Awful weather - typical Brits talk

twopenny

Oh my Less! That could be my dog from way back but never fogotten.........the colouring and way it looks at you just the same   But Ben had floppy ears.

Oh beautiful pic of the Stump too

Strange that you should post that pic. I was just dropping in to tell Bluey  that I've been watching a programme about search and rescue dogs that she may enjoy. Our Lives Series 8 ep11 Pets Saving Lives on BBC iplayer.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00225h4

Quite a few rescue dogs too.

Not an idea for an alternative job though because thinking it through, it's voluntary.

-taff

I suppose quite fragrant be, there's rosemary and bay in there as well as the oranges. I should have foud a way to stick some cinnamon sticks on too, because more is more...where's your pom?  Love the sig too, made me laugh out loud. I worked out the cage thing, I found A way Hope they realise that asking someone to work an extra week a month for nothing is just stupidity and that your need of a Blue Swift is commensurate with the hours you should be working...Love the spoonbill comment too And if the office party is not a party then it's definitely time to get out of there...Love the pics, good to know cat wee tree is ongoing.

wort, your baby cheesus sounds lovely, it's never too early for cheese, but if anyone knows where I can get neuchatel, I'd be grateful...

2P, that nativity was funny, I liked how they went all over to do it and didn't just stay in the same place...plenty of opportunities to imbibe some warming stuff following along. Good idea re the velcro for curtains too.

pp, after a discussion with friend about ho much workshops are and how much it costs for the bits [ we might well end up doing workshops next year. Big pot of soup with some brandy in it and some fresh bread and cheese, totally worth it [ to us and them] Now I have a nice big kitchen there's plenty of room.

Dusty, thos e greens look better ot me than most flowers shame about the no gardening day but then, it is Christmas?

::hahahahahaha!!!::  And I think that's a much easier way to choose a tree, you can really see what it will look like I beat your record though, it took me two mintues to choose mine yesterday, the bloke asked why everyone can't be as quick...OK, he said every woman can't be as quick but I let it slide for Christmas...

Less, that's a lot of trees down. Do they get cleared or is it not path? Lovely dog..Nice stump too, has a bird shaped head, like Dustys spoonbill

Nuffin here, it's cold but not icy cold, have to order more wood, I didn't realise how quickly I'd go through this lot..Hopefully it'll be before Christas otherwise I' going to have to get some nets. Cleared the fruit cage yesterday, broke my old faithful spade so need ot get a new handle for that [ wasn't in the cage, I was trying to help dig up a piece of metal, didn't work...] I'll probably go down there again this week, the schools should be out by the end of the week so I can park closer

Dustyevsky

Lovely dog , and not so lovely treemageddon in your locale, Less. Shallow rooted conifers are prone to falling, but like here, it wasn't just those that failed. I've seen a few trees snapped off near the base too. While I can confirm cotoneasters get around inside the tummies of birds, unfortunately they don't breed true. We have a hedge of self-seeded cotoneasters, and they're quite varied regarding leaf shape and how long the leaves hang on in winter.

Yesterday afternoon I just had time to sort out the 'leaning' trees in the willow grove, particularly the ones threatening our walnut there. I didn't take the camera, so no photos yet. It looks a bit of a mess now, but at least all the failed trees are on the ground. The walnut lost one branch, that's all, not that it matters if the squirrels are going to have the nuts in future!

Glimpses of the sun are promised here and a top temperature of 11c today. I'm planting some time-sensitive seeds today, which sounds good, until I tell you thy should have gone in 6 weeks ago! Might plant the Tete a Tetes as well, better late than never!

This is the last in the series of “RHS greens that look a lot better than mine.” There is at least a little mollusc damage visible on these!

PS. My gallivanting last Friday just happened to pass through Rosemoor at midday. It was so blooming dark and dismal they had the 'Glow' lights on, but there were very few people to see them. I popped in for some cards and  felt underwhelmed by the lack of choice in greetings, which were almost all "Merry Christmas....." (There are some people for whom Christmas will inevitably be un-merry) As if voicing my thoughts, a rather tweedy lady nearby exclaimed "Huh, what a dismal choice this year! They just can't seem to think outside the box!" With that, she left. I found a great birthday card, but that was all.

twopenny

Bright day again - at least for the time being - and so welcome.

Mild but everywhere still sodden so no gardening as I have to fit in all activities until everything closes for a fortnight over the holidays.

May, if there's time, stick in my onion sets. Bargain buy and they look desperate to be planted. They grow better here if you plant them in autumn and swell yet still have time to dry off when the summer comes, if we get one next year.

Anyone see the Countryfile weather forcast last night? My knowledge confirmed that the evenings are already drawing out by a tad each day. Mornings come later on. He was quite jolly about it which was refreshing.

And I even saw 2 bright stars last night between the clouds! Haven't seen stars for months because it's been constant cloud here.

Dusty I love your veg photos You're really good at making them beautiful.

Farway

Dull & mild, hint of sun but only a hint

Unless it changes, no gardening again.

No matter, it was into Town, posting cards and looking at some new shops open.

The town centre followed others into boarded up litter strewn hell, absentee Venture Cap landlords etc hoping to make quick buck establish a vibrant community. Higher interest rates killed that, see also Morries & Asda.

New landlords, sort of local, and bungs from dying Tory government Levelling up funding has new small shops opening

The only ones of interest to me are a computer shop and Olde Fashioned Sweet shop. Both still closed when I arrived!

However, greengrocer was open, went in and envied his large onions and came out with local honey, cauliflower, and a ginger cheese. Certainly more pleasant & less crowded than Morries etc.

Not much of a party YBE, I've never been to a decent one either, mostly consisted of hanging about until the pubs opened and went there. Still got a job or P 45?

