Awful weather - typical Brits talk

LessImpecunious

Can't get the town (even after cheating and looking at a map 😁).

Puzzled why, or rather how, your Pandora would lose vigour if being propagated by cuttings…?

YoungBlueEyes

Morning all, search Trading cards and games. Eh?! They can't have run out of 'days' when we're not even out of Feb yet 🙄

That's not a bad picture Dusty, it shows her perfectly. I'd have bought a few Pandoras too if I'd seen them, that's an attractive colour combo ☺️ I'll have a think about your Devon town and come back if I think I've got a good guess 🙂

Booo to your hard red pear throwing out blossoms Farway. If the bluddy thing would have the decency to die on you you could get rid of it, but it'd be a sin while it's alive and kicking. I bet it knows that too. Did friend's car woes get resolved..?

That brush isn't going anywhere now it's here 2p, it's the Broom of Shame. I want my patio kept spotlessly clean now we have he has the tool for it ha haa! Is today gardening then, after admin'ing yesterday?

OT it's foggy and mucky out there. They were right yesterday, it was a lovely dry sunny day. Right up to the point when it went black as night and the heavens opened 3 hours earlier than forecast. I got soaked to the skin walking home from work ☹️I packed my shoes with newspaper but they're still sodden this morning, so I'll have to wear my 'unprofessional' ones. Awww.

I got pic on my way in yesterday morning, Less is this cloud called a Feather Cloud? If it isn't it should be -

In real life it looked exactly like someone had run a knife up the …spine..? and took half off ☺️

wort

lovely cloud formation there YBE . Pinocchio day 🤣 Glad your hubby has been given a new hobby. Tbh there’s a brush that big at work ,I don’t use it I struggle using normal brushes with my back, think it’s the motion of brushing that does it. You wouldn’t want these Alliums they look like grass growing in the border only seen tiny flower and blink and they’re gone, and you’re stuck with messy foliage.

2p I was working yesterday , no clue what weather was like except heatings broke again and it was Baltic. All back in freezer coats, and like YBE it poured down on way home.

Dusty ,Pandora was a beauty, shame the same couldn’t be said of the offspring.

twopenny

Bright and sunny with large puffy clouds. Dropped to 12c with a goodly wind.

They promise a full day of this so probably not gardening Wort. It's been months of rain and cold so I'm heading out somewhere with camera and picnic 🙂 I deserve and need a day of enjoyment and fresh air. Unfortunately with my back,hip, shoulder, cough ,ear infection probs I can only do one thing a day upright!

If the grass dries out I may try mowing it but it's getting the darn thing in and out of the garage.

That's bad news about your heating if the weather is bad there. Is it something simple or a long trial to get someone to fix it. The DIY forum have been very helpful when mine went caput..

Bluey I hope they appreciate your dedication to work that you come regardless of wet shoes. Will they appreciate that or suggest you get a second pair of work shoes? Change at work etc.

Lovely cloud. I do love clouds. So many shapes and colours. Not sure if I want to know all about them, useful or just enjoy the mystery.

🧺 Look what came up when I typed picnic. This computer stuff needs more training.

LessImpecunious

I think the cloud is cirrocumulus - variants of it are mackerel sky, so it might (have) changed into (or from) that at some point… Cloud people seem to use the word "feathery" for wispy strands of cloud, sometimes also called mare's tails, but your pic actually looks more like a feather! Like botany I guess - common names cause confusion! But there doesn't seem to be a latin name for your cloud, that I can find… maybe Farway could ask his chatty friend?!

