Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Black_Cat2

Better limber up D, looks like you're gonna be busy! 😸

in_my_wellies

I use woodchips for the hen run. I buy it from a local farm, 50p for a potato sack full to the brim, dig your own.  I'm careful which pile I collect it from and spread it straight away to let it dry out. It can get fusty very quickly in the bag. They seems happy to do what hens do with it. 

Farway

The day started well, dull but dry, however now it's raining the drizzle miserable stuff that CBA to really rain

However before the weather changed I went out for my morning amble round the block and for a change I went clockwise today , living the dream!

The drier weather gave me the opportunity to climb the grassy knoll to get the mushroom photo at last

And here it is, identified on line as a Snowy Wax cap, edible but I'm not chancing it, especially as the grassy knoll looks a good area for doggy mischief

Davesnave

Farway said:

The day started well.....

Likewise, then the dentist said, "It's almost dead, but I can possibly save it if you can put up with a lot of pain...."

Cue pain.

Nice fungi picture from the grassy knoll. You deserve a badge!

Davesnave

in_my_wellies said:

I use woodchips for the hen run.

Yes, they're fine for that and OK when composted, but composting them takes a long time.

in_my_wellies

Drizzle all day here. Dark and curtains closed already.

This reminded me so I just went to the farm to get woodchips. It's gone up from 50p to £2 a bag!!!!!!!!!!!!! They've jumped on the hen keeping band-wagon 

DD265

Here you are Black_Cat2. The traps are dying off now with hardly any new growth coming through; I've been weaning it down from 12 hours light a day down to 3, and I need to stop the light completely and shift it into the cold conservatory so it goes properly dormant. I got it last year, and it was quite weedy for a long time with sluggish traps. I have had much more success this year after a lot of research. I think like any plant, once you get the conditions right, they thrive with not too much attention.

The biggest traps are almost 1" wide, and back in the summer they were fully deep red which was lovely. The change in it since reducing the light has been really noticeable; loss of the red pigment and much smaller traps, though the traps dying off isn't unusual all year round, I just haven't trimmed them yet. The only downside really is that I need to keep it safe from the cats, which means any decorating/furniture changes in our bedroom have to include where I'll put the fly trap and it's light!

Black_Cat2

That's amazing DD!  Ty for sharing 🤗.  Looks like you've done a good job.  Me being totally green on this must ask... do you have to find food to feed the traps if there isn't enough 'natural' food coming in? 

Snowy wax cap does what it says on the tin F, wow it's clean!  Love the pics on here 🤗

Davesnave

in_my_wellies said:

 I just went to the farm to get woodchips. It's gone up from 50p to £2 a bag!!!!!!!!!!!!! They've jumped on the hen keeping band-wagon 

There's a bandwagon? To me, hen keeping is the biggest fool's errand after wild trout fishing, but it keeps Dearly Beloved amused, so I smile and pay out for all the stuff needed to make it possible without serious consequences, which has meant literally £thousands spent for the fencing, feed, housing etc. Still, it could be worse; she might have taken to horses like her across the road from us. Now, that is serious money!

You are welcome to as much woodchip here as you like, but I'm in Mid Devon and I'm not sure where you are.....

Well done DD. Had a sundew once and some pitcher plants. My success rate told me I'm best staying with tough shrubs and perennials!

Apodemus

Davesnave said:

Just wanted to give a "thumbs up" for the ancient laid hedge in the background.  Its something we almost never see in Scotland as we never really had the hedge-laying tradition.  It means that our older hawthorn hedges lose their stock-proof abilities and over time tend to descend into isolated, linear clumps.