The sheep, called Fiona and wearing a huge fleece, had been stranded at the foot of cliffs on the Cromarty Firth for at least two years, with an animal welfare charity having deemed rescue attempts “incredibly complex”. But five farmers managed to haul her up a steep slope, and now plan to deliver her to a farm park. The rescue mission was organised by Cammy Wilson, a sheep shearer from Ayrshire and a presenter on the BBC’s Landward programme, after seeing media coverage of Fiona’s plight.
Speaking in a video posted on Facebook, he said: “We’ve come up here with some heavy equipment and we’ve got this sheep up an incredibly steep slope. She’s in incredible condition. She is about a condition score of about 4.5, she is over-fat – it was some job lifting her up that slope. She is going to a very special place that a lot of you know very well, where you’ll be able to see her virtually every day.”
A dark morning at Casa Luddite. Our little black panther Sweden crossed the rainbow bridge yesterday afternoon just shy of her 14th birthday. Sudden liver and kidney issues.
She joined us for the last 3 years of my chemotherapy journey. She was the one who would lay on my pillow next to my head purring gently and keeping me company. Loved watching cartoons, sports, and Brit tv.
Gonna miss the little goomba for a long time. RIP.
I still have a picture of my old Momcat on the refrigerator. She’s been gone for 30 years.
May your memories be full of love and joy.
RIP little goomba
Although I suspect the backstory would certainly make an interesting made for TV movie. I’m picturing the kids cleaning out the barn and going wtf is this???
@Flat Earth Luddite: I am not a “car person,” somebody that babies their vehicles, washing and waxing them once a week whether they have been driven or not. I am currently driving a 2005 rustbucket Dodge 1/2 ton 4wd p/u with damaged bumpers* on front and back, a dented driver side front fender and a tailgate that is a little askew, with 247K miles on it. I will drive it until the doors fall off.
Besides, my little 12.5 acre homestead keeps me plenty busy all by itself.
A mechanical resto on that Bull will likely set you back well over $150k. Given that the rest of the car is in OK condition and would make a decent runner with lots of patina. One question is why, oh why did someone put that god awful spoiler on it.
Oh I know, oh don’t I know. One of my guilty time killers is going through the daily email from BAT. It’s fascinating to see exactly what people have had stashed away, and in reviewing the sales, I come to the conclusion that there is far too much money in too few pockets.
ETA but boy howdy, they certainly got that turd shiny in the cover shot, eh?
@OzarkHillbilly:
BAT’s got your spare then, unfortunately only 2wd. But the baby blue…
Daily Wire podcaster Matt Walsh said Johnson’s comments were a “full-fledged endorsement of the Left’s racial narrative.”
Far-right anti-Muslim activist Laura Loomer called the new Speaker an “undercover Democrat.”
Pro-DeSantis conservative influencer Pedro Gonzalez wrote that Johnson had “completely internalized left-wing racial libel about white supremacy and privilege.”
And it’s not just about policy, we suspects some window dressing:
Is it just us or does something seem off about this relationship? […] But it’s Michael’s absence on Johnson’s official House website that’s most glaring to Talking Points Memo’s Josh Marshall. There’s no sign of a Black son in family photos or his bio… This erasure has led some to question Michael’s existence, drawing clarification from his office. “When Speaker Johnson first ran for Congress in 2016, he and his wife, Kelly, spoke to their son Michael—who they took in as newlyweds when Michael was 14 years old,” Corinne Day, his communications director, told Newsweek. “At the time of the Speaker’s election to Congress, Michael was an adult with a family of his own. He asked not to be involved in their new public life.
Smart kid! Still, questions abound.
This erasure has led some to question Michael’s existence, drawing clarification from his office. “When Speaker Johnson first ran for Congress in 2016, he and his wife, Kelly, spoke to their son Michael—who they took in as newlyweds when Michael was 14 years old,” Corinne Day, his communications director, told Newsweek. “At the time of the Speaker’s election to Congress, Michael was an adult with a family of his own. He asked not to be involved in their new public life.The Daily Mail exclusive also reports that James went on to have a string of run-ins with law enforcement, beginning after his informal adoption and continuing to the present day. His rap sheet dates back to 2003 and includes drug possession, retail theft, violating a restraining order and other petty crimes, some of which landed him in jail. The father of four was in a Los Angeles court earlier this week on charges of running an illegal cannabis business and possessing brass knuckles, which may be why he surfaced after nearly a decade of silence. Now that James’ dad—er, play parent—has a new, more high-profile job, James knew his invisibility cloak is no longer a match for journalists and motivated social media warriors.
