Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

Happily, someone's security light showed up those cobwebs really well for you, WM. Often, such lights are a pain, especially when star-gazing.....or trying to!

I should have realised those were birch catkins. There are enough dangling about the place here! Some of the trees are due for tuning into logs, but until I've cleared up the mess we've made so far......

Hope both tummy and leg are better this morning, 2p. When this fog clears, you could be in for another sunny day , though the drunks say not. They were wrong before!

Thanks for all the Somerset wishing trees info 2p. I have to admit, it's a wonderfully varied county, but then I spent 40 years living in it! I hope we can do more walks/gardens there when the days lengthen.

Still no car, but it could be ready by lunchtime. Garage man couldn't make it boil, but Mrs Dusty did, and a year ago we burst the header tank, so my money's on an intermittent fault and a replacement thermostat.

Yesterday, I dug up all the Berberis darwinii which had been in one of my moveable cold frames. Despite taking them at the 'wrong' time, there were 10 plants with huge roots. Now I can replace the frame and re-use the extra-gritty soil there for some other shrubs. We're using berberis to replace dead hedging in the front garden, which didn't cope with the occasional (!) drought!

Still trying without success to catch some of the less common birds on the feeders. This was all I got yesterday!

At least he's too busy now to poo on the car!

Hope yesterday's dental experience wasn't too painful, physically or monetarily, Farway!

Farway

Back home, all went well. I was early arriving at the dentist, I deliberately left early because at that time of morning it's school runs, & workers + forever road works.

Of course this morning I sailed right through and arrived 30 minutes early , but luck was with me, dentist was ready & waiting & I waltzed right in

Painless filling, without a jab, a brave little gardener, no sweetie though

I'm lucky and with NHS dentist, so cost is capped and appointments are regular, plus I don't want cosmetic dentistry, just working gnashers.

The GC was quite busy, but not much left with the sale & final closing is this Sunday. Only plants left were lack lustre ivies, some seeds, sell by June 2024, so left those.

Only thing I did buy were two large plastic flower pots, large enough for tomatoes, too small for a tree

Marked down from 5.99 to 60P, would cost about £2 in Home Bargains

Nice photos as usual, cobwebs, and robins, and the money tree history. 

By coincidence, it mentions Ealing Broadway and ponies. 

Way back, in 50s, we used to cycle there to see the ponies. Not sure why they were there, some sort of market & gypsies?

We used to come home with gas mask goggles from the war surplus shop there. Simple days for simple boys.

With mention of silver birch catkins, I'll have to look this afternoon at volunteer place, we have silver birch to replace the oak trees, maybe photo time

twopenny

Quiet here today. Hope that's because everyones having a good time.

Not a lot to report, lovely sunshine this morning but only 1c! Thankfully it crept up a bit and then this afternoon thick cloud/mist worked from the bottom up. Very strange. Still it's not raining or snowing or hail so grateful for small mercies

Aches and pains still with me which I'm not happy about.

Farway I love a silver birch. They can be beautiful. The ones around me are old and tatty though because it's public ground and no one cares for them.

Congrats on getting away with the one filling. Always a good feeling.

Dusty that robin looks so cute. Surely he can't be a nusiance

Greenbee missed that post and Abs. Great idea about the netting. I may give that a go with the veg.

Abs, now you have 2 kittens - well you know you will

And pots already, I found that some small ones from Tescos have started sprouting in the bottom of the fridge. I'm going to plant them and see what happens.

WM beautiful cobwebs....they are so beautiful and htat's a lovely photo with the gate.

Here's one I did earlier - up on the moor and the opposite, tiny.

Having said there's not much - my lonely female Tawny Owl has a suitor! Tonight she called and there was a very eager response repeated.

Though that may be because I could faintly hear another female so lucky lad. No wonder he was enthusiastic

Dustyevsky

Farway said:

Nice photos as usual, cobwebs, and robins, and the money tree history. 

By coincidence, it mentions Ealing Broadway and ponies. 

Way back, in 50s, we used to cycle there to see the ponies. Not sure why they were there, some sort of market & gypsies?

