Awful weather - typical Brits talk

pink_poppy

Haha, love the 'say cheese' pic   

I hope it's not a rat - it's not very big. It lurks in the overgrown bit and eats the suet block bits that get dropped by the sparrows. I'll remove the suet block if I have to, but it would be a shame as the sparrows and babies are on there constantly and the robins and blackbirds eat the dropped bits too.

The sun has come out, but it's still chilly. I sat on the back step earlier and only lasted about 5 minutes before I had to come back inside again as there was a cold breeze. I'm wishing I hadn't taken the warm bedding off the bed this morning, but I was mafted last night. We had the window open and we were both woken before 4.30am by a bird chuntering away. Me being me I opened the Merlin bird ID app to see what it was - it said common ringed plover, but then changed it to a blackbird. It didn't sound like a blackbird to me, so I'm still none the wiser...

twopenny

Farway your front of house sounds really interesting. Can we have a photo sometime when it's all blooming?

Poppy here's a cautionary tale about bird baths.

I first used cement. That only worked temporarily and started flaking.

Then I tried all purpose acrylic paint. I only had white but figured it wouldn't show as the bath was raised. It did.

So to make it less obvious I mixed food dye with the paint apparantly sucessfully to make a lavender colour. Somewhat better until..................

The food dye leached out. First it was pink, then blue and finally...................

It took the rest of the summer to go back to white. There's still some white there years on. That stuff is good no matter how you try to peal it off

Another sunny day here and very warm. Families on the beach swimming.

Stuffy though and with the Rape in full bloom the pollen does no one any good.

No rain forcast for the forseeable which means watering. I've put it off so far as everything is looking ok.

Raspberries and strawberries in bloom. Purchased toms growing rapidly.

The little birds have been back to eat the box moth caterpillers. They are a little flumoxed by the fountain in a pot and I think wanted to bathe under it but they were just a bit too far away. I'll have to see if I can think of something to help.

YoungBlueEyes

Morning all Very quick one this morning cos I've gotta go to work, again. I only signed up for mon-thurs *sigh*   Cooler here thank god, it got up to 27' yesterday Not a fan. No rain due in the next 10 days says the sober's app, it says that every morning when I check   Up to 17' today which is much more reasonable

Blackie has got a babby up and about, and I saw a hedgehog traipsing across my mare's tails farm grass last night :clapping: Hopefully it'll make good inroads into the slug population :fingerscrossed:

Cat Wee Tree is in full form :grrr: I'll have to be careful now about opening windows on that side or the house will stink. Fig tree's doing well though - I took this pic last night for Beloved Cousin was saying it's cold and raining at home. This was about 1900 with all the windows and door open - 



"Say cheese" made me giggle Farway, but he's got human hands! *shudder* Hopefully your wee beastie isn't a rat pp.

I'll have to come back on tonight for a proper go.

twopenny

Ooh that looks like a proper garden now 😁
What a long way you've come.
Love your red blinds too, you're giving me ideas. 

Warm and sunny. Got a choice of camera club at the beach or table tennis followed by a swim.
Garden is parched so something can be done with the long weekend. The driving is crazy round here so some pottering would be better.

Farway what's with the masses of emails from T&M?
You don't need a library book with all of these!

pink_poppy

Oh twopenny, the colour of that water!! I'm picturing your feathered friends flying around with blue rinses now   
I haven't been able to get to the shops at all this week, so the birdbath repair will have to wait. I'll probably end up ordering something online, or it'll never get done.

YBE, what is the cat wee tree?? Just so I never buy one haha.
Your fig is looking good.
Is that Guinness I spy in your conservatory

I've got more pics of the wee beastie in the garden (please don't let it be a rat) so I'll see if I can post another one for potential ID (phone currently charging).

OT - it's a bit grey and it was spitting as I was hanging my washing outside first thing - the BBC forecast did say drizzle this morning, but I thought I'd risk it as my phone said it was just to be cloudy all day with a decent breeze... 

