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Hello, Elle!
The charity money thing is very suspect.
But it is from Daily Mail, so not necessarily gospel!
Laura Trott has plenty of money.
She has gained several good advertising contracts.
So, a bit iffy, that story.
But, Wiggins got an advantage with the injections, which he denied having, in his book.
He and Team Sky may not, strictly speaking, have broken the rules, but boy did they bend them!
I agree with Tom Dumoulin.
Anyone whose asthma was bad enough to require injections should not be riding Grand Tours. They are ill!
Very shady, indeed!
I am very pleased for Laura and Jason!
Sun is out here, as soon as I came home!
May have another dander, later.

Hi, Rusty!
You are in fine fettle today - two walks!
Or do I mean in fine /high "feather"?!
I am having trouble with my desk top......it is supposed to do its updates at night.........but for some mysterious reason it keeps interrupting me to attempt to do them now!
It is insisting on over-ruling me!
Help!
Technology is taking over!
I think this would be a good point for me to go out for walk!
The computer might have finished its shenanigans by the time we get back!
But if I am silent for the rest of the day, you will know "IT" has won!
(Sorry, very bad pun.....)
Hopefully, catch you later!

Good afternoon, Elle!
How's you and the droving getting on?
One of my favourites songs when I was but young, was "Cattle Call" by Slim Whitman.
Some great yodelling in it!
Elvis sang it too, and Emmylou.
It is a fine afternoon with me.
I've had a good day and am in high feather!
Is "hoodwink" in your Brewers?
Not in mine. I was wondering where it came from?
America, perhaps?
I think updates are an imposition we have to tolerate to ensure the 'puters behave properly.
Best done overnight but they often think they know best and do them when they please!

Hi, Rusty!
Home again from our walk - a lovely afternoon after such a miserable beginning to the day!
I have nearly finished the chapter on Cowboys!
Canby has just lost his arm to a marauding Indian.
Your reference to the song "Cattle call" is very appropriate......remember how the lyrics go.....
"The cattle are prowlin', the coyotes are howlin'
Way out where the dogies bawl......"
Only on this muster, the "dogies" are not allowed to ride with the rest of the cattle because they will be unable to keep up with the herd.
Were it not for that first born calf being put in the cook's wagon, it would have been killed.
I cannot find "hoodwink" in my Brewers, either?
What brought it to your mind?

Hello Elle/Rusty,

Just had a look in my 1996 Oxford English Reference Dictionary and it says that 'hoodwink' originally was 'blindfold'; but it does not say how it became changed!

Weather reasonable after a small shower around 2pm.
Hope you are both OK

Hello, Elle,
There will be more on Canby as the saga unfolds!
So, the drive is not finished yet, with you?
It was a tortuous trail across the desert.
Hoodwink?
I just saw it written and wondered at it's origin.
The language is full of words like that.
Nice to know how where they came from.

Hello, Pigale!
I am in "fine fettle" as they say!
I trust you are the same?
Are you missing the ospreys?

Hello Rusty,

I am not bad either Rusty, thanks!
Yes, I definitely am suffering from 'ospreys withdrawal symptoms', though a little less now than at the beginning. Shame there is no feed back on the blog as to the whereabouts of Lassie / Laddie and their offsprings. Hope they are safe

Hi, Rusty!
It is good to know that Canby will reappear in the saga!
I thought I had seen the end of him!
It is the interweaving of the various main characters that gives the story its edge, don't you think?
I am now always wondering who will appear next on the scene!
I looked up "hood wink" in my infamous Chambers.
It gives it as "to deceive ; cheat; blindfold" and then "to cover up; hide (Shakesp)"
I am uncertain as to this Shakespearean reference?
My Chambers is unreliable at the best of times...what does it say in yours?
Any word from Miss O?
Is she having a good time?
I must now think about dinner........ have you had yours?


Hello, Pigale!
Good to hear from you!
Yes, I am fine, thank you!
I am beginning to feel much better - and certainly far more energetic! - now that we are having cooler weather.
Yes, it would be good were we able to learn how the ospreys are faring.
It was interesting to follow their daily progress, wasn't it?

Hello, Elle!
If I remember correctly, Canby turns up in a circus or Wild West show, which visits town.
And I wonder if Levi would pay a visit to his brothers in Lancaster County?
I do not think my Chambers mentions Shakespeare, but "blindfold" rings a bell.
Why "blindfold"?
Miss O is having a great time.
She sent me pics today of her and dolphins.
She said the food is great, too.

Hello, Pigale,
Glad you are well.
Unfortunately, they do not have radio transmitters on the birds, (they say it is too expensive) so we won't know until next year if Lassie and Laddie come back. It would be good to know how they all are getting on, though.

Hi, Rusty!
My efforts to discover more about hoodwink and blindfold brought forth the fact that "a Masonic hoodwink is a type of blindfold used in Masonic rituals of initiation."
I am not sure if this helps? - or complicates the issue!
But there you are......
I am glad that Miss O is enjoying her holiday!
Was she swimming with the dolphins?
What a fantastic experience if so.
I have been speaking on the phone to my eldest grandson.
He was 9 last Wednesday and today had his birthday party.
Ten children all went ten -pin bowling!
He said they had a great time! and he was the only one to produce a strike!
The news on the puppy is good, too. He is home from the vets and gradually improving, although still rather sorry for himself!
No cousin to whom to talk tonight...she is out for the evening!
Riotous living?