Dustyevsky

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81896850#Comment_81896850

I'll leave the town quiz question for another day because Bluey wants to have ago at it.😉

I'm not really any sort of expert on plant physiology or pathology. Pandora was probably a hybrid, possibly originating from the bargain mixed packets of 'floor sweepings' (!) from Chiltern Seeds.🤣 I knew how to take root cuttings from verbascums, which wasn't difficult, but the 'take' rate with her was off the scale. Rooted bits took-off quickly, and a mature plant might have 6 or 7 flower spikes blooming simultaneously. It was like a licence to print money! 🤑

Sadly, once tied into Plant Breeders' Rights etc, we had to curtail our sales. 😨Meanwhile, a rival nursery started selling her. They swore blind theirs was different, but we knew they were fibbing! 😡

Our last Pandora was in the washing line border here. I didn't get around to propagating, and to be honest, I was quite glad to see the back of her! 😛

I hope you overcome the aches and reluctant bits to have a Grand Day Out today, 2p.😇 We all deserve a few days in the sun, and maybe we'll get a few. The drunks don't seem to be offering many down here, but at least rain looks less prevalent. Now we're rapidly moving away from 'squelchio' it's hard to know where to start….and I'm still under doctor's orders. 😩

Today my antibiotics run out. Although the Dr didn't deign to tell me what I have, my walking friend diagnosed over the internet, and with 35 years experience, I don't think she's wrong. It's cellulitis, probably from an insect bite. I had the fever before the rash, which is why I thought the weather was amazingly cold! 😂 Anyway, I went to bed, and that probably helped. Judging by others' stories, I've got off lightly. 😊 So, it's another e-consult and maybe another visit to the surgery. I just won't tell them how, last night in the drizzle, I was frantically lopping bits off the evergreen oaks in the dark. Blooming sheep found them. They must've been tasty, because the ewes were nearly climbing the fence to reach the higher branches!

AI says:

Evergreen oak species, such as Holm Oak (Quercus ilex), contain tannins and phenols that are highly poisonous to livestock (cattle, sheep, horses)

Hopefully, I got there in time. Here's something else that's toxic. This is the darkest hellebore I've found so far:

twopenny

That's a smasher Dusty ♥️ you take care if it's cellulitis. I knew someone who had it and it can hang on. Mind I've known her 15yrs and she always has something so maybe not a good example 😉

Interesting Less. I'll stick to common names even like the Aussie and make them up 😄

I've been outside and just 2 sunny days apart and everything has burst into flower and leaf. It's looking a lovely riot of colour.

My first pots indoors experiment, broccoli has germinated and there's signs of the hybrid orange toms coming through it's a surprise what as.

Apricot showing signs of buds 🤞but the japonica which should have bloomed in winter shows no signs. It bloomed in summer so perhaps it's confused.

-taff

I've missed so many photos! Love the misty valley and ybe, your lovely bees waking up…I do want to know what happens on world Pangolin day though, how do we celebrate? Not pangolin kebabs I hope…and you could always get himself to saw off the ends of that brush to make it more manageable, or indeed, do as you have and insist he use it :) Dusty, your verbascum is very pretty though. Wonder what gave them the initial oomph and why it lost it…Maybe it's like bodies, when the dna gets increasingly jumbled and could do with a defrag. Lovely hellebore..And fruit and blossom 2p? That's quite unnerving…That's a good haul of stuff wort, you reminded me, I have a voucher for use..I may go today and see if I can use it

Weather is sunny, warm ish, perfect for doing anything, except gardening for me. Heart is playing up so I am supposed to rest and relax until they find out what the problem is, . I'm going to listen this time 🙄 But it's seed sowing season now!!!

Farway

Morning folks, milky sky but nice & mild

Clouds, Mr Chat says they are Altocumulus undulatus , "mackerel sky" But the mackerel ones I think of are not like that

So, I asked Mr Gemini, and he was gushing

That is a beautiful shot! Those ripple-like patterns are a classic example of high-altitude cloud formations.

Based on the small, white, grain-like ripples and their high position in the sky, these are:

Cirrocumulus

• Common Name: "Mackerel Sky" (because the pattern resembles the scales on a mackerel fish).
• Latin Name: Cirrocumulus

Why they look like that

Cirrocumulus clouds usually exist at altitudes above 5,000 meters (16,500 feet) where temperatures are freezing. They are composed almost entirely of ice crystals.

