Good Morning, Good Afternoon and Good Evening.

Good Evening Everyone.

I've started a new thread here for what I hope will be a great new beginning for Sunrise.

Good Evening All.

Another hot and muggy day, haven't had any rain for around two months now.

Spent most of this afternoon watching the qualifying for the British GP and then the England-Sweden football match.

Good Afternoon All.

We had a drive out this morning to a garden centre in Sturmer, near Haverhill.
Had fish and chips for lunch at a roadside cafe on the way back.

Good Evening All. : )

A lazy day at home today.


Would sure be nice if a few more people showed up.

Yes, steelbat - would be nice. Have scrolled down through the membership list. So many familiar names. I'm sure some patience will pay dividends. They're bound to come back, once they see there's activity here.

Glad to see rain today. The hot weather does not suit me. Have a Good Evening.

Good Evening All

We could do with some of that rain here Nugget. We haven't had any proper rain since the early part of May. The grass is parched and most of the garden is suffering. The rainwater-butt has been empty for weeks and although we don't have any restrictions here yet, I don't want to use tapwater on the garden.

We've had a heatwave for 40 days. Even though we've had rain yeserday, it's made very little difference because the ground is so parched.

We've had a hose-pipe ban for a couple of weeks and, from tonight, there will be water restriction from 10 p.m until 5 a.m nightly. That will be difficult for pubs, clubs, hotels, restuarants etc.

hi Nugget,
Its been a bit cloudy making it a little cooler over the last day or two which has been some relief.
There has been some rain...just not around here!



Good Evening All.

Hi, steelbat. It rained last night, but not a lot. I decided to take the bus into Dublin City Centre today. The place is absolutely crowded. It was raining lightly. Some had umbrellas, but whether they had or not, everybody was just strolling along in the most relaxed way, rain or no rain. You could hear the sounds of chatter and laughter rising up into the murky skies. Great!

Hi Noreen,
Ann and I have visited Dublin a couple of times but it must be at least twenty or more years ago now.
We found the city a very nice place, in some ways familiar with Englamd but in other ways very much with its own identity.
People we met were very friendly, except maybe for one old boy in a pub who had memories of before independance and had bad words for the Back and Tans.

Hi Steelbat! LOL! The guy going on about the Black and Tans! What century was he from? Yes. The people of Dublin are very friendly. A lot of peiple talked to me as I was on the bus, waiting at bus stops, in shops etc. The atmosphere really was very relaxed.

Hi Nugget,
Another steamy-hot day. Thank goodness a bit of cloud comes over now and then to give some relief.
A bit of shopping at Tesco's this morning and had to pop to the sorting office to pick up a (large)letter that someone had sent without enough postage.


Good Evening All

Hi, Steelbat! Good Evening.

This morning, when I got up, my cat was outside the cat-flap, crying. I said "Oh no! Not the batteries again!" I had changed them only a week ago. So I got a knife to pry open the cat-flap to let her in. She comes in after some hesitation. Then I see what is the problem. She had caught and killed a rat, which she had beside her on the step outside the flap. She was confused not knowing whether she should come in or what. The cat flap was fine. I have a garbage picker. So I picked up the rat and put it in the bin. My cat seemed relieved. I have heard there is a bit of a rat problem in my neighbours' gardens, so now I know I have it too. Next will be to call in the extermination company. I think this year has driven rats into houses because, first of all, the prolonged snow in the Spring, followed then by the present heatwave.

Hi Nugget, Good Evening All.
When I was working driving vans, I used to park up for lunch at a derelict site down a lane and one day this feral cat appeared and begged some of my sandwich. Very soon most days she would come running as soon as I turned up expecting to be fed!
I gave her the name Queenie and although she was a bit wary at first, before long she was also demanding strokes and tickles behind the ear.
Then one day, I knew she considered me her friend when she presented me with a mouse! (Queenie was very good at catching mice). She seemed a bit confused when I didn't gobble it up, after all, it was only a little bit dead and not very bashed up......
I fed Queenie for over two years when one day the yards owner turned up out of the blue and though Queenie had never been a house cat, decided he was going to take his cat home.



We have horse paddocks behind us and quite often see rats come and go. One year they did get up in the loft and we had to have the rat-catcher in.
We spent a couple of thousand pounds having all new plastic soffit , barge board etc. to keep them out - but last year we had some mice find some way of getting in and had to have the man come back again.
It all comes as part of living in a rural area I guess.

Good evening , All!

Love the story of Queenie, Steelbat.

