Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: mark smyth on November 02, 2009, 04:49:21 PM
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This is terrible. How can a stadium full of people cheer for someone who killed a bat
http://deadspin.com/5394558/argentina-tops-transylvania-in-batsketball (http://deadspin.com/5394558/argentina-tops-transylvania-in-batsketball)
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Can anyone tell me what the insect is in my Crocus caspius flower?
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It's one of the plume moths Roma.
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It's one of the plume moths Roma.
In German ' Geistchen ' = little ghost
Gerd
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Howdy All,
A couple of photos of a bird I happened upon on the bus trip I went on on the weekend (to an iris nursery and rare plant nursery..... predictable, aren't I? ;D). I'd never seen these before and had to come home and work out what they were. They were a group of at least 3 adult Blue Faced Honeyeaters (this is their official name, just clarifying that after the discussion a while back on honeyeaters as a term we use here.... this one has it as part of it's name) caring for 2 dependent young. They were way up in the trees and I just had my usual pocket camera, so I was pleased to get any pics at all. They were all keeping a careful eye on me as you can see from the example of the bird in the pic. They were perhaps 30cm long or so, so a reasonable sized bird. The references say 240-300mm when I looked them up, so I was fairly right in what I was thinking they looked, size-wise.
It was nice to see something different, in fact something I'd never even heard of before. 8)
There was also a Willie Wagtail (a member of the fantail family) having a bit of a bath in a pool under a tap in the park.
Please click on the pic for a larger version.
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Very exiting to spot new birds and they are smart aren't they? What sort of things do they eat, is there a special flower they prefer, Paul? Willy wagtails are some of my favourite birds - we have a smaller version!
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Robin,
No idea as to the specific dietary habits of the birds unfortunately, but they eat insects as well as drink nectar etc. I saw the carers carrying beakfuls of insects etc to the babies.
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Here's a couple of pics of a hoverfly I found on an iris the other day when I went to photograph it. I detoured a bit and took a few pics of the hoverfly (they usually don't seem to sit still for long enough to photograph) before it flew off, then went back to photographing the irises. ;D
I have no idea of exact ID, just that it is a hoverfly as it only has one pair of wings. You can see so much more detail with the pics on a computer than you can see on the insect when you're looking at it in person. ;)
Enjoy.
Please click on the pic for a larger version.
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Paul
Amazing pictures of a the hoverfly 8). I took my laptop through to show my mum ( who is housebound ) your pictures and she couldn't believe that a photo could show so much detail,she was amazed, she said its changed days when she was young they coloured in the photos, Thanks for sharing.
Angie :)
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Superb detail Paul ... very impressed! :)
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According to my 'Photographic Guide to Birds of Australia' the 13 honeyeaters belong to the Manorina, Meliphaga, Lichenostomas and Entomyzon famalies. Pauls bird belongs to the last one. The food of only one is described - fruit, nectar and insects
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Superb detail Paul ... very impressed! :)
Like Cliff I think these are superb photos of a hoverfly, Paul - the detail is so clear on the wings and head, just incredible 8)
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What flower is the hoverfly on Paul?
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well done Paul
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Thanks all. Glad you enjoyed the pics. 8)
I was just amazed that the little blighter sat still for me for long enough to photograph it. ;)
Mark,
Fruit, nectar and insects fits many of the honeyeaters, although the smaller types such as Eastern Spinebills I think the nectar content would be far higher than the others. I have no idea whether they go for fruit at all, but if so probably only to lap at the juice of damaged fruit etc. I'm really not sure.
Lesley,
It's on an Iris...... Iris 'Lotus Land' to be precise. I lovely soft apricot-pink shade, with lovely ruffling. This one was in my garden at home here (not many flowering this year for some reason, unfortunately), but I have taken so many pics of irises over the weekend between here, my friends place, and the iris nursery we visited on the bus trip.
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It is possible to capture acceptable close-ups with a relatively inexpensive camera. These images were taken a while ago with a 3.4 megapixel camera.
Apologies to Maggi for the larger than usual images, but these are used simply to illustrate the amount of detail that can be captured.
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You get around Cliff. 8) The butterfly is Malaysian (Idea sp.)!
