Awful weather - typical Brits talk

YoungBlueEyes

Correction, not 2 teeth, 1 tooth. Hope fully this illustrates the mechanics of the thing - 

That make sense? The writing on it informs me it is a “JarKey”. 

Farway

YoungBlueEyes said:

Not to worry about your refusnik dahlias Farway, Aldi have some in 
My bird-sown sunflower has decided it's alright here actually, and is giving it a go
I've a lovely big apple growing but when I gave it a tickle to see if it wanted to come off it ....didn't feel right :boak:


Jam jar tops Farway - I got daddy a thing that does the work for you. He had desperate arthritis in both his hands and it was a godsend for him. I don't know if I can explain it right but you hook it across the lid of the jar and pull upwards, and it's 2 'teeth' lever the lid up a tiny wee bit so that the airlock breaks and you can unscrew the lid easily. I'll risk upsetting the mods with yet another pic so you can see what I mean. 

Ta about dahlias, I was going to look next time at Morries, Aldi is PIA here

That sunflowers is cheerful, perhaps it will love it and self sow every year

Bummer on the apple, there seem to be loads of wasps this year, I had some on the blackberries, also pollinating the raspberries so mixed messages there.

Jam Tops, I know the thing you mention 'cos I have one  Works a treat. 

I also have sort of Jumbo pliers with serrated curved jam jar / bottle top sized jaws

Some manufacturers cunningly make tops with curved edge surface that only an octopus could grip

twopenny

Grey here too but I really appreciate it. I'm a sun lover but it's been exhausting.
A cold breeze struck up last night and it was glorious. Found I could breathe again and I wasn't getting some terrible health problem.

Tidying last evening never got finished. This morning my roses suddenly burst into bloom also relieved by the cool I guess.

My everyone has been busy what with bingo and dancing on the tables. Hope you can calm the DD wedding conversation or at least survive it with equinimity. Any of the wine left from last night?

I have a jar opener that I recommend to a gardening friend with arthritis and thought I'd made a mistake but he got one and said it was good.
 

So whatever you find. Sorry about the crumbs, it lives near the breadboard 🙂

More later but must get on with the housework while the leg and enthusiasm is with me.

wort

2p just waiting on the wedding photos now. Wine not much 😂 I chopped the top off the black lace Sambucca. Also watered pots,and gave the garden bin a squeeze down and rammed a bit more in now it’s had a week to mature.

I had to buy one of those plier gadgets for my jars, of course had problems with beetroot jar that neither me nor dgson could unlock until we did the poke a hole in the lid thing my mum used to do. I did have visions of beetroot juice ending up everywhere. The gadget YBE mentioned might be better.

I’ve noticed lots of wasps now , some kept getting in the doors at work and battering against the big window. Shame they’re eating your fruit. Before you get a chance. You would think all this sun would have us rolling in bountiful harvests. I watched all the beech grove gardens last night, skipping through quite a lot as I don’t grow F and V . The cinnamon in the lavender pot was an interesting fact but I’ll probably forget when I come to check on my cuttings.

wort

annual Garrya photo.

YoungBlueEyes

Cool and humid out there, 13'c and a high of 22' to come, possibly.

I was telling Cissie last night about Bongo's Bingo (a slightly censored version) and she tutted and paused, and then she said ".....I don't know where you get your common streak from." Naw it was quite good fun Cissie, folk all up on the tables dancing and laughing and carrying on.” Ach do you mean Bingo Loco? My friend Betty and her sister go to that.” (Betty is a few years older than Cissie, and her sister is 103 coming.) 

You can’t tell that woman anything  

YoungBlueEyes

Deffo lift a JarKey if you see one wort, better than piercing the lid. I like your stringy tree thing, that looks quite exotic And how do you keep your acer so healthy? I got a couple from Lidl/Aldi a wee while ago and they're slowly turning against me...   Thanks for the reminder about BG, that'll give me something to watch tonight. Oh and in case anyone missed it - they've quietly slunk Only Connect back into the schedules! That's the sign that Autumn is a-coming :clapping: 

Dustyevsky

Farway said:

Careful with buddleia pics Dusty, was it Taff that is getting tempted despite hating them?

