Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

-taff said:

That's a nice bit of digger action I presume?

There's no digger access on our side; it's too steep, but the stream's small, so half an hour with a mattock, spade, and shovel.....

Canute completely blocked our side with rocks and lumps of tree. I thought, "OK matey," and joined him, tipping all the horrible clay extracted from walking friend's garden and some rubble down on our side to match. Then it was just pile-up the stuff extracted from the stream bed on top. 

Now the stream goes the other side of the post in the middle, does a 90 degree turn, does another behind the dam, and then carries on.

It's all pointless nonsense really, but it keeps me amused

I'll remove the picture later. Don't want a neighbour dispute! 

-taff

Am I wrong in assuming at some point it's going to wash away his bank on the 90 degree turn and just carry on as normal the way it was going anyway eventually?

Farway

Raining here, dull & wet. 

twopenny said:

Maybe Farway can use AI to come up with one and make his fortune. Next Christmas in the Seychelles 😄
It's grimmer this year than before so I'm hoping to just sail through it and come out sane on the other side.

I had one Christmas in Cape Town, then we went on to the Seychelles, after making sure that Nasty Mr Smith wasn't getting oil into Rhodesia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beira_Patrol

Very nice too, before it was tourist destination, coral reefs, swimming from sandy beaches in warm seas, riding giant tortoises, double bo**ock coconuts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodoicea

I've still got one of the coconuts

To make it even better, that nice Mr Wilson devalued the pound in your pocket, luckily we were being paid in Aussie dollars by then, so my pound was safe 

Nice to know the price of potted hyacinths has skyrocketed, the modern-day equivalent of being paid in Aussie dollars. 

Knee is still twinging at times, Lurgy is lurking, I had a good shiver yesterday evening, but apart from sneezing I'm fine

Nice bit of [un]civil engineering Dusty. Does the stream debris clog Canute's bit? Just curious why he would damn it instead of just letting it continue downstream

No gardening today, wet & knee still. I did make a start on the conservatory African violets, still more to do though

All this beetroot talk, the two I managed to grow were nice, and I have found the seed packet, so I may give it another go next year, but thin them out next time

Dustyevsky

Farway said:

Nice bit of [un]civil engineering Dusty. Does the stream debris clog Canute's bit? Just curious why he would damn it instead of just letting it continue downstream

No, I wouldn't think so. The stream is straight and fast-flowing all the way down to the river, as in my first picture. Any leaves and other debris tend to get swept away in weather like we've had. There's been some silt, thanks to the new neighbour farmer clearing his section with a digger, but that seems to have gone now. With the fields not ploughed for cereals any more, the amount of mud ought to reduce. The water's clear today.

-taff said:

Am I wrong in assuming at some point it's going to wash away his bank on the 90 degree turn and just carry on as normal the way it was going anyway eventually?

Yes, it would have done that by now, but Mr C has an odd bit of sheep fencing lying there, which has trapped debris. I don't think this is about tidiness! 

In other news, most of our outdoor lights are up, the tree has been trimmed down and installed in the conservatory, and it's beginning to feel a bit like Christmas!  Bang on cue, the drunkards are saying there will be a frost tonight. 

twopenny

I'm not surprised Dusty, it's been darn cold out there despite the sunshine.

No gardening today, looked at the weeds that need sorting in the front but that was it. I'm not bothering in the biting cold

So have a sunset to warm you up

And there's a mystery cloud for Less but I've lost it somewhere. Challenge for another day

Hope Bluey is all right, not been heard of since the Christmas party

YoungBlueEyes

Morning all, on I couldn’t tell you what Day it is for I’m on my phone. 

Fab photos, as always. You deffo should be doing something with your pics Less  And that sunset is a belter 2p! 

All alright here, well, snafu not fubar. Himself is still mostly in bed and has been banned from coming down the stairs ‘til he stops all that coughing. Filthy animal. 2 of his workmates are out of hospital, but the one really poorly lad was moved to intensive care the other night, his wife’s beside herself. They’ve 2 young’uns as well, a girl and a boy both under 5 ☹️

Doesn't feel Christmassy here at all. I’ve put some twinkly lights in the front window and that might be the extent of it  

I walk along a little creek on my way to work sometimes, I’ll go that way this morning and get a pic. I don’t know shape it’ll be in after all the rain we’ve had. Do I remember rightly one of us is ex met office..? At what point does bad weather become a storm..? Our wind and rain has been awful but not “a storm”… We’ve rain galore and 50mph winds coming tomorrow but that’s just Winter too apparently 🤨

OT colder today than it has been for a while. 2’c and Feels Like -3, which seems right to me actually. Warmer from tomorrow, they say, and some dry days coming, possibly 😃

Dustyevsky

twopenny said:  Dusty, it's been darn cold out there despite the sunshine.