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He was visiting Leeds at the time, Anthony ... in the butterfly house! :D
He may be back in K.L. by now?
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Cliff amazing images, cant get over the detail on the wings.
Angie :)
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Are the first two of a dragonfly Cliff? Superb images but what an ugly mug it has. Surely only its mother could love it?
I have had a request from a NZ lurker on dial-up, that posters post smaller pictures, say not more than 100KB, as the bigger ones not only take a long time to download but that many don't even appear at all, in full.
While I'm sympathetic to the request, having had dial-up myself for a long time, it seems to me that if lurkers want things from the Forum, they should join, and make their own requests.
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I think the criteria we have at the moment are fine. If we are going to bend to the occasional lurker who might join if we do this that or the next thing we'd sacrifice the quality of posts. Many people can testify that dial up is painfully slow but that's life.
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Are the first two of a dragonfly Cliff? Superb images but what an ugly mug it has. Surely only its mother could love it?
It's a FEMALE Southern Hawker, Lesley ... a real looker as hawkers go! :D
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someone still has dial up!? While on the subject I know two people who want the internet but because of where they it's not available by cable or wireless
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someone still has dial up!? While on the subject I know two people who want the internet but because of where they it's not available by cable or wireless
There are ways Mark.
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Are the first two of a dragonfly Cliff? Superb images but what an ugly mug it has. Surely only its mother could love it?
It's a FEMALE Southern Hawker, Lesley ... a real looker as hawkers go! :D
Ah well then, she probably relies on her personality and not her looks. Just as I do. ;D
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Brilliant dragonfly and butterfly pics, Cliff. So much detail. :o
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Only a few days ago before the cold set in I saw a large dragon fly in the garden and was amazed as it droned past wishing I had had my camera at the ready! Very difficult to photograph and so up close Cliff, thanks for the terrific shots 8)
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someone still has dial up!? While on the subject I know two people who want the internet but because of where they it's not available by cable or wireless
Not only do people still have dial-up, Mark, but there are even more who have broadband but with an intermittant and/or painfully slow connection . :'( :P
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Some of you crafty folk out there with small children in your lives may be interested in this site:
http://cp.c-ij.com/en/contents/2026/list_15_1.html ..... 77 different creatures to download, print and assemble to make a 3-D paper 'sculpture' ...... 8)
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"How much did you say the lens cost?
http://www.paulhillion.com/photo3131046.html (http://www.paulhillion.com/photo3131046.html)
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great puffin photo, Mark. Thanks for the link.
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77 different creatures to download, print and assemble to make a 3-D paper 'sculpture' ......
That should keep even the 'big children' happy over Christmas - great link full of ideas Maggi - origami design is really amazing!
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Excellent links, both of you! Thanks.
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"How much did you say the lens cost?
http://www.paulhillion.com/photo3131046.html (http://www.paulhillion.com/photo3131046.html)
A friend in the local camera club recently got a 150 - 500mm lens, tried it out over the last few days and his bird shots are fabulous.
Paddy
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The puffin pics are delightful. Such a wonderful bird, I'd love to see the real things. But a seabird on a lens reminds me painfully of week before last at my Market, I doing my job and for a moment thought someone had thrown an egg at me. It was the dropped product from a seagull and it landed splat on the left lens of my glasses, would have gone into my eye if I hadn't been wearing the specs. The rest of my face was splattered as were my jersey and jacket, with some in my hair as well. As it happened I was holding both a bottle of water and a roll of paper towels from wiping where coffee had been spilled on a table. I was able to clean up the worst quickly then the rest with the help of a vendor who wiped the places I missed. Fortunately it was right at the end when we'd been packing up and I didn't have to wait too long to throw my clothes in the washing machine.
I'd decided not to tell anyone about this, it was so bl...y embarrasing, but it seemed to fit here somehow and you may as well have a good laugh.
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It's a good luck message
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Depends on your point of view! It happened to me once on holiday - the kids thought it was because my hair looked like a birds nest - it's amazing really that it doesn't happen more often given how we are right in the flight path most of the time ;D
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Lesley
re: seabird
"What a critic!"
