Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Farway

Sunny but cold, a mixed week ahead so they say.

Hope the playing up bits get sorted 2P, I know how frustrating it can get when bits don't work & jobs have to be left / postponed / ignored

I've got Tete a tetes as well, a treat every year. No fruit blossom, just a dead plum stick!😭

I had Golden D in a pot, gave it to DS and he planted it in the ground, it grows well, and fruits despite him hacking at it and general neglect, he prefers to get apples from Tesco rather than pick from his garden. I'm do wonder if we picked up the wrong baby from the maternity home 😅

And grandchildren duties Dusty, time flies as you know, it seems not so long ago it was same here, off down the sea front, up to Wisley etc. This year two are at real, proper, work & two at Uni. The younger "spare" is fifteen and is being dragged around damp Cornwall by DS.

Noticed lots of life returning while I was out tidying on Saturday, the Boysenberry has large green buds breaking, being new to me I've no idea if flowers or leaf buds, but certainly nice & plump

One rhubarb is just showing the red crown, I'll get some compost on there ASAP, and BF & B if I can get some

And, I found my long lost posh stainless steel fork & trowel set once I removed the dead vegetation covering them up. Like a late Christmas pressie.

Gardening today, none planned, my back is still a bit twingey from Saturday, and it's too wet, but if I go to wheelie bin some of next door's Hot Lips may stick to me. Should that happen I'll see if I can get some going to replace Dead Plum stick

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81886505#Comment_81886505

That crossed my mind as well 😁

LessImpecunious

Sounds like everyone has had (marginally) better weather than here recently - it's been heavy showers, some of hail or sleet, and icy winds for days - though we have had a few sightings of sun (without any warmth) inbetween, and the odd rainbow. Not long enough to capture any blooming pics though…. Bits of garden have intermittently turned from quagmire to river, one consolation is we hopefully won't reach lake stage, thanks to being on a hill!

Thanks for Monkey Cage hint 2P, seem to miss those despite being another with wall-to-wall radio on…

YoungBlueEyes

Morning all. Happy Lunar New Year 🏯 + pancake day 🍳 (All these emojis and I still couldn't find what I wanted. They're meant to be a Chinese pagoda and a pancake in a frying pan. Close enough.)

I didn't think about people eating their brekkie looking at my pics, sorry 2p 😣 The bunny and the hot dog one were just signs, only the wrap one was near anything food related. Did you get another good night sans son..? So what's he doing then? Has he moved out and coming back daily to be fed..? Or has he changed job and mama is feeding him his lunch? Another mystery for the list 😏 Your blossoms and tetes are lovely, a very cheering thing to wake up to ☺️

Nope I don't think Trades Description (or H+S) is much observed over there Dusty 😆That's a shame about your grandkids, maybe they won't miss wot they don't know… Or will you surreptitiously teach them stuff? 😈 Did you get your propagator stocked?

Woohoo for plump Boysenberry and revenant gardening tools Farway 👏How's SuperstarGrandDaughter doing? Still Moving+Shaking?

Funny I'm often thinking of you as well Less. I see clouds and think ooh if I could get a pic of them I could put them on here and you could identify them. I never see any unusual ones though 🙄Hopefully you get a break from the rain soon. Overbanked rivers and streams are appealing to look at, but not when they're in your garden 😧

OffT - anyone who needs a bit more sunshine, I've got a tip (from someone who came in yesterday). There are webcams in holiday hotspots and you can sit and watch them! I've just watched the sun come up over Mallorca 😍 https://www.majorcadailybulletin.com/webcams.html Edit - the one I watched is called Paguera/Playa Palmira2.

OT v cold out there, WoC is -8. Keen NW wind but it's lovely and dry so I'll take it. Deffo Big Coat and scarf weather mind. And isn't there a grand stretch in the evening, as my granda said 😊

LessImpecunious

Hmm, we were promised wall to wall sun today but now they're only saying until 11 o'clock, and, although we did get a view of sun rising in clear skies there is already a thick haze 😣 Our temp, they say is 0 (there is a light frost visible), but WoC is -2, not convinced it's even that low having popped out briefly WoC, no cold wind or owt!

The river in the garden is not overbank flow thankfully - we do get a river off the road through our front gate during downpours which, I think I mentioned before, goes via a drain under the house and comes out of a pipe on the slope below house, only a temporary stream sadly, but does have a nice big fern partly obscuring the (unsightly plastic) pipe 😊 - the river in the garden was purely due to the intensity of downpour and the fact that the soil in that part is only an inch deep over bedrock - soon disappears when it stops raining 🙂… but the ground still squelches…

twopenny

Like your quote at the bottom of your post Bluey 😄 so true. I'm guilty these days of wasting them. I don't know what's changed. Probably the cost of heating, mid winter and mobility problems. I'm told to keep taking a break and can't seem to do both stuff and rest.

You're welcome Less. I listen to podcasts most of the time indoors. No adverts and hoping it keeps my brain alive while I'm stuck in. I tried to find an excellent set of BBC progs. Wind and waves were two of them. Stuff you never knew. Sea sound is from bubbles in breaking waves. I found that on the net but couldn't find the other 3.

Your garden seems to be doing well Farway. Signs of rhubarb crumble already 🙂 and things popping up.

