Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

Wow! Your re-vamped garden area now looks splendid, WM. All that, and jam too! Now, don't let Farway and his interestingly-shaped chainsaw art lead you down dangerous paths. Remember, any day someone finishes chainsawing with both sets of hands and feet intact, is a win. Perhaps climbing roses and/or clematis might be safer on your old tree.

pink_poppy said:

Dusty, you still have no car and I still have no phone... Maybe tomorrow...
I love the pic of the Navelwort - I've seen similar here on walls and have always thought I should take a pic. Is that a house it's growing on?? I like the look of it, whatever it is...

 We have the car back and a large hole in our bank balance, considering what was done, but the garage used is thorough. The navelwort was growing on the posh old property with the Mediterranean style courtyard. Here's a picture. You might not like the maintenance that goes with these old houses, though! Looks like a re-thatch is on the cards here soon.

Working_Mum said:

Dusty I am sure you'll present the correctly phrased report to the council after Bat Woman' report has been reviewed  

This was prophetic! One way to offset the car and other bills piling up here, is to dispense with the planning advisor for this stage. After all, we have an on-site architect a tame structural engineer and the bat lady. I'm therefore trawling the council's stash of previously successful applications to establish how professionals present their client's cases. So far, it looks similar to the way we DIYed our two submissions last year. The creative stuff happens after this initial process, which is to show that an existing building fits certain legal and physical criteria. Some rules are a trifle woolly, but our barn isn't 'marginal' in any respect.

A very misty start here, with the prospect of a fine day, so naturally, I'm doing a big shop!

twopenny

I missed your post WM but what a lovely sunrise!

 I can see a sunrise in my bedroom mirror while I lay in bed and it's around a large palm tree so it feels like I'm somewhere exotic - just for a while

Love that totem Farway.........what wonderful imagination and execution. When are you starting on yours ;)It should have a robin on it.

Car is home, went for a drive. The tourists have taken all the milk from the roadside fridge for the last week which is a It happens with all the roadside stalls in August. But I haven't yet dared to turn off the engine when I'm out!

Not a lot happening today. Watering and mowing maybe. Some last fruit picking. It's that time of year.

I'll have to live vicariously on here.

pink_poppy

That property is stunning, Dusty. I can see what you mean about the upkeep of it though, the window frames in your other pic looked like they also needed some tlc.
Glad you got your car back, even if you are a few £££s lighter. I'm still waiting for my phone, but I've tracked it this morning and it's on the van for delivery, although it doesn't say when that might be... it was supposed to be next day delivery and this is the third day

Glad you have your car back too, twopenny. Fingers crossed it starts for you the next time you use it.

It's one of those days where the weather changes every 5 minutes - raining earlier, not raining now, raining later...

Just had more pterodactyls fly over - I don't think they even tried to get into a 'V' formation today.

Dustyevsky

pink_poppy said:

 I'm still waiting for my phone, but I've tracked it this morning and it's on the van for delivery, although it doesn't say when that might be... it was supposed to be next day delivery and this is the third day

You live somewhere even more distant from the warehouses than me. Stuff comes eventually, but not always to the right place. I came home the other day to find a 5' tall monolithic-looking  box in the boot room. It was weighty, so I was lucky the sack truck wasn't far away. The people for whom it was meant wouldn't have been capable of collecting it.

However, my bargain seeds, flagged-up by Farway, have arrived at last. Picture later.

twopenny

Heck we have vanishing posts here - Dusty's big post wasn't there when I posted but there's a 3/4hr difference! Much like WMs.

So to all, I'm not ignoring you.

PP I hate that kind of weather. I'd rather it made up it's mind so I can deal with it.

Sunny here.

Farway

Sun is back, it poured yesterday afternoon & evening, so I'm not watering today but forecast is back to hot for weekend, so I expect to be out there watering tomorrow

Seems all cars are now back with now impoverished owners , DS's car is in for service today, he is using crying & bag of cash emojis so guessing he is an associate member of the broken car club

No gardening today, off to volunteer leaving “do” this afternoon

Dustyevsky said:

pink_poppy said:

 I'm still waiting for my phone, but I've tracked it this morning and it's on the van for delivery, although it doesn't say when that might be... it was supposed to be next day delivery and this is the third day

You live somewhere even more distant from the warehouses than me. Stuff comes eventually, but not always to the right place. I came home the other day to find a 5' tall monolithic-looking  box in the boot room. It was weighty, so I was lucky the sack truck wasn't far away. The people for whom it was meant wouldn't have been capable of collecting it.

