Preparedness for when

[Deleted User]

Brilliant, so pleased it's what you wanted pet, enjoy!

[Deleted User]

The nice weather didn't last long.

It's piddling it down, here.

Cheapskate

I got that book, too mar - great, innit? Thanks MrsL

Bob, it's persisting down here, too, so glad we went to the local beerfest yesterday, it was glorious weather then.

A xo

[Deleted User]

I'm hoping it improves, before next week.

I'm off on holiday then.

GreyQueen

Pertiddling down here, too. Managed to spend an hour shuttling weeds* from the allotment to the tip, popped into a supermarket to buy some more passata cartons, to top up what I used this week. And some medicinal chocolate, of course.

Got home very slightly rained-upon and then it threw it down. Mucky old day. Based on typical form, it'll turn nice next week when I'm stuck indoors doing the day job.

* bad not-suitable-for-composting weeds; horsetail, bindweed (both flavours), seeding mallow and seeding fat hen etc.

elaine241

Hello All
I am still lurking around but not had anything interesting or useful to say!
Im also getting back into work after having 6 months off with sepsis etc which is resulting in me being asleep by 8.30pm a lot of evenings!!

We have managed something exciting ( well to me) our first collection of honey from our bees. We spun 4 frames and had about 8 half pound jars of honey. Considering it was all a bit hit and miss and learning as we went along I think we did quite well. The weather has been so up and down here the poor things dont know if its summer or autumn. They are working hard on a lot more honey so hopefully we can add a lot more jars to our stash.
My veg patch looks like a jungle as I have not had time or inclination to weed it. The beans are like triffids and the pumpkin and squashes have spread all round the plot. The fruit has gone bonkers again this year with a huge crop of currants and raspberries. I never seem to get strawberries even though I plant them they get scoffed by the kids before I see them.
I have a plum tree that I think will be laden with fruit for the first time, considering I bought it as a cherry tree a few years back I am quite surprised!

Preps wise I have been making jam, jellies, fruit based booze and bottling /freezing the best fruit. I am going to try fruit leathers in the dehydrator to see how they come out.
Finally I added to my hen collection last night with 7 hens from a free range unit that are changing over flocks; for £20 delivered a bargain!

Its been persisting down here most of the day and the clouds have come down so its nice and misty as well, just what you expect for a July day in Wales! :-)

1Tonsil

Just a quick update, we are currently between two heatwaves and the second is expected from tomorrow. Heat added to humidity is not nice.... we last went to the beach a week ago as it was too hot for us even in the shade and we both got sunburn walking back to the car park with all the beach gear, just a five minute walk. I have no idea how the tourists manage to stay on the beach most of the day in this kind of heat. I just hope they are well hydrated and well covered in sun slap.

We went away for four days to cool off on the mainland, to our favourite spot by a lake in the mountains. It was dryer and two degrees cooler. We got seventy five percent off the ferry fair and a five star hotel for just fifty pounds a night for both of us, including a huge buffet breakfast. It was a lovely quiet break and we both really enjoyed it.

Now home again. We went to the bank and they refused us access to our sterling account, which had a cheque that had cleared last month in it. I had a row with the bank manager and he would still not let us exchange the money for euros. I am going to try again tomorrow, but if we have no luck I am going to take it to the Bank ombudsman. It has left us short of money. We can draw on the UK visa but that is an expensive way to live.

The good news is, before we got short on the cash flow, our electric bill was 85 euros cheaper than the last four month bill..thanks to installing LED light bulbs and using the solar panel to heat the hot water. We also paid our taxes when the bill arrived, as it was much less than last year if we paid it immediately. Luckily we had left enough in another account to pay the mortgage. Even if we had access to change the sterling, we can only take sixty a day, so would have to go for several days to save enough cash to pay a bill.

Thank goodness we have lots of food and fuel stocks and I have replenished my stocks of fruit and veg by buying from my friends, who have a smallholding near my village. It has helped so much being prepped. Even though the deal was accepted by the government, I see shops empty of locals, and only tourists in the other businesses. On the mainland the main sight was the closed down shops and winter building damage that no one could afford to repair. It is such a shame. This winter is going to be horrendous, for many reasons.

craigywv

bad to hear about your situation 1tonsil,i constantly think of you and your husband when the news talks about Cyprus,its fortunate you have plenty of provisions/food etc in store unlike many I have seen on the news. hope you get sorted with bank xxx pouring out of the heavens here N.Ireland,usual summer weather.on a different note I was sat here early this morning and a random thought entered my head, why do we not pay water rates!!!!!!!!!!!! so googled iit and apparently away in the beginning when our two sides decided to "talk" together they decided it was too irrelivent to discuss such trivial things as water rates !!! so they agreed to agree on no water rates......................ANYWAY getting side tracked here I have no interest in politics I was more interested in something else that I read, apparently N.Ireland has more water than most of England(I could believe that it never stops raining)we have a fresh water lake the biggest in the U.K. Lough Neagh and we get more than 40% of our water from this alone!!!!!!!!!!!! I was very surprised at this ...you learn something everyday. I do know we pay rates which is like council tax/water rates combined but never looked into it properly so very glad I googled it. well away to beat my way through rain to get to blackcurrant bushes as the rain is beating the fruit onto the ground and the other bush is going to break with weight of fruit I look well with orange poncho on and pink flip flops! hoping to get as much fruit off bushes as did last week xxx have a lovely Sunday all xxx

ALIBOBSY

Doveling wrote: »

Got a good winter 3 in 1 jacket today. Very pleased with it.

A while ago we were offered a chicken coop and small run. Don't know whether to take up the offer or not.
Bit worried about vermin.
We kept hens at our previous house but here the garden is much smaller and we have some decking, sheds and three gardens adjoining ours.
I also saw a rat running across the picnic area at the park across the road from us.
Anyone an urban hen-keeper on here? Advice please

Also need to get some mouse mesh for the airbricks round our house.
Jax no longer allows any cats in our garden :rotfl:

We worried a bit about rats but had no trouble until last year (we had, had chickens for about 6 years until then). We spotted one rat run across the fence and neighbour who hates them-grew up on a farm and terrified of the !!!!!!s, got some poison and tracked down where the rat was coming from. Another neighbour had a tree stump with a hole in it and they were nesting and feasting on the bird food she was putting out.

Never saw any again, no bodies or anything.

Mind you we do have two cats as well so that might help and as I say the only rat we have ever seen was on the fence between us and neighbour-probably foraging for the nest in the garden behind us.

We are also what many people would class as semi rural so I suspect we don't have as many rat issues here. TBH lived in this area since the late 70's and this was the first rat I have seen.

Keep the feed secured and feed only in the morning so the chickies clear it and non is around for and little visitors.

Ali x

Runcorn_Bridge

The Film last night in the park was wonderful, such a good experience. So glad of the fleece/waterproof jacket, blanket etc. as it did get very cold and damp sitting there.
Most of my stuff is from camping and narrowboating and it's good to know it'll do double duty. iykwim.
Watching what the other 'cinema goers' had brought to eat was interesting.. bubbly, cold Indian curry side dishes, flasks of 'tea', pizza, pasta salad and, inspired... CHIPS straight from the chippy, now why didn't we think of that.
I'm looking forward to the next outing.