Dusty missed your post with the lovely sitoorie picture. Oh I wish I had one like that. Mines still in a heap from one storm or other. It's going to be the devil of a job sorting it out however many times I tell myself to just take it a step at a time.

Woke to sunshine and no wind. Surprise when I opened the door and found a new fence post with smart topper there with no disturbance to me at all. This is other neighbour, 90 yrs old and gets the job done. No fuss. I must get tuition from her about how to get tradesmen!

The daffs out the back have popped out so I sat briefly and listened to the birds first thing. See the chives are coming up too. Going to be an early spring.

Preparing for the dentist this morning to tell me my tooth has to come out but hoping she has a miracle. I'll decide after that if I'm to take advantage of the sun to fix the bower or go out photographing after two chin up days.

About 6c maybe more.

Farway

Another one one here with sun promise, it's out at the moment but clouds are on the way from Dustyshire

Oooh, I forgot it was Pancake Day, now I no longer go shopping on regular basis it all slips by me [I get it delivered, due to struggling to carry stuff these days]

YBE asked How's SuperstarGrandDaughter doing? Still Moving+Shaking? Busy busy, seems her course is unusual in that it requires full time study, she had hoped to get some PT horticulture related job, like students do, maybe in a garden centre, but her course needs lots of study. Bit of excitement though, her bathroom ceiling collapsed with water leak from flat above. 😱

Hope tooth went well, 2P, and get out photographing in the sun, or at least cracking picture weather

Hot Lips bits stuck to me and I've placed them in pots of compost in case neighbour wants them back.

And, more well I never, a lavender I grew from seeds in 2024 and planted out in 2025 is coming back to life at the front, I thought it was a goner last year in the drought.

Snap on chives 2P, mine are up & waiting for the right menu

My dry & parched patch at the front does seem to have miracle regenerative powers in it, as mentioned before, once all rain stops I'll get out & give them a dose of fertiliser to pick them up after the winter. I saw on YT that figs love a good, regular, feed as well, so this year I will do that and see how it goes

LessImpecunious

2P your mention of the cloud podcast and potential photog trip today reminded me I meant to post this (not sure how well they will show up!):

Trying a "medium"too

Farway, the resilience of your border at the front couldn't be due to canine/feline visitation could it? May not need the fertilizer 😁

Dustyevsky

Yesterday's hooley has given way to a calm morning here, with a touch of frost. Apparently, we'll soon lose the sunshine, and the cloudy day will peak at 6c. At least it shouldn't rain, and the van will stay dry inside while I help with our neighbour's removal. 😉

We're on a hill, Less. It's really a ridge, because the land falls away towards the river at the front of our bungalow, and at the rear it tilts down to our wee valley and stream. There's a strip of flat land up here, shared between the field opposite and our front garden, so we get the occasional 'lake' when the road drains block, which they do frequently, but we can't flood. The people in the nearby barn conversions are mostly OK, but one or two didn't spot where all the road and farmyard run-off would go before they purchased, and their builder wasn't the best….say no more! 🤐

I'm sure the grandkids are no different from many nowadays, Bluey. Screens, high parental input + H&S worries rob them of the unsophisticated fun we had, and a sense of responsibility. I won't go on, or I'll sound like an old fart, but I recall having jobs to do, consequences if they were skipped, and no worries if the adults didn't notice me for a few hours! 🤣

2p said: Dusty missed your post with the lovely sitoorie picture. Oh I wish I had one like that. Mines still in a heap from one storm or other. It's going to be the devil of a job sorting it out however many times I tell myself to just take it a step at a time.

I think most of us can only dream of a sitooterie like those found at Rosemoor. About 8 of them are actually licensed for wedding ceremonies. Beats a cold and dull church most days….maybe not yesterday! 😮

Hope your tooth gets to stay.

Farway said: I saw on YT that figs love a good, regular, feed as well, so this year I will do that and see how it goes.

Hmm, feeling guilty now.😞 My figs still have no permanent home. Maybe if we can get the patio done..🤔

Another Winter Garden photo. This is Rhododendron dauricum 'Mid Winter' Frankly, I'm not taken with it, but maybe it'll improve with age….like some of us! 😇

Farway

Ta Ra, I'm a tomato Dad 😁

The early, give it a try, Bajaja toms from E bay seeds have popped up this morning in t'airing cupboard. Moved to window to get used to daylight, photo tomorrow?

wort

read lots of your posts over different days, I tend to read before I work , and don’t have time to post. So hope you are all well, 2p hope the tooth lives on.
Early toms Farway 👏🏻 I will let dsis know to feed her figs. We bought her one for a birthday a few years ago, she hasn’t mentioned it since , it may be dead 🤔 Rhubarb too, there’s a couple of clumps in dd2 s new garden 😉 yum.

I want Honesty now , does it flower for long Dusty?

Today started frosty but sunny, so there’s washing out. I’ve done a bit of cleaning. Waiting to see if friend is back from her appointment in time for a short walk. It’s clouded over, so hope it’s soon. I’m out for a meal for nieces birthday tonight. So don’t have to cook. Tomorrow SIL is going to call to put up some blinds.
I need to get a pot for the rose.