Awful weather - typical Brits talk

twopenny

Phew what a day!
Chilly and gloomy as expected but did get washing out, painted garden little table. It started spattering rain half way through of course It's the wrong colour but all I had. It will protect it till spring.
Then cleared and pruned around the sitooerie which took some doing and I found I had a fern there in a sorry state. Tried getting ioutt but ended up in 2 bits. So now I have 2 ferns 😊

At least it's almost clear enough to get some sort of support for the plants to shade the area.
Found a clematis too and that I'd pruned off a little rose and buds so that's now decorating the kitchen where I'd see more of it than the garden in this weather.

This all did my back in so with seeds collected, found I was sitting on a planter yesterday with agapanthus seeds hanging right there. Some fell into my pocket so they are waiting to be bottled.
I've tried growing them before and it takes about 5yrs for them to really grow. Last time I got to 4yrs then pulled them up thinking they were weeds 😐

Raining now, don't think it's enough to help the poor plants that are drooping badly so I may be using the hosepipe while wearing a mac 😮

Got my first parking ticket today 😳 and the neighbour is parked ready for a 4.45 start on a Sunday 😬
Hopefully tomorrow will be more relaxing!

Dustyevsky

twopenny said:

Raining now, don't think it's enough to help the poor plants that are drooping badly so I may be using the hosepipe while wearing a mac 😮
Got my first parking ticket today 😳

I think you might get enough wet stuff tomorrow morning, but then a few hours of respite, perhaps, before dark. 

Speaking of parking, our return visit to Simonsbath yesterday was £1 more expensive than in August. The price had gone up to £4 for 3 hours!  One might argue toilet facilities are included, but there was no soap and only cold water.  If we go again, we'll park on the road and go behind a tree, if necessary, like at other places! 

It was the 'easy' Simonsbath walk we did, down to Cow Castle and beyond. The 'beyond' bit was because we weren't sure if we'd reached Cow Castle, since there was no signage whatever. You'd think the National Park Authority could put up a wooden board or something, even if they can't run to soap. Anyway, we considered the big hill we walked around was the castle. One of us wanted to climb it, but the other didn't, and they had the casting vote!   

On the way, I spotted this bird flying up the Barle, and immediately thought of pp. Sadly, it landed some distance away, so I'd to use a lot of zoom...

More tomorrow. In hedgehog news, nothing strange happened on Friday night; just the usual comings and goings of hogs, fox, and cat. 

Today, like 2p, we had light rain around tea time after a fairly windy day. I got the grass cut, covered recent log acquisitions with a tarpaulin, and constructed an insert for the hog feeding box to do away with the concrete block we've used to partition-off the food. As we have up to 3 hogs in there at a time, Mrs D wants to have room for individual bowls, but I think that's crazy. They climb into the bowl we've used up to now, so they'll just upset smaller ones, and I think it'll be chaos! 

We'll see in the morning....

pink_poppy

That’s me back from my hols last night. Absolutely shattered, so of course I’ve been awake on and off since 2.30am 😴 I’m going back to bed now, so will post more later, but in the meantime a couple of pics from last night… 😍

LessImpecunious

Bad luck on the ticket 2P, had my first last week which I hope to appeal in MSE stylee....

Thanks all for kind comments on my photos, I do more-or-less just point and shoot and (as you will have noticed!) not all are v successful... While pic posting may be possible (just about to test) - here are some from yesterday - not many flowers in the garden at the moment, but suddenly spotted something which is not supposed to flower until Christmas (I always thought), though normally does here c. late November...

No, not that one, it's the one behind...and that looks a lot blurrier here than on my phone 

Here's the right one...

Resizing on here didn't make this one any less blurrier... and I can't find any way on my phone to reduce image size, other than cropping... Gurgling didn't help....

Farway

Came on wondering if photos are working again, to find PP pulls out the Aurora  ,and Dusty gets a Heron. Wonderful stuff.

No chance of any of that here, I'm like 2P, waiting for the long promised rain, was supposed to be waking up to it, no chance, checking V'sky it's mucking about down Torbay still. Maybe this afternoon?

It's dull & a bit breezy, the cherry tree over the road is looking good with leaf colour, but needs sun to "lift" the colour, not dank gloom

Checked the young plants growing in the gaps in my front steps, maybe erig wahtnames, took some photos which I'll post for second, or third opinion once I get sorted

Still using up the water on AI, photos are now working for me 

Older photo, I look even worse now 

Dustyevsky

I got a ticket at about 17.30 on a Saturday, for overstaying a 2 hr slot by 10 minutes. That was in 1979, and I've collected no more since.  Having no chance of fighting the fine, I paid and boycotted that town thereafter. Now it's a dump, but I don't think my failure to shop there again has much to do with it! 

