Fussy little critter, didn't like ham?
What's made you smile today?
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What's made you smile today?
Fussy little critter, didn't like ham?
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He didn't pounce on it but he felt well fed for hibernation. When I lifted the box in the morning, Mr Softy and the ham were gone.
Beware, he might be back with his mates.
It is always good to see hedgehog poo in the garden, as they do a good job of keeping snails and slugs down. Musn't use any slug killer if there are hedgehogs around, as they eat the dying slugs and get poisoned themselves. Will kill any toads as well, sadly, a long time ago, finding a dead toad on the lawn was a disappointment. Had to get it before the birds got to it. The food chain is not supposed to kill the whole chain.
For the same reason, I don't use ant killer. A full kettle of boiling water into their nest will usually boil them all. Many float to the surface and the crows love them.
Just another thought. Have you ever encountered hedgehogs mating in the garden? They make a lot of noise. First time I heard it I wondered what large wild animal was in the garden, found them behind the shed, laughed and left them to it.
Cats can get upset by hedgehogs. Small enough to be prey, but don't run away, but don't attack either, just curl up. If the cat dabs at it, it hurts. Yet without attacking. Several cats over the years have all come back inside wailing like the world is ending. Very funny.
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Most pesticides kill more than just the "pests". 
I heard that hedgehogs use their poo as chemical warfare by rolling in it to coat their spines, That makes them very smelly pets but also makes those spines pretty toxic. Use thick gloves or leave well alone.
I heard that hedgehogs use their poo as chemical warfare by rolling in it to coat their spines, That makes them very smelly pets but also makes those spines pretty toxic. Use thick gloves or leave well alone.
I was working away from home and my wife had some friends around for a BBQ and one of the kids brought a hedgehog into the house.
Somehow it got underneath the kitchen units and wouldn't come out. It was the height of summer so the kitchen door was left open and it was believed to have gone out of its own accord.
A week later I was on the computer upstairs, on my own in the house, and became aware of something behind me. I turned around on my chair to see a hedghog run across the landing into our bedroom!
Needless to say the hedgie was promptly evicted.
To this day, Wonder-Woman does not believe me that it ever got up the stairs, and insists I have made up that story, and that it must have gone out of the house on its own accord when the back door was left open. :bang:
Somehow it got underneath the kitchen units and wouldn't come out. It was the height of summer so the kitchen door was left open and it was believed to have gone out of its own accord.
A week later I was on the computer upstairs, on my own in the house, and became aware of something behind me. I turned around on my chair to see a hedghog run across the landing into our bedroom!
Needless to say the hedgie was promptly evicted.
To this day, Wonder-Woman does not believe me that it ever got up the stairs, and insists I have made up that story, and that it must have gone out of the house on its own accord when the back door was left open. :bang:
I imagine climbing the stairs was a struggle for its tiny legs. I now have a picture in my head of it returnign downstairs, by rolling into a ball. Probably best you rescued it. When you get to see their faces, they're quite cute little things.
Apparently they're good climbers and can even get over walls (I imagine thats stone walls like we have here in the Cotswolds rather than the likes of smooth prison walls )
I've never seen a Hedgie with a bobble-hat crampons and a load of climbing rope either
)I've never seen a Hedgie with a bobble-hat crampons and a load of climbing rope either
Couldn't make up my mind whether to post here in the "smiley" thread or the "grumpy" thread, but on balance it's probably making me smile more than frown.
Couldn't find my wallet last night before going to bed so after wandering fruitlessly from room to room with Mrs J making derogatory comments regarding my age and the state of my brain, I suddenly recalled putting it in one of the little cubby holes in the car yesterday. Of course it was there and very glad I was too to find it! Turning away from the car and pressing the lock blipper on the key fob I suddenly realized there was a strong smell of wood burning, so strong it was quite objectionable. It brought back memories of one of my gardening contracts - retiral homes for the Church of Scotland where there were extensive grounds with a quite large wooded area. Every year we would have a large bonfire with all the fallen tree limbs and shrub trimmings. Great fun but smelly!