We used to come home with gas mask goggles from the war surplus shop there. Simple days for simple boys.

Ah, I remember horses in the fields near Bricketwood, where our family escaped to from the 'pressures' of 1950s London. There was Rickmansworth too. We weren't so simple, either. We knew these places' names. Ask a kid these days where they went on a day trip, or a holiday, and you get, “The seaside” or “Spain,” not, “Swanage” or “Fuengirola.” Anyway, well done on dodging the traffic hold-ups and enjoying minimalist dentistry.

twopenny said:

Dusty that robin looks so cute. Surely he can't be a nusiance

They said the same about certain popular entertainers!   It seems now he's in competition with maybe 50 other birds, his mind's fully occupied, but before the feeders went out, and he'd time on his hands, he was a menace.   "The Devil makes work for idle beaks." Lovely mini cobweb, bejewelled with dew. Spiders are truly industrious creatures.

Yesterday, there was a very narrow window of sunshine here, lasting possibly 2hours. I was down near the coast, but too late in the day to do a proper walk. The mist and murk only ended within a few miles of the estuary, and the car's thermometer never showed more than 5c. I know, tropical, compared with the north! 

Today, it's back to grey skies all day, light SE wind, and a max of 7c. We have self-inflict invited guests, so it's cooking and hoover duty first. Then we'll see....The drier spell means I can use the mower to pull more dumpy bags of tree brash to where I want them, rather than dragging them myself. I'm very keen to tidy-up. Could it be because snow is a possibility for the end of the month?

Today's picture is a winter border at Rosemoor. None of ours look anywhere near as photogenic!

ArbitraryRandom

First lot of fruit bushes delivered - was very confused as they came in a 4ish ft tall box and I was fairly confident I hadn't ordered any more trees this year, but they were just stacked end on end. Good thing is at least I can use the cardboard as mulch/weed suppressant around the base of one of the trees (under wood chip) so not having to worry about keeping the cardboard dry for the recycling. 

There's also a lemon balm and a lovage that I snuck into the basket at the last minute (postage was flat rate) that I'll put out for a few days to acclimatise before Monday. Been told my rhubarb has also been dispatched so hopefully everything can go in at the same time. 

Lovely clear, cold and blue here today. Having to join a work meeting later today (Friday is normally a non-working day for me as I do longer hours) but it's only short, so afterwards I think I'll sort out my windowsill trays and potatoes. Also want to mark out where I want the new bushes/rhubarb bed using some line spray. 

Farway

Usual dull & grey, but mild

Up to get my tootsies sorted first thing, no fillings needed

twopenny said:

Aches and pains still with me which I'm not happy about.

Farway I love a silver birch. They can be beautiful. The ones around me are old and tatty though because it's public ground and no one cares for them.

Congrats on getting away with the one filling. Always a good feeling.

Sorry about the aches & pains, let's hope if the sun ever returns all our bad bits vanish

Checked on silver birches this morning, they are quite large trees, about 15 feet tall, secured by a triangle of stout posts and canvas strapping, no wonder insurance premiums are high, bet they were over £100 or more planted. I never saw them before planted, so not sure if bare roots or potted.

These may degenerate into old & tatty 2P, although in volunteer grounds no one will do much to them, especially as council have forbidden any removal or growth restrictions to them.

I won't be around by then, but I expect they will get blown down in a storm in twenty years or so. The soil is very shallow & poor, so no deep roots.

It was all a bit rushed, and I had no input, but I would have opted for magnolia, which was the alternative offered.

There are signs of life at volunteer spot, the forsythia, lilac & cherry buds are looking like buds on a mission

Just in case anyone has space, T & M have 89p seeds if anyone is tempted.

https://www.thompson-morgan.com/newsletter-special-offers-friday5?source=newsletter-seed-170125&acq_source=

Offer ends midnight, 18th January 2025 or while stocks last. 

Normal delivery charges apply. Use order code TM_TN5608W.