(In the words of Sir Thomas Beecham after a similar incident involving an onstage elephant during a performance of Aida.)
johnw
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It's a good luck message
So I was told but it's luck I can live without. :o
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Lesley
re: seabird
"What a critic!"
(In the words of Sir Thomas Beecham after a similar incident involving an onstage elephant during a performance of Aida.)
johnw
Bet he didn't get it in his hair. ???
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I love Beecham quotes! ;D
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I love Beecham quotes! ;D
Some of the best we can't share on this very civilized forum.
johnw
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Bet he didn't get it in his hair. ???
[/quote]
Probably not and I suspect it was not a good day to be in the French horn or tuba sections.
johnw
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Just when I was reporting that the Sorbus trees had such a plethora of berries even the birds couldn't make any impression on them then along came flocks of Redwings, hundreds of them, and stripped all the red berries in the garden within 24 hours. Wonder if the yellow berries taste less pleasing or just don't attract as strongly. Now the Fieldfares are started in on the fallen apples . Hedgehogs are sprinting for the deep hedgebottoms I guess Winter is nigh.
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Hedgehogs are sprinting for the deep hedgebottoms
What a mental picture that brings! ;D
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Gwen I think it's because birds, and us, find orange and red fruit more attractive
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Ian's theory, given last Sunday on the radio, as it happens, is that the larger, white berries, such as Sorbus cashmeriana, take longer to ripen and so are only eaten later, when ripe and so squashable to ber chomped...... :)
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Anthony and John, if you know some more Beecham quotations, please send them to me by PM. Did you know that Tony Hall (Mr Juno) at Kew played as a soloist under (with, I mean, before someone says something silly) Sir Thomas? Recordings too, I believe.
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Ian's theory is probably right Maggi. Certainly birds don't ignore them. A few years back some S. cashmiriana near the mud brick pub at Dansey's pass had a wonderful crop of white fruit. I went back there a couple of weeks later to pick some and every berry was gone. Nothing on the ground either. No way could they fallen and rotted away in that time.
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Hedgehogs are sprinting for the deep hedgebottoms
What a mental picture that brings! ;D
A lovely picture Anne. In fact hedgehogs can sprint along jolly fast when they feel the need. And the funnienst thing I ever saw was a well-grown hedgehog on three fully extended legs scratching himself with the fourth. He kept falling over. 8)
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Anyone see 'Life' tonight? Amazing amazing amazing! From the male hummer who can hardly fly because of his tail decorations, pelican populations booming because of a change of diet, Tropic birds being chased by frigates .......
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Anthony and John, if you know some more Beecham quotations, please send them to me by PM. Did you know that Tony Hall (Mr Juno) at Kew played as a soloist under (with, I mean, before someone says something silly) Sir Thomas? Recordings too, I believe.
"I've just been round the world and have a very low opinion of it."
johnw
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Lesley, please try this link ...
http://thinkexist.com/quotes/sir_thomas_beecham/
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This may be apocryphal?
The orchestra were about halfway through rehearsing a phrase in the overture, when Beecham stopped conducting. "Third Horn, you're flat!" The orchestra played the phrase again..."Third Horn, you're still flat!". A musician raised his hand. "But, Sir Thomas...the third Horn hasn't arrived yet?". A pause, then Beecham replied, "Well, when he does arrive, tell him he's flat!"
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I like this one:
Beecham was once visited in his dressing room after a concert by an attractive young lady admirer. "Sir Thomas" she asked, "I've been a fan of yours for years. I wonder — would you be so kind as to consider being the godfather of my child".
"Madam" he replied, "I'd be delighted. But... why bring God into it?"
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Radio presenters too have their moments. Anyone remember this on Radio 1?
Dave Lee Travis's snooker-style quiz is a treasure. DLT asks the contestant: "Which instrument does the leader of a symphony orchestra play?" Without missing a beat, the answer comes: "A baton." At which point DLT is overcome with laughter to the point where he is unable to carry on with the show. He fights helplessly to gain control and nearly gets there, as he tells the contestant: "When I write my book this is going to be in there. The answer is a violin." DLT then manages to start asking the next contestant a question before losing it completely and calling for Mick the producer to come out of the booth and take over. Mick's panic is audible as he asks: "Are we on air?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYAgHKfCx5A
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Anyone see 'Life' tonight? Amazing amazing amazing! From the male hummer who can hardly fly because of his tail decorations, pelican populations booming because of a change of diet, Tropic birds being chased by frigates .......
