CoTT 2 House of Cards

[Albert1434]

Aloha Gary

[Headstall]

The way I've been feeling lately, I'm wondering if I will ever write again....

[Albert1434]

9 minutes ago, Headstall said:

The way I've been feeling lately, I'm wondering if I will ever write again....

[Bucket1]

28 minutes ago, Headstall said:

The way I've been feeling lately, I'm wondering if I will ever write again....

It is ok to take a breather and regroup. We are all in a strange place and trying to adapt.

we have been very lucky here in Australia (even more so on the west coast) but it is still weird and discomforting and just a bit scary.

[Marty]

2 hours ago, Headstall said:

The way I've been feeling lately, I'm wondering if I will ever write again....

Hopefully you will, Gary. ❤️ 

Things will improve.  It can't go on like this forever.

[Valkyrie]

16 hours ago, clochette said:

Exactly, they have some training with it so why not

Vets are probably better at giving shots than most doctors.  

[Albert1434]

Time to get ready for our next shot

[Albert1434]

Well we got the shot and we still live

[Albert1434]

Close-up of a giant lobelia rosette on Mt. Kilimanjaro

[Albert1434]

[Marty]

3 hours ago, Albert1434 said:

Close-up of a giant lobelia rosette on Mt. Kilimanjaro

 

Thanks for the memory, Albert!

I first saw those when trekking in the Simien Mountains in the Ethiopian Highlands, back in 2012. My guide at the time told me that they are only found at altitudes of over 4,000 metres (about 13,000 feet). They can grow as high as 10 metres (33 feet), and my guide also told me that, before the introduction of eucalyptus to Ethiopia, the stems were often used in the construction of the traditional dwelling houses.

I saw them again the following year, when I summited Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. And they are apparently also found on Mount Kenya, in neighbouring Kenya.

Although the Tanzanian and Kenyan giant lobelia belong to the same species (Lobelia deckenii), the Ethiopian one is a different species (Lobelia rhyncopetalum).

I certainly have photographs of the Ethiopian variety, and think I also have some from Kilimanjaro. Unfortunately, my main photo archive is on a hard drive that I am unable to access just at the moment.

Edited March 28, 2021 by Marty
Misplaced comma

[Albert1434]

The god damn police handcuffed a 5 year old 😢

[Albert1434]

 

[Albert1434]

[Marty]

7 minutes ago, Albert1434 said:

 

Written in memory of the events of Sunday, January 30th, 1972, when members of the British Army opened fire on a group of unarmed civil rights protesters in the Northern Irish town of Derry/Londonderry, killing 14 civilians. Apparently Bono started writing this with political lyrics condemning the Irish Republican Army (the IRA), a militant group dedicated to getting British troops out of Northern Ireland, but changed them to point out the atrocities of war without taking sides.

[Marty]

1:00am. Off to bed. Good night all!

I'll leave you with another song about Derry/Londonderry, sung by Dublin man Luke Kelly (with The Dubliners), but written by Phil Coulter from Derry.

[...]
Now the army's installed
By the old gas yard wall
And the damned barbed wire
Gets higher and higher.
With their tanks and their guns
Oh my God what have they done
To the town I loved so well?

Now the music's gone but they carry on
For their spirit's been bruised, never broken
They will not forget but their hearts are set
On tomorrow and peace once again.
[...]

[Albert1434]

9 minutes ago, Marty said:

1:00am. Off to bed. Good night all!

I'll leave you with another song about Derry/Londonderry, sung by Dublin man Luke Kelly (with The Dubliners), but written by Phil Coulter from Derry.

[...]
Now the army's installed
By the old gas yard wall
And the damned barbed wire
Gets higher and higher.
With their tanks and their guns
Oh my God what have they done
To the town I loved so well?

Now the music's gone but they carry on
For their spirit's been bruised, never broken
They will not forget but their hearts are set
On tomorrow and peace once again.
[...]

I just loved this song!

[Headstall]

29 minutes ago, Marty said:

1:00am. Off to bed. Good night all!

I'll leave you with another song about Derry/Londonderry, sung by Dublin man Luke Kelly (with The Dubliners), but written by Phil Coulter from Derry.

[...]
Now the army's installed
By the old gas yard wall
And the damned barbed wire
Gets higher and higher.
With their tanks and their guns
Oh my God what have they done
To the town I loved so well?

Now the music's gone but they carry on
For their spirit's been bruised, never broken
They will not forget but their hearts are set
On tomorrow and peace once again.
[...]

Sleep well, Marty.  

[dughlas]

Greetings of the day y'all. Mum and I are hosting 3 couples today for a meal in celebration of the season. Traditionally since I was a small child mum would host both sets of my grandparents and another couple they knew for dinner on Palm Sunday. Easter dinner was always a celebration with mum's extended family. After mum and my stepdad moved to SC they would host a small group of friends. Last year Covid put paid to that tradition. However, all of the attendees this year, with me as the exception, have been vaccinated and can safely gather. We are serving fresh spinach salad, jaeger-style roast pork, mashed potato casserole, glazed rainbow baby carrots, asparagus casserole. Dessert will be lemon meringue pie. I had intended to make a chocolate creme pie but have been coping with nasty migraine since Friday and decided it best to visit a nearby pie maker to purchase something instead.

[Marty]

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Today is the shortest day of the year here in Ireland.

That's because at 2:00am this morning the clocks were moved forward an hour for the start of Summer Time. So today is only 23 hours long.

It's often called British Summer Time, but here in Ireland we usually drop the "British" part for some reason  and just call it Summer Time. In fact a good number of Irish people refer to it as New Time - a hang over from when it was first introduced back in 1916. I've not changed my wall clock yet, or the clock in my car, but of course my electronic equipment (smartphone, laptop, and desktop) did it for me behind my back. 

I'm just happy that the change means I'll be getting an extra hour of light in the evenings. Whereas it was 7:01pm that the sun set yesterday, it will be 8:03pm that it sets this evening (the extra two minutes are the natural increase this time of the year).

 

Edited March 28, 2021 by Marty
Clarification

[Albert1434]

Aloha All

[Marty]

3 hours ago, dughlas said:

Greetings of the day y'all. Mum and I are hosting 3 couples today for a meal in celebration of the season. Traditionally since I was a small child mum would host both sets of my grandparents and another couple they knew for dinner on Palm Sunday. Easter dinner was always a celebration with mum's extended family. After mum and my stepdad moved to SC they would host a small group of friends. Last year Covid put paid to that tradition. However, all of the attendees this year, with me as the exception, have been vaccinated and can safely gather. We are serving fresh spinach salad, jaeger-style roast pork, mashed potato casserole, glazed rainbow baby carrots, asparagus casserole. Dessert will be lemon meringue pie. I had intended to make a chocolate creme pie but have been coping with nasty migraine since Friday and decided it best to visit a nearby pie maker to purchase something instead.

It warms my heart to read that there is at least some semblance of normality returning, @dughlas! I hope you and Mum have a great celebratory meal. 

[Marty]

14 minutes ago, Albert1434 said:

Aloha All

Greetings, young Albert!

[Albert1434]

Well I didn't escape unscathed my arm is sore from the shot

[Marty]

1 minute ago, Albert1434 said:

Well I didn't escape unscathed my arm is sore from the shot

Hopefully not too sore.