I couldn't really figure out what was burning so, having made sure it wasn't my roof, I went back inside and upstairs to bed. I went into the little back bedroom to pull the curtains and realized there was something going on in next door's back garden. My neighbour and his wife were sitting round their garden table with a couple of friends. All bundled up in warm clothing - in fact they looked like they were ready to set off for the pole! (It was pretty cold last night). The table was liberally stocked with a variety of booze and they had one of those Chiminea garden fire things burning fiercely and emitting smoke and sparks from it's chimney. My guess would be they were not burning seasoned wood?
Despite the fire and alcohol, they all looked absolutely frozen! From my nice warm vantage point I just had to smile - then climbed into my nice warm bed.
Couldn't find my wallet last night before going to bed so after wandering fruitlessly from room to room with Mrs J making derogatory comments regarding my age and the state of my brain, I suddenly recalled putting it in one of the little cubby holes in the car yesterday. Of course it was there and very glad I was too to find it! Turning away from the car and pressing the lock blipper on the key fob I suddenly realized there was a strong smell of wood burning, so strong it was quite objectionable. It brought back memories of one of my gardening contracts - retiral homes for the Church of Scotland where there were extensive grounds with a quite large wooded area. Every year we would have a large bonfire with all the fallen tree limbs and shrub trimmings. Great fun but smelly!
I couldn't really figure out what was burning so, having made sure it wasn't my roof, I went back inside and upstairs to bed. I went into the little back bedroom to pull the curtains and realized there was something going on in next door's back garden. My neighbour and his wife were sitting round their garden table with a couple of friends. All bundled up in warm clothing - in fact they looked like they were ready to set off for the pole! (It was pretty cold last night). The table was liberally stocked with a variety of booze and they had one of those Chiminea garden fire things burning fiercely and emitting smoke and sparks from it's chimney. My guess would be they were not burning seasoned wood?
Despite the fire and alcohol, they all looked absolutely frozen! From my nice warm vantage point I just had to smile - then climbed into my nice warm bed.
Couldn't make up my mind whether to post here in the "smiley" thread or the "grumpy" thread, but on balance it's probably making me smile more than frown.
Couldn't find my wallet last night before going to bed so after wandering fruitlessly from room to room with Mrs J making derogatory comments regarding my age and the state of my brain, I suddenly recalled putting it in one of the little cubby holes in the car yesterday. Of course it was there and very glad I was too to find it! Turning away from the car and pressing the lock blipper on the key fob I suddenly realized there was a strong smell of wood burning, so strong it was quite objectionable. It brought back memories of one of my gardening contracts - retiral homes for the Church of Scotland where there were extensive grounds with a quite large wooded area. Every year we would have a large bonfire with all the fallen tree limbs and shrub trimmings. Great fun but smelly!
I couldn't really figure out what was burning so, having made sure it wasn't my roof, I went back inside and upstairs to bed. I went into the little back bedroom to pull the curtains and realized there was something going on in next door's back garden. My neighbour and his wife were sitting round their garden table with a couple of friends. All bundled up in warm clothing - in fact they looked like they were ready to set off for the pole! (It was pretty cold last night). The table was liberally stocked with a variety of booze and they had one of those Chiminea garden fire things burning fiercely and emitting smoke and sparks from it's chimney. My guess would be they were not burning seasoned wood?
Despite the fire and alcohol, they all looked absolutely frozen! From my nice warm vantage point I just had to smile - then climbed into my nice warm bed.
Couldn't find my wallet last night before going to bed so after wandering fruitlessly from room to room with Mrs J making derogatory comments regarding my age and the state of my brain, I suddenly recalled putting it in one of the little cubby holes in the car yesterday. Of course it was there and very glad I was too to find it! Turning away from the car and pressing the lock blipper on the key fob I suddenly realized there was a strong smell of wood burning, so strong it was quite objectionable. It brought back memories of one of my gardening contracts - retiral homes for the Church of Scotland where there were extensive grounds with a quite large wooded area. Every year we would have a large bonfire with all the fallen tree limbs and shrub trimmings. Great fun but smelly!
I couldn't really figure out what was burning so, having made sure it wasn't my roof, I went back inside and upstairs to bed. I went into the little back bedroom to pull the curtains and realized there was something going on in next door's back garden. My neighbour and his wife were sitting round their garden table with a couple of friends. All bundled up in warm clothing - in fact they looked like they were ready to set off for the pole! (It was pretty cold last night). The table was liberally stocked with a variety of booze and they had one of those Chiminea garden fire things burning fiercely and emitting smoke and sparks from it's chimney. My guess would be they were not burning seasoned wood?
