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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 4, 2020 21:50:45 GMT
Wow! What a good friend, and she obviously knows you well. She sent that stuff to the right person!
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Post by casimira on Mar 28, 2021 12:44:08 GMT
Waking up and seeing at least 50 Cedar Waxwings dining in my Mulberry Tree!!!!! Positively joyous!!!!
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Post by Kimby on Mar 28, 2021 13:14:15 GMT
Love waxwings! Gorgeous little birds. My Mom’s favorite and they usually arrived in Wisconsin around her May birthday.
Did you know there are TWO kinds of waxwings? In more northern latitudes we have Cedar WW in summer, and Bohemian waxwings in winter. But any flock of waxwings needs to be examined closely for an individual or two of the other species hanging out with their more common cousins.
Don’t know if Bohemians get as far south as NOLA, but the two are easily separated if you can see their underparts, usually easy since they tend to gather in leafless berry trees. Cedars have white undertail coverts while Bohemians are rusty red under their tails.
I love their high lispy whistles, just about outside ones range of hearing and awareness.
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Post by casimira on Mar 28, 2021 13:18:32 GMT
I saw your post about this in another thread Kimby and to answer your question, no. I asked a friend of mine who is a bird authority and he said they don't make it this far South.
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Post by tod2 on Apr 3, 2021 9:03:47 GMT
Something not only good but extremely necessary happened this morning...Mr.Tod helped me dismantle all the groceries in my storecupboard, repack them and vacuum all the shelves to get rid of the most horrific weavils! They destroyed most of my pasta but little else. I noticed a few some days ago but uncovered hundreds still munching away. At least it wasn't cockroaches!
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Post by questa on Apr 3, 2021 10:19:38 GMT
It couldn't go to a better person! Now can the magic of cheery's imagination turn lovely fabrics into stunning doll costumes. Mmmmm?
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 3, 2021 11:30:04 GMT
They destroyed most of my pasta but little else. I noticed a few some days ago but uncovered hundreds still munching away. At least it wasn't cockroaches! A combined good thing while at the same time a petty personal trauma!
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Post by Kimby on Apr 3, 2021 12:48:22 GMT
Something not only good but extremely necessary happened this morning...Mr.Tod helped me dismantle all the groceries in my storecupboard, repack them and vacuum all the shelves to get rid of the most horrific weavils! They destroyed most of my pasta but little else. I noticed a few some days ago but uncovered hundreds still munching away. At least it wasn't cockroaches! I hope you spread the weevily pasta and grains in the yard for your Wild and Wonderful Garden Birds!
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Post by lagatta on Apr 3, 2021 13:41:04 GMT
I just went back for Cheery's haul. Félicitations!
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Post by tod2 on Apr 3, 2021 14:08:28 GMT
Definitely Kimby - all gone into the compost heap. If the birds dont get them the other frogs and lizards will.
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Post by questa on Apr 3, 2021 23:56:04 GMT
My pantry suffered an invasion of 'pantry moths' a few years ago. All my cereal based foods were affected and I had to go through my containers looking for the larvae or hatching moths every 2-3 days until they were all gone. As my pantry is always over-stocked (Hey, I'm a Cancerian, remember?) it was an expensive exercise.
Could it be that your 'weevils' were pantry moths?
In the era of sail when it took a ship 5-6 months from UK to Oz, all the food supplies had weevils in them. They gave a nutty flavour and were a source of protein for the sailors.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 4, 2021 0:49:19 GMT
We discussed weevils somewhere on the forum long ago. I'm always so afraid of getting them in the house, so I put everything in which they might hide in the freezer, as soon as I get it home from the store. You don't have to leave it there forever, but I usually leave it for at least a few days to make sure any larvae are killed. One thing I am sure to put in the freezer is any dried chile, as I have found it is a prime source of pantry moths. Even if the chiles are in a closed jar, you'll find all the chiles turned to icky lace if you don't freeze them first.
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Post by questa on Apr 4, 2021 3:27:19 GMT
Brilliant! I wish I knew you and your technique about freezing them at the time.
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Post by tod2 on Apr 4, 2021 7:24:28 GMT
Weevils have been known to find their way into the home from outside (in the form of adult beetles or moths depositing their eggs in a food source). However in most cases, they are already present in produce, originating at the processing plant, a warehouse, in a delivery vehicle or even at the store of purchase.
Now that I know this fact I feel better about the Rice Weevils that multiplied in my store cupboard. I will give a bag of rice a good scrutiny when next shopping. I definitely did not have Pantry moths. The weevils were black little critters smaller than a grain of rice.
Not only in the era of sail Questa did weevils get into the food, but right into WWII - My uncle who was in the South African army did his duty in Egypt and North Africa, He told me it was common practice to pick the weevils out of ones slice of bread then go ahead and eat it or starve.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 4, 2021 13:16:32 GMT
Aren't all insects a good source of protein?
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Post by questa on Apr 4, 2021 13:32:43 GMT
I must have eaten dozens in mt time. Hidden in cereals, cooked into pancakes. Who knows?
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 4, 2021 14:03:04 GMT
Most of us eat up to a kilo of insects and insect fragments a year. The highest number is in coffee, followed by wheat flour. There is also plenty in pasta and chocolate. But generally, all of those are just fragments. We eat whole insects in berries, broccoli and mushrooms.
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Post by Kimby on Apr 4, 2021 14:12:35 GMT
A good thing that happened last night: The Gonzaga basketball team beat the UCLA Bruins in the NCAA semifinal game in overtime by a buzzer-beating 3-point shot. Amazing to watch. Gonzaga University is in Spokane Washington, so practically a hometown team for Montanans.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 4, 2021 15:37:21 GMT
They even showed that on the news here. Everybody loves to see the underdog do something spectacular.
