Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Farway

Working_Mum said:

I clearly need to retire and live a fuller life (December  2026 I have my eye on you!).

I used to live down on the south coast when I was 8/11 as my Dad was in the Royal Navy - Southwick, Pompey and Southsea have a special place in my heart! About 10 years ago we took a family cruise from Southampton and stayed at the Premier 1nn at Southsea - we walked along to a pub close to the docks and everyone got very drunk. My son and nephew were fishing / crabbing off the sea wall. My dad fell over and gave himself a black eye on the way back! My sister and I took the kids to the Isle of Wigit (as we used to call it too YBE!) on the hovercraft and had a mooch. It was a lovely trip down Memory Lane.

Hope you make the target on time & within budget, despite the actions of those in charge of “things”

Handy Hotel, pub on site, fairground, chish & fips next door, Hovercraft on the door step, and fishing out the front door

Guessing your dad was at HMS Dryad then?

Wind has dropped, no rain due, so I'm going to give the emerging weeds in Dog Poo border a squirt of killer once I clock off here

YoungBlueEyes

Posting without catching up 🙄

Ferry over was great, huge windows on the front of her so you can take it all in 😃. Not sure where it came from but we had one funny wee wave appear that was strange… 



Aisle of widget is windy but lurvely. Some v pretty gardens about. Nearly everyone’s got purple fluffy daisies, great swathes of them all over the place! 

Been to that marvellous Italianate house in the top left corner. House a stunner, stuff inside alright (the only labels you see are the ones that say “Do Not Touch”. Nothing about where stuff came from or the history or nowt. Gardens still be planted and sorted. Weeds galore. Café V expensive and poor quality+quantity of ‘refreshments’, staff surly all the way round. Wasn’t worth the bother tbh. 

Weeds - (hopefully they’ll show up clearly on the massive pic this will turn into! 

Her beach was lovely though, I shouted and waved to you all with gay abandon - 

(Spinnaker just visible.)

I hope everyone’s alright, and your Open Garden went well GB  

twopenny

Looking good Bluey.
Do you plan to go to the gardens on the south coast or is that a step too far for your other half 😉

Been dead heading again but out the back, mowing and using the leaf blower to hide all the fallen petals that blew off in the winds.

Yes Farway, I have used pegs but they kept coming off🫤
Still, almost no birds. I wonder if it's the bone dry ground as this usually happens in August when they've finished breeding but it's hot and dry early this year.

This is Felicia which has no thorns and needs no attention Farway. Scented. Thinking of the volunteer plot you said you needed? 

Dustyevsky

twopenny said:

Farway did you know borage is a 'pick-me-up'? Look up why teens used to buy it. 

That one must've slipped past us Devon teenagers!   Now, I realise the opportunity to get the prettier blue strain, like Farway's, has also slipped past, this year.  We have the white, but I meant to replace or supplement it with the blue. 
Always another year, though. 

Working_Mum said:

I've loved reading everything - so much seems to happen to everyone else - I clearly need to retire and live a fuller life (December  2026 I have my eye on you!).

You take brilliant photos, though. Just look at the atmosphere captured here!

There are rumours the official OAP age will soon go to 70!  Speaking as someone who jumped off the hamster wheel early to care for a parent with dementia, I now realise that decision was 5 years late.  It didn't seem possible, until circumstances gave a push. We worked as hard as ever, but we broke the fear that kept us in our version of Groundhog Day.  

 I'm looking forward to 2026 too, because that's when Mrs Dusty becomes an OAP! 

YoungBlueEyes said:

Ferry over was great, huge windows on the front of her so you can take it all in 😃. Not sure where it came from but we had one funny wee wave appear that was strange… 

Weeds - (hopefully they’ll show up clearly on the massive pic this will turn into! 

Her beach was lovely though, I shouted and waved to you all with gay abandon - 

Perhaps the wave was a mini tsunami, caused by Farway banging the desk when his 'puter went offline? 

Their weeds look like American willow herb; the bane of my life here.  Can none of the serfs swim? 

I didn't realise the choir went with you!  Don't they cramp your style a little? 

Dustyevsky

As my last post was nawty, I'll do a sensible one now, starting with the weather showing more promise in the next few days.    Yesterday, I dug out the bed for the squash, having seen nighttime temperatures may stay in double figures for a while, instead of plunging to 6c, or lower. The usual ones, like Hunter, planted first, have struggled in their pots, whereas Uchiki Kuri, sourced at Lidl, have grown away quickly. 

The mangy touts have, once again, gone anaemic in the raised bed, despite watering with Epsom salts and comfrey water. Not sure what's going on there. The ones in a bucket in the polytunnel are fine. I've just cleared the last of the overwintered broad beans from the poly, so now wonder what to put in their place. I've plenty of leeks, so I might try some of those to harvest early at trendy pencil-size....or maybe a little bigger. Lettuce and similar veg just bolts in the poly during summer, but I'm experimenting with kale as a cut & come again for stir fries etc.