It does look a good one though

Jam jar tops anyone?

Age 16 is a fantastic year for many 

I understand why many people don't like them. They shoot up and outwards unexpectedly, and self-seed in awkward spots.  That one was a lucky save. Despite that, with oregano, they're top of the insect charts this month. 

Jam jars have about the same girth as an oil filter. Have you an OF removal tool in the shed, by any chance? 

Thinking about Bongo's Bingo, the last time Mrs Dusty and I went to a club where people danced on tables and drank yards of ale in 10 seconds, she was pregnant with DD1. Thriller had just been released, so it was waay back in the pre-courgette era of the early 80s! 

And 16 was a good age. I began perambulations with walking friend, got a few O levels after all, and life turned a happy corner....

That's a Vapoourer Moth caterpillar you have there, Bluey. You also had more luck with your sunflower than I did. Had about 5 or 6 growing away happily, until the slugs ate the lot. 

We aren't going to see a planning person from the council, wort. She's a planning advisor.   Big difference, although most good advisors start out as council planning officers. In effect, they're gamekeepers turned poacher, knowing the particular foibles of each local authority.   

One of our foibles is a liking for both your Garrya and the Japanese acer. We had both in our old garden, but there's no good spot for either here, so I'll admire yours from afar.   

OT: It looks as if the week ahead will be benign weather-wise; a Goldilocks week, neither too hot, too wet, nor too windy. As we're on Devon time, it's possible we may be rectifying the septic tank drain field, but equally, as the digger guy is only a week late, we may not.

Yesterday, I said we'd seen many Peacock butterflies on the buddleia, and here's one. One of the first to be seen, there appears to be a gap when the older, last season ones die off and the new ones are at the caterpillar stage.  Anyway it's good to see so many, along with Red Admirals and Gatekeepers. No comma spotted here yet, Farway.

Farway

Dull but warm, at least I get a day off from watering without a blazing sun.

Dustyevsky said:

Jam jars have about the same girth as an oil filter. Have you an OF removal tool in the shed, by any chance? 

No comma spotted here yet, Farway.

I expect so, but a combination the JarKey [YBE] and my saw toothed plier things manage most tops

The ones I do struggle with are fertiliser & medicine bottle tops, the squeeze, depress & turn while standing on one leg whistling Dixie types

I'll admit to attacking some with Mole Grips and just butchering the lot off and decanting into a sensible screw top bottle. 

No kids etc around so not a hazard to anyone growing up with asbestos, lead paint, scrapyards with cars stacked three high, jumping Jacks, pen nib darts, matchstick guns & white dog poo 

I keep trying for unblurred Comma photo

I like that combo Wort, is that a white clematis photo bombing at the top left?

Still not caught up with GW, nearly did yesterday but finished up chasing around with Chicago Police Dept.

Main task today is garden wheelie round front for collection tomorrow, then I can start topping up again

Today is my white outdoor cucumber. First time of growing these. 

Supposed to be Heritage and save own seeds.

No idea about taste yet, looks like it needs a shave first 

twopenny

Lovely sunflower Bluey 🙂
I had one randomly growing a couple of years ago and it was so bright and cheerful to see from the kitchen.
Tried to grow them for real and zilch, nada nothing.
Mind you have to be careful, some of the seeds they sell are the rampant things that you can never get rid of and take over.

Wort I thought the garrier photo was a flower display in a container. Amazing, looks beautiful. Smashing Acer too.

Dusty that's some photo! You can see the irridesence in the blue.

No real news here. The odd 3 min rain over small places but nothing in others. Very strange. Went 3miles out of home to see the outside world and when I returned the place was wet. Everywhere else still bone dry.

Had a bit of tidy up in the garden but lots to do. It's cool and cloudy this morning so after domestic nonsense may give it another go.
There's no pleasure in working in the dust with dying stuff and no reward of fruit.
The Bramley has produced some apples (7yrs) and I've nipped off the small ones but nothing comes off easy. Even the ripe plums are cemented on.
Raspberries are soggy and musty despite watering.

Maybe a warm wet autumn will bring something unexpected 🤞