Despite his legal troubles, James, now 40, praised his “adoptive” family. “I always felt loved like I was a part of their family,” he told the Daily Mail. “If the Johnsons hadn’t taken me in as a teenager, my life would look very different today. I would probably be in prison or I might not have made it at all.”
Crime abetment? Never let a good deed go unpunished? Don’t want to get ensnared in red tape, just want to help a kid? Something more nefarious?
Blink. Color us confused—and suspicious.
I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, but don’t let my wishy-washy attitude stop any of you. Make of it what you will.
@Kingdaddy: They should switch to All the King’s Menor maybe one or the others on this list? When I was teaching, I preferred providing a reading list and letting students pick their own poison to trying to teach one book that virtually no one wanted to read, but I’d learned to pick my battles early on.
According to New York Life’s new Wealth Watch Survey, nearly half of the “sandwich generation” – folks with children and elderly family members to look after – report being unable to meet basic living expenses, like food or medical care, in the last year due to caregiving costs.
Wikipedia* tells me “The sandwich generation is a group of middle-aged adults who care for both their aging parents and their own children. It is not a specific generation or cohort in the sense of the Greatest Generation or the Baby boomer generation, but a phenomenon…”
Is it just my imagination, or are the wheels starting to wobble as if they’ll fall of at any moment?
*And yes, I’ve made my contribution Wikipedia’s continued health for this year. Have you?
I have a sixteen-year-old Bombay named Misay. Misay won’t be with us much longer. Till then she loves to sit in my lap while I write on my laptop or have water sprinkled on her back. So she can lick it.
Misay had to go to the vet recently. Other than wanting to jump from the examining table a few times, she was a perfect angel.
When my wife goes out for her daily walk or leaves for work, Misay cries. She probably cries if I’m gone too and she’s left alone.
It’s funny how time works. It’s been the longest and yet the shortest month of my life. Found out who my real friends are, and who are the drama queens, amongst the locals. Discovered I can actually do this shit, even without my Dad.
I still miss him terribly. And my Mom. My Mom is still not very coherent or able to care for herself, even after they took the most recent tumor off her bladder on Friday. I’m not sure if I’ll ever see her again, here at the ranch. It seemed like as soon as she got here, where her and Dad built their lives together, her health cratered. Dying of a broken heart, indeed. I never understood what it looked like, before.
Thank you all, here at OTB, for checking on me. You are the friends I’ve never met, but still care about.
It’s weirdly gratifying that when Mike Johnson says something about his personal experiences (in this instance regarding race), that others understand this as a concession to the left, a failure of ideology, rather than a data point from life.
Which, of course, is what they are doing with trans people too.
Unfortunately, this is what human beings do. All the time.
@Jax: Thanksgiving and Christmas is going to be hard for the both of you. The first missed birthday will also hit hard. Time will lessen the pain though and keeping busy definitely helps. Good luck on avoiding the trap of dwelling on sad thoughts.
Some good news for a Sunday morn:
@OzarkHillbilly:
Some good news indeed. Thanks.
A dark morning at Casa Luddite. Our little black panther Sweden crossed the rainbow bridge yesterday afternoon just shy of her 14th birthday. Sudden liver and kidney issues.
She joined us for the last 3 years of my chemotherapy journey. She was the one who would lay on my pillow next to my head purring gently and keeping me company. Loved watching cartoons, sports, and Brit tv.
Gonna miss the little goomba for a long time. RIP.
@Flat Earth Luddite: Sorry to hear this news. Know that you gave her a good life.
@Flat Earth Luddite:
I’m so sorry. She sounds like a little sweetie.
@Flat Earth Luddite:..
I still have a picture of my old Momcat on the refrigerator. She’s been gone for 30 years.
May your memories be full of love and joy.
RIP little goomba
Okay, now that I’ve choked on my coffee laughing, here’s something for anyone interested in pure heartbreak.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-lamborghini-jalpa-3-2/?utm_source=dm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2023-11-05
Although I suspect the backstory would certainly make an interesting made for TV movie. I’m picturing the kids cleaning out the barn and going wtf is this???
Ozark, you up for a new hobby?
@Flat Earth Luddite: I am not a “car person,” somebody that babies their vehicles, washing and waxing them once a week whether they have been driven or not. I am currently driving a 2005 rustbucket Dodge 1/2 ton 4wd p/u with damaged bumpers* on front and back, a dented driver side front fender and a tailgate that is a little askew, with 247K miles on it. I will drive it until the doors fall off.
Besides, my little 12.5 acre homestead keeps me plenty busy all by itself.
@Flat Earth Luddite:
Sorry for your loss. Take comfort in that there is another cold, wet nose waiting to fill your void.