Watching those tropic birds reminds me of the 'Far Away Look' programmes with Peter Scott. Ah, and they say "nostalgia isn't what it used to be"? :-\
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And my favourite just might be:
Upon being asked if he'd ever conducted any Stockhausen: "No, but I once trod in some."
johnw
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John, Anthony, Cliff - thanks so much. What a lot I've been missing in my sheltered life. :D
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I don't agree with Beecham's description of a harpsichord: two skeletons 'up to something' on a tin roof! ::)
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I don't agree with Beecham's description of a harpsichord: two skeletons 'up to something' on a tin roof! ::)
Anthony - It was "Sounds like a birdcage played with toasting forks"
Lesley - Here is the wonder live, one of many on youtube, but in fine form here (Sir Thomas Beecham: 1879-1961). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7CTlGZrxrA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7CTlGZrxrA)
Also find Sir Thomas Beecham - Interview and Rehearsal; click & play that and when it finishes, at the the bottom of the youtube player screen you will see 13 more small clickables.
johnw
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Thank you very much John. Lots to explore there. I wonder why I seem to get very little done on any day? :-\
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I received this picture today.
Is this Wildlife in the Southern Hemisphere???
Don't know if I still like these fruits after seeing this.... :o :o
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poor mouse :'(
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Some of the best [Beecham quotes] we can't share on this very civilized forum.
Time to fix that, I think. Okay, everyone, please line up neatly while the nice man installs your nose bones. Please do not scream any more loudly than you must - it frightens the teenagers. Grass skirts are in the next room.
Everyone ready? Nosebones straight? Grass skirts tidy? Okay, out with the risque Beecham quotes!
[One must remember that Sir Thomas, though he had a somewhat earthy sense of humor, was always a gentleman and never coarse.]
[I can see Lesley doing Maori enemy-frightening dances and grimaces the while.]
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A good way to frighten vandals ;D
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Rodger,
I think it is considerably bad form for women to partake in the enemy frightening Haka dances. In fact I think it is strictly not allowed. There are other forms of (i.e non enemy frightening types) Haka that the women partake in. At least I think that is how it work. Some of them are greetings and celebrations rather an enemy frightening types. 8)
Besides which, Lesley doesn't need to frighten them.... she has a rapier wit to get em good. ;)
Oooh, I think I may suffer a lashing from it now!! :o
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My tongue isn't long enough Rodger, besides, as Paul points out, I'm sufficiently frightening anyway. ???
As to Sir Thomas, while I love the quotations, I'll stick with the Sibelius recordings thanks. My only one of Jascha Heifetz.
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I love the green mouse. ;D I see the plant breeding boffins are starting on red-fleshed kiwifruit now, so the next mouse may be nearer the real thing. ::)
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Here's a Sibelius quote: "Pay no attention to what the critics say... Remember, a statue has never been set up in honor of a critic!"
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That's a very good one too Anthony. Maybe we need a thread for quotations?
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I refer you to this post from the "Fabulous Fungi" thread..........
I remind you that the "Moan, moan, moan" thread is, to give it its full title, the "Moan, moan, moan----get it off your chest or have a chat" thread..... scope for all there, I hope.... quotes, ranting, gossip......
;D 8)
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My tongue isn't long enough Rodger, besides, as Paul points out, I'm sufficiently frightening anyway. ???
As to Sir Thomas, while I love the quotations, I'll stick with the Sibelius recordings thanks. My only one of Jascha Heifetz.
I won't go near that remark about the tongue, but as for Beecham: he's one conductor whose recordings I've sedulously collected on CD over the last 25 years. As far as I can tell, virtually all of Beecham's commercial recordings have appeared on CD at one time or another, plus a generous selection of in-concert recordings. EMI started a "Beecham Edition" early on in the CD era, even licensing a few performances from other labels, but it came to an early end - perhaps the market response wasn't good. Since then, however, many, many other Beecham recordings have been remastered, on EMI as well as on other labels.
