Awful weather - typical Brits talk

twopenny

Had plans for getting on with the garden and house today now the weather and my hip are more reasonable but slept 9hrs and still the overwhelming tiredness and foggy brain (though that may be normal) that seems to go with recovery.

Glad you're whatever is slowly going Dusty. I'm thinking you've been doing too much what with family and digging for Australia.

I've just noticed a probable rats nest in the compost heap. Probably because it's so dry and undisturbed with this weather. I'll run the hose in it later. Water being cheaper and quicker than other methods plus I should hopefully start the compost off again.

Watering plants and blackberrying (I went without a container for them yesterday 🙄. I was thinking of trying to get a cutting of the bramble with the dark red berries with the delicious taste later in the year.

That is if I can stay awake long enough 🥱

Farway

2P I was thinking of trying to get a cutting of the bramble with the dark red berries with the delicious taste later in the year. That sounds a cracking idea, That family seem to have no trouble rooting, your one being the exception of course. I've only done from tip layers but they always work for me, and of course I can be sure no one will disturb them until I'm ready

Just looked them up, seems poke sticks in the ground works as well

If you get enough going do you have any spare "wild" ground in the vicinity for a spot of guerrilla gardening?

Good luck on rat wetting. At least move them on

Baking hot in the sun, and sampled two raspberries which were lovely, that same plant was flavourless a week of so back, very odd and just as hot & sunny now as then.

twopenny

It's a public lane Farway and the ground is tarmac or rock solid dust.

I'll take a photo if I remember to take my new phone or tablet.

On the other hand there's so much detritus and people have stopped picking blackberries so it would probably go unnoticed.

First job is to identify the stems from the others and mark them......tie a yellow ribbon 😃 until we get 🌧️💧⛈️

wort

My tomatoes are up to the roof of the conservatory, still no red ones, still plenty flowers and about 20 small green toms. I keep taking off leaves and side shoots, and snipping the tip off, but it’s like jack and the bean stalk.

Dgson was given same seed his are outside much bushier and sturdier stems, not half as tall lots of flowers ,half as many toms. Dsil has same seed all from my seed smears, his also outside not so tall and only 4 toms yet. His are nearer the Pennines. But mine and dgson are round the corner from each other.
hope you feeling better Dusty lots of colds going about.

twopenny

Wort the early 🐦!

Sunny with a cool wind down here. The wind is set to drop by mid morning so have to play with windows and doors. The temperature in the house has gone down to 20c which feels cool after the last few months.

Today to feed the tomatoes. I dragged the hose round the front and watered the dwarf lavender 🪻 and it's popped more flowers this morning with a 🐝 round already. I wasn't planning to be up at silly o'clock but the guy with an allotment nearby likes to start at 6.30 and rev his decrepit car 😬 and I forgot to close the windows.

What is it that people who like to be up early want to wake everyone else on a Sunday?

So feed and water toms, and raspberries possibly. Blackberrying with a container this time. I'll check if tip layering is possible in the situation. Looked it up on YouTube but have done it in the dim and distant past.

The rest is clearing out the garage. Possibly. So much to do that couldn't be done due to hip, back, heat etc I'm not sure where to start.

Farway

Same cooling breeze here, but warming up for later. I've just been out watering and it's pleasant at the moment

What is it that people who like to be up early want to wake everyone else on a Sunday? I can answer that, when my kids were still at home and being PIA teenagers laying in bed I would get hoovering early on Sunday mornings. 😈

If you get the taste for clearing stuff out 2P, I've a conservatory that needs a good sorting. Unable to do it myself these days due to back, knees, heart, lungs, idle bones etc 😁 DS did mention sorting it but that was as far as that conversation went, maybe Sunday Hoovering Karma?

