Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

Hmmm...there won't be much action here today.   We have what the BBC are calling 'sleet.'

I'm sure it will turn to rain later, but everything will be slushy and muddy with a high of 3c, so it'll be indoor nonsense.

Nobody else has bothered to get up yet. Currently, our 'stock' is only chickens, but they need to be let out, even if all they do is dive under their tin shelter. I feel for the ones that were late changing feathers this autumn! Here's part of my route to the chicken pen:

That fencing in 2p's picture is post & rail, Bluey. It's friendlier than stock fencing, having no barbed wire. Horsey people use it a lot, but often need to supplement it with an electric fence. Horses can put quite a strain on fences if they lean on them

YoungBlueEyes

Ooh that's proper sleet snow Dusty   Post +rail, that's it. I couldn't think of the name ha haa!  As you're on indoor playtime you could find us a Rottery Acres :nodding:

Edit - your lot aren't up yet? When we were growing up we were told the only people allowed to still be in their beds at 6am are people who are about to die and women giving birth. #MoreStuffWotYoofsWouldNeverStick

greenbee

He was actually an early Christmas present YBE Leggy and slim working dog... probably going to be quite tall but not chunky. Doesn't photograph well as he's all black! Seems to be pretty bright (not sure this is a good thing as he won't be working). Very sweet. Needs a bit more entertainment than I can give him on a work day, and not having the garden dog-proofed yet means he can't run about on his own out there. But not a huge amount of chewing, a bit of whining (but usually an indication he needs to go out soon), and generally pretty good manners. He's only jumping up now when really over-excited, knows his name, sits pretty much 90% of the time asked (and lots of times not asked if he wants something!), has clearly been told 'LEAVE' a LOT in the past 🤣.

Pretty good on lead and harness, less so on horrible itchy collar and lead - so harness is for walks, collar for the garden. Goes to the loo pretty much when instructed (with a bit of faffing about). We're currently progressing from 'don't knock the food bowl out of my hand before I put it down' to 'wait'. The current wait is about 3 nanoseconds, but his bum IS on the floor when the bowl goes down! He'll have been here a week today, so I reckon that's good progress - particularly as I'm not using treats for training (he's a lab, he does NOT need to think that food appears every 3 seconds or he'll be a nightmare). 

Next job is teaching him to walk properly on the lead so he's safe on the road to the wood/footpath and doesn't attempt to trip me up. Then probably 'stay'. The cats are happy to teach 'don't eat the cat', but he hasn't yet done anything to make them swat him, although there has been the odd raised paw and a LOT of hissing through the bars.

He's currently spending most of his time in a pen attached to his crate as I don't have a room to put him in that is safe unsupervised (no space in my office either), and being very good about it. I went out a couple of days ago and left him for 3.5 hours and he was fine in the crate. Doesn't squeak at night either. 

Hopefully we have someone who has been recommended coming over next week to do an assessment, and ideally I'd like him to join puppy classes - but sensible ones where they learn how to behave in public. Like walking down the street/dealing with crossing busy roads/sitting quietly in the pub etc. 

Garden looks very sad, and I hadn't finished sorting out the greenhouse so it still needs clearing, and the bubble wrap isn't on. If we have some warmer days I might get round to that, but the puppy is NOT helpful as he thinks soggy cardboard is delicious. 

Farway

Proper snow here, started about 0800 as BBC sleet, but now looking Christmassy for a bit until it thaws. 

No gardening today, but I will have to go out to the recycling wheelie for collection tomorrow, but being in Softy Sarf I expect all schools shut, buses stopped & The Council have cancelled bin collection

greenbee said:

Garden looks very sad, and I hadn't finished sorting out the greenhouse so it still needs clearing, and the bubble wrap isn't on. If we have some warmer days I might get round to that, but the puppy is NOT helpful as he thinks soggy cardboard is delicious. 

Hope the pup settles, at least Labs are friendly and warm. You will find everything is delicious to a Lab, including fox poo, baby blankets, grotty old bones from under bushes, one plus is they are just not picky on dog food, cheapo was wolfed down just as quickly as posh!

Here's my snowy garden pic, taken half an hour ago when snow was still falling

twopenny

Wow you all have pretty weather. Dusty those photos are so evocoative. Are the hens all right for the rest of the day now they're out?

Good thing I picked up my fresh eggs on Monday!

Farway that's the 'nice' sort of snow. I always hope it will just vanish overnight after that.