Beecham's reputation was at one time tarred with the same brush as Stokowski's by the sneering term "all showmanship", but since their respective deaths their reputations have risen considerably and they are now regarded as among the brighter stars in the firmament.
Yes, I collect Stokowski too.
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Perhaps, as we have a "Cook's Corner" we also need a music-lovers' thread?
JW has given me a super Youtube link for Heifetz and I'm worried the Youtube video may wear out, I've played it a dozen times already.
I have to admit to NOT liking Stokowksi's orchestral versions of Bach's, for instance. They lack the crispness and clean lines of the Bach originals. On the other hand I adore Busoni's transcription for piano of the Chaconne from the Violin Partita No 2. Over the top of course, but such drama. 8)
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Perhaps, as we have a "Cook's Corner" we also need a music-lovers' thread?
JW has given me a super Youtube link for Heifetz and I'm worried the Youtube video may wear out, I've played it a dozen times already.
I have to admit to NOT liking Stokowksi's orchestral versions of Bach's, for instance. They lack the crispness and clean lines of the Bach originals. On the other hand I adore Busoni's transcription for piano of the Chaconne from the Violin Partita No 2. Over the top of course, but such drama. 8)
I suppose we could have a "Music to Weed By", thread! ;D
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OMG have to you seen Gino ? and Sam Fox putting spiders in their mouths ? ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh :-X :-X :-X
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No thank you, Mark ... we can still access our 'Off' button! :D
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well, I'm on here and my mother and niece are making me watch.
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Do you have a link Mark? Though it is approaching lunchtime here. Perhaps AFTER lunch ???
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Do you have a link Mark? Though it is approaching lunchtime here. Perhaps AFTER lunch ???
here Lesley... http://celebrity.itv.com/2009/
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My tongue isn't long enough Rodger, besides, as Paul points out, I'm sufficiently frightening anyway. ???
As to Sir Thomas, while I love the quotations, I'll stick with the Sibelius recordings thanks. My only one of Jascha Heifetz.
I won't go near that remark about the tongue, but as for Beecham: he's one conductor whose recordings I've sedulously collected on CD over the last 25 years. As far as I can tell, virtually all of Beecham's commercial recordings have appeared on CD at one time or another, plus a generous selection of in-concert recordings. EMI started a "Beecham Edition" early on in the CD era, even licensing a few performances from other labels, but it came to an early end - perhaps the market response wasn't good. Since then, however, many, many other Beecham recordings have been remastered, on EMI as well as on other labels.
Beecham's reputation was at one time tarred with the same brush as Stokowski's by the sneering term "all showmanship", but since their respective deaths their reputations have risen considerably and they are now regarded as among the brighter stars in the firmament.
Yes, I collect Stokowski too.
I don't think Beecham liked showmanship? Didn't he call Sir Malcolm Sargent 'Flash Harry', which lead to the famous comment, when Sargent was on a tour of the far east: "Flash in Japan"? As for Leo Stokes. Didn't his wife buy him an orchestra?
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As for Leo Stokes. Didn't his wife buy him an orchestra?
Crikey, Anthony, your non-sequiturs will drive me wild, right enough!
"as for Leo Stokes" ...who mentioned Leo Stokes before? Also..... He's a Nashville country muso.... why would he need an orchestra? ::) :P :-\
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Leo Stokes was the name Leopold Stokowski was (originally?) called. http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Stokowski-Leopold.htm
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Leo Stokes was the name Leopold Stokowski was (originally?) called. http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Stokowski-Leopold.htm
Well, I never! :o Thanks... my musical lesson of the day. 8) A touch of the "Elton John" .... or more closely, the "Alicia Markova" syndrome, perhaps?
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Lesley,
Are they really trying to breed red fleshed kiwi fruit? That is a heck of a change. The yellow fleshed is relatively straight forward as yellow and green often do have a link in the plant world, but shifting it to red would be a big accomplishment. And besides..... the green of a kiwi fruit is just such a lovely green. 8)
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the "Alicia Markova" syndrome, perhaps?
