Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

Late today, thanks to various things happening together, as they tend to do.🤒 Some news is positive, but there are concerns as well. OT: The weather's glorious.😍

Focusing on the positives, DD1 has just put an offer on a house. If accepted, she'll be moving 100 miles closer to us, and within socialising distance of other family.😃 Mind you, I can't imagine why she wants to leave Birmingstanham! 🤐 The house is modern, but it has a decent, south-facing, walled garden, with two or three sitooteries. Am I jealous? Well, yes, but she's worked very hard, and fully deserves some good luck.

Mrs Dusty has been diagnosed with an inner ear malfunction like that experienced by pink poppy. She also has increased other difficulties related to arthritis, so the future for our current modus operandi looks uncertain, regardless of my grumping about my own leisure-time restrictions;

middlewife: Dusty, i share your frustration re long walks, my pessimistic physio keeps saying I won't get very far until I have my knee replaced, but I'm going to eek it out as long as I can before achieving full bionic status

The physio thinks I might stave off the bionics, but with no recent X-ray it's a guess, based on the fact I don't have constant pain. Pain and stiffness comes on after a time. It goes away when I rest, or do some knee bending exercises, so it may be more muscular/ tendonular than jointular.🤔

There's more, but that'll do. We have a lot to be grateful for too. I was reminded of this when sitting in the car at the Health Centre watching the wildlife we always have around us here. Up above, the swifts were screaming and chasing insects, while at ground level, a wren was going about her day, ignoring the various cars and their occupants.😊

Sitting, observing carefully like that in our conservatory two days ago, Mrs D realised sparrow-like birds were raiding her thalictrum in the border, pecking off the buds.😮 I was summoned to photograph them; no easy thing at that distance and through a glass door. A couple of pictures were just about good enough to make a tentative I.D. We think they were chiffchaffs. What do you think?

Best of luck with the fridge hunt Farway. Ours is 11 years old and a Bosch. I'm saying no more! 🤐 We have a Heinz 57 in the boiler room for when guests are here, but it's switched off most of the time, so doesn't count.

wort

What on earth is this ?

I've planted the seeds for this pretty thing but can't remember what it is ? Can anyone remind me please

greenbee

The first one is self-heal. It's a wildflower that I tend to let do it's own thing in the grass and beds, and pull up if it gets in the wrong place.

No idea on the second one, but they're pretty 🤩

Dustyevsky

The second is Lavatera, wort.

https://premierseedsdirect.com/product/lavatera-rose-mallow-trimestris-mix-new/?attribute_pa_seed-count=350&srsltid=AfmBOooAHUeRFW14-1eincE60dfRHY0OacIJbVJjXRNxRZxi1pr8rxG9qhc

I like the wild pink ones we have sowing themselves here. I'll get a photo soon. 😉

twopenny

Bird, female Blackcap?

I'd suggest getting the Merlin app. You'd be surprised what's out there.

Been a lovely day, bit warm at 25c but a bit of a breeze. Did some pot feeding out the back and watering. My gooseberry bushes are suffering again being in the fence shadow with tree roots under. I must pay more attention.

Cleaned the birdbath and disinfected the bird table and feeders. So many small birds, youngsters I think because they aren't very skilled at landing on the feeders and there's been the odd collision.

Just in time I noticed the blackbirds having a go at the raspberries. I shot out there and did a quick pick , they are big enough but lack juiciness and flavour despite some watering. The air is just too hot and dry.

LessImpecunious

Think you might have two different birds Dusty - agree with 2P on the Black(but brown in female) cap, but the bird in first pic lacks that, and has a streak above the eye, suggesting Chiffchaff or Willow Warbler…

Dustyevsky

A drizzly, misty start today, and it doesn't look as if sun cream will in big demand. I have postponed dom non to do in the morning, anyway. 🙄

Thanks for your thoughts on the birds. We've never seen a male Blackcap here, whereas Chifchaffs constantly remind us of their presence, thanks to their distinctive song. Either way, they're not good news for the thalictrum! 😄

Here's the pink mallow, which seems to occur naturally in these parts:

Well, we didn't plant it. They pop up along roadsides etc. 😊

I see someone has had a brilliant idea to incentivise walking, or normalise State entities tracking your every move, like they do in China, depending on your perspective. But how will they know if you are actually walking or running, and not on an e-bike, or in my case last night, mowing grass? Think I'm going to pass on it anyway. It's not within my concept of freedom, developed back in the last century, where Mum & Dad didn't know where I'd been! 😛

Farway

Milky cloudy overcast, but warm & mild with sun promised

I would be jealous of the bird spotting, except yesterday there was a wren in the grapefruit bush, right up close to the kitchen window. And this morning a woodpecker, Greater Spotted I think, hanging on a dead branch in full view. Both times too late to grab a camera , but at least I know it's not just pigeons & gulls

2P I shot out there and did a quick pick , they are big enough but lack juiciness and flavour despite some watering. The air is just too hot and dry. My few rasps were the same, OK but tasteless compared to last year

At last I have baby tomatoes 😊, spotted this morning, Sungold, no pic, so tiny even a macro lens would struggle at this stage. Some flower have fallen from Paul Robeson, with others hanging on, so mixed hopes there

Dusty, good news on DD house, hope it all works out for them, and for you & Mrs D with various body malfunctions. We'll need to start a new thread for Slow, do what you can, gardeners, where managing to water a plant is an achievement.

OT, Fridge / freezer update. Things went better & better yesterday. having looked around a bit I thought I'd check on my "points" balance from scanning my shopping [very MSE after all], found I'd accumulated a hefty five hundred quids worth 😁. Jackpot & Hello to my new Bosch one, being delivered from Up River tomorrow.

Is there a Bosch owners club Dusty? Like MG owners, can we wear leather gloves? 😉

I see someone has had a brilliant idea to incentivise walking, I half caught some of that but wasn't really paying attention . The bit I heard was about stopping Gym bunnies from hogging it & putting others off

Gardening, probably GW on TV, and maybe tie in the blackberries if the sun does not turn into a laser

wort

thanks for the ID Greenbee, no idea where that’s appeared from ,I’ll keep an eye out for it spreading. I seem to have a lot that do that ! Dusty,of course I forgot I got those seeds. Will they self seed or do I try to keep seed after it flowers 🌸?
My Barnsley baby which I had problems with is just starting to flower. I envy your Thalictrum as the one I got from garden centre failed to grow. 😪

2p shame about the raspberries, funnily enough the ones in the supermarket I’ve been buying are very sweet and tasty at the moment,same for strawberries. Hope you are feeling better, you certainly seem to be able to do more now.

It’s grey this morning, showers are forcast, but still not had much in the way of wet rain 😆

greenbee

my ‘autumn’ rasps which are more shaded are definitely better than the summer ones in a sunnier position which are struggling (I think the soaker hose may also be on its last legs as some are doing better than others).