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Post by Kimby on Apr 4, 2021 15:54:17 GMT
Except Gonzaga was the number one seed in their bracket, and Gonzaga (still) has an unbeaten record for the season. Not really “underdogs”, in my book. Less well-known, certainly. A Cinderella story, perhaps.
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Post by tod2 on Apr 6, 2021 14:21:30 GMT
After at least 10 years, my extractor fan over my hob was fixed! It has always worked but with no cover and filter which fell down due to a broken clip. Today it finally got fixed by our handyman. He cleaned the whole thing up and got both downlights to work instead of just the one. We got some batting/hollow fibre from our store and cut a new filter. I feel like spring is here not autumn! Waiting for the new filter
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Post by Kimby on Apr 6, 2021 15:24:43 GMT
Except Gonzaga was the number one seed in their bracket, and Gonzaga (still) has an unbeaten record for the season. Not really “underdogs”, in my book. Less well-known, certainly. A Cinderella story, perhaps. And it ended with Butler beating Gonzaga by double digits. Congrats to both teams. Neither one had won a championship before. IF Gonzaga had won, it would have been the first perfect unbeaten season since Indiana’s win in 1967! But watch out for next year! The guy who beat the buzzer in the semifinal game with a 40-foot shot is only a freshman!
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Post by Kimby on Apr 6, 2021 15:30:19 GMT
Today my sister and I gave up on the pandemic post-poned Peru trip and rebooked for 10 days in Iceland in July. It’s SO nice to have something to look forward to.
There are still a few slots open on this EF GoAhead tour. If anyone wants to join us, contact me by PM for details!
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Post by Kimby on Apr 6, 2021 15:37:23 GMT
And another really good thing. After making the difficult decision to let the family cabin go, and literally minutes before my sister was to sign the listing contract with an agent, we were contacted by a neighbor who knew our parents and loved their location on a point above the beach who made us a cash offer as good as we were likely to get through the realtor and saving us the commission.
Even if he tears it down and builds his dream house, I think my parents would be pleased. We had two other neighbors who wanted to buy but could only offer about half the amount that the latecomer is willing to give us.
My sister turned the car around on the way to the realtor’s office when she got the call. What lucky timing!
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 6, 2021 15:43:33 GMT
Maybe you can use the money to buy a cabin in Iceland near the lava flow.
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Post by Kimby on Apr 6, 2021 16:13:02 GMT
The suddenly non-dormant volcano!
But the reason we are selling is that it’s too far from our homes to get much use.
An Icelandic cabin would be an 11-hour $1200+ flight each time we wanted to go there...
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Post by tod2 on Apr 10, 2021 9:52:12 GMT
After at least 10 years, my extractor fan over my hob was fixed! It has always worked but with no cover and filter which fell down due to a broken clip. Today it finally got fixed by our handyman. The good thing was I was at home! Typing away on Anyport I heard a strange noise. There are no words to describe it but it was similar to something using an electric hedge trimmer. I actually thought it was my neighbor so ignored it. Eventually my curiosity got the better of me and I went to investigate. As soon as I entered the diningroom I could detect an acrid smell. I shot to the kitchen door thinking the washing machine was on the blink, but no. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a light flashing on the overhead cupboard next to my hob. I went closer and to my horror a bulb was flashing and sparks galore coming from the extraction fan over the hob! Crikey I thought - the canopy it is in is solid wood so my house could catch fire any minute. Now my mind was fighting panic and trying to get a sensible grip! I rushed to the power supply board and pulled the main switch down. Then looked at the other Solar supply panel and also pulled the switch to Öff". Rushing back to see if a fire had started I saw all was quiet. Now to phone Mr.Tod - my cell phone went dead. It does that sometimes. Now I was a bit apprehensive. I waited and in a minute my phone came on. Soon as he answered he said Ï'll phone you back in 5 min" I literally screamed Ýou can"'t you cant '! - come home right now there is an electrical fault in the kitchen! Whew, no more sparks or fire but a horrible smell which I think (looking up underneath) is the Hollow fiber catching alight. I was so glad to see him. He reminded me where the fire extinguisher was on the wall.... This has happened due to something the handyman did when cleaning it. I'll find out on Monday what he did wrong. What scares me is the darn thing went berserk without being switched on! I wasn't cooking or anything using the extractor.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 10, 2021 12:57:26 GMT
And this is "something good happened today" rather than "major personal traumas" (a topic that is just begging to be created)? I came to this thread to announce that I discovered something new (to me) in Paris today. That doesn't happen often.
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Post by tod2 on Apr 10, 2021 16:02:52 GMT
Please please disclose you discovery! The good thing was my house never burned to the ground!
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Post by Kimby on Apr 10, 2021 16:30:13 GMT
Reminds me of a house-not-burning-down incident when I was in college.
I was visiting a boyfriend and decided to mop his kitchen floor as their house was not up to even my relaxed standards. When I pulled the stove out to mop behind it, a violent hissing ensued - I’d broken the ancient gas line!
Due to the accumulation of dust bunnies behind the stove, and never having lived with a gas stove before, I didn’t see that there was a shutoff valve back there, so we evacuated and called the fire department from the neighbor’s house.
Firemen arrived after a tense few minutes, calmly turned the valve I’d overlooked, advised us to replace the gas hose, and opened doors and windows to air out the fumes.
And then we discovered that one of the housemates had slept through the whole incident in his bedroom adjacent to the kitchen! He could’ve been blown to smithereens if the gas had exploded, like if he woke up and lit a cigarette, as he was prone to do.
So that was a good thing, similar to tod’s good thing.
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