Just refreshed... twopenny, is it an indoor or outdoor swim?? If it's indoor I'd go with the camera club at the beach - it sounds too nice there to be stuck indoors today. I've been watching a programme about outdoor swimming and I really want to give it a go, but my DH isn't bothered.

Dustyevsky

Farway said:

Looks like a rat to me....

"No, no...is hamster! Siberian filigree...."

I don't think we achieved the claimed high temperatures here yesterday. It clouded over at times and there was a good breeze. By the time we headed off for fish & chips, it was an indicated 17c in our pessimistic car. I wouldn't have felt like them if it had been much over 20c.

Staying with the easy care, self-propagated, wilder plants, here's one in the stream garden I'm trying vainly to contain!

Misty this morning with a calm NW breeze I could use for a bonfire, were I not gardening elsewhere.    We may hit 20c where I'm going, or there might be some sea mist. Regardless, the roads will probably be mentally busy. Looks like a good, solid weekend to get those borders less weeded, sorted and planted-up for summer.

EDIT: Just refreshed, and pp has beaten me to it with the comments on 2p's blue rinse birds and Bluey's interesting collection of stuff!

Pp,the 'Cat Wee Tree' is hawthorn, but not all of us agree about the smell. I don't find it unpleasant at all.

I've outdoor swum in Loch Awe, but it was a long time ago. I don't think Mrs D and I bothered with swimmies either!

twopenny

Indoor swimming with jacuzzi and sauna plus outdoor cafe overlooking several bays Poppy.
I did test the seawater a couple of times this week and it's not too bad. Up to the ankles anyway 😏

Photo thing is also by the beach with cafe. I like to get my priorities straight 😄 

I like the smell of May blossom too or at least I can't smell anything untoward.

Guinness eh? That'll do nicely. Anyone tried a Guinness shandy?

Farway

Misty start, but it's heating up and cracking the flagstones now

Up Morries first thing, mundane bread & milk before the hordes descend. Lots of bedding plants etc in, ready for BH I expect. I noticed it was all flowers though, no veg plants if anyone had them in mind.

For once I came away without any plants

Hawthorn, I think must be two types, like elderflowers.

One type is pleasant, the other type is cat wee smell.

Unfortunately the huge one near my garden, like Blues, is the cat wee version

Ah, the Siberian Hamsters, ties in nicely with the fjords

twopenny said:

Farway your front of house sounds really interesting. Can we have a photo sometime when it's all blooming?

Of course, nothing in flower now though, just dying down Daffs, which is a job to do soon

T & M mails I guess is them trying to entice with the Bank Holiday

YoungBlueEyes said:

"Say cheese" made me giggle Farway, but he's got human hands! *shudder* Hopefully your wee beastie isn't a rat pp.

He is from Norfolk, clue is only three fingers per mitt

A Norfolk hamster?

Only gardening in this heat will be pot up some tomatoes, and watch last week's Beechgrove

pink_poppy

Do you make anything with the wild garlic, Dusty?? I get groups popping up on FB and they’re all really excited if they find any - making pesto with it has been mentioned a few times. Sounds nice to me.

Guinness shandy would be sacrilege to my DH, twopenny 😂 I do like baby Guinness, but that doesn’t actually contain any Guinness, just Khalua or Tia Maria and then Baileys poured extremely carefully at an angle onto the khalua so it sits on top. It does look like a mini pint of Guinness if you do it right.

I didn’t know that about Hawthorn, Farway - I’ve seen some locally so I’ll give it a furtive sniff the next time I go past, see if it’s the nice or nasty variety.

Right, mouse or rat… it looks bigger in these pics, but it’s maybe 3 inches long in the body - I haven’t seen the tail…

Farway

pink_poppy said:

Right, mouse or rat… it looks bigger in these pics, but it’s maybe 3 inches long in the body - I haven’t seen the tail…

I asked this chap, he should know