Despite the fire and alcohol, they all looked absolutely frozen! From my nice warm vantage point I just had to smile - then climbed into my nice warm bed.
Heheh. Brilliant!
I've sat outside all dressed up on cold clear nights baffling the neighbours too, but in this instance it was to do some sky-watching; my lad is quite interested in astronomy so if there's something interesting going on we'll go outdoors and sit in the garden.
They were clearly enjoying that moment when you realise you've gone to a lot of effort to do something you thought would be enjoyable and it isn't but you've committed and tidying up after 10 minutes would just add additional misery.
Couple of smiles today, was doing weekly check on car today before taking munchkin to the park. Next door wanders out to his Porsche "I never seen anyone check tyres before!" I hope that's not the literal truth given he works for the local Audi dealer as a tech
Also we're on the potty training ladder and he's doing well, last night stripped him down for his bath. 1st he did once his nappy was off wander to the potty and have a wee. Given how much an absolute pain this lad had made everything else he's ever done (he only decided to sleep through at 2 years old!) and multiple various allergies when he was little as well which he is slowly growing out of I'll take that as a win.
Couple of smiles today, was doing weekly check on car today before taking munchkin to the park. Next door wanders out to his Porsche "I never seen anyone check tyres before!" I hope that's not the literal truth given he works for the local Audi dealer as a tech
Also we're on the potty training ladder and he's doing well, last night stripped him down for his bath. 1st he did once his nappy was off wander to the potty and have a wee. Given how much an absolute pain this lad had made everything else he's ever done (he only decided to sleep through at 2 years old!) and multiple various allergies when he was little as well which he is slowly growing out of I'll take that as a win.
I can empathize with that Max. I've been a science fiction fan since my very early teens and find almost anything to do with space interesting. Looking up at the night sky on a clear dark night and trying to get the "heid" round the immensity what is our galaxy, let alone the entire universe - which I actually find impossible to contemplate - is an awesome thing to do. Really puts me in my place!Heheh. Brilliant!
I've sat outside all dressed up on cold clear nights baffling the neighbours too, but in this instance it was to do some sky-watching; my lad is quite interested in astronomy so if there's something interesting going on we'll go outdoors and sit in the garden.
Not Sci-Fi - this is my cousin Prof. Nick Devereux - as kids I was always impressed at his single mindedness - always taking long exposure photos of the stars, writing letters to NASA (and getting lots of replies including signed photos of the Astronauts which we now know are definitely genuine). He failed to get into the RAF as a pilot for reasons I don't know - possibly fitness levels - but he did do a lot of flying in the USA ferrying mail about I believe. Had he made it into the RAF there was hope that we'd see the family name in space on the International Space Station but alas it was not to be.
Here he is giving a lecture in Ted-x talks some years ago Walking On Mars its fascinating
I too like Sci-Fi - I went to the cinema to see Alien 5 times I was so impressed by it!
I enjoyed your Prof Devereux's talk, as he says the hardware of possible space travel is so much more exciting than the mundane limitations imposed by the fragility of the human body that it never grabs the headlines when, in fact, it's probably a greater limiting factor than developing technology and machines which will let us go, ultimately, to the stars.
Assuming, of course, that we can all behave in a properly grown up manner towards one another and not be so selfish that we use up all the resources and poison ourselves to death or take ourselves back to the stage where we are simply working to survive. Of course we might just blow the whole planet to pieces which at least would get it over and done nice and quick! Then again I suppose we could ask ourselves whether there's any point to it all? Do you know if the belief in a constantly expanding universe is still believed to be the most likely end for us all? - By "all" I mean everything in the universe as we currently know it - If so it's all going to end in darkness and extreme cold with nothing we would recognize today in existence.
I persuaded my sister to chum me to see Alien as soon as it was released. She was absolutely terrified, actually screaming when the alien first appeared! I have all the films on blu ray and couldn't really say how many times I've watched the earlier films (which I think were the best). Have you seen Serenity or The Fifth Element or Pitch Black or The Chronicles of Riddick? All definitely worth a view if you haven't.