However, my bargain seeds, flagged-up by Farway, have arrived at last. Picture later.

Hope the phone arrives today PP

My seeds, from the same offer, are on the way, I was hoping they'd be here by now so I could get some Kong coleus sown. Looks like a job for the weekend if they arrive.

I wonder who woke up a few weeks back, twice, to find a bag of compost & bottle of Jersey milk on their door step instead of on mine?

Never did get to the bottom of it, did get my money back at least. Now I stick to Wednesday delivery, at least that one arrives.

twopenny said:

Love that totem Farway.........what wonderful imagination and execution. When are you starting on yours ;)It should have a robin on it.

Car is home, went for a drive. The tourists have taken all the milk from the roadside fridge for the last week which is a It happens with all the roadside stalls in August. But I haven't yet dared to turn off the engine when I'm out!

If I were brave, and rich, enough I would get the two Protected oaks at the volunteer place carved into totems

We have had updates & council insist they have to come down, insurance co for complaing neighbour has quotes for the felling, only needs work to start sometime.

If I were made of money I think I'd get them carved like the Old Folk road crossing signs, the volunteer place is for old folk

https://www.signs2safety.co.uk/products/Elderly-people-crossing.html

Must be a milk shortage 2P, it was the one Out of Stock item in my Asda delivery. At least milk is not as easy to hoard like loo rolls.

Fingers crossed for engine restart. You need to change it to cartridge start, at least it would give some satisfaction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpDI1QGEj4w

Working_Mum

Good morning everyone,
I LOVE the idea of chainsaw carving Farway - we have an office park set in the grounds of an old children's home (the landlord used to arrive by helicopter each month and collect the rent in cash! She was a real character) and they have a big grizzly bear up on it's hind quarters at the entrance to the grounds. I am so clumsy I don't think my hands and feet would be safe!

The old cherry half way down my garden has a huge split in the bark but half of it still flowers and grows leaves each year whilst the other half just supports it. The larger stump at the end of my garden belongs to my neighbour - I planted a passionflower down the bottom of my garden and it has clambered along the fence and up and over and covers the old oak stump. It looks great covered in the flowers at this time of year. The neighbours hasn't complained so I think I've got away with it. I was considering growing another climber up the old cherry tree Dusty so watch this space.

Hope your car woes soon subside Farway - it's hard getting things done when you've no wheels.

I agree with you 2p that plants seem very confused at the moment. A beautiful magnolia near me is in it's second flowering. It looks lovely but I worry it may be confused come hibernation time. A tropical sunrise sounds a great way to start the day  my bedroom overlooks our rather large and grubby river (with a the once longest single span suspension bridge on it) but from my room it twinkles and glistens and it could be somewhere much more exotic. I hadn't realised what a lovely view I had until we moved in and I can spend hours looking at the wildlife in my garden or across to the south bank. a bit like watching a sleeping baby (or puppy) I can waste far too much time 

R0meo is four years old PP - he is tiny (but mighty) and is always being mistaken for a pup. He is a perfect size for me - his only draw back is that he is ball mad and I have to constantly throw his ball for him whenever I am doing any work in the garden. He is obsessed with it - he's a cockerpoo but definitely the cocker spaniel genes are strong in this one.

My thoughts are turning to the weekend now - I am stuck work all week but it is where I make my plans  so I'm going to try and build my greenhouse tomorrow and then sort more straight edged tiles for YBE and her sitooterie. I have to squeeze all of the contents of my now sold shed into my almost full garage as it's my Mum's birthday party on Thursday and I need it all to look nice for her. Nothing like a deadline to get procrastinator me focussed.

It's warm here today but we had rain last night so I didn't need to water anything this morning.

Have a productive day everyone,

WM

twopenny

That dog is gorgeous. If he needs a new home let me know. There's one just like him down at the garden centre now. Has to stay in the office because he can't stay still and it makes everyone smile when he escapes

I had a plum tree like your cherry. After 90yrs it had every thing wrong with it but it still produced enough plums for me to enjoy.

That tractor made me laugh Farway. It's the sort of thing that goes on round here.