Supercalifragilistic Aurora pics, pp!  Such clear skies!  If it's doing up your way what it's doing here, you won't miss anything with a long lie-in. We woke to heavy rain.  Much needed, but it could have waited another day. 

On the hedgehog front most of the food was cleared, so my prediction about mess wasn't the case, but somehow, one bowl had been neatly stacked on another!  Here are 3 of the hogs in the early evening; 2 tucking-in, and one looks like it's making off, having had its meal.

The 2 hogs we took to the rescue have had mixed fortunes. The little boy hog is doing OK, but the girl has a lot of internal parasites and is still losing weight.She's on a worming programme at Hog HQ now.

Your photo's clear enough to ID winter jasmine Less. Not sure what the other is, though! 

Back to the walking on Friday, and here's some fungi I snapped in the woodland. Any ideas about ID?    They look quite distinctive.

OT: Rain moderating now. Might get out in the garden this afternoon. 

EDIT: Just spotted Farway's latest creation. At this rate, he'll be so skilled he'll soon be able to command a 6 figure salary, and buy Rottery Acres all on his own! 

YoungBlueEyes

Good afternoon all  

Forgive me not doing a full catchup, I'm just sat now with a coffee after getting the garden done for the rain that's meant to be coming. 
I've fully weeded all that diddy clover-looking stuff, and de-thistled and de-mares tailed and de-dandelioned the grass, and some dead heading, and tipped out pots of <summat> that had that poxy buttercup nonsense all in them. I've planted 2 new heathers I bought, and replanted the wee bulbs that came up, and those cyclamen I bought the other week, ditto bulbs again, and gave the grass it's final haircut. That's it now, #Shawshank

We got to Chatsworth yesterday, early enough to buy one of the emergency tickets once we were told you have to have pre bought a ticket to join the queue *sigh*  I think the woman was lovely and helpful cos she was glad of an English accent after all the performing yanquis she'd had to put up with. It was a good day and we both enjoyed it, but we said it wasn't worth the money for the few rooms they quickly rush you through. On reflection it was a better day out in the gardens, but that's hindsight for you. So it's another one in the Samuel Johnson camp - worth seeing, but not worth going to see  

I've a few pics but is the place having difficulty is it?  I'll try the most on topic ones, see what occurs - 

Edit - Bahh it let me load them all up but then on posting there's only one there  

Farway

Dustyevsky said:

Back to the walking on Friday, and here's some fungi I snapped in the woodland. Any ideas about ID?    They look quite distinctive.

No, but I used up more water and asked Gemini AI, and nothing definitive, sitting on a fence for this, it did say, stating bleedin' obvious, don't eat it 

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• Query successful

Identifying wild mushrooms from a photograph is challenging and should never be used for determining edibility. It's crucial to examine physical characteristics not visible in the photo (like gill attachment, spore color, and any reaction to bruising) and, ideally, consult with a local expert.

Based on the image, which shows two white mushrooms growing among brown dead leaves on a forest floor, here are some possible identifications and key features to note:

Possible Identifications

The general appearance—a plain white cap and a thick, sturdy-looking stem—in this habitat (leaf litter, likely from a deciduous or mixed forest, given the broad, dry leaves) suggests it could be one of several genera:

• Amanita species (e.g., Amanita verna, Destroying Angel, or similar white species): Many deadly white Amanitas have a thick stem and a bulbous base, often enclosed in a volva (a cup-like sac at the very base, which may be hidden by the leaf litter). The cap is often smooth and the stem has a ring (annulus) that may or may not be visible in the picture. These are extremely poisonous.

• Russula or Lactifluus species: Many of these fungi are white and grow on the ground, often in association with trees (mycorrhizal).

  • Lactifluus piperatus (Peppery Milk-cap): Often white to cream, has a thick stem, and exudes a white 'milk' (latex) when cut, which is often very peppery.

  • White Russula species: Known as "brittlegills" because the cap and stem are often quite brittle.

• Clitocybe or Leucopaxillus species: Some of these white species grow in leaf litter.

  • Leucopaxillus giganteus (Giant Funnel Cap): While the young specimens here aren't giant, this mushroom can start off with this shape and color. It would eventually develop into a very large, funnel-shaped cap.

• A White Bolete (e.g., Boletus or Tylopilus species): Some boletes have white caps and thick stems. These would have pores (like a sponge) instead of gills on the underside of the cap.

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At least you have some names FWIW

YoungBlueEyes

Lookit them weeds 🙃

pink_poppy

Never mind the weeds, look at that fungi, it looks like porcelain. Beautiful    

I like your fungi too, Dusty, they remind me of some mushroom chewy sweets from years ago.

Brilliant AI, Farway.