Assuming, of course, that we can all behave in a properly grown up manner towards one another and not be so selfish that we use up all the resources and poison ourselves to death or take ourselves back to the stage where we are simply working to survive. Of course we might just blow the whole planet to pieces which at least would get it over and done nice and quick! Then again I suppose we could ask ourselves whether there's any point to it all? Do you know if the belief in a constantly expanding universe is still believed to be the most likely end for us all? - By "all" I mean everything in the universe as we currently know it - If so it's all going to end in darkness and extreme cold with nothing we would recognize today in existence.
I persuaded my sister to chum me to see Alien as soon as it was released. She was absolutely terrified, actually screaming when the alien first appeared! I have all the films on blu ray and couldn't really say how many times I've watched the earlier films (which I think were the best). Have you seen Serenity or The Fifth Element or Pitch Black or The Chronicles of Riddick? All definitely worth a view if you haven't.
Not sure about Serenity, but certainly all the others you mention I have enjoyed.
Regarding Alien, the first film was truly epic. Did you know that the Nostromo flight-deck was loosely based on the B52 cockpit, designed give a sense of claustrophobia and that every switch and button actually did something such as light up a series of lights? Also, I believe the sound throughout the film was very slightly muffled to give the viewer a distinct sense of unease.
Sadly for me, the subsequent Alien films degenerated into what I can only describe as video-nasties and completely lost the plot.
The prequel to Alien - Prometheus - I thought was excellent but had a rather stupid and hurried ending, and I also believe there is a glaring continuity error that somehow mis-matches the first Alien film (but can't recall what it is).
Gravity was a good Sci-Fi story - I saw that on the big screen and it was very impressive with its graphic effects.
And I liked The Martian.
And a little more earthbound, the last series of Planet of The Apes films were excellent.
I'm glad you liked Nick's presentation. If you look at the other link and hunt around on there you can see some of the discoveries he's made about Galaxies - some of it is completely beyond me. I still ping him the odd email but we're not in touch as much as we should be; He's out in Arizona I believe, still teaching for NASA at one of the Universities there.
Whilst the original Alien film was I agree the best, I did enjoy all the others including Prometheus (must look for that mismatch you speak of) I did find Covenant a bit too slow though and, for me the least interesting.
Regarding Serenity. It was Joss Whedon's master piece to round off the Firefly TV series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly_(TV_series) which was cancelled before all the episodes had been aired. I liked the TV series but found them a bit slow and long winded in places. You can't say that of Serenity which is one of my favourite films:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAL6qVciZMA
Have you seen Valerian? It's got a bit of a weak plot but is visually stunning and worth seeing on a nice big screen TV with a good sound system:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPeqNTqZNN0
Can I assume that, like me, you are a bit of a car nut? If so I can strongly recommend "McLaren" One of the best fims of it's type I've seen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyiRuWWrKSA
Thank you Jock.
That McLaren film looks really interesting - I've never heard of it before. I'm not super keen about car racing films but did take my son to see the relatively recent 'Le Mans 66' Ford v Ferrari film at the cinema, and really enjoyed that.
I wouldn't call myself a 'car nut' as such; I'm really only interested in cars from the pre-war era through to the 1980s - simply because of what I own.
Most motoring events I attend are run by the VSCC. (I've a friend and colleague with a 1908 Renault AX, and while I find it an interesting car, it just doesn't float my boat - possibly because its not a practical car whereas a pre-war machine can be, and can to some extent, just about keep up with modern traffic). Perhaps if I didn't need the year-round reliability of of a modern car I'd own something like a Traction Avant as my everyday drive
I've never heard of the Valerian either but will certainly look out for that.
Other sci-fi films I liked were Ad Astra; The Maze-Runner series; Interstellar; and of course Blade-Runner - I've not seen the sequel to Blade Runner yet but I'm hoping its good. Sometimes eagerly awaited sequels can be a big disappointment.
That McLaren film looks really interesting - I've never heard of it before. I'm not super keen about car racing films but did take my son to see the relatively recent 'Le Mans 66' Ford v Ferrari film at the cinema, and really enjoyed that.