A lovely lady, young Alice Marks and didn't Margot Fonteyn start off as Peggy Hookham? I read a lovely story once that Dame Margot, in a lift, (elevator) in New York, complained to the attendant that it always seemed to be raining there. He replied "Ah but Madam, you can dance between the raindrops."
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Yes Paul, they really are. We saw some on TV a few nights ago. They're not quite there yet but the ones shown were, in cross-section, a bright crimson in the centre with red lines radiating from the middle and reaching about 2/3ds the way to the edge. Just a matter of time, another generation or two. I don't like the yellows much. They lack the tangy taste of the greens but some people prefer the less acidic yellows.
You're right, the green of a ripe fruit is a lovely colour, very attractive with oranges and yellows in a fresh fruit salad - or in a mouse!
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Another Beecham anecdote: his description of Herbert van Karajan as "a sort of musical Malcolm Sargent".
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;D ;D ;D
(I admit I had to look up who Malcolm Sargent was but.... LOL!!)
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Sir Thomas again - Did he not call an Elgar Symphony the equivalent of a musical St Pancras Station?
johnw
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It was Sir Adrian Boult who christened Malcolm Sargent '.Flash Harry' Beecham was great fan of MS but did respond Flash in Japan to news of MS's first guest conducting in Tokyo. Leopold Stokowski, cockney born and bred affected a mid european accent and claimed to have been born in Krakow rather than Marylebone. His first wife was a Texan pianist born Lucie Hickenlooper who called herself Olga Samaroff. All this delicious scandal comes from an entertaining paperback entitled The Maestro Myth by Norman Lebrecht published by Simon and Schuster. Do these guys count as wildlife?
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Do these guys count as wildlife?
Sounds like it to me. ;D
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Sir T must have had a wonderful time getting on the offside of just about everyone. Thnak goodness he took the time to drop in at recording sessions. :)
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thought this land crab which was crossing the road near Egridir might be of interest.
It looks a bit angry because I gave it a little prod to get it to pose for the camera
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Ahhh, what a relief to return to the subject. :)
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I'd be surprised if it was a land crab? I think they are all tropical?
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Yes Lesley.
I hear waxwings have arrived in Aberdeen
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Yes Lesley.
I hear waxwings have arrived in Aberdeen
Have they? Not seen them yet.
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We had a flock of little birds in the last few days , they were chirping quite loud today , what do they look like.
Angie :)
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Little parrot, almost, Angie! Cute crest and they chatter all the time as they sit in trees... very cheerful, chatty little birds, noramlly not very scared of people, happy to sit there is you come up quietly. here's
Mark's photo
......my mistake, The photo belongs to Annette Cutts http://www.psiloswildlifephotography.co.uk/ .... he told us that, I missed it........
from this page:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=19.msg356;topicseen#msg356
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Thanks Maggi, they are really cute I shall try and get a look at what the flock is tomorrow.
Angie :)
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They are my favourite of the winter visiting birds, Angie. They're about the size of starlings, but fatter looking and shorter in the leg , if you know what I mean ::). They are quite tame and the way they chatter all the time amongst themselves make them seem very cheery little birds. You'll find them on Rowans, cotoneasters ofr any other hips and berry bushes around. If you find them in your garden and you have no cats about, they will come down to the ground for chopped friuit.... that is how the British Trust For Orntihology bird ringers tempted the flocks that were around here a couple of years ago to come down on a friont lawn , where they netted the birds to ring them . It was very interesting... they got waste fruit for ma supermarket and laid it out on th grass, all chopped up slmall and the Waxwings came down from the nearby cotoneaster tress to eat the posher fruit! Then the BTO folks had set up a spring net to ping over the birds on the ground and they were able to ring them, weigh them and so on. I thought that once they had fooled the first lot, the others would make off, but they did it for a couple of days and netted them about four or five times and were able to ring hundreds. The Waxwings weren't bothered a bit... I was astonished.... and all this happening down my street!! It used up a HUGE amount of fruit , though! The girl whose garden it was was helping by choppingthe fruit... poor soul had terrible blisters!
The noise they make is a sort of chirrrrring chirpy sound..... really nice.
