Is it the end of the world?

Two major earthquakes in quick succession and now this? What is going on?

RSPCA investigates mystery of starling flock that fell out of the sky

"The RSPCA is investigating the sudden death of more than 100 starlings that witnesses claim simply fell from the sky and landed in a front garden.

Julie Knight, a nurse, returned home from a shift at Glastonbury hospital in Somerset to find her small lawn in Coxley littered with scores of dead and dying birds.

The RSPCA has so far failed to find a reason for the birds’ deaths. Disease, toxic chemicals, poison gas clouds and flying into a building or power lines are all considered unlikely or have been discounted.

The birds were close together when they died as most of the corpses fell within the 12ft diameter of Mrs Knight’s garden. Several were still alive and had to be put down when a vet arrived.

Mrs Knight was told by a neighbour that the flock “fell” from the sky at 4pm on Sunday, half an hour before she arrived home. She said: “One of my neighbours said they literally seemed to just fall out of the sky. About 70 were dead straight away.

“She said it was like something out of a horror film. It was absolutely terrifying. The sky was raining starlings.” RSPCA animal welfare officer Alison Sparkes was alerted by police and discovered that most of the birds had broken beaks, broken legs and wings and abdominal injuries consistent with impact, but were otherwise in a healthy condition."

Curly Hair

Robin with curly hair - yay or nay?

Carvery

Today, Steve and I went to this pub called Red Lion which had a carvery that was sooo good and it was only £3.95 per person!




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Ice

It hasn't snowed again but it has been very cold, with the daily high's not reaching above freezing temps - so nothing has melted. Even with the sun out all day today, it still wasn't enough to melt anything. This is also very unusual for England - the average high's in the winter are usually in the low 40's. It normally will dip below freezing occasionally but not consistantly for this length of time.

It's so cold that the majority of the water on the quays has frozen over. I was under the impression that just the frosty-looking bits of water were frozen (which was about 10% of the water in visual range from our apartment) but I just noticed the birds WALKING on what I thought was unfrozen water. Now, either birds have suddenly inherited the abilities of Jesus Christ or what I previously thought was unfrozen water is actually frozen - making the quays more like 80-90% frozen. I'm really surprised by this because the quays have a large filtration system that I thought created enough current to stop the water from freezing. Plus, I've simply never seen the quays freeze over this much.

I'd take a picture of the birds walking on water but it's cold out there and warm in here. But it was really amusing to watch a swan come in for a landing on the ice and not being able to stop sliding - wish I'd gotten a video of that!

Suck in the snow

We're just around the corner from work and we're blocked by this idiot woman trying to drive a sports car in the snow




That's Steve and the guy in the car behind us trying to push her out of the rut she keeps getting into. I did get out and help once myself. Been here 15 mins.

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Snow!

The snow hit hard overnight, looks like at least 6 inches







The pictures aren't great but they're from my phone and no editing. This is major for England! That car on the second pic that looks like it's turning - it's suck in the snow. Nothing has been plowed or even salted - buses aren't running, it's like the end of the world!

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Happy New Year!

Okay, I may be a few days late on the Happy New Year but better late than never, right?

Well, Steve and I did a whole lot of nothing over the break, which is why I haven't posted. I spent most of it reading in my PJs - it sounds unproductive but hey, I finished three books in three days! How many of you can say that, huh?

Well, Steve and I's New Years Resolution is to start eating better. Ever since we got back from Jamaica, it was like "okay, I don't need to look good in a bikini for several months" and we've both been eating poorly. Not that Steve needs to look good in a bikini...

Anyway, point being that so far, we've started eating better (with the exception of Bailey's). Tonight, we cooked cod with a breadcrumb, lemon zest and parmesan crumble, fried and then broiled (for a crispy top) in lemon juice and olive oil - with balsamic roasted new potatoes on the side. It was really good! Steve still does most of the cooking but I help by grating, chopping, peeling, etc and I also clean up. Although, I'm not convinced it's safe for Steve to continue cooking - he seems to always manage to either cut himself or nearly set something on fire. My food may not turn out as nice but at least when I cook, I don't worry about burning the whole building down.

On another note, it's been unusually cold here in England, with day time highs only a few degrees above freezing. So it's still icy and we're still getting occasional light dusting's of snow (but the forecasts are saying there's another big storm coming). I will keep you posted.