Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Farway

Same misty / foggy start here as Dusty, just hoping the sun burns through later.

No Aurora here, just clouds

Sack truck arrived, looks sturdy but not yet used, as guessed it will be used on concrete paths, not over grass.

I have to fit the wheels on, and I want to grease the axle before I do. The grease is down in the garage, of course, so I'll grab the tin on my way out tomorrow.

That tin of grease is a family heirloom by now, older folk may recall the type, Castrol, has metal insert with hole in centre, where you plunge down with your grease gun

Must have had it since the late 60s, first used on my Ford Anglia. 

Motoring has come a long way since crawling under the cars, greasing nipples and using ball crackers.

My missing cucumbers have appeared, very odd, a week after the ones in adjacent pot, makes no sense, same seeds & compost. Better late than never, of course.

I think I've collected everyone's weight.  You can stop now, I've enough!

Hoping the sun & warmth arrive, I want to get out & tie up the Boysenberry while it's still pliable & young.

Sun did allow me to get the camera going, cherry on the verge over the road and a neighbour's magnolia

twopenny

Luna what a beautiful place you live!

And what a great way to get fit. Wish I still could, I do miss being able to just walk out and explore.

Forsythia will root very easily from cuttings stuck in water and it's a quick grower.

Because it's so easy it's undervalued. Always beautiful in Spring and stays green all summer with no attention.

Farway, Morries do miniture Acers about 1ft they grow to. I was so enamoured with the first red one I bought a lime green one. It's very meah compared to the red which gives wonderful colours in autumn even though it's tiny. I reckon they would grow ok in a pot. My neighbour has a big one in a big pot. Mines survived wet dry and cold but is in a sheltered shady spot.

Was lovely and sunny yesterday. I went to Otter nursery but it's not like it used to be. It's just rammed with stuff inside and out and claustrophibic. Peopel were getting techy looking around. So next trip will be to the outlier ones for some r&r.

Overcast today but 10c this morning and overnight. Surprising how warm this feels after the long cold.

Got to dash and get stuff done while it's still dry - who'd have though that watering and feeding pots and beds would be a thing in March

pink_poppy

Nice pic, but I'm not sure it's the Aurora, Dusty. I've only ever seen greens and pinky reds. Absolutely zero chance of seeing anything here last night - thick cloud and then rain, but as my DH said "we'll always have Harris"   

Stunning cherry and magnolia pics, Farway

I'd love a red acer, twopenny, I'll have to keep an eye out for one. Our nearest Morries is an hour away, so not somewhere we go very often.

Dismal day today - heavy rain and puddles galore.

Farway

Quick pop back in, with some temptation, just in case you have forgotten something

Mr F & Browns have free P & P until Monday, look like same company, but there may be some pricing or stock detail differences

Some seeds at 99p Ideal for dismal days in the rain P P

https://mr-fothergills.co.uk/

https://www.dtbrownseeds.co.uk/

twopenny said:

Farway, Morries do miniture Acers about 1ft they grow to. I was so enamoured with the first red one I bought a lime green one. It's very meah compared to the red which gives wonderful colours in autumn even though it's tiny. I reckon they would grow ok in a pot. My neighbour has a big one in a big pot. Mines survived wet dry and cold but is in a sheltered shady spot.

Was lovely and sunny yesterday. I went to Otter nursery but it's not like it used to be. It's just rammed with stuff inside and out and claustrophibic. Peopel were getting techy looking around. So next trip will be to the outlier ones for some r&r.

Very tempting, I have to go out tomorrow morning anyway so maybe find myself there, and I want to get some compost in place of the carp I have

Hoping my Morries is not as bad on Friday morning as your nursery was, if it is then it will be a quick circle of the car park & out

May not be too bad because it's market day in nearby town, in the opposite direction, so hopefully everyone will be there and not in Morries

twopenny

Is there anything more beautiful than quiet evening with just a blackbird singing.

Dustyevsky

Farway said:

That tin of grease is a family heirloom by now, older folk may recall the type, Castrol, has metal insert with hole in centre, where you plunge down with your grease gun

Must have had it since the late 60s, first used on my Ford Anglia.

I do recall having the same, but now own some black, high temperature, molybdenum stuff that doesn't have the comforting quality of looking like toffee. Those magnolias of yours look almost edible too! What a great display. You're definitely a couple of weeks ahead of us here.

Mrs Dusty called at Morries yesterday, and returned with two very well grown fuchsias. If folks have lost theirs to winter/vine weevils, look out for those.

I agree pp, that wasn't the aurora; it was naughty street lights, polluting our dark skies. Also, probably a few people like two near neighbours, who run outdoor lights all day and night.
The GC visited on Monday wasn't rammed, 2p. I'm not sure why, but as the week progresses, places seem to become busier. Do people still do their washing and hoovering on Mondays?   I know Friday evenings/Saturday mornings can be crowded, but Saturday afternoons are quiet where I go. I put it down to folks watching sport, or heading for the beaches in fine weather.

twopenny said:

Is there anything more beautiful than quiet evening with just a blackbird singing.

A quiet evening with two blackbirds singing?   Yesterday, we had our fish & chips parked by a wood at dusk, when the birds were in full song. There was also a rookery at a distance, so we could hear them too, settling down for the night. It's a pleasant enough sound....if you're half a mile away!   The posh bit of our village is by a rookery. Even if we had the £££, we wouldn't live there!

Speaking of birds, here's a handsome chap who's found the feeders recently, or rather what other birds drop from them.

He's our answer to others' bullfinches, though not as red. He's a pretty competent singer too.

pink_poppy

Great photo, Dusty. Is it a male chaffinch?? There were a couple in the crab apple tree when I thought they were all bullfinches - my mistake. Mind you, I thought I was taking a photo of a bullfinch in amongst the branches and it turned out to be an orange chimney pot in the distance when I looked at the photos later    

We had a wet and wild night here last night, including hailstones that set our car alarm off, thankfully before bedtime. It was so windy, it was quite something to see the rain swirling down the road, it seemed to go on forever. This morning is completely different - sunny and settled. I think we're due more rain today though.

Dustyevsky

pink_poppy said:

Great photo, Dusty. Is it a male chaffinch??

Yes, and if you look carefully, you'll see there are growths on his left leg. This is a common problem for finches, usually caused as a reaction to the irritation of mites under the leg scales. Chickens can get it too. We have treated ours by dabbing-on surgical spirit (Yeow! ) and then suffocating the little b*gg*rs with lashings of petroleum jelly.

We also had 'useful' rain last night, and there's potentially a little more to come, but overall the outlook down here is still set fair.

Partial solar eclipse at 11.00...about 34%. Will anyone notice?

Farway

Rainy start, now blue sky & sunshine.

Back from a not too busy Morries, I now own a red acer , only a titchy tiny £4 one.

Dustyevsky said:

Mrs Dusty called at Morries yesterday, and returned with two very well grown fuchsias. If folks have lost theirs to winter/vine weevils, look out for those.

My Morries had them as well, and flying off the shelves, very popular it seems. Luckily, so far, my fuchsias seem OK regarding winter & VW. With new growth just starting. 

The compost I left, too heavy for me to lug around, I need the 30L bags for my feeble, sickly body

If this sun keeps going, I hope I can get out to sort the Boysenberry later today

pink_poppy

Happy new red acer, Farway, is it going in a pot??

Dusty, the partial solar eclipse is tomorrow. Shame, because it was sunny here at 11am (and I was stood waiting with my pinhole projector at the ready before I checked   )

Sunshine and heavy showers today - supposed to be thundery showers later.