Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Working_Mum

Hello everyone!!I haven't quite caught up on everyone's posts but I have read todays!!

I know it seems like an age ago but I hope everyone had a brilliant Christmas and are all set for a happy and healthy 2026. May you all remain lurgy-free and as bandy as possible.

I'm not sure what caused me to disappear to be honest - work was super busy, my Mum has grown increasingly confused and that means my headspace is taken up with sorting her than anything else - I just seemed to smash onto the sofa over Christmas with a groan and a schooner of sweet sherry

My garden looks dull and lifeless apart from when it was a beautiful crisp white from the smattering of snow we had. Looks like we are in for a bit of sludgy weather if the mayor of Wetwang (our TV weather chap)  is to be believed. I have taken the executive decision to do some cutting back and general tidying in late February/ early March - weather permitting. Its current states sees lots of blackies rummaging about on the ground for food and it is a joy to behold.

I'm currently readying my office for handing back to the landlord - 24 years I've been there and getting it ready has seen me rediscover muscles I didn't know I had as I got rid of old kit and furniture and start the redecorating. I have told myself it'll make January go quickly and then I am one more (big) step along my retirement journey!

I don't have any turbine pics to start the year but appreciated seeing Dusty's quite a few pages ago! Loving the idea of eating homegrown toms and pears on Christmas Day too - it's simply ace.

Right I'm off to finish catching up and promise to be around a bit more - you've kept me sane these last couple of weeks!

((WM))

twopenny

Lovely to see you and just how busy. Wow! That's a lot of stuff to be dealing with, no wonder you haven't been seen 😲 but it all sounds positive even though each can be tough. 
You're going to need that stint in the garden to find some headspace 🙂

If you can give Bluey a nudge to tell us the rest of her story I'd be grateful. Just left us with a cliffhanger 😵‍💫

Less it's amazing how beautiful fungi can be. I've seen those by a stream in Snowdrop Valley. 
Beautiful sunset 😍

Taff you and Dusty are keeping this thread legitimate considering how many of us are falling apart at the moment.
I feel exhausted just reading.

Farway I could only enjoy that photo if the eggs were any good. They produce so much these days with no respect for quality.
Used to be a special process for the eggs and moulds. Now they just sling in more palm oil.
And it's just not the same if you don't have chocolates inside the egg.

Frost here this morning but it's bucked up a bit. Overcast but no wind.
I over did the going out for fresh air yesterday and the lurgy hangs on with little sleep but each day a little more with it. 

twopenny

Is this the same one Less?

Or a different member of the family?

I;ll give you some blue ones too

 

Both photos I posted have vanished!!

They may or may not be here :'(

LessImpecunious

twopenny said:

Is this the same one Less?

Or a different member of the family?

I;ll give you some blue ones too

 

Both photos I posted have vanished!!

They may or may not be here :'(

Not vanished for me! The red ones look like mine - and either could be Ruby or Scarlet Elf Cups as far as I can tell - you need a microscope to distinguish them... Apparently there are white, green, and blue species or variants too, but not sure if they all occur in UK... The second pic looks like something called Turkeytail...

Frost here too, lasted until dusk, replaced by drizzle and slight rise in temperature (from cold to not quite so cold  )... oh, and my forecast from yesterday was correct - no sun to speak of, just haze or cloud between us and the sun, though with some annoying small patches of blue in all other directions 

-taff

Your deep bed looks a lot more work than my deep bed, mines metal and doesn't involve banging wood into the earth, which, incidentally, does look very hard packed. I assume you've popeye's arms now? Your thingy reminds me of churches for some reason but it's probably a line holder of some sort I'm guessing? 

Very cold here too, even the fence was frozen which is not something I see very often but was very beautiful when the sun hit it, all diamond sparkling when the frost dissolved. 

Farway, you could bung your gd a few plants in reciprocation for making beds? Play on the infirmity bit [or mybe not play, just plain flat out state it.]..Or ask for it as a late chrissie present, or advance Easter one  

Hey WM, sounds like a lot of stuff is going on in your life, sounds very challenging, hope you come out the other end intact! I did laugh at Farway bandy though, thought about the saying, couldn't stop a pig in a passage, is that a Welshism or a britishism? 