I must watch the others later, they look inventive.

If you can't weild a chainsaw how about knitting?

I've been collecting more poppy seeds before they take over the garden. I'm going to have to find somewhere  to scatter them and give joy. Nice job for the autumn.

Also I'd forgotten that I'd made Rosewater earlier, seems the dry affects the fragarance as there's hardly any in the roses now.

And it's time to start cutting lavender. Some goes to neighbours. I used to use it for all sorts but not since I moved so perhaps I should get myself into gear as it's not a long job.

Right off to the library see if I can find better than the rubbish books I picked up last time and some Bramley apples from neighbours for something

YoungBlueEyes

I've only come back on to share a couple of pics and where's my morning post gone?! I'm glad you mentioned disappearing posts 2p or I'd have been paranoid   It was only standard good morning stuff and didn't have any nawtiness in at all so it must have fallen down the back of the matrix... 

From memory - stunning sunrise wm, almost makes up for the still-wrong bricks   Fingers crossed that cars and phones and seeds arrive today. Policemen and tents made me laugh too! I don't know what happened there. No-one's come looking for small dogs, and there's no missing children in the paper so I dunno. His Holeyness ate his breakfast and came to mine for his lunch so it doesn't seem to have been him, this time. We do have foxes about but there'd be more mess surely? Another mystery for the list... It was a bu99er to get rid of though - very thick and sticky Walking Handsome isn't a bother at all. I don't mind picking up poo, it doesn't make me boke, plus I get lots of free goes on all the other people's dogs at the park  

Here's my contribution to today's gallery. Mind I'm that late with it now I might as well have saved them for tomorrow  

A challenge - name that plant (I have the packet for this so I'll know if yous guess right)



Also - the reason I have foot tall mare's tails coming out nowhere is because Death Stare cat is doing it wrong. (I think he was asleep in the shade but the sun moved bless him.) 



That'll do. 

Dustyevsky

I know your plant, Bluey, as we used to grow it as a conversation piece in our front garden in the city. It's impossible to miss! In those cold, dark, pre-boiling days, it would disappear after a harsh winter, but the bulbs were cheap enough.

As for missing posts, well, as you know, a lot of mine have vanished However, as you point out, there's also the glitch in the matrix to consider. Take this morning; as I took hold of the wheely chair in the office, my fingers dislodged something under the seat, which plopped onto the floor. Somehow, I just knew it was a snail! So, how does a snail ascend an office chair on castors, and why is there no slime trail on the carpet in here? Come to think of it, how does a snail get into the house anyway? Mrs Dusty mopped all the floors in this part yesterday and there are no gaps under the doors.

I think the answer to the snail conundrum may lie with a very woolly cat, who knows roughly the time I wake and prefers not to be suddenly hoofed-out of the office. Such undignified scenes really mess with her self-image! Or there's an outside chance, someone in a lab somewhere is experimenting with snail teleportation.

There was a time when everyone seemed to be knitting those clown or scarecrow-like dolls, 2p. I know Mrs Dusty did. Like the rest of the 1980s, where they went is still puzzling me, but you still see the odd one in charity shops. Glad to hear you're mobile again, even if parking up still feels like Russian roulette. If you find a spot on Exmoor with a decent slope, there's always the bump start option.  

My garage's psychology in providing a rather naff courtesy car worked. Driving towards civilisation yesterday, I marvelled at the extra space and the smoother ride of our jalopy.

If I remember correctly, your 'old people' sign came in for a fair amount of stick a few years ago, Farway. Pensioners decided it was not representing them correctly and various other suggestions were made:

 

There doesn't seem to have been much take up, nor does there appear to be one of an older person starting their car with a shotgun; a strange omission.

OT: After a cold night, we seem to be starting dull here, and there's more dullness on the way. It'll be kinder for the holidaymakers travelling here, including some family/friends, but it's the M5 forecast they'll be concerned with, and that's even less predictable than the weather. All running well....at the moment!

As I said, the seeds arrived yesterday. Very pleased with this haul for under £15, especially the Sungold and Bishop's Children, which I was going to buy anyway. We also need the white and apricot foxgloves, as mine are all muddled-up now!

P.S. Mushroom harvested from the lawn. The snails didn't get that one! The other tomato is 'Cherry Falls.'