Awful weather - typical Brits talk

ArbitraryRandom

I've got some aquilegia in my seed stash, so I'll plant some out with you - but mine certainly won't be white, unless something very strange happens; They're a bicolour mix (Mrs Scott-Elliot). 

The packet says sow in August-September or March-April, in sun or partial shade, so I'm going to put some directly outside in a few places and see what comes up where. 

YoungBlueEyes

Agreed Gorse, he’s a good looking fellah! I could wreck this thread entirely with dog stories (I bet a few of us could) and dog people would be laughing and nodding, and then it’d be closed  

How about we call 1st of August ‘aquilegia seed day’? And again on 1st of March? 

Paspatur

I love auilegias and they love my garden. I started off with William Guinness and ended up with these

pink_poppy

I think I’ve already had my aquilegia seed day after one of the pods spontaneously exploded when I was trying to gently snip it off 😂 that was outside though so I think 1st March for the indoor pots 🤔 at least then I can have a few fungus gnat free months in the house...

Does anyone remember the Sand Martin ‘hotel’ I came across a couple of years ago??



Last year some swine ‘accidentally’ flattened it 😢 I’ve been back to see it today and it’s a fraction of the size it was.



One last pic - I think this ‘wee beastie’ came into the house with the washing today (OT - perfect drying day 😉). Luckily my DH rescued it before the pussycat could eat it 🤢 I think we’ve maybe had a pic of one on here before - some kind of shield bug??

Dustyevsky

The cat wouldn't get far eating the shield bug PP. If disturbed, they release a nasty smelling and probably foul tasting liquid. 

My woolly cat climbed into the hedge this afternoon, and I swear at least 30 Sparrows left in a hurry! We have a Wren's nest in the workshop, despite the sporadic use of power tools. It's taken over an old Swallows' nest that wasn't used. Wrens are smart and adaptable. They often come into the polytunnel, ignoring me, and carry on eating bugs. On the other hand, Sparrows panic and flee the moment I appear.

Let's hope the Sand Martin empire develops again. We have House Martins and Swallows, but the numbers are well down. I don't think it's climate-related. They're caught and eaten in their other host country, and the numbers of insects here are much lower than in the 'old days.'

Dustyevsky

Wow to the aquilegias, Paspatur! I know Guinness is supposed to be good for you but those are exceptional!

ArbitraryRandom

I swear, this is the best thread on the forum for pictures Great antidote to the grey and wet day outside! 

Gorsebush

Pink_poppy, that's awful with the sand martin apartment complex. Who would do such a thing, and were they brought to book? I just don't understand some people 😕

YoungBlueEyes

I agree, those poor sand martins! I wonder how it happened? 

Wow Paspatur, that's a fab colour array. I'll almost be sorry if mine are all white ha haa! Will they flower this year if I pop a few seeds into the ground? Or is it wee pots indoors for now and then seeds planted straight outside in Spring? How do they work? 

I love that the birds ignore you Dusty. Twitchy sparrows I've got, tame wrens I could do with Other than a few blackies and all them goddamn pigeons, I've no so many birds here now. There is a colony (?) of coal tits somewhere round here. They come fluttering one by one into the cat wee tree, sit talking to each other while they all catch up and then move en masse to the feeders. They make such a lovely popping bubbling sound, I love them  

I've got Handsome this morning while lovely neighbour takes his Holeyness to the vet. He picked up some itchy scratchy skin disease from somewhere. Filthy animal. He'd better not infect Handsome

OT rain overnight and drizzly dreich so far this morning. The drunkards and sobers both say rain mid aft - 3 ish - Ventusky says rain by 11. So we'll see. It does seems more accurate than the other 2, and I like the app   It's said 0% chance of me seeing the aurora every day since I got it, and that's been bang on... 

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

I love that the birds ignore you Dusty. Twitchy sparrows I've got, tame wrens I could do with

They fledged late yesterday evening. Not the best time, as they were spread out and dark was falling. Four or maybe five youngsters, some inside the barn and others outside. Nature just has to take its course.

Grim out there yesterday evening; the hens went to bed an hour early! Today it looks like more of the same greyness, with rain coming in late morning/ early afternoon.

When we went over to see the brass bands, I spotted some stooks of wheat in fields where it's still harvested traditionally. I'm guessing this is to  get straw for thatching, though nowadays most of that is longer-lasting reed. Looking closely, I could see something wasn't right, and sure enough, away in the background I noticed the stooks had all collapsed. It seems the weather has wrecked the crop and they may not bother harvesting what's left.