So have a sunset to warm you up

Well, thank you.    As Bluey says it's a belting sunset, but now I've woken, the rain's hammering down again and the frost, which I missed, has turned to windy Devon sogginess.  Yesterday was definitely a window of opportunity to get the outdoor lighting done. 

But MSM says there's a polar vortex on its way to make pre-Christmas travel virtually impossible, with high winds, snow, etc. My drunkards chart isn't showing me that, though, just more of the soggies. Knowing how things usually go, I'm believing that. 

Bluey, that's pretty scary stuff about the lads in hospital.  It's a good job Himself is out of danger and obviously made of sterner stuff, but how awful for the very poorly lads and their folks, and at this time too. :'(

This morning, I'm belatedly writing Christmas cards while waiting for a delivery of wood and fancy screws for two more deep beds.  The wood will be wet, so it can just stay in the yard over the festive season. Having it there when everyone in the trade is off until the New Year could be important.   I'm OK with Christmas for a couple of days, but to be honest, that's the limit for me of sitting indoors indulging. I'll want to be out, doing things, by Friday week! Indeed, if I can drag anyone out for a walk on Boxing Day, that'll be grand! 

I've noticed a grand return of blackbirds to the garden in the last week. At present, they seem to be full of Christmas goodwill and not competing for territory.  Looking out through the rainy windows the other day, I could just make out 3, all sitting together, so I picked up the camera and took a picture.....How cute!

Ah, it turned out, my 'blackbirds' weren't birds at all, but these cardoon heads bobbing in the breeze.  I was so disappointed I deleted the shot, so this will have to do instead. Sorry about the drain cover in the background! (Septic tank probs, again...but you don't need to know about those.    ) 

greenbee

Dusty - I'll be down your way (probably not that close, but not as far as normal!) on Boxing Day, so if I can't drag anyone else out for a walk, Stinky and I know who to get in touch with!

Septic tank smell problems here seem to have resolved with a new cover to replace the badly-fitting diamond-shaped Klargester lid with a proper, sealed, square one. Of course, the pump then failed, but that's been replaced. For a horrible moment I thought yesterday it was all starting to smell again, but it's the neighbours over the road... of course, they are down wind... 

Farway

Grey after a cracking sunrise, red sky in morning? Just checked Ventsky, I can see Dusty's rain, but it goes up T'north later, not east, so I'm spared, just grey.

That flu sounds bad YBE, and to echo Dusty, so awful for the others, specially the younger one at this time. Hope it all pans out well eventually.

Dustyevsky said:

But MSM says there's a polar vortex on its way to make pre-Christmas travel virtually impossible, with high winds, snow, etc. . I'll want to be out, doing things, by Friday week! 

Ah, it turned out, my 'blackbirds' weren't birds at all, but these cardoon heads bobbing in the breeze.  I was so disappointed I deleted the shot, so this will have to do instead. ) 

While you're out, pop into Specsavers 

Hope the Polar vortex is a fable, I'm supposed to be over DD's for Christmas, snow & winds could stop that journey

No gardening for me today, apart from knee etc it's just too soggy, but here's a pic from Wisley, 2021, to remind us of better days, and continue the prickly theme

twopenny

I'm sorry your neighbours smell Greenbee.
Do you have to keep the windows shut? 😉

Terrible about the guys in hospital. Is it flu or covid? Because the night coughing was one of the horrible symptoms of the original variant.. Every time you laid down. Then it suddenly got betterish. Remember it took 6 weeks to get back to fitness.
Glad you've managed to stay fit.
How's the rearrangement at work going?

Dusty a walk sounds good. I don't often do Christmas but this year I'm just not interested. I think because I've been told it's Christmas since September and of course I'm not able to join in any activities. I'm fine with that. I used to go abroad somewhere sunny and I do miss that.

As I can't walk them I've been watching a prog called Winter Walks on BBC which is unusual known people and very relaxing for its seriousness rather than random celebs. 
https://www.televisioncatchup.co.uk/winter-walks

It's raining here but it's supposed to warm up the next few days which will be good. Too soggy to garden but may fix the weather vane which I notice isn't turning, maybe go to the garden centre and faint at the price of big pots and that's the lot.
GW tonight to counteract the wall to wall Christmas programmes.
Honest I don't mind Christmas but for 4 months?!!!