We're all keeping it legit 2p, it's only about the weather after all Those potentially turkey tail are lovely aren't they? Like living agate slices. 

Went to the allotment today intending to Do Stuff, but was thwarted by people being too kind and leaving prunings everywhere and kindly filling my dead hedges for me, which of course I then had to empty while doing an impressive swear [filled straight, not at an angle for stability, thrown on top and pushed out the wire which I was wring up as I go to stop it bowing out, large logs on top instead of at the bottom so even more unstable, added rotting brassica stalks, absolute stink, crushed the plant I put in the middle of one of them, god I was livid...and shouting !!!!!! at the top of my voice. ] I am calmer now though but even though they filed more than up three hedges they still left a massive pile of prunings...where on earth did they think I was going to put them? I asked OH to make me a sign saying no more thank you and laminate it so I can stick it on the shed. 

It's raining now BTW...

twopenny

The road to hell is paved with good intentions - judge Judy 🙂

Forgot Dusty's thingy. I've seen it before and think it might be used for getting up drain covers. Something like that. A workman's gadget rather than trade but it's obviously more valued now than whoever forgot it.

Dustyevsky

Good to see you WM, and wonderful to hear the news of your progress towards imminent retirement.  It's an interesting and scary concept, much eased if already self-employed to some extent. If there's a particular interest that's been neglected, it may even be exciting!  Your situation is quite like mine was, over 20 years ago, when I juggled supply teaching, running the plant nursery with Mrs D, and looking after Dad, who was in his 90s and struggling with dementia. Remembering that weekly merry-go-round, I understand where you may be right now, and the relief retiring from employment brought. 

Your Elfin crockery and the turkey tail pictures are super, 2p, as is taff's poetic description of the latter. I believe both are edible, but I'd prefer to take away a photo, like yours. 

-taff said:

Your deep bed looks a lot more work than my deep bed, mines metal and doesn't involve banging wood into the earth, which, incidentally, does look very hard packed. I assume you've popeye's arms now? Your thingy reminds me of churches for some reason but it's probably a line holder of some sort I'm guessing? 

The wooden deep bed is easy enough to construct, it's the excavation and removal of hard-packed clayey soil that takes the time and energy....and filling it up again. o.   Like your dead hedge, people were just trying to be helpful.    A line holder is an interesting theory for the Thingy. Certainly, it's old, and it's very handy for all sorts of jobs where the Big Thingy is overkill. Everyone who does fencing has one of those, used as a probe and hole opener, before belting a post into the ground. Here, my fencing guy's mate saved us from puncturing a 150mm water main with a corner post using one of those. The village supply is supposed to be at least 0.6m down, but he hit it at 0.4m, saying, “ I'm on summat plastic!”  I said something unprintable, but basically it was, "Arrgghhh! Water main! Forgot!"   

I agree, 2p, it may be treasured more now than at the time when its purpose was maybe more obvious. Good for inserting plants into banks too.   

OT: Horribly wet out there, but the inebriates say it will move away east by lunchtime to give Farway and others even more than we've had.    I'm off shopping for vittles.(Spell check wants me to write something slightly rude. here)  We've finished everything bought for New Year, and the polytunnel isn't keeping up with our need for fresh greens etc. Here's some growing-on:
That's fairly boring, so here is a snap of two birds on the feeders yesterday, staring at me. One is a blue chest, but as you can see, it's really a yellow jersey.

Farway

Dustyevsky said:

OT: Horribly wet out there, but the inebriates say it will move away east by lunchtime to give Farway and others even more than we've had.   

Cheers me dears  , It's arrived here and tipping down, just gloomy and awful out there,set for most of the day I think

Love that first fungus pic 2P, at first glance I thought it was a birds best with the open beaks !

I was dreaming about photographing flowers last night, beats maintaining air conditioning. Now I need to get out and do it, except for rain & no flowers I'm rarin' to go

Spent a while shuffling through old seed packets, on a tomato inventory. Looking back to last year I think I may have identified my sprawling and productive tom as Runbylicous, found an opened packet so must have sown some.