At least the raised beds are producing strawberries:

I'm not sure what the varieties are. They get themselves muddled-up over the years. Much as we like the blackbirds, we use net covers to keep them bird-free. 

Sunny, up to 19c today and a stiff breeze at times.....much like Ventnor, in fact! 

Farway

Dull but feeling close, sun due out soon & then maybe thunderstorms

Nice to hear from IOW, seems alls well, at least weather wise. Lots of moaning on local FB about traffic over there, roadworks problems.

Willow herb, I've mixed feelings, in flower it's lovely to look at

Wow! On the strawberries, Dusty. I'm going to check mine under the fleece later, still green last time I looked.

twopenny said:

Yes Farway, I have used pegs but they kept coming off🫤

This is Felicia which has no thorns and needs no attention Farway. Scented. Thinking of the volunteer plot you said you needed? 

Are the pegs the spring clip type? Mine are and work, but maybe you are in a windier area than me? 

Thanks for the rose details, I have it in mind for my Dog Poo border at the front, which is now Work in Progress after this morning's visit to Morries, see below

Dustyevsky said:

The mangy touts have, once again, gone anaemic in the raised bed, despite watering with Epsom salts and comfrey water. Not sure what's going on there. The ones in a bucket in the polytunnel are fine. I've just cleared the last of the overwintered broad beans from the poly, so now wonder what to put in their place. I've plenty of leeks, so I might try some of those to harvest early at trendy pencil-size....or maybe a little bigger. Lettuce and similar veg just bolts in the poly during summer, but I'm experimenting with kale as a cut & come again for stir fries etc..

My Kelvedon Wonders were just forming pods last time I looked, and the purple podded Manky toots were just flowering, purple flowers, quite pretty. I feel camera urge oncoming.

Never been a kale fan, but somewhere I saw mention slicing it up & air frying, makes sort of Kale crisps, personally I'd prefer pork retchings. 

https://www.liveeatlearn.com/air-fryer-kale-chips/ other sites are available

Up to Morries first thing, bread & milk but had to look at the plants of course

Most were alive and looking good today. 

I found three for two perennials in my trolley 

Sea Holly, Chinese gooseberry & gazania, which is supposed to be hardy, but I have my doubts, but at £2 each I can live with it

They'll go into Dog Poo border once the weeds I squirted start dying

Morries have young veg plants in now, I saw sweet corn, runners, carrots, some sort of brassicas, some sort of onion / leeks and strawberries

No sign of the sweet corn I sowed, Oh well, I could put Morries plants in but CBA now.

This afternoon I hope to check on cherries & strawberries, maybe feast awaits?

Farway

Sun has come out, checked on cherries & strawberries

Cherries not quite ripe enough, strawbs, one big fat ripe one which I snaffled, loads more to come but not ready

I'm just chuffed I still have them, fleece is the way to go in future

Spotted this weevil looking chap sunning himself on the rhubarb. Anyone know what he is?

YoungBlueEyes

OT warm and sunny but the wind keeps the heat from building up. Very pleasant  

Not done southern gardens yet, they’ll have to be tomorrow. We did Arum Bay - it was alright - and Yarmouth today. Yarmouth is pure lovely but there’s not much of it. Himself liked the castle, cannons and history and stuff, but he thinks I don’t like all the carryon.  So I’ll announce it’s Garden Day tomorrow and he’ll not have a choice, as I’ve seemingly compromised with the Boy Stuff today 🫢

Pics - Q.Victoria’s planting regime for Farway (nice to know I got one right 😃 ) 

A lovely beach one and a dog one for 2p

And here’s what yours could’ve looked like wm  

(I’m looking for something for you Dusty…) 

twopenny

True that 😄
The most extreme example I know was a friend built an outdoor kennel and run for the chosen puppy that was to be trained to go shooting with him.
Knew the parents..
Next I saw the dog had decided against that plan and travelled in the passenger seat of the car. Soft as butter that dog 😄

No gardening today, hot as and wet out.
Tried for a beer bum photo but it moved too fast so here's a hoverfly having a feast. Only needed one flower 

 

LessImpecunious

Hmm, to the dog pic

Yesterdays photo, meant to post earlier, but as usual things got in the way...

Dad and baby... Apologies for pixelation, cropped for a closer view, but maybe not such a good idea... Feeder with naked nuts is just off to the right, woodpeckers and nuthatches in particular take advantage of our abundance of fenceposts...

OT, turned hot and sunny this afternoon, looking forward to thunderstorms and 40mph winds tomorrow....glad my climbing beans (planted yesterday) are only a few inches high....