Daydream fund challenge part 4

Viking_mfw

Dug the holes for my new apple and pear trees yesterday then read the instructions that said to soak the rootballs in water overnight rather than the hour I was expecting. Didn't fancy risking them freezing solid outside so went through a bit of a palaver moving a large tub into the utility room and filling it. My DH was a little surprised to find them there last night! Planted out this morning in the chilly sun. Now figuring where to put in the Victoria plums the inlaws are bringing tomorrow and thinking I'll finally plant out my patio cherries which must be completely potbound.
DH is kindly building me my vertical strawberry frame for growing them in recycled milk bottles. We're away for the first couple of weeks of March and then hopefully it will be warm enough to order plants when we return. I've decided to buy tomato plants this year for growbags but otherwise I am focussing on things which need time to get up to speed - so apart from the fruit trees the rhubarb and maybe an asparagus bed. Has anyone had any luck with asparagus? My mother seems to think it's a waste of effort.

alfie_1

welcome Viking ...
asparagus ! well they seem to take a loooooong time to get established [but maybe that's me having done it wrong] I had asparagus bed when I moved here first year but not seen them since ....


well I had interesting visitors today ! I applied to be a "safe house" for parrots to help a rescue org. bit like a fosterer /assessor befor rehoming. WELL Attila the hun arrived with a commrad ... she listed all the things that were a NO NO before she even sat down [A the H] cant use ...Teflon pans, disinfectant, open fire, air freshner, carpet cleaners, flowers, perfume, any frying with oil, and the list went on.... I was sat in a chair just gawping at her !! I just mumbled "really" ? im not usually lost for words but she just went on and on and on .....she then said I MUST let them have the freedom of the house !! oh and that they may just hate me and I have to leave them alone !
needless to say I withdrew my offer !!!
sadly some take things to extremes... she scared the sh*t out of me !!


Kingston doing great and getting stronger by the day. tried to put a cosy coat on her today... would have had more success putting a jumper on an ostrich !! so she is eu-natural still ..


it is VERY cold here and my oil supply is low ! ordered it last Monday and they say be delivered within 5 working days so tomorrow is the deadline !! if not we are on rations ...


I was going to garden/bonfire tomorrow , still might do a bonnie but going to clean my pigsty of a car instead, picking up Canadian cousin Thursday so don't want her to travel in that !


well keep warm peeps and have a good week.

pink_poppy

Funny you should mention camping, Dave, I've been thinking again about getting a caravan instead of renting...


Lovely pic of the kid, Dafty. He does look a little demonic


I'm jealous of the Victoria plum trees, Viking, they're on my wishlist.


I googled if it was ok to throw avocado out for the birds, Alfie, and apparently they are poisonous to parrots!! I wonder how many other potential foster parents A the H has put off.


lucielle, hope your new job working with your OH works out.

alfie_1

yes, sorry lucielle , good luck with your new job and enjoy your "time out" [if your anything like me, my time out means I work twice as hard and look forward to going back to work !!]

your kids sound like good workers. got good work ethics and they have picked some TOUGH jobs ......

lucielle

Lots of snow here! Yep still working on cleaning the house and todays focus is my room. Wish me luck I'm going in!
L

Davesnave

Hope all you folks Oop norf and in the East are OK, especially being lambing season. Looks bad.:( Think we'll get about 24hrs of the white stuff here, starting tonight, then it'll turn to rain on Friday......hopefully.

Down here, the days have been glorious so far.:D Today, there's more of a biting wind, but with it being 'dry cold' even the -6c at night hasn't seemed so bad. Everything in the polytunnel is wrapped-up, but it's a lottery what will survive. :undecidedWe've gone soft over the last few winters.

Yesterday, I took the opportunity of the bottom field being more 'solid' to collect all the hedge cuttings together and burn them. Just the ones on the top field to do now, but I'm way behind schedule up there.

Fishing starts again in a fortnight! :j

DaftyDuck

Deep snow here, and biting wind coming in now. Went out at 6am to check animals, and snow was 6" deep but stable. It was -5°C then. The animals are all indoors and fine, even little Beelzebub, who has picked up well. But, it's still damn cold in the barn, and the sheep have snowy backs even inside.

