Oh god, I'm getting old, and enjoying it!!!

[Gob]

Yesterday, as Saturday, the highlights were;

Mowing the lawn before a thunderstorm came through/

Walking the dogs in a new place.

Phoning my mate, Ratty from Wales.

Giving the wife a damn good tuning.

Today the highlights are

A trip to the secondhand bookstore as a treat for cleaning the house.

Reading of said books purchased.

Tonight; four nations rugby (league) followed by a twenty 20 cricket match on TV, with a bottle (or two) of good wine.

What happened to days of; getting up early with a hangover and a sore cock, getting out on the hill to ride the winds on my paraglider before the boomer thermals kick in, getting home, suicidally thrashing my motorbike to a local crag to set a time, free climbing something exciting, thrashing the bike back to try and beat the pace set on the way out, showering, taking shedloads of drugs before going out in the city centre with a bunch of mates for some beers and possibly a good fight?

When did "happy and content" take over from "adrenaline and excitement"?

I must say, the lawn looks lovely though, and by fuck am I a happy man...

[Gob]

Oops, sorry forgot!

Today also includes; TSC Tigers vs Ramblers Gold at Tuggeranong.

Girls Under 19's Basketball match.

[Reality Bytes]

Did you not watch the Wallabies spoil the All Blacks day trip to Hong Kong? Reasonably entertaining game that was

[The Hen]

You'd have to have had pay TV (in some form) to see that here. We aren't that interested in paying for telly yet.

[Gob]

Today has been made even more exciting, by seeing my first ever wild turtle!!!

(Not running over it was a bonus.)

[dales]

I guess it's better than waking up with a sore cock.

[SisterMaryFellatio]

I have to concur.......

I have hollowed a pumpkin, made dead man finger biccies and meringue ghosts, my son who was going to be a skeleton has now informed me hes going as Shaggy and the dog has to pretend to be Scooby Doo. The therapy bills are gonna be huge!

What happened to the girl who would have been in some kinky witch or slutty devil costume slinging back witches brew, snorting free nose up, and dancing the Time Warp on a table somewhere and scouting the place for the cutest vampire.


Sometimes I miss that girl.

Now the look of pure happiness on my sons face that he has a halloween costume a carved pumpkin and loads of sweeties in his bucket and his daddy looking at me with the same inane grin....is enough to remind me i wouldn't be anywhere else

[Reality Bytes]

You'd have to have had pay TV (in some form) to see that here. We aren't that interested in paying for telly yet.

Will that apply to the Internationals too Hen? Some are being screened by the BBC Wallabies vs Wales is next weekend, if you are missing some of the pay per view games there are live streaming links available quite often, I managed to watch Blues vs Aironi on the pc Friday - it was only being shown on Italian pay per view but they had it on the p2p streams.

[loCAtek]

So, howZ Rattus-Rattus? ...and why he's not posting?

[Miles]

Well Strop old son, it occured to me friday last when I was popping the top of a cold beer at 7 pm, that days past this would be the time I would be leaving for a nights adventure. My most anticipated thought would be just how lucky I would get and where would be the best hunting grounds be. Now, some nights, it is will I sleep in bed or just crash in the recliner watching PBS. Age is the final equalizer.

[@meric@nwom@n]

Humbug. Getting old sucks. If you can't realize that then dementia already had you by the throat.

[SisterMaryFellatio]

Humbug. Getting old sucks. If you can't realize that then dementia already had you by the throat.

[rubato]

Today has been made even more exciting, by seeing my first ever wild turtle!!!

(Not running over it was a bonus.)

Seeing a turtle is a major experience!

I saw a western pond turtle at Wilder Ranch 7 years ago and the memory is still a highlight. I was coming back on the trail from the cliffs and there he was, stopped between the rails of the train tracks (in use back then by the cement plant up the coast) right in the trail. I was worried that a mountain biker might not see him in time, or the train might come, or someone would be tempted beyond resistance by such a handsome and portable turtle to turtle-nap him. So I picked him up and moved him in the direction he was pointing into the weeds along the verge. The brief experience of air travel must have excited him because his legs were moving before he hit the ground and he showed me a very quick turtle-sprint into the undergrowth.

yrs,
rubato

[oldr_n_wsr]

I see wild turtles all the time. Up at teh lake house we have eastern painted, snapping, mud and musk turtles. Here on LI we have some of the same in addition to the Box turtle (which is actually a tortoise). We have a box turtle in the neighborhood who visits my yard every couple of weeks.

ETA
and I have a pet red eared slider which my wife found on our driveway about 10 years ago. They are not native to this area and probably would not have survived the winter so we took him in

[loCAtek]

San Ho still has turtles in it's creeks and reservoirs. It's very heartening to see them floating or sunning themselves, in some of the most surprising man-made places. I take that to mean, we haven't polluted the natural waters to the point that it's stopping the turtles from coming back, no matter how often we try to push them out.