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Hi Maggie found that really interesting. We always get a pair of Jays looking for food this time of year and boy what a noise they make, they love grapes.
I bought my mum a nest box which had a camera in it and a pair of blue tits made a home and my mum watched day and night, they only had three babies but they were all reared successfully, the only thing was we were left with a burn mark on our TV screen of the nest box but it was worth it to see my mums face when the eggs hatched. She is already looking forward to spring and her new family arriving.
Angie :)
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What a great gift for your Mum, Angie.... pity about the TV ::), but worth it ,as you say, for her pleasure. Mark has cameras in his Swift nest boxes and puts bits of film of them on Youtube . I think if I had a camera in a blue tit box, or even the sparrows, I'd never get anything done at all. :-[
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I bought my mum a nest box which had a camera in it and a pair of blue tits made a home and my mum watched day and night,
I spent a great deal of time last spring and summer watching bald eagles in their nest near Patricia Bay (http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=48.657974,-123.464613&spn=0.025173,0.055103&z=14) about 10 miles from here.
Endless excitement: how many eggs have been laid? Has any of the eggs hatched? Oh, goody, three chicks this year! Oh, dear, the littlest one is having a hard time; will he(she) survive? Two chicks fell out of the nest, but both returned in due course.
Finally in August the last of the three headed off to meet his destiny, to the infinite relief of me and any number of other watchers.
It's addictive, no question about it, this business of watching birds at their private lives. And oddly enough, even though bald eagles are very large, very fierce birds, one becomes attached to them in a funny way.
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"You'll never get me up in one of those!"
Image captured on the Algarve - March 2009
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I'd be surprised if it was a land crab? I think they are all tropical?
That was only a general description to illustrate it was not on the beach but 120 miles from the sea. It was pictured on a road in the middle of a pine forest. They are quite common and live in holes in roadside banks.
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I'd be surprised if it was a land crab? I think they are all tropical?
That was only a general description to illustrate it was not on the beach but 120 miles from the sea. It was pictured on a road in the middle of a pine forest. They are qiuite common and live in holes in roadside banks.
Happy to be wrong. :) Land crabs indeed. Must be some trek to breed? I must find out more, as I was unaware of any that existed outside the humid tropics.
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I hear waxwings have arrived in Aberdeen
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Got my camera out today, but skies were quiet no chatter so my wishes that they might be waxwing were dashed :( . I think maybe they have headed of for the bright lights of Aberdeen.
Rodger , that must have been something to watch Bald eagles amazing. I was worried that some of the blue tits wouldn't survive,
my mum would have been so upset, she is house bound ( on oxygen all the time ) and watching these little birds gave her so much joy let alone pass the time for her. I cant imagine what she would have thought about bald eagle chicks.I suppose it wouldn't have been caterpillar's they fed to there chicks.
Angie :)
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Rodger , that must have been something to watch Bald eagles amazing. I was worried that some of the blue tits wouldn't survive,
my mum would have been so upset, she is house bound ( on oxygen all the time ) and watching these little birds gave her so much joy let alone pass the time for her. I cant imagine what she would have thought about bald eagle chicks.I suppose it wouldn't have been caterpillar's they fed to their chicks.
Here's the link for your mom: http://www.hancockwildlifechannel.org/staticpages/index.php/20090302200021473
There are two nests at Pat Bay with a camera on each. At this time of year the adults are in and out once in a while, but if your Mom can catch them in the nest, she may have some amusement watching Pa and Ma Eagle dispute over the placement of new sticks they've brought in to beef up the nest(s).
The Wild Earth system that distributes these feeds has a sort of bookmarking system called seekpoints, so if your mom burrows around in the site, she will find many, many links to particularly juicy episodes in the family life of the Pat Bay eagles. There is also a gallery of stills and videos attached to the site.
Eggs are laid around the beginning of March and hatch in early April. They are fed on bits of fish, small mammals, and the occasional chicken carcass someone has left for the eagles on the beach nearby. It's quite a sight to see the huge parent eagle reaching down with a morsel in its beak and offering it to a chick with the utmost delicacy.
One by one the chicks learn to feed themselves and the parents largely stop feeding and simply drop off food in the nest, then fly away to look for more. It takes a heap of food to raise three eagles from egg to fledging!