My tomatoes are up to the roof of the conservatory, still no red ones Ditto, but I can just about convince myself there is a touch of colour on a couple of Sungolds, sort of blushing cheeks

It does seem a very mixed year for tomatoes Wort, Dusty & I have mixed results and now you & yours likewise. I think I'm going to start trimming lower leaves soon, taken some off but I need to have a proper go at it, especially in the conservatory because I think there maybe spider mite starting.

No gardening planned, may watch GW later and check if more ripe blackberries

Dustyevsky

2p: Glad you're whatever is slowly going Dusty. I'm thinking you've been doing too much what with family and digging for Australia.

I don't think it had got going properly yesterday. Today I feel 'Bleurgh!' ☹️ But it's only a cold, and nothing like the lurgy we had a few months ago. I'll probably perk-up as the day goes along. 😉 Definitely no hole-digging, though. That's a long-term project.

Sunday mornings in August are usually quiet here. In other months, the tractors may be about from first light, especially if bad weather is forecast. Speaking of rain etc, we might get some tomorrow, though the drunks are conflicted. On their rainfall map it looks likely. On the summary, it's not more than cloud. It was cool last night 2p; down to around 9c just before dawn. 😮

Like you, wort, our toms have reached the polytunnel roof. That's 10' 6" 😲 I'll have to get the ladder out and cut them down a bit. They don't produce anything useful up there until late on. Lower down, they're sparser than normal. We'll still be giving some away.

Mrs Dusty must've put the fear of God into BT/Openreach. Not only has she had more than £30 taken off the bill, they emailed yesterday to say they were sorry no one was available to connect our fibre on Saturday…Saturday? 🤒 We don't care. Never asked for it in the first place, as we don't play computer games or stream films. The problem was no one deigning to call and explain. They claim this happens, but it didn't. ☹️

Very colourful for the bathers just now. We notice ouradult blackbirds have mostly departed, so it's only youngsters left. We have a few thrushes too, but they don't seem to stay over winter. A pity, because they're probably best at reducing the slug and snail population. 😇

twopenny

Beautiful photo again Dusty 😍 it makes your heart sing.

I was told the adults go off somewhere to moult after getting scraggy from breeding. Don't know if that's true but it makes sense. I often see the thrushes in the mass of trees on the shady side of the hill, with some wide open grass nearby in the autumn.

I have tomatoes. Small ones and not all ripening around the stem end but still ok. Even finally have some San mazano coming. Always the last. I'm just short of flowers now so going to feed and see if that helps.

A couple of strawberries have appeared.

Farway I'll pass on more sorting. It's all I seem to have done for the last 10yrs 😬 before moving, after moving, post pandemic, post operation and this time I've lost the fight. I'm going for one little bit at a time……. when I start 🙄

Blackberrying off. It's 30c out there again 🫤

wort

2p I was up early cos I work every Sunday, though I did wake at 5 yesterday which I was off, couldn’t go back to sleep so got up. It’s annoying when you have inconsiderate neighbours, not caring who they wake early. Your tomatoes are ripening though , and 30 degrees 🥵wow you must be in a bit of England still attached to the desert.

Dusty ,the ladder job is on the cards for me once my tea has settled,plus some tying in. If I was you I’d be sat watching the birds in the water.

Farway if I was nearer to you I would be up for sorting and clearing. I love it, I’m ready for dgson to shout at me when he returns from holiday to find I’ve reorganized his room 😂

Dustyevsky

wort: If I was you I’d be sat watching the birds in the water.

Yes, they're good entertainment. What almost beats that is the sparrows, who've discovered insects in the polytunnel. When I first spotted them crashing into the sides and roof, I thought they were panicking. Then I saw they were in hot pursuit of flies and butterflies! The wren goes about her hunting very discreetly, but the sparrows have no finesse. 😄

The blackbirds certainly go missing around now. I'm not sure where. They're not simply down at the other end of the field.🤔

This morning, we spotted corvids, circling en masse. They went higher and higher, before finally setting-off, purposefully, south east. It must have been make your mind up time for the Sunday outing!