Awful weather - typical Brits talk

RAS

Farway said:

It's Malus "Laura" I chose it because the committee wanted a plant & forget tree, requiring no pruning / care & not getting too large. Seemed ideal at the time and so it has proved and it came from a local nursery so keeping the cash in the area

Farway, having seen your pictures of the blossom I realised that there are a couple of trees where I volunteer. Very tempted to see if there's any scion wood on either, even if it means grafting match sticks. It really is a stunner.

goldfinches

@Davesnave - those sheep look suspiciously clean, prinked and white to me, are you bathing them in washing powder?
The Harcourt arboretum where I was last Weds has a flock of these sheep Our Sheep – Castlemilk Moorit Sheep Society (castlemilkmooritsociety.co.uk) in one of their wildflower meadows. They're so brown we couldn't tell from a distance whether they were sheep or cows.

Davesnave

goldfinches said:

@Davesnave - those sheep look suspiciously clean, prinked and white to me, are you bathing them in washing powder?

They were given their jabs and dipped just prior to their arrival here, but naturally I'll be out in all weathers now, hosing them down with Head & Shoulders each day at dawn.

A neighbour has brown sheep, but not those. Sadly they're in a field too far away to see much detail.

A grey day with no weather to mention and not very warm, but we still have courgettes and by using a ladder I'm getting enough tomatoes for breakfast. On the courgette front, 'Defender' lived up to its name and two plants are still relatively mildew free in a row of collapsed lesser varieties. The newer ones on the muck heap are from Lidl seeds, but being young, they're still healthy.

In the polytunnel the mangetouts have flowers, but I'm not confident of many pods. The chillies are staying annoyingly green and the figs are slow. We could do with a warm finish to October, but apart from no frost in sight, it's not too favourable now.

In the mini woodland I'm doing a few hours a day on lowering the hornbeam hedge by about 6'-7'. It got away from me last year. There's a massive bonfire accumulating....

Farway

Sun is peeping out but it's cold, I realise it is getting time to clear the conservatory of now useless tomato plants, should it warm up a bit I'll give it a go during the next few days

RAS said:

Farway said:

It's Malus "Laura" I chose it because the committee wanted a plant & forget tree, requiring no pruning / care & not getting too large. Seemed ideal at the time and so it has proved and it came from a local nursery so keeping the cash in the area

Farway, having seen your pictures of the blossom I realised that there are a couple of trees where I volunteer. Very tempted to see if there's any scion wood on either, even if it means grafting match sticks. It really is a stunner.

Seeing your comment I think grafting matchsticks sums it up, it's growth habit does not readily supply branches, seems to slowly grow up from the top and that's about it. Maybe a bud?

I think it growsOK  from seed, at least I spotted one growing but failed to get it out because it was growing between cracks in paving, sod's law of course. Not sure how true to type they would be but that seedling had the reddish leaves

There are plenty of apples on "my" tree so will try and get some pips sprouting for next year, just to experiment

Today's pic is back to toadstools, growing in the volunteer border, very Autumnal with the fallen leaves. Ther's a cherry opposite my house which is turning a loveley colour so that may feature if the leaves don't get blown off

Davesnave

Great toadstool photo, Farway. The fungi tones so well with the oak leaf.

Not a lot happening here yet. It's rained since dawn and I was up half the night, sneezing and coughing, but no sign of that now, just a few aches from the ladder work yesterday. If/when it clears I'll go back to sorting through the old nursery stock and tidying things for winter.

Here's another photo from my perambulation on Thursday; not plant related, but it amused me. At first I thought the notice intimidating and the house name had been misspelled, but on a second reading I realised the author must be good with words.

Davesnave

We had an addition to the flock at the weekend.....The blue marks at the rear end of two sheep suggest he's been busy already! 

Trees in the mini wood are starting to turn......

Farway

I had to look twice at your door photo Dave, I think I get it.  Those sheep didn't stay white for long

Not much on again today, dull & slightly damp but no rain

Davesnave

Yes, I've not shampooed the sheep for two days now. I'm pleased to say that seems a very tame ram so I don't even have an excuse!

Our cockerels are due to become Christmas dinners later this week. It's a shame, but they've had a good life and there's no way they can live as proper cockerels with a flock of their own. They'll only get grumpier and more inclined to argue. There's no mistaking the lone female for one of them now. She's of good temperament and has fitted-in fine, but by the law of averages there should have been at least two more like her.

Farway

How will the hen be on her own? Never having chickens but I thought they were flock birds and did better in a crowd? At least that's your Christmas sorted, and if the hen gets to work breakfast eggs as well

Just dull here again, promise of warmer air later this week so I'm leaving the tomato tidying until then

My Kong coleous seedlings have at last started to move, they geminated quickly & well but have sulked ever since. At last I have more leaves, just tiny things, more pigmy monkey than Kong, hoping to get something decent size for Christmas to hand over to my granddaughter to try and keep the impression about Granddad's green fingers for a bit longer

RAS

Been rather busy with the bees. With the warm autumn there's not enough nectar out there and they are not clustering.

Dave in bother again?

Also trying to get the onions and garlic rooted indoors out onto the plot. Does help reduce the number hauled up by jays. Very wet overnight so may have to give that a miss today.