As you know my labelling is extremely poor, coupled with knocking the plants on the floor  :'(

Next stage is knock up a spreadsheet to list what i have. I should use it to keep track during the growing season, but I know I never will

I had hoped to find some Outdoor Girl, but she seems to have absconded, Shirley has taken her place

-taff said:

Farway, you could bung your gd a few plants in reciprocation for making beds? Play on the infirmity bit [or mybe not play, just plain flat out state it.]..Or ask for it as a late chrissie present, or advance Easter one  

Went to the allotment today intending to Do Stuff, but was thwarted by people being too kind and leaving prunings everywhere and kindly filling my dead hedges for me, 

I have thought about it, I did offer my garden to Horticultural GD if she fancied trying designs or whatever, but she is more into the bossing about rather than doing it, Ecological studies, so no good. 

The main problem is on going maintenance, bending & kneeling is out of the question, plus running out of puff & strength after half an hour or so

My garden is too small to really warrant paying someone to do odd bits, although money is not the problem really, I'm sure I'd be on edge watching what they were doing, leave that, no get that, prune here,  etc

I'd make an awful helicopter type of employer, always hovering   

Too much kindness, your hedging sounds like the folk who ask for,say, empty jars, and get a skip load

You Tube fed me this one yesterday, do look, although it's on Huw Edwards channel it shows small garden & enthusiastic and joyful beginner. 

Should cheer anyone up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aiUiSWhiWc

YoungBlueEyes

Morning all, on Martin Luther King jr's birthday.

Christ isn't daytime tv agony. I just lasted nearly 20 mins before switching it off and coming on here instead  

I like the mushroom pics, and the unidentifiable sunrise/set. You've your work cut out for you there Dusty, what'll go in the bed when it's done? 

Easter eggs fgs, it's beyond cynical now. It'd please me no end if everyone said "dya know what, none of us are buying anything this year, it's too soon after christmas and we've loads left so you can stick them". 

Good luck with your sign taff. People mean well but that carryon isn't helpful at all eh. 

2p I don't know the end to the story of the house-swoppers. AFAIK they're ringing round for litigators... I'll get a proper update when I get back to work on Monday :fingerscrossed: 

There was the loveliest sound when I was out feeding the birds this morning, turns out it was a ...charm...? of goldfinches in a nearby tree. I caught it on Merlin - I don't know whether they were talking to each other or warning off other birds or what but it was very cheering. Just about to upload the screenshot but it's got my location on it. I'll do that in a min. 

Done - 

Milder and damper here today, it's been cold and frosty recently. Might have to rename Shawshank Patch Chests Freezer - pic to follow when I've scrubbed out the place name.



Can’t find the pen wosname to scrub out location so I’ve just cut the tops off instead. 

Keep all that rain down there will you suvveners, thanks muchly  

twopenny

That's a good haul of birds Bluey. I was in the kitchen and heard one and reached for my phone then thought 'fgs woman, look out the window first ' 😏
Only had a Dunnock this morning but it has such a sweet voice.  Clears up bugs in the garden. Should have a nicer name.
Surely those folk don't have a leg to stand on because exch. Is legally binding. They are liable for payment so could be in trouble.
Interesting situation.

Farway you could plan your garden as you'd like it using ai. Share with your gd with lots of sighs and emotional blackmail 😄
What about raised beds you can sit on? Level paths. Seed shelves with a ledge so you can't knock them off 😉

And then one of your complete fantasy.

I've been stuck in so long, a week now, thinking of putting together all my downloaded photos of what I'd like inside and out and trying to make it happen. I know I'm thinking of selling but can't wait on what ifs forever.

Like your salad crop Dusty, when did you start them off? I've got my pot in a barrel (to stop slugs) ready. 
Like the bird photo, that's a happy looking lot.

Taff, yes. It's fatal to let people know what you want because they never really listen and it comes back to bite you in some way..
I said I wanted tiny autumn cyclamen and neighbour promptly gave me big red commercial ones that I had to find a home for 😬

It's been raining here, just the ordinary stuff, quite nice, so I thought I'd try and knock this catarrh and coughing on the head and catch up on the lost sleep but it's stopped and someone is shifting ladders and such outside 😬. 

Right going to watch the video now.
Enjoyed that Farway 🙂 love that she's just plain enjoying it, filled the whole space and I like her upside down baskets. 
Definitely going to dig out more veg space.