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I very nearly stopped watching Grace and Frankie in the middle of Season 7. It had been so long since the previous episodes aired and it dragged a bit. I’m so glad I stuck with it though. The ending(s) were spot on. So good to see old folk (and excellent actors) on TV. 📺 🥲

Screen Shot from Grace and Frankie, showing Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.
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Misty morning. Cobweb. Flax spear.

Dewy cobweb on a flax spear.
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Naughty little House sparrows sitting on the roof (pooping in the gutter that supplies our drinking water). 🐦

Update: the photo I exported at Medium resolution looked terrible. I’ve replaced it with a better version.

Two sparrows on the edge of a roof, with blue sky behind.

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Hey southern hemisphere types: do some sky watching over the next few mornings before dawn: The Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower Is About to Light Up The Skies, Here’s How to See It. ☄️

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Meanwhile, the Australian coots were having a bit of a dust-up (volume up). 🐦

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To my delight, this morning’s walk brought me two Kakīānau, Black swans with 4 cygnets, already swimming. 🐦

Two adult swans with 4 grey cygnets, on a placid lake.

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Sasha 🐶 was not a cooperative model today, either before grooming or after.

Hairy small black dog before grooming, face to camera.
Hairy dog curled up on rug.
Trimmed dog standing with head down.
Trimmed dog facing camera (with my hand supporting her head).
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Not too bad to while away a few hours: A Welsh Murder Mystery Box Set Books 1–4 by Cathy Ace 📚:

women of the WISE Enquiries Agency turned their backs on their previous careers to work together to help others.

‘Enquiries’ rather than ‘detecting’ is an interesting notion.

Book cover: A Welsh Murder Mystery Box Set.
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The Alton Brown Shepherd’s Pie I cooked tonight was delicious. The photo doesn’t do it justice.

Potato top minced beef pie.
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[Accidentally, while cooking] confirmed the smoke alarm still works. 👍

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Touching. Pied Stilt. 🐦

Black and white wading bird, reflected, with bills almost touching.
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Kāpiti Island rises from the dawn mist.

Large island as seen across the sea.
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This Karoro, Black-backed gull was keeping a close eye on me this morning. 🐦

Large black and white gull floating on the sea.
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I did a heap of things today that I wanted to do. Some are unfinished, and that’s fine. The sky was blue, the sun warm, the day was still. The air is clean and I listened to birds. How fabulous to be alive! 🤩

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Fake puppies!:

Police urge potential new pet owners to be wary following an influx of scams involving fake puppies and cryptocurrency. … potential red flags…
[the scammers] will often use colourful text, Emojis and exhibit poor grammar.
… payment via cryptocurrency

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This post by @gregmoore reminded me of this day back in 2003 when Aphra 🐈, on top of the shower, was wondering if there was a yet higher place to reach.

Black cat on top of the shower.
Black cat on top of the shower and almost touching the ceiling with her ear tips.
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Aotearoa New Zealand is right in the middle of a giant high today, giving us cold clear nights and warm blue sky days. And no wind! 🤩

earth :: a global map of wind, weather, and ocean conditions

Map showing Aotearoa New Zealand at the centre of a high pressure system.
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Things fell into place today for Deb and me to eat dinner out. We visited for the first time Nanyang Flavours in Shannon, a 35 minute drive from home, where I had Nasi Goreng. It was a very large meal and extremely delicious. I have leftovers for tomorrow. 🥳

A large plate of rice with vegetables, chicken and tofu.
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Nothing special: just a photo from when I was walking Sasha 🐶 back along the lane to home, on a perfect morning. Blue skies, warm sun, not a breath of wind, silence apart from birds.

Blue sky behind trees and shrubs, looking along a dirt lane.
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This was such an interesting episode of Lingthusiasm: What it means for a language to be official. It’s way more complicated than I’d ever thought.