Tomato rubylicous is there, I grew it, on offer, last year & it was surprisingly good, still standing blight free when others had long gone

Today is the oak stumps, I never fully realised just how large the oaks at volunteer spot were

Removal has revealed what I think is Hawthorn, LH side middle, soon find out, come May

LessImpecunious

That looks a bit bullace/blackthorn-like rather than hawthorn, though I can't zoom well enough to be sure....might find out sooner if it is! And if it is, beware suckers!

YoungBlueEyes

Morning weekend playmates!
First of all - a correction. It's the uhh Auntie lot who want umm Mr Multi-Layer to add the licence to the council tax, and they've been trying for a good long while apparently. We've had a couple more people ask about it this week so there must be something doing the rounds on sershul meeeja is there? Big Boss Man says the answer's still the same though. 

Brilliant photos again   The money tree one made me think of dragon's tails Dusty (guess who's watching Game of Thrones ) and I love the cobweb ones wm+2p, they look magical when you see them covered in dew drops. The itchy and scratchy ponies made my heart smile, and all that gorse too, heaven  

Sounds like this stage of your garden is coming together nicely Arb, fingers crossed your rhubarb arrives so your gardener can get it all planted Are you doing before and after shots?

I'll have to look up how to make a bit of a pond out of a washing up bowl cos my ones starting to crack at the top Don't know that I want the wasps making themselves even more at home though tbh, I've trouble enough with them. I'll have to think.

I got another bird feeder thing, a little wooden house on a wooden pole type jobber. I've given it a varnish and it's drying off in the conservatory. Then yesterday I went food shopping to Lidl (couldn't get into Aldi car park) and they had the exact thing I wanted, a metal pole one with a water dish and seed tray and squirrel proof hanging feeders and everything! Swines. So I bought that too cos it was only a tenner I tell ya, there'll be no starving birds in a 3 miles radius when I get it all rigged up and put out there ha haa! 

OT not so cold. We've had some hard frosts and black ice and freezing fog nonsense, but it's away now. There's even been a minimal amount of sunshine, and a UV every day this week. According to timeanddate today will be 44 min 29 secs longer than the winter solstice. So there's that  

YoungBlueEyes

Some cheery-uppy pics. 

This was in Posh Town last weekend. I could happily have most of the things in there, but they're that bl00dy dear  



In case it doesn’t expand properly the pic is titled Family Tree and is £750, and the wee man on his tractor is £995 !! 

A sitooterie or a situperie? Bit more reasonably priced but still a bit toppy imo. 

Farway

Grey & dull, so no change there

Welcome back to our weekend guest YBE

A good find in Aldi, but if it's anything like my Lidl Rose Arch the metal soon rusts and the lot collapses, but getting what paid for springs to mind

Next door has a similar, feeder thing, squirrels still try the feeders and blackbirds + pigeons strut about underneath looking for spillage, but in general birds do use it and then poo in my bird bath

I like the art in Posh Town, must very posh there with those prices, if the tractor is reduced to clear for a few pennies would you get it for me please?

Got me pondering now, I have no skills like that, but I bet it would not be too hard to make a cheaper knock off copy

Found my level of competence https://www.lego.com/en-gb/product/red-farm-tractor-with-trailer-sheep-60461

Hoping the sun comes soon, I need to clear the dead stuff from around the emerging daffs before it is too late, and some older pelargoniums will have to go now the daffs are poking though them

LessImpecunious said:

That looks a bit bullace/blackthorn-like rather than hawthorn, though I can't zoom well enough to be sure....might find out sooner if it is! And if it is, beware suckers!

Mmm hadn't thought about blackthorn, could be

Whatever it is will be fine there though, it's behind a laurel and near a fenced boundary, so suckers / thorns are no problem.

Now the oaks have gone, I expect the laurel will spurt into growth, as will whatever that spikey shrub is

Once the area has settled a month or so us volunteers will have a think if we can poke something in the space, I have my Filbert due in Feb, so maybe that?

Here's a much larger version of the stumps + thorny shrub, still can't quite tell, but someone may be able to from the thorns or bark

Hope the large pic doesn't bust anyone's internet