A few years ago we went up to Northland and took a walk through the forest to see Tane Mahuta. There was no sound from any birds. Speaking to the DOC guy in the car park, he told us the problem was pests.
I have just come back from a walk through an incredible small reserve near our house. The sound of birds here was almost deafening. They were mostly Tui, but I did spot some Fantails.
It is nice too no the eradication program is working.
Shopping during #COVID19 is riskier than you might think. This interesting STUDY is locked behind a paywall, but the abstract is fascinating. It combined credit card data with testing data to track infections when people were in shops together.
“Exposure to an infected individual in a store is associated with a significantly higher infection rate in the following week… Transmissions between retail shoppers made a substantial contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
@augieray@Phil_Tanner I've never stopped wearing a mask in shops. I'll stop when we have a truly preventive vaccine and enough of the population have it.
It's really hard to concentrate on while my husband is yelling at the insurance company over billing issue.
They are terrible, and he is fighting the valiant fight. I don't begrudge it at all, but I just can't think!
Our house is super open, so there's nowhere I can get away unless I actually leave the house, and I keep expecting him to be done soon. But as many of you probably know, calls to insurance companies can go on longer than you expect.
@grammargirl I know the feeling! Our house isn't open at all, but it is wooden and without any internal insulation. Sound travels and it creaks. But the biggest two problems for me are:
Every room bar one is either adjacent to or has a good audio path to my study.
My hearing seems to be improving with age. If people talk clearly, and especially if anyone raises their voice, I can hear most of what they say.
@markrichard@caseyliss I honestly support using whatever temperature scale you prefer. What I really hate is arguments over which is best. It’s the one time I considered quitting ATP.
The image shows a claymation-style character resembling a man with reindeer features, standing in a snowy landscape. He has antlers, a bright red nose, and is wearing glasses. He's dressed in a red coat with white fur trim, a green shirt, blue pants, and black boots. Beside him is a small, brown claymation reindeer with white detailing and a surprised expression. In the background, there are snow-covered trees and a few animal tracks in the snow.
My husband had surgery this morning, and I am just so damn grateful he's alive.
It wasn't anything extreme, but it was under full anesthesia, and there are few feelings that hit me harder than seeing someone I love being wheeled away into surgery looking completely vulnerable.
I'm wiped out and signing off for the night, but I hope I passed some of my relief-joy on to all of you.
@grammargirl I don’t often buy hot drinks but there was a time when I’d get a hot chocolate every day, and one time I got this after tiredly placing my order.
I just heard someone say "chocker block" instead of "chock-a-block." That's a new one to me.
A chock is a piece or block of wood, and "chock-a-block" is a nautical term "said of two blocks of tackle run so closely that they touch," according to Etymonline.