Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

There's a couple of people on your list I won't miss personally, Bluey, but it would be churlish to mention them by name. Never speak ill of the dead and all that.

If you, or others have nowhere to go until the treacherous roads clear, (we're OK here! ) there's a wee video you might enjoy by a mischievous guy I like. RTE suggests 2p might get over to County Wexford, rather than Bali for her hols, before it's too late!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZwdn2kBcmY&t=107s

It might cheer you up....and there again.

We dropped to around -2c overnight and no snow fell yesterday, but it did down in the city where the inebriates work their magic and predict. It didn't lay, or 'pitch,' as we say here. Today, wall-to-wall sunshine means I'll be out in an hour or two, but with -5c predicted tonight, do I risk laying some more concrete? :*I think not. Anyway I can leave the conservatory to heat the house in an hour or so.

No pics from this morning (I was still in my PJs letting the hens out! ) but here's a nice bit of Ginkgo in the autumn sunshine...or did I do it already? Anyway sorry if I did. It'll be bare by now, like mine here, which finally grew taller than me this year. Not hard, but it's taken about 6 years!

Farway

Woke early and failed to drop off again, so was up at 0530 with hard frost & large shiny moon, quickly suppressed an urge to go out and take a photo of moon through frosty branches.

YoungBlueEyes said:

1st of December today and it sure is Winter, tis cold out there this morning. The moon has survived to see the (quite colourful) dawn, which I always like All the moisture there was froze overnight and then it snowed on top of it. Shawshank Patch looks almost pretty now I've just been out to feed the birds and I've got a couple of pics. I'm glad I got my erse into gear and got all my stuff done yesterday so I've nowhere to go today, the roads will be treacherous. People have already come a-cropper cos there's been 2 lots of sirens this last hour. 

I used to go out & defrost the bird bath, but now my pins are not to be trusted, especially with ice, so birds have to take their chances now I'm afraid

Everywhere is frozen so no gardening at all today, not even a quickish dash to the wheelie bin

Nice evocative pics there YBE, with the myrtle looking Christmassy

pink_poppy

Still frozen solid here - I've just had a lovely breakfast of porridge with stewed apple, dried fruit (with cranberries & apricot), walnuts, mixed seeds (shared some with the birds) and a sprinkling of mixed spice - it was epic  

I spoke too soon about the cyclamen pot - it was looking a bit droopy when I got home from work yesterday I'll bring it inside, but it might be too late, plus the porch bit of the house is probably only a degree above freezing anyway.

Lovely frosty pics, YBE  

ArbitraryRandom

Woke up to frost for the first time this year (I think it might have dropped low a few times before now, but this is the first I've seen ice crystals come sun up). Not much difference to me inside, but more lovely blue skies to try and tempt me into the cold... 

Bit annoyed this morning as Friday is generally my non-working day (yes, yes, I know some here have every day as non-working ) but there's something urgent I needed to get done late yesterday and someone senior decided big changes were needed at the last minute so here I am working on it this morning (grumps). I would leave it to Monday, but it's to do with a work visit Wednesday/Thursday  and I'll be travelling for most of Tuesday so... Bah. At least I get paid. 

YoungBlueEyes

Thanks all they were point and shoot cos it's too cold to be hanging about to get nice pics. My blackened southpaw is nearly all better but I've a chilblain on my wee finger now instead. *Sigh* It's endless innit. 

2p I was looking for a thread that's been on the go for a few days to link here for cheer-you-up purposes but they've deleted it overnight! They don't let you have anything good do they

I can't say I'll miss anyone off that list tbh Dusty. It's not how I was raised but I'm not feared of speaking ill of the dead - some people are just erseholes the whole way through and being dead shouldn't protect them imo I like your Ginko pic, aren't the leaves a lovely creamy colour. 

