CoTT 2 House of Cards

[Marty]

9 minutes ago, dughlas said:

We having a saying at faire ... "I like children. Yes I do. Boiled or baked or in a stew." I tell folks I prefer the "little lambs" roasted in the Greek style with lemon and rosemary rather than with mint jelly or a well basted kid roasted on a spit.

Reminds me of a joke I like to tell people sometimes:

"I love children, but I couldn't eat a full one."

 

[Marty]

6 hours ago, Headstall said:

That's supposedly their winter plumage., but I've seen a lot of pictures where they have white spots in summer plumage. Mine don't... they don't look like that picture. They're darker and have a sheen, but they're not purple martins.  

 

1 hour ago, dughlas said:

Yeah, my starlings in PA don't look like that either. They're a sort of glossy black.

My experience is that starlings often appear shiny black. It's only in certain light, or in close-up, that the speckling is really obvious.

Edited April 28, 2020 by Marty
Flipping typos!

[Marty]

Quote

 Plumage: The plumage is overall dark and shiny but shows green and purple iridescent gloss in bright light, particularly on the neck. Small buff or whitish spots may still be visible on the body, or they could wear completely off by the breeding season.

https://www.thespruce.com/european-starling-identification-385980

 

Or this, from wikipedia:

Quote

The common starling (Sturnus vulgaris), also known as the European starling, or in the British Isles just the starling, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is about 20 cm (8 in) long and has glossy black plumage with a metallic sheen, which is speckled with white at some times of year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_starling

Edited April 28, 2020 by Marty

[Valkyrie]

[Albert1434]

Starlings are native to Europe, Asia and Africa, as well as northern Australia and the islands of the tropical Pacific. 

Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas, and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent plumage. Several European and Asian species have been introduced to these areas as well as North America, Hawaii and New Zealand

Edited April 28, 2020 by Albert1434

[Albert1434]

God a very good friend of ours mother died today she was 87😭

[Valkyrie]

2 minutes ago, Albert1434 said:

God a very good friend of ours mother died today she was 87😭

Sorry to hear that.  I got bad news today too.  An individual who was on my caseload a few years ago passed away over the weekend.     

[Marty]

24 minutes ago, Albert1434 said:

Starlings are native to Europe, Asia and Africa, as well as northern Australia and the islands of the tropical Pacific. 

Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas, and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent plumage. Several European and Asian species have been introduced to these areas as well as North America, Hawaii and New Zealand

It never occurred to me that myna birds (or mynah birds) are actually members of the starling family. Back maybe fifty years or so mynah birds were often kept as pets in the UK (maybe they still are) , largely because of their ability to mimic, and talk, much as many parrots can. Now that I think about it, common starlings are quite good mimics as well (though maybe not as good as mynah birds).

Thanks for that piece of information, Albert!

Now, here's a mynah bird that insists it is actually a chicken:

 

Edited April 28, 2020 by Marty
Clarification

[Marty]

11 minutes ago, Albert1434 said:

God a very good friend of ours mother died today she was 87😭

Sad to hear that, Albert.

[CassieQ]

all around. 

[Marty]

5 minutes ago, CassieQ said:

all around. 

right back at you!

[Headstall]

44 minutes ago, CassieQ said:

all around. 

Hey, Cassie.  

[Albert1434]

Once mauled by tiger, Siegfried & Roy star battling Covid-19

[Bucket1]

16 hours ago, Albert1434 said:

Captain Cook later was killed in Hawaii over the screws in a rowboat. I was right where that happened

But a few years later...

[Bucket1]

8 hours ago, dughlas said:

Wow, you're older than I thought. I didn't realize you were one of Cook's sailors.

 

[Page Scrawler]

5 minutes ago, Bucket1 said:

But a few years later...

Hey, Bumble B.   

[Bucket1]

Hey Page

[Marty]

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Well it looks as though the rain is settling in for the day. Currently just after 1pm here, and the temperature is a lot lower today than recently. Currently around 7°C (45°F), but feeling only about 2°C (36°F) with no sun to warm the day. The high is expected to be around 11°C (51.8°F). Not really expecting a huge amount of rain; forecast is for around 14mm (half an inch) in total for today and tomorrow, which will be enough to (a) water the garden, and (b) put a temporary halt to me turning more ground in the vegetable plot. I'm hoping to get the onion sets planted either today or tomorrow - if only because the advice is that they should be planted by the end of April if they are to yield a good crop. The seed potatoes aren't so critical, so can wait another week or so. We can expect late frosts up to the first of June, and that could kill any potato shoots and put them back anyway.

I'm currently moving some of the larger and/or heavier items of mine from the rented accommodation to the new place. Some of them can be carried round. Some will fit in the car. There's a brand new colour A3 printer that I bought myself for Xmas currently in the car waiting to go round. It's never even been taken out of the box yet, and it only just fit on the back seat (it's a hatchback, so I could have dropped the back seats if necessary). There may be one or two items that I will need help carrying round, but the house was rented fully furnished, so I don't have to be moving heavy items of furniture. It's getting time to give my landlord his month's notice of me ending the tenancy agreement. I may leave that another week or so, as I really need to get the last of my own stuff moved first, and then give the house a thorough cleaning.

Edited April 29, 2020 by Marty
Tidying up

[Albert1434]

Aloha All 

Vieste on the Adriatic coast of Italy

 

[Marty]

Just now, Albert1434 said:

Aloha All 

Vieste on the Adriatic coast of Italy

 

Greetings, young man!

[Albert1434]

How are you today Marty

[Marty]

1 minute ago, Albert1434 said:

How are you today Marty

Doing good, thanks for asking.  

Yourself?

[Albert1434]

I am good. Now that its hot we have to have the windows open and the chickens next are heard clearly I just want to kill them.

Edited April 29, 2020 by Albert1434

[Bucket1]

Poor chickens 

[Marty]

3 minutes ago, Albert1434 said:

I am good. Now that its hot we have to have the windows and the chickens next are heard clearly I just want to kill them.

Well, if you do kill any of them, here's a recipe just for you.  

https://www.marthastewart.com/925889/chicken-fricassee-fricassee-de-poulet-lancienne