I wouldn't call myself a 'car nut' as such; I'm really only interested in cars from the pre-war era through to the 1980s - simply because of what I own.
Most motoring events I attend are run by the VSCC. (I've a friend and colleague with a 1908 Renault AX, and while I find it an interesting car, it just doesn't float my boat - possibly because its not a practical car whereas a pre-war machine can be, and can to some extent, just about keep up with modern traffic). Perhaps if I didn't need the year-round reliability of of a modern car I'd own something like a Traction Avant as my everyday drive
I've never heard of the Valerian either but will certainly look out for that.
Other sci-fi films I liked were Ad Astra; The Maze-Runner series; Interstellar; and of course Blade-Runner - I've not seen the sequel to Blade Runner yet but I'm hoping its good. Sometimes eagerly awaited sequels can be a big disappointment.
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Saw loads of supercars today on the A38. Expensive ones too. All sorts of special Aventadors, 911 GT2 or 3's ( I can't tell without looking at the badge), Ferraris, McLarens etc. The funny bit was some chav in a Golf GTI tailgating a Lambo.
'Evening Max. The McLaren film is much more of a documentary than a "Le Mans" type film and all the better for it I feel. I don't like the dramatized films about motor racing.
I too prefer cars from a similar era. For me the 1930's - so Morris 8, Ford model Y, etc up to the 1960/70's so the likes of Mk1 and 2 Cortinas, Hillman imps, had a few of them, Vauxhall Ventora, etc. I'm not all that fussy what it is, even Citroen 2CV or Dyane (always fancied an Acadiane!) I have very strange tastes!
In terms of motor sport and having worked for Firestone Racing early on in my career, I now like Speed Hillclimbs or Drag Racing. Can't be bothered with the queues for big events and I like to be able to wander round the paddock and look at the cars close up. On the TV Moto GP and the Australian V8 supercars do it for me!
Of the films you mention I haven't seen Ad Astra yet. Interstellar was pretty good but I got fed up trying to decipher what Mathew McConaughey was mumbling about. If you haven't seen them the three films which make up the Cloverfield trilogy are "interesting". Not "great" films, and only loosely connected by their names, but if you are prepared to persevere you might find them interesting enough.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxqSIsxMlYQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saHzng8fxLs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHAKcRv43-w
"Moon" whilst being a bit slow in parts has an interesting twist at the end, it has a quite similar feel to "The Martian - If you view it see how early on in the film you can guess what's going on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0tKKsgip-Y
The new Blade Runner I thought was pretty good and you should see it.
I may have mentioned -perhaps in another thread - I did have a 2CV once. A completely underrated machine in my opinion, second only to my JImny in relatively deep snow; I was astonished. I would have one again any day if it weren't for the daft prices they now seem to command.
A strange taste in cars is always an interesting one in my books. Like you, I rarely venture to the 'big' car events; Prescott hillclimb is just up the road from me, but its watching the likes of brave souls pushing ERAs up that hill knowing the high risks that cut it for me. They're either very brave or otherwise barking mad.
The biggest motoring event of the year I really love going to is Beaulieu International Autojumble every September (except this year of course ) - I'm like a kid in a toy and sweet shop when I'm there!
From the trailers I've looked at, the McLaren film is much more 'up my street' with it's docu-drama format than the Le Mans 66 no doubt with it's likely Hollywood licence to gloss things up a bit.
The Blade Runner revisit is very high on my list and I will get to catch up with your recommendations with time I'm very certain of that.
A strange taste in cars is always an interesting one in my books. Like you, I rarely venture to the 'big' car events; Prescott hillclimb is just up the road from me, but its watching the likes of brave souls pushing ERAs up that hill knowing the high risks that cut it for me. They're either very brave or otherwise barking mad.
The biggest motoring event of the year I really love going to is Beaulieu International Autojumble every September (except this year of course
) - I'm like a kid in a toy and sweet shop when I'm there!From the trailers I've looked at, the McLaren film is much more 'up my street' with it's docu-drama format than the Le Mans 66 no doubt with it's likely Hollywood licence to gloss things up a bit.
The Blade Runner revisit is very high on my list and I will get to catch up with your recommendations with time I'm very certain of that.
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