[Gob]

I see wild turtles all the time. Up at teh lake house we have eastern painted, snapping, mud and musk turtles. Here on LI we have some of the same in addition to the Box turtle (which is actually a tortoise). We have a box turtle in the neighborhood who visits my yard every couple of weeks.

Lovely, but my being from the UK, which does not have native turtles*, still made it a big thrill for me.


*There are small colonies of released imported turtles, ex-pets.

[oldr_n_wsr]

San Ho still has turtles in it's creeks and reservoirs. It's very heartening to see them floating or sunning themselves, in some of the most surprising man-made places. I take that to mean, we haven't polluted the natural waters to the point that it's stopping the turtles from coming back, no matter how often we try to push them out.

You want to know the number one predictor of pollutions/man made screwing with the environment? Look to the frog. It has been my experience that in the last 20-30 years the frog population has plummeted. I used to routienly see toads in my back yard and I haven't seen one in years. Up at the lake where bull frogs, lepord frogs and common green frogs (let alone toads) were once so common you could barely avoid seeing them, stepping on them or running them over with your car, they all but disappeared. Where once the summer night was filled with teh bellowing of large bull frogs it is now almost silent. Now our lake is no where near polluted (the association has it tested every two years) I think the overall environment is decaying.

and it's not just the frogs. Where we used to have an overabundance of water snakes and garter snakes, I have not seen one of each in two years and the one I did see I had to go looking for. Time was where you came across at least one a day without even trying to find them.

I don't know what it all means, but I have been going to this lake since I was 4 yo (we got the house in 1987 and before that we stayed at a B&B straight across teh lake for at least a week every year from 1962 til 1987) and I have seen the changes.

Haven't seen many baby turtles lately either. Usually we find a nest hatching on our property in the spring. Been two years since then. I have seen more than one couple doing the "mating swim" so hopefully there will be babies this spring.

[SisterMaryFellatio]

San Ho still has turtles in it's creeks and reservoirs. It's very heartening to see them floating or sunning themselves, in some of the most surprising man-made places. I take that to mean, we haven't polluted the natural waters to the point that it's stopping the turtles from coming back, no matter how often we try to push them out.

You want to know the number one predictor of pollutions/man made screwing with the environment? Look to the frog. It has been my experience that in the last 20-30 years the frog population has plummeted. I used to routienly see toads in my back yard and I haven't seen one in years. Up at the lake where bull frogs, lepord frogs and common green frogs (let alone toads) were once so common you could barely avoid seeing them, stepping on them or running them over with your car, they all but disappeared. Where once the summer night was filled with teh bellowing of large bull frogs it is now almost silent. Now our lake is no where near polluted (the association has it tested every two years) I think the overall environment is decaying.

and it's not just the frogs. Where we used to have an overabundance of water snakes and garter snakes, I have not seen one of each in two years and the one I did see I had to go looking for. Time was where you came across at least one a day without even trying to find them.


Have to disagree...we have an overabundance of frogs and toads here. Cane toads are vile things and should never have been introduced here. Green Tree Frogs are soooooo cute and we have atleast one on our windows and doors each night. Snakes.....well anything without legs IMHO should be made into handbags and shoes.....but Pythons we have here most are over a coupla metres (they stretch accross the entire road) and there have been so many dogs and cats bitten by Brown's this year its not funny. meeb the Eco systems is doing well here in the rainforest but apparently its the first place to suffer when its all screwed up!

I don't know what it all means, but I have been going to this lake since I was 4 yo (we got the house in 1987 and before that we stayed at a B&B straight across teh lake for at least a week every year from 1962 til 1987) and I have seen the changes.

Haven't seen many baby turtles lately either. Usually we find a nest hatching on our property in the spring. Been two years since then. I have seen more than one couple doing the "mating swim" so hopefully there will be babies this spring.

[Jarlaxle]

I have to concur.......

I have hollowed a pumpkin, made dead man finger biccies and meringue ghosts, my son who was going to be a skeleton has now informed me hes going as Shaggy and the dog has to pretend to be Scooby Doo. The therapy bills are gonna be huge!

What happened to the girl who would have been in some kinky witch or slutty devil costume slinging back witches brew, snorting free nose up, and dancing the Time Warp on a table somewhere and scouting the place for the cutest vampire.

I don't know...but if you find her, can you post pictures?!

*ducks and runs*

[oldr_n_wsr]

Have to disagree...we have an overabundance of frogs and toads here. Cane toads are vile things and should never have been introduced here. Green Tree Frogs are soooooo cute and we have atleast one on our windows and doors each night. Snakes.....well anything without legs IMHO should be made into handbags and shoes.....but Pythons we have here most are over a coupla metres (they stretch accross the entire road) and there have been so many dogs and cats bitten by Brown's this year its not funny. meeb the Eco systems is doing well here in the rainforest but apparently its the first place to suffer when its all screwed up!

Send some frogs up here.