Good tree pics Less, can I have a cutting from the dog?

Here's the town's tree, a bit sorry, but it's better than nowt. At least this year it has lights, one year it was just the tree.

There are no more large stores with deep pockets to pay for it, so it's all volunteers & collections, the same folk apparently do a wonderful Santa Grotto on the library.

LessImpecunious

Dog is a rescue one, and her ears are often rather more floppy, but that was an is there a snack somewhere expression

The last time we had a similar treemagedon was Storm Dennis in 2020, took many months for those to be cleared, but some of the worst of this year's ones are on a green lane/public right of way, so may be quicker? Suspect it may depend mostly on whether they're blocking access for tree harvesting...

Wish my chard would grow that big. I've been growing a supposedly giant variety for the past 2 or 3 years but it seems to have failed to live up to its name, possibly I need to try one of the less budget suppliers of seed, especially as its one of my fav veg...

I vaguely knew about the sunset and sunrise times not matching the day length increase in the way you'd think it would, but hadn't realised it was so far in advance of the solstice.... oh, hang on, perhaps that's because it and the seasonal festivities is approaching faster than I was calculating...

Working_Mum

Hello everyone,
Had a bit of a mad week so have just caught up on everyone's posts.

I think your wreath looks gorgeous -Taff - I started making pomander in my kitchen because I objected to spending big money in the shops. It looks like it should smell gorgeous! Can you keep the ring and reuse it next year?? I made a ring from twisting dogwood 2P four years ago and it has just made another year. It was very simple to make. I was taught to make wreaths by making 8 x smaller bunches of greenery that roughly matched - tied with twine and about the size of your hand. I then bind each bunch to the ring with twine and then use a ribbon or something extravagant to cover the joining area. Simple but works a treat and feels quite manageable.

Welcome Den - I have created a couple of beds this year and have used horse manure as a mulch. My garden needs to recover from years of being under plastic grass so I throw as much as I can at it! I built an enclosure for compost this year - so I've a couple of years to wait until it's usable I reckon. Greenbee is it your goal to be self sufficient in compost??

Bins are a bit of an issue here Farway - my aged neighbour recently had a stroke so is now on The List for having her bins brought back to where they reside. Normally my bins get brought down too which is nice but the guys who handle the brown bin (garden rubbish and waste food) refuse to bring hers down. It's no hassle for me to collect them each week but I find it irritating as if I wasn't here her brown bin would stay at the top of her drive.

I love Erigeron 2P and plan to mix soil and seeds and sprinkle around the insides of my gabion seat and the reclaimed York stone wall at the bottom of my garden - I thought it'll look lovely with their little flowers peeping out everywhere.

Thank you for posting the sunset pics YBE - I was driving towards the east  last night and the sky was unreal. The westerly view wasn't a riot of colour but the east was. Quite gorgeous. We have to be quite careful about work Christmas parties nowadays as the employer can be held liable for staff behaviour whilst imbibing. Not like in my old office days (pre-self employment) when the parties were crazy and what happened at the party stayed at the party!

Your tree is very handsome Dusty - I would love a real tree but get vetoed each year in the family vote! I might have to give R0meo a vote and then I stand a chance! My tree looks quite real - it is 23 years old and I removed 2 tiers from it when I downsized and part of the back so it sits flush against the wall - sounds awful but it actually works in a smaller space. I couldn't bear the thought of sticking it in landfill so this is a fair compromise!

Less your dog is quite a stunner - her little pigeon toed feet are adorable. 

I didn't get into my garden at the weekend - I still have the 100 allium bulbs to get into the ground so I will hopefully get that done on Saturday - although waves permitting I will be doing a solstice swim on Saturday morning to celebrate the turn of the light.

OT it is cold and still her at the moment - it was windy when walking the dg earlier and I took this pic of the moon looking so bright at 7:41am. 

pink_poppy

I loved the collection of RHS 'greens', Dusty, what a nice photo, there was a bit of everything in there. The hunting and gathering of the Christmas tree pics were good too.

What a shame about the Christmas party, YBE. Hope the food was nice to compensate for the lack of shenanigans. Lovely photos, especially the well behaved robin (as opposed to Dusty's delinquent robin)   

twopenny, what a good idea to use double sided velcro for curtains - it's now on the 'to do' list.

Less, your pooch is gorgeous. Shame about all the trees coming down, it must have been really wild there, I think we got off very lightly up here.

taff, brilliant idea to host your own wreath making events, I would sign up for one if I was closer. Same goes for W_M's pomander making    

Dusty, is that companion planting (marigolds??) on your other 'greens' pic??

twopenny, glad you got to see some stars last night.

Ginger cheese sounds interesting, Farway, have you tried it yet??

Love your moon pic, W_M, I remembered to refresh before I posted    

I'm still lurgified here, with a horrible cough. but I had cards to post too, so went for a slow wander to the post office. I spotted this bird on the way home - possibly a Little Egret??


And a (wonky) pic I took last night because I loved the glowing pattern the candle was making on the chimney breast...


OT - miserable, but at least I got back from my walk before it started raining.

LessImpecunious

Impressive egret (I agree that's what it looks like) close-up PP, and nice moon pic WM , here's my attempt this evening, when there were some actual breaks in the otherwise-persisting-all-day cloud

Less moon than moon-glow, managed to catch (I think) Jupiter popping in and out behind clouds too (the small dot to right of the tree...)

A better shot of the clouds.... (I hope)

pink_poppy

Love those photos, Less, so atmospheric and spooky looking.

Thanks for the Little Egret confirmation - I've never seen one here before.

No chance of seeing the moon or Jupiter here - heavy rain forecast for the next couple of days. Pitch black and pouring down at the moment.