My cat Susie, is adopted. At first she was very nervous, as I think she had been ill-treated in her previous life. The vet who gave her to me said I would need to keep her indoors and not let her out for two weeks, in case she ran away. I had her for just two days when she darted out the back door and headed for the bottom of the garden. I was horrified. Then I noticed that, with every few steps she took on the garden path, she looked back over her shoulder, first one shoulder and then the other. I realised she was "taking the coordinates" of the house. LOL! When, to my horror, she got to the bottom of the garden, I was wondering how I was going to get her back. Suddenly, the dog next door let out a bark.
Susie was back like a shot into my house! LOLOL! I never had to keep her inside again after that.

A week later, Susie brought me in a full-grown live rat through an open window. But that's another story!

Good Evening All,

We would love to have another cat Nugget, but since we moved here I've taken to putting out food for the birds -
we must have had 40 or more cat-snacks sparrows in our garden this afternoon...

We have family coming over the weekend so I might be missing for a day or two.

Evening, Everybody.

I feed the birds in a very confined space with high surrounding walls. Susie gives the odd growl at them, but maintains an uneasy truce. Mostly she lies on the lawn watching them, knowing they are out of reach. Sometimes she gets bored and just falls asleep, while the birds ignore her. I feed my birds on poles at eye-level, so they know she can't get to them. I get sparrows, robins, blackbirds, crows, magpies, pigeons and collared doves. They learn very quickly whether there is a threat or not.

Enjoy your weekend with Family, steelbat.

Hi Nugget,  Good Evening All.
Hope you had a good weekend.
Ours went well, nice to have people over, nice too to have the house empty again!

My feeders are on a pole as well but in the open, though in front of a hedge of bushes so the birds can dive for cover if they get spooked. The only trouble is the bushes also allow next-door-but-one's cat to creep up unnoticed!
Birds are such messy creatures that they drop more than they eat so I've put down paving stones. Now as many birds ground-feed as eat off the feeders. The paving also makes it easier to keep the area clean.

Good evening, All!
Hi Steelbat. Glad you had a nice weekend.

Good idea that - putting down the paving slabs. Yes, the birds are very messy. They toss out on the ground as much as they eat. I have a harvest of oats, wheat and barley growing uncder the feeders. It's fun watching how the crows use their claws to pull over and hold down the stalks while they take their fill of the seeds.

Cats, I suppose, can vary as to how much they are into hunting birds. If they have started off as feral cats, they will certainly be more into killing birds.

I have sad news to relate re Susie, my cat. She's in hospital. This morning, she got into what seems to have been a car accident. She has multible injuries, including her jaw. The vet seems to think she climbed into the engine of a neighbour's car, while it was parked outside. Unfortunately, the neighbour must have started up the car without knowing she was there. I'm heart-broken at what has happenend. The vet has kept her and has administered pain-killers, so at least she will have a more comfortable night with him, than she would have had with me. He will work on her tomorrow. He asked me to leave my worries with him. Please God, it won't be as bad as it seems. Poor Susie!
.

Oh, your poor cat! I do hope the vet is able to fix Susie up.

Unfortunately cats often do have the habit of climbing into cars. There has been a couple of stories in the news recently about cats who have been found to have travelled long distances before being discovered.

Good evening, All!
Hi, Steelbat! Thanks for your concern. Susie was kept overnight at the vet hospital. The vet rang me today. Her lower lip was separated from her jaw and a tooth was knocked out of place. The vet, Tom, has worked on that. Thankfully she didn't have any broken bones, as had been feared, though he thinks she may have badly injured a ligament in her back knee. He thinks I may be able to collect her tomorrow. Have to phone him at lunch time. I don't consider myself a very religious person, but I have to say, I have not prayed so fervently in a long time.

I am glad Susie is not hurt as bad as first thought.
What she needs now is lots of pampering!

'Evening, All! Good to be able to post again after being locked out! Thanks for your concern re Susie, my cat. Do you know, steelbat, it is over a year since Susie had her accident. She made a great recovery. I always say the vet is a genius. He did three surgeries on her and kept her in the hospital for about two weeks. It cost a fair bit, but Susie is worth it. I will be going on holidays shortly and am trying having a cat-sitter to come in to feed her once a day. Hope that goes well. Better for Susie that she is in her own environment rather than a cattery.

Hi Nugget & Good Evening All.
Glad Susie got over her trauma ok. Hope your hols go well.
Mrs bat and I were away recently, didn't go far just up to Great Yarmouth for 3 nights B & B . but was good to have a break even if just for a short while.

Evening, Steelbat and All! An overcast evening here! A mixture of sun, wind, and rain during the day.