@Flat Earth Luddite: So sorry for your loss, Luddite.
Dogs do not get DST at all.
@Flat Earth Luddite:
A mechanical resto on that Bull will likely set you back well over $150k. Given that the rest of the car is in OK condition and would make a decent runner with lots of patina. One question is why, oh why did someone put that god awful spoiler on it.
@Sleeping Dog:
Oh I know, oh don’t I know. One of my guilty time killers is going through the daily email from BAT. It’s fascinating to see exactly what people have had stashed away, and in reviewing the sales, I come to the conclusion that there is far too much money in too few pockets.
ETA but boy howdy, they certainly got that turd shiny in the cover shot, eh?
@OzarkHillbilly:
BAT’s got your spare then, unfortunately only 2wd. But the baby blue…
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1980-chevrolet-luv-9/?utm_source=dm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2023-11-05
In case anyone was in doubt about the collapse of the rule of law and democracy in a Trump 2.0 administration:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/05/trump-revenge-second-term/
@Kingdaddy: This just proves all the MAGA bullshit about “weaponizing” the FBI and DoJ is just more accusation-as-confession.
They know their guy would do it–they want him to do it!–so they assume Biden is doing it.
Also from the Washington Post, a school district debates whether to assign To Kill A Mockingbird in English classes:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/11/03/to-kill-a-mockingbird-book-ban-removal-washington/
Perhaps they should also stop teaching Macbeth because it inadequately captures 21st century political corruption?
@OzarkHillbilly:..I will drive it until the doors fall off.
When the doors fall off it will be a Jeep. Keep on truckin’ !
@Sleeping Dog: Indeed it’s easy to find cheap used Ferraris and lambos because maintenance is the real price tag.
Are the MAGAts turning on “one of their own?”
And it’s not just about policy, we suspects some window dressing:
Smart kid! Still, questions abound.
Crime abetment? Never let a good deed go unpunished? Don’t want to get ensnared in red tape, just want to help a kid? Something more nefarious?
I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, but don’t let my wishy-washy attitude stop any of you. Make of it what you will.
@Kingdaddy: They should switch to All the King’s Men or maybe one or the others on this list? When I was teaching, I preferred providing a reading list and letting students pick their own poison to trying to teach one book that virtually no one wanted to read, but I’d learned to pick my battles early on.
ETA: Leave it to The Guardian to have an even more interesting and more eclectic list. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/sep/21/john-sweeneys-top-10-books-on-corruption
BAD HEADLINE PUN TRIGGER WARNING!!!
And the news in the article isn’t any better, either. 🙁
Wikipedia* tells me “The sandwich generation is a group of middle-aged adults who care for both their aging parents and their own children. It is not a specific generation or cohort in the sense of the Greatest Generation or the Baby boomer generation, but a phenomenon…”
Is it just my imagination, or are the wheels starting to wobble as if they’ll fall of at any moment?
*And yes, I’ve made my contribution Wikipedia’s continued health for this year. Have you?
@Flat Earth Luddite: Sorry to hear about your loss.
I have a sixteen-year-old Bombay named Misay. Misay won’t be with us much longer. Till then she loves to sit in my lap while I write on my laptop or have water sprinkled on her back. So she can lick it.
Misay had to go to the vet recently. Other than wanting to jump from the examining table a few times, she was a perfect angel.
When my wife goes out for her daily walk or leaves for work, Misay cries. She probably cries if I’m gone too and she’s left alone.
One month today since my Dad passed away.
It’s funny how time works. It’s been the longest and yet the shortest month of my life. Found out who my real friends are, and who are the drama queens, amongst the locals. Discovered I can actually do this shit, even without my Dad.
I still miss him terribly. And my Mom. My Mom is still not very coherent or able to care for herself, even after they took the most recent tumor off her bladder on Friday. I’m not sure if I’ll ever see her again, here at the ranch. It seemed like as soon as she got here, where her and Dad built their lives together, her health cratered. Dying of a broken heart, indeed. I never understood what it looked like, before.
Thank you all, here at OTB, for checking on me. You are the friends I’ve never met, but still care about.
@Jax: You are very welcome; just let us know if we can help.
It’s weirdly gratifying that when Mike Johnson says something about his personal experiences (in this instance regarding race), that others understand this as a concession to the left, a failure of ideology, rather than a data point from life.
Which, of course, is what they are doing with trans people too.
Unfortunately, this is what human beings do. All the time.
@Jax: Thanksgiving and Christmas is going to be hard for the both of you. The first missed birthday will also hit hard. Time will lessen the pain though and keeping busy definitely helps. Good luck on avoiding the trap of dwelling on sad thoughts.