The specific variety you captured, with those distinct undulating rows, is often further classified as:

• Variety: Undulatus (referring to the wave-like appearance).
• Species: Stratiformis (forming a relatively thin, horizontal sheet).

What they tell us about the weather

While they look peaceful, a "mackerel sky" is often a sign of atmospheric instability.

• They frequently appear ahead of a warm front.
• In many cases, they can be a precursor to shifting weather or rain within the next 12 to 24 hours—hence the old sailors' rhyme: "Mackerel sky, mackerel sky - never long wet and never long dry."

So now you know, pat on the back to YBE with the soggy shoes

On sky subject, depends on "things" but us Suverners may have some cracking sunsets / rises, red Sahara sand is on the way, expected noon, mid afternoon ish today, so, red skies & red sandy cars and windows

Back OT, first wild ladybird spotted this morning, on my daff leaves.

Loads of plum blossom out on Taxi route to collect car less friend. All sorted now BTW. I found her Licence in her kitchen cupboard 🙄, good job I checked before chasing Wild Geese around the Post office. Insurance just wanted bags of gold to resolve problem

Supposed to be Spring weather here for a few days, wish I was fit and steady enough to get into the nearby woods, they should be awash with Wood anemone & winter aconites, in absence of that I'll wait for my pear to pop, no need for me to pollinate, it usually gets done by neighbours Concorde, wind and bees

Magpies still building the nest

Just refreshed, such busy folks. Take care Taff & Dusty, especially Taff heart, I've got a dicky one and it's a bummer, see note above about walking in woods.

2p, orange tom seeds up, yay, all on the way.

Dustyevsky

2p said: You take care if it's cellulitis. I knew someone who had it and it can hang on. Mind I've known her 15yrs and she always has something so maybe not a good example

I've been outside and just 2 sunny days apart and everything has burst into flower and leaf. It's looking a lovely riot of colour.

Usually, I have the immune system of a warthog, so this is sobering.😔 Knocks and scrapes come with the territory. You're right, recovery may take a while, but things might be easier once I can take painkillers.😉

And what a difference already, with the improved weather! Mrs Dusty is out there, right now, taking photos of the butterflies and bees for me. 😊 She took the sheep from long range too, to count them! All 16 are still upright. Phew!🤪

-taff said: Weather is sunny, warm ish, perfect for doing anything, except gardening for me. Heart is playing up so I am supposed to rest and relax until they find out what the problem is, . I'm going to listen this time 🙄 But it's seed sowing season now!!!

Oh no! 😰 Best to be cautious. However, lightly sprinkling a few seeds into small pots can surely be calming and therapeutic? 🤔 This is not medical advice, just something I notice. Digging furrows for spuds on the allotment could probably be given a miss, though! Fingers crossed the medics find you just need a little fine tuning, and gardening therapy. 😎

Farway said:

On sky subject, depends on "things" but us Suverners may have some cracking sunsets / rises, red Sahara sand is on the way, expected noon, mid afternoon ish today, so, red skies & red sandy cars and windows

The way folks cars are here, after winter, no one will notice, especially down DD's way where they have that really red soil! 🤠

About 10 days ago our farmer friend watched as two ladies descended the hill opposite, and without hesitation, drove straight for the bridge as if the river wasn't way out across the road on both sides. They conked-out and the stalled car began floating. The emergency services were summoned. Meanwhile, the ladies finally showed some sign of sentience. They disembarked and waded back to shore. By the time the fire engine arrived from town, the car was almost into the river, being held out of it only by the bankside trees. Just the windows and roof were showing in the photo I saw. 😮

And finally, after a glorious day, much of which I spent indoors waiting for the surgery to call 😢 here are Mrs Dusty's photos….

That Viburnum tinus featured around Christmas time, and it's still going strong!