Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

Quick answers, Bluey:

The picture is as good as RL. Those fluffy clouds are great, and the chestnut tree frame above is stopping it being a 'half & half' composition. So there!

The 'yummy' looking fruits are best left where they are. They're poisonous to us, being Cherry Laurel ! Even the leaves are deadly to stock.

The little things in the pot are probably fungi growing on the dead wood in the compost. I'd not worry about them. Like the rose gall, probably benign.

YoungBlueEyes

Thanks very much, ooh bluddy hell, and thanks very much Dusty  

Farway

No frost here, cooler though and supposed to be back to warm for the weekend, when I may get blackberrying, postponed like 2Ps.

Lovely dramatic sky 2P, sometimes it's just the right time & spot, but I think the right spot would be hard to replicate with the Polaris space walk one yesterday.

YoungBlueEyes said:

I think my Autumn Bliss (the 4 that are on it) are ripening too Farway, well one deffo is. Are they delivering your car back today..?

The Autumn Bliss check was postponed, maybe later today?

Car returned, all fixed. Seems the Gubbins under dash had fallen to bits and needed reassembly. Very pleased because it was "Only" £36 which includes collection & return of my car. 

A proper garage that only fixes what is broken and seems honest, plus near scrapyard and country pub nearby, ideal

Dustyevsky said:

I've said it before, but do make sure you're prepped-up. The signs are all there, we may be in for a 'difficult' winter. I'm not elaborating or trying to scare anyone. I just know it feels better to be prepared for emergencies, whether it's checking insurance cover, having 300 tea lights or lots of ghastly tinned goods no one likes!

Mind you, a headline I saw from that bastion of truth for many OAP's, the Express, takes some beating: "Every house with a chimney faces £300 fines in September." This is actually about emissions in clean air zones. So, by the time we rule out all the non-operative chimneys, the ones carrying gas exhausts, the ones in the countryside and the ones with compliant fires and fuels, that probably doesn't leave many. Certainly not “every” house!  "Don't burn the furniture, Gran, you might be fined!"  Besides, it's supposed to be warming up now, here in the south; double figures night and day for the next week or so. Such a pity about last night with the Autumn Show on Saturday.

Turning to lighter things, Farway often mentions companion planting to confuse, lure away, or encourage the predators of pests, so here's some I spotted in the walled garden visited on Monday.

My rhubarb's full of holes!

I saw that £300 a chimney bit, a very clickbait headline. You can understand how some get the wrong message just by skimming headlines.

That is a nice nasturtium companion pic, I was just looking at mine this morning, the nasturtium leaves are huge, some are dinner plate sized, but doing the job, with Cabbage Whites laying eggs even now

I think my companion message has trickled down the DNA, horticultural DGD published a recent post about it, but from a more scientific fact checked view

I tried for a picture of my canna in flower, useless , I'll try again later

Apart from the, and maybe apple inspection, nothing garden related due today

Just about to post, pressed refresh & YBE post + Dusty. FWIW I agree with Dusty on your plants YBE, just enjoy but don't eat

Dustyevsky

Farway said:

Car returned, all fixed. Seems the Gubbins under dash had fallen to bits and needed reassembly. Very pleased because it was "Only" £36 which includes collection & return of my car. 

A proper garage that only fixes what is broken and seems honest, plus near scrapyard and country pub nearby, ideal

I saw that £300 a chimney bit, a very clickbait headline. You can understand how some get the wrong message just by skimming headlines.

Well done, garage!   Similar happened here this week, when I saw an old couple's (actually they're younger than me! ) banger being towed out of here. Turned out it was just a stuck rear brake. Freed-up for about £25 at our local place, much to the couple's relief. They're totally dependent on it, until a move back 'oop norf' to family and better support in 2 months time.

Our van's in for a pre-MoT at present. No word yesterday. I know it needs more than a bonnet catch and some adjustments, but I've 10 days or so to get rid, should it require major surgery.

As regards the 'message' on MSM, I think the content is immaterial, it's the general effect, but I'm not prepared to say more here. Instead, I'll show you how the tomatoes are grown in the walled garden....with arum lilies! I didn't get that bit!

P.S. Black Hamburg grape up there too. 

LessImpecunious

Possible very slight frosty bits on grass near greenhouse, but recorded c. 2 degrees inside; haven't been down the slope to check my courgettes but think will be fine, good thing about living on a hill, we're not in a frost pocket!

Unlike the nearby town, which I had to take our van to this morning to replace a broken sliding door handle (prob a DIY job ideally if we had time and better skills!) - wished I'd worn my hat when walking back to the bus stop, as there was thick fog down there and felt much colder. Van temp gauge read 9 at home and 7 or 8 in town... we did have one vehicle previously that was up to date enough to have a similar gizmo, but it more-or-less permanently read 75C - this one seems a little more reliable, but still not there!