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Roger
Thanks very much for this, cant wait to see them in there nest, my mum is nearly 79 and finds this amazing, she cant get over by just chatting on the SRG forum that some one has took the time to send us this link, but like I told my mum gardeners are the nicest people out there, Thanks again Roger we will have lots of fun with this. Oh I forgot to say my husband has given my mum his old laptop so she can click onto it any time, roll on March.
Angie :)
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Just to give your mom a taste of what she might see...
Even now she can, if she wishes, go to the discussion forums from last spring and summer and read a moment-by-moment account of what happened in the nests this past season. The discussion forums also include many photographs, some taken by people with good equipment and skills to match.
And here's my absolutely favorite eagle link, even though it's not the family at Pat Bay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJwgyr5ZOQY
A pair of adults and their offspring bathing in a freshwater pond.
Youtube has many, many more videos of eagles, and I'm sure of birds of all other types too. Even a lady of 79 years can figure it out.
PS: I forgot to add the obligatory connection to gardening: a resident at Brentwood Bay, a small settlement a few miles south of Pat Bay, has an eagle-nest tree in his garden. He regularly finds small collars on the ground under it...
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Hi Rodger
Thanks again for the links 8),I hope the collars aren't what I am thinking.
Angie :)
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Minister collars? :D
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Minister collars? :D
Hopefully cold c------! ;D
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From the Bumble Bee Conservation Trust newsletter
Buzzing with excitement as the world's first bumblebee reintroduction plans are underway...The biggest bumble fans have probably already heard about our Short Haired bumblebee reintroduction project: The bee went extinct in UK in 1988, but a British population survives in New Zealand. We hope to bring them back in 2010! The target area is in and around Dungeness and Romney Marsh in Kent, where the bee was last recorded. Farmers are encouraged to put in “pollen and nectar” strips along their field edges, to recreate flower meadows (by rotating livestock), or to put in clover ley crops (which also boost soil fertility).
The work is already paying dividends. Although the short-haired bumblebee is not yet there to benefit, other rare bumblebees including the brown-banded carder and moss carder seem to be increasing in numbers and spreading outwards from the nature reserve at Dungeness. We can make the UK a happy place for bees!
Nikki Gammans, project officer, is off to New Zealand in mid-November to begin catching the queens of the short haired bumblebee. Keep up to date with the project on her blog for the latest news from the project!
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Mark,
the projects sounds exiting.
Do you know the reason(s) why the short-haired bumblebee went extinct in 1988?
Did the environment change to better conditions to make such efforts worth?
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More info Armin
http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org.uk/subt_project.html (http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org.uk/subt_project.html)
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Interesting that there is no mention of whether the bee is found on the other side of the Channel?
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Thanks Mark.
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Well our bumbles will be enjoying a (coolish) summer) so I hope their toes are kept warm when they go north. I know we have at least two species because we have very large, rather torpid bees and a smaller (less than half size) much sprightlier kind. Both are plentiful in my garden. What do the short haired bumbles look like?
Would you like some rabbits to go with them? :D
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Finally brought to my attention that the November thread was still contained in the October thread.... so I have now divided the two :P
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The first Goldfinches (Carduelis carduelis) of the winter arrived in the garden this morning.
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Michael your birds may have arrived but mine have been absent for weeks
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I found out why I have no birds. Due to the prolonged rain this month the nuts were mouldy and the niger was sprouting ::) Very unobservant of me
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mouldy nuts... not good! ::) You had that much rain? Have heard about all the rain in the UK on our news, bridges collapsing and in danger etc. And that Scotland wants to secede from the UK. :o
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They still hurt because of what the English did to William Wallace ;D
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They still hurt because of what the English did to William Wallace ;D
Before my time Mark.
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They still hurt because of what the English did to William Wallace ;D
Before my time Mark.
Wasn't he the goalie for Clachnacuddin United, Anthony? ::) ;)
Injured by nasty foul playing for Scotland in match against England for World Cup qualifiers 1966?? ;D
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Yep, before my time. ;D
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There is a new page for December 2009:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4624.msg124443#msg124443