Bluey you;re lucky liking winter weather. We have so much of it

The ponds where I photograph are part natural and part man made. It worried me when they started but it is beautifully done. Still wild but paths levelish take all the chippings so usually dry and comfortable to walk on whatever. The birds, ducks, cormormants, herons etc will all be tucked up under the dense branches today. They are a good indicator of weather in advance.

One end is wetland rushes and reed then the beach behind so you get all sorts of birds. And a little tea room too.

Thinking about it I should find out who does it and tell them how much its appreciated.

Sheesh, gas man texted at 940 last night to say why he didn't come   so arranged for Friday (the one sunny day for 2 weeks)

3c here with strong cold wind. It's rained too so that makes it feel colder. It's dark too. So I won't post a photo, you know what that looks like.

I feel cheated to have the cold and cloud. That's just not the way it's supposed to go.

pink_poppy

Those photos are making me feel even colder, Dusty. The first one is what it was like when I was out for my walk yesterday, swirly or horizontal snow, depending what the wind was doing. I actually got a snowflake right in my eye and I wasn't even looking upwards, that's when I decided to call it a day and headed home in a strop    

We used to go to Whitby on an evening sometimes, YBE, pretty much had the place to ourselves if it was getting dark, but we only lived 30 minutes away so that was doable.

Heat pumps... I had heard that about the insulation in houses. I think ours is non-existent tbh. We did put some loft insulation in, but I think the house needs to be warm in the first place and the insulation just keeps the warmth in, rather than helping to warm it.

Your lab sounds very sweet, greenbee, hopefully the cats will warm to him and you'll be one big happy family   

I feel a lot colder today   I was awake during the night feeling cold and when I peeked outside it was all twinkly and glistening ice. It's now defrosted, but I'm freezing. I've got the electric blanket turned on (I'm sat on the bed) and am just starting to get a warm bahookie   I've got some admin nonsense to do, but then I'll have to start moving around to keep warm. It was 10.1 degrees in the front room when I opened the curtains and feels even colder up here.

Ooh, just refreshed and see you have snow too, Farway. Brr. It does look lovely though.

Hope you get your boiler sorted tomorrow, twopenny. That was late for the BM to text you, but better late than never.

twopenny

Our sucessful gas guys tend to do that. They work long and hard on the big stuff. It's annoying but at least you know they are on to it. Unlike the many who don't bother to get back to you.

I don't like the sound of your cold house. Can you work from bed? Or get a heated throw? That seems to be trend that has passed. I just use a quilt and then of course when you get up it's darn freezing.

Still, hopefully you'll join us southerners and get double temperatures at the weekend???

What you need is a puppy to keep you warm

Dustyevsky

10c indoors! Older houses haven't been suitable for heat pumps in the past, but perhaps there are improvements on the way. The 'government' have missed their self-imposed target for heat pump installations by miles this year, so expect err, incentives in 2025. Also they'll be removing some restrictions on where heat pumps can be placed, and their physical size.

Lost an earlier post due to power cuts. Probably due to the snow, which has now passed through. Some blue skies now visible, but all is sodden. 

greenbee

There's a lot of very good info and advice on the Heat pump section of the energy board, and some very knowledgeable people, so well worth going over there to ask the stupid questions. They don't seem to mind them, as long as you go back and give them the additional info they're after to help them answer you. 

YoungBlueEyes

I won't completely wreck the thread by talking about puppies (although I have got it in me and could do it without even drawing breath! ) but just a couple of quick points gb. Firstly - I see no pics! Secondly, dogs put into a harness will pull naturally as it's wakes up their working gene, and as you have a worker you've got that to neutralise. Get him a nice soft collar - you don't want him distracted with itching, you want him focussed while you're teaching him commands. Everything else can be done in one line - set up yourself (and whoever else is in the house) as alpha and the rest will fall into place. Feed him after you've eaten, and never off your plate. Add your scraps to his bowl. Don't let him on the couch unless you've said yes. Don't let him sleep in your bed. Never let him through a door before you. For jumping up - just raise your knee when you see he's about to do it, and when he's back on all fours praise him. As for the food thing, that's a major advantage in labs. Did you say he's 16 weeks? So he's on 2 or 3 meals a day? On training days give him a bit smaller breakfast and put the rest in your pocket (presuming dried food). Those bits are what'll focus him on his training. Labs are so easy to train because they're they're always thinking about their belly. Plus they're so clever and eager to please  

Sorry, that turned into a right essay! I'll shurrup now. I only came on to share this - 



... and say this - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjPhzgxe3L0