I've just remembered I forgot to do the birdbath now you've said that Farway. I have two drinking dishes for my bird feeder so I can swop frozen one for a usable one. Well they're the trays you get for sitting under medium sized plant pots but the birds get on alright with them I'll have to find my Good Pokey Stick and do the birdbath.

Your breakfast sounds yummy pp, I wish I was a breakfasty person. How's your calamondin btw...?

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

Your breakfast sounds yummy pp, I wish I was a breakfasty person. How's your calamondin btw...?

Perhaps  pp ate it? That breakfast did sound Yummy!   Daughter's plant here came into the conservatory a few days ago, but she has 2 mangoes in the polytunnel, which I imagine are sailing off to the fjords as I type! They weren't doing a lot anyway.

Also in the polytunnel, were the last of the Sungold toms, which I forgot to take up to the house. They'll be pulp, I expect. I may rescue a few seeds and grow a few 'seconds' to give away next year. They won't be quite the same as the originals, but probably better than just OK.

Chilblains Bluey? Wow! Do you not wear those thin rubber palmed gloves when it's cold outside? I hate wearing gloves, but the thinner ones are tolerable for most jobs, like planting. Good news on your other injury, anyway.

Farway, I'll check our bird bath in a little while. I know the proper one is frozen, but we have a real tin bath too, and that looks OK. Tomorrow they'll be skating on it! Then, it's all over here. Back to 11c by mid-week....and lots more rain, of course! 

pink_poppy

I'll have to check the Calamondin tomorrow - I don't hold out much hope. I only saw the droopy cyclamen because the outside light was on when I got home and it's on the front step.

I missed a couple of posts earlier, even though I'm sure I refreshed the page after writing mine. Lovely pic of the Ginkgo (did I spell that right??), Dusty.

And absolutely adorable pics of your kitties, greenbee - gorgeous wee faces.

Hope the chilblain isn't too painful, YBE, I seem to remember you had them a while ago too  

YoungBlueEyes

Aye I know, I should wear gloves. I had chilblains on my hands and feet last winter iirc. Be all them years I spent smoking like a navvy 🙄 I’ll see if The Oracle has any Snowfire. 

I hope your work stuff comes good Arb, and the seniors don’t keep changing last minute. It’s a beggar to have to work your day off tho (grr huff puff on your behalf)  

Bit worried I’ve done tom seeds wrong now. I kept seeds from one of this years harvest… now I think about that - if I do the same every year I’m just messing with the genetic line rather than reproducing the good ones I had this year. Insert swear word here! 

I don’t wanna curse it pp, but I keep expecting your sig to be updated to “Calamondin dreamin’….” 

OT stayed cold here but dry. There’s a cracking peachy coloured bank of snow clouds sliding past my window right now. A pic doesn’t do them justice at all. 

Farway

YoungBlueEyes said:

Bit worried I’ve done tom seeds wrong now. I kept seeds from one of this years harvest… now I think about that - if I do the same every year I’m just messing with the genetic line rather than reproducing the good ones I had this year. Insert swear word here! 

I don't think so, not a geneticist of course, but I seem to have a memory that is you select the best ones each year you will get better & better. And even get ones that just love growing where you are.

Works with beans and Jerusalem artichokes [getting less knobbly ones] and no doubt lots of other stuff.

In fact, the big breakthrough news today is they have just harvested Haricot beans in Norfolk that are suitable for Baked Beans, taken over twelve years.

We have to import them up until now, millions of them

"Most of this year's harvest will be used as seeds for the next season's planting to increase stocks of the plants"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-67554593

YoungBlueEyes

Thanks Farway, I might be alright then. Time will tell- next year, next year! 

I only quickly popped on to share a link my cousin just sent me. There’s talk of more Northern Lights with all the cold clear weather, and this link has all different cameras on it. They’re in Scotland mind but it’s close enough hopefully.  There’s a selection of cameras at the bottom of the page. 

https://www.shetlandwebcams.com/cliff-cam/

12 years to sort out baked beans good for growing here?! I wonder if anyone will even notice…