Since then, snow has been heavy, wind picked up. Our lane is completely shut with a foot of snow (and potholes now invisible), the main road into/out of village is just about 4 wheel drivable... if you go at walking pace.... Effectively cut off. House outside tap was froz solid, so I freed it with warmth, filled 2 buckets. Came back eight minutes later, and it was rock solid again, with an inch plug of ice. Buckets are now slightly frozen in the four minute journey to the barn (where water is solid in the pipesx, hence carrying stuff) but that ice helps stop it slosh down a leg. My digital weather station has partly given up, but RFID say wind chill was at -14°C.... and I can believe it.

It is cold, it is severe, and I'm glad we don't have a farm-full to care for, and we aren't trying to make a profit! I'm just throwing the calories into the ruminants, and piling hay for equines.... and bird food by the bucket for anyone, not just the doves.

House is warm, but hoping we don't lose our water... It does freeze out, as we are told by the family that farmed here from 1947 to 1980.... That will be difficult, hence all buckets and troughs are full. I do worry for the animals, as they are our responsibility, our friends, and we aren't that experienced - especially at dealing with extremes like this.

It does bring home how lucky we are most of the time, and how progress has helped. The old boy who lived here up to the 80's had an open fire, the cooker, and one electric heater... probably 8kW if he was lucky. I can throw over 80kW out if I push it, even before looking to the many electric heaters hidden away. I did my round of the elderly neighbours to check they were OK, and my favourite reported she'd got "p'tatos tea and milk" so she was fine. I've shoved a barmbrack through her back door; goes well with tea. She fell in love with Beelzebub, and was more worried how he was in the cold than about herself. Lovely bunch on the lane, mainly been here since the farm was a goer, and worked on or for it. Know more than I do, and would help, if they weren't all 90 plus

Rambling, sorry. Yes, it's effing cold and snow now probably nearing 9". But, all is OK so far in Nfrk. I think you lotget it next, as Emma bumbles in for added fun!

... and while finishing that, one of our other geriatrics turned up, to see if we were all right! Admittedly, he's sprightlier than I am, albeit 20 years older, and we've just had a lovely walk round the farm taking photos. Beautiful, if freezing cold and windy! Drifts are beginning... Dog in heaven, nothingcouldeverbethisgoodeveragain mode engaged - repeatedly :D

Good luck all.. Particularly the northern, foreign lot.... You will have real weather, not "play" like we got!:(

alfie_1

good afternoon peeps


well we don't have any of the white stuff yet....yet [apparently due tonight ! ] the wind is gusting across here off the river [beaulieu river which usually gets a windbreak via the IOW ... ] I took 2 bales of hay on my trusty barrow across one field to get to the residents and was struggling to move ! -1 mph ! .... F'ing bitter !
foa; seems to be fine, they do have a big shelter / open stable which fortunately is facing the right way and avoiding this howling wind..
had my heavy duty rubber gardening gloves on to remove ice from troughs with a lump hammer.. scooped out the ice bits and then realised the gloves had frozen ! so my clenched hands remained that way till I eventually prised them off ...
and like you dafty, the first trough had started to ice over within minutes again !!
id rather it snow and we lose this awful wind !!


driving up to heathrow early tomorrow so hoping its not a blizzard en route ... mentioned the cold to my cousin and she laughed and said she has 3ft of snow [for months now ! ] and -20 with a wind chill of -30 !!!!


like said the animogs are my main concern, they cant do it for themselves and depend on us


keep warm, keep safe and happy sledding... hehehehe

DaftyDuck

My gloves froze solid from pelting the hound with snowballs! Apparently "nothingcouldeverbethisgoodeveragain" again. That was until he found ice on the ditches under the snow and was then pelted with snowballs.... ncebtgea all over again. Until all three of us started...

When I think how he trembled on arrival.... He obviously just needed a good thrashing :D

Now after all that excitement, he's retreated to one of the hearths, hot, where ncebtgea again!

It's a dogs life!
(... while the cats just say... mmm? Oh, it's you! Food or bedtime or... nocantbe botheredatthemomentneedanothersnooze zzzz)

lucielle

Loads more of the white stuff here. OH had to go and rescue DD1 as she broke down last night. Apparently on the way home he did 2 pirouettes in the discovery and then just nonchantly (sp) carried on driving. Luckily I wasn't with him otherwise I'dve still been shrieking yet.


OH took DD1 to work but needed pulling out he decided to stay closed today. DS2 tried to get to work but came home, been a funny old day.


The cooker has stopped working, well the plug the cooker is wired into has stopped working. Luckily we have plenty of beans and bog roll
L