Daydream fund challenge part 4

Davesnave

Lila doesn't usually catch birds, or even many mice. She's one of those cats which become very excited, so she crouches and wiggles about, ready to pounce, but usually waits too long for the perfect opportunity and misses out completely!  She's a total wimp, so runs away from the blackbirds, even if there are only two of them.

Izzy's the successful one, but not a killer, more a collector; hence the number of mice, voles, bats and birds we've had to release over the years. Only the shrews seem to perish quickly.

Well, that's a second trip to Rosemoor booked and written off. Heavy rain all day means at least I'll be down at the river some time soon though.

Ted_Head

Well, that's me back aboard - what a strange time that was. I really don't understand this place sometimes.
Monochrome cat is settled in - totally laid back cat & caught 5 mice today that he laid out for us as pressies. He is so easy and has slotted in seamlessly. 

Very hot here today after a few days of mist low cloud and 10 degrees - weird up and down with downpours that must have flooded people out. The midgies are back with a vengeance and I am sporting quite a few clegg bites that really go on and on itching like mad and swell up all red and angry.
Did something I said I wouldn't do again after all the predator strikes and that was get some more hens - just ordinary brown ones. The day before we were due to pick them up I saw a fox strut past the window, It was if it knew that we were getting some. I haven't seen a fox on the croft for years. It didn't half give me a start. 
No eggs as yet but I hope they stay safe. I've kept them in the pen and will probably continue to do so.

Still haven't conquered the garden but just doing a Forth Road Bridge attempt at doing weeding when the midgies allow.
Potted up my peppers - these are ones I grew from pepper seeds out of a supermarket pepper - don't know if they'll come to owt.

Have ordered a stove for the upstairs - that comes next week - I think. So have been juggling stuff around - will we ever be finished? Gosh they are expensive - well - it's the flu pipe and fitting & hearth and all that entails. We got the range off these guys so I trust them to do a good job. 

Saw an amazing house for sale that really got me thinking that if I ever wanted to be less isolated I could go for some thing such as that. People reckon the prices up here are rising as people want a bolt hole - trouble is it doesn't bode well for ordinary people who just want a house & a bit of ground.
Hark at me blethering away.

pink_poppy

Lila is gorgeous, Dave  poor puss being mobbed by blackbirds though.
Ted, good to see you back and I'm glad monochrome cat has settled in...it didn't take him long    There are midges galore here too, I got bitten on the nose and various other places last night!! I'm thinking of starting to take daily antihistamines (just cheap ones from Aldi) to see if that helps with the itching. I seem to remember you saying a while ago that you were given or bought some cream from Boots that was supposed to be quite effective, can you remember what it was??

pink_poppy

Anyone know what this plant is??

Davesnave

pink_poppy said:

Anyone know what this plant is??

Probably its the elderberry, Sambucus nigra "Black Beauty.'

Davesnave

Ted_Head said:

Well, that's me back aboard - what a strange time that was. I really don't understand this place sometimes.

  Hurrah, the prodigal returns!   You weren't off on one of your political adventures again, were you, Ted?  Waste of time that, especially on MSE.  

In my world, the important stuff is all run by groups connected with the military, industry and organised crime; Eisenhower told us as much in 1961, so it's kinda late to worry about it. Politicians simply get to fiddle at the edges after we've all argued with each other.....  So you might as well just enjoy your cat and your croft. They're real and healthy.

Sorry, bit of a rant there, but seriously, I'm not planning to take on the CIA or the Mafia any time soon. If I could just nail that bugar who keeps throwing bottles into our hay field I'd be more than content for now! 15 at the last count....

in_my_wellies

Davesnave said:

Ted_Head said:

Well, that's me back aboard - what a strange time that was. I really don't understand this place sometimes.

  If I could just nail that bugar who keeps throwing bottles into our hay field I'd be more than content for now! 15 at the last count....

How long does it take to drink a bottle of ...pop...? 
A while ago a friend had a similar problem with ****** Sandwich Boxes, always cheese. Her OH being a bit of an obsessive watched in wait. It turned out to be a young teen girl on her way home. Her mother didn't get evening dinner until late so the girl bought sandwiches from the local shop on her way home, she finished eating them by my friends house and threw away the 'evidence' so mum wouldn't know. 

in_my_wellies

Much needed rain but that's enough now! All water butts are full. All guttering fully tested and working.

Pink Poppy - I'd forgotten about black elderberry, a perfect size for a garden. Berries are edible too if cooked but too much syrup can have side-effects  Raw berries are poisonous. 

It's probably just me but I find it strange how every year a certain crop excels for no obvious reason. Fingers crossed but this year it's cucumbers. This year I've ended up with 8 plants as I replanted because germination was slow. 6 plants are 4' tall already and I've got 5" cucumbers on 3 plants already (now for others to tell me I'm behind). Tomatoes on the other hand are OK but weedy specimens, pepper also.  Potatoes are struggling after being frosted. 
Last year it was a bumper crop of French beans and the year before my chard plants were so big they could be seen from space. All about timing I suppose 

Davesnave

Don't worry, your cucumbers are well ahead of ours wellies. OTOH we have courgettes and plenty of green toms.

Our chickens eat elderberries, but they don't let on about the side effects. My folks used to make undrinkable sweet wine with them, but the cordial from the flowers was lovely.

We know who's throwing the bottles, but it's always after dark. It's a very calculated attempt to ruin a field which has taken years to get into the condition it's in now. That's the issue. If we'd failed here, like the last incumbent, we'd be fine examples of how 'furreners' are rubbish at farming. Thing is, we aren't that 'furren,' especially me. I come from 10 miles up the road!

pink_poppy

Of course it's an elder, how could I have missed that, they were the bane of my life (the common weed one) in my last garden  I could have made gallons of elderflower cordial with the amount we had... I do think the black one with pink flowers instead of white is very pretty though.
Littering is something I will never understand there's never an excuse for it imo and even worse when it's a neighbour and it's deliberate