg.

His name wasn't Chas Licciardello was it?

[Lesley Cox]

No, it wasn't but whoever he is, give him my best wishes for an accurate throw, if he's likely to be in on the act.

[Carlo]

Don't you guys have enough of your own politicians to bash?

[Maggi Young]

Yes, Carlo, we do  , but we're generous folks so we are always game for a bit of international politician bashing
Change is as good as a rest, and all that.

[Carlo]

Good! Just wanted to make sure...

[rob krejzl]

No, it wasn't but whoever he is, give him my best wishes for an accurate throw, if he's likely to be in on the act.

The egg was probably in the Osama costume when he was arrested.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chas_Licciardello

[Maggi Young]

Yes, rest assured , we are equal opportunity politician bashers, here, after all, it's what they're for, isn't it?
 Not to mention being handy for giving us something else to moan about other than the weather and the slugs, snails and other slimy critters..... oh, we're back to the politicians again