Did, however, manage a sort-of framed shot in town:

On the"root veg" it's just that a lot of them are not roots ...  but as long as you call them root veg it doesn't matter, as everyone knows what it means! Can't honestly remember exactly why I've got knickers in twist about them in the past - probably a bit of misnomering...

I just wrote a whole section on how everyone's special skills could make them an author, concluding that this thread might one day be regarded as a literary work in its own right...but accidentally refreshed before posting

pink_poppy

I like your mossy rose gall, Dusty. And I agree about the contrasting thorns - they look very striking.
We had another delivery of logs last week, so will expect a knock on the door and a £300 fine at some point...
I hope your courgettes etc survived the cold temps last night.

Lol at the loo roll discussion - the koalas are definitely less visible on the sheets than they used to be (Cushelle) and I seem to be changing the rolls more frequently too.

Cool cloudy sky pic, twopenny.

I like your framed pic, YBE. Hope you enjoyed your perambulations yesterday

I didn't know nasturtium leaves got so big, Farway.

Well, guess who got to see the Aurora Borealis last night??... yep, that would be me!!   I took loads of pics, but will only bore you with the one...


The sky was beautiful even without the aurora - full of stars   the pic above was when the clouds started to roll in and we got a bit of rain, but it cleared again and the aurora was still visible at 11.30pm when I went to bed.

It's sunny today, but cloudy and a bit on the chilly side again. I've done my back in (lifting our hefty pussycat ) so won't be doing any gardening.

pink_poppy

Missed your post, Less. That's a lovely pic - very atmospheric

wort

PP wow 😍 that’s a stunner ,my slightly pink sunrise I was gonna put on has been shot down in flames 😂

Less Imp your pic is a fab illustration of autumn, mists and mellow fruitfulness and all that.

Glad the car is ok Farway and you didn’t get robbed blind.

YBE that looks a pretty walk with handsome, hoping for a walk next week if the weather men are correct ✅ 

Not sure of the connection with animals and loo roll is 😼

A slight improvement today no rain ☔️👏🏻 no wind and a blue sky with clouds puffing about. Washing is out though not sure how dry it will get without a breeze. Cleaning done. Time for a cuppa.

Farway

Before I forget, T & M has free P & P offer this weekend

FREE Delivery on ALL plants, bulbs, seeds & gardening equipment when shopping via this email until midnight, 15th September 2024.

Offer ends midnight, 15th September 2024 or while stocks last. Use order code TM_TN5199W.

Warm in the sunshine, managed to get out for an apple check, all ripening now and picked some of t'Champion apples, all sounding nicely hollow. Looking like a crumbly weekend at Farway Towers.

Wow, some good pics since I looked this morning, very Autumn mists Less, just needs a couple of ladies in crinoline.

And an Aurora takes some beating

Seems to be slightly broken car time again, hope pre MOT goes well Dusty and you don't get a too gloomy phone call

wort said:

Not sure of the connection with animals and loo roll is 😼

I think posh ones are embossed and not printed "Property of HM Government"

My grapes are back to swelling again, must be the recent rain

And, Ta Ra, Autumn Bliss from Morries is ripe, and tastes like raspberries should, unlike my Heritage one

Taken resting on a sedum just colouring up

Dustyevsky

Farway said:

Wow, some good pics since I looked this morning, very Autumn mists Less, just needs a couple of ladies in crinoline.

And an Aurora takes some beating

Seems to be slightly broken car time again, hope pre MOT goes well Dusty and you don't get a too gloomy phone call

My grapes are back to swelling again, must be the recent rain

And, Ta Ra, Autumn Bliss from Morries is ripe, and tastes like raspberries should, unlike my Heritage one

Taken resting on a sedum just colouring up

Agreed, fabulous pictures from Less and pp. Our readers here are being spoiled, but wort, don't be put off posting yours!

Broken van may yet live! The non-turbo-ing turbo was just a holed vacuum pipe, and the rear brakes will be OK if I don't load it up with too many more railway sleepers! Application of a few hundred £ should see it back for another season of mellow tip runs recycling excursions. Then, away it must go to pastures new before our luck runs out.

I'm not rising to your bait on swelling grapes! My courgettes seem to have survived the air frost, and I've a matching pair for the Autumn Show today, which is all that matters to me! Oh, and the toms seem to be OK too. 

I've no raspberries to show, but I have a sedum with a butterfly, shot in the walled garden on Monday, pretending to be a leaf. As you can see, it's not been edited/tweaked.

I got a better photo later: