Awful weather - typical Brits talk

pink_poppy

That pic is like Halloween on steroids, Dusty

Hope the Christmas cactus flowers for the big day, Farway and fingers crossed for the Castor Oil plant. I still haven't checked if my Calamondin (dreamin') is still alive.

Talking of canals... another must see is the Falkirk Wheel, which is near to The Kelpies.

Scottish Canals | The Falkirk Wheel Forth & Clyde

It's yet another cold, dry, frosty & sunny day here - I think that must be 2 weeks of it now. Our front room was up to the dizzy heights of 12 degrees this morning with the storage heater on overnight... All change forecast for tomorrow with rain and up to 5 degrees (sarcastic woohoo)...

YoungBlueEyes

Bladdy hard frost here last night, I was 15 minutes scraping my car window first thing. I got me erse outta bed and into Lidl as soon as they opened, in case there was arm loads of bargains. And there was! Loads of stuff - christmas decs/cards/paper, thermals of all kinds, winter/ski clothes, fan heaters and electrical stuffs, bladdy big candles and diffusers, radiator keys and batteries (and diy stuff in general), and a lot of children's nonsense. Bargains galore so I filled me boot If anybody hasn't seen it - the Middle of Lidl is all 50% off. Not an app thing or restricted to certain things, the whole lot of it is being kicked out for half price.

I'll have to go check my Lamb's ears to see what shape the holes are (please just be slugs, PLEASE just be slugs). I think some of the death destruction is me putting stuff in the wrong place. I've tried to work out where stuff would want to be, but maybe I've got the soil wetness/shade etc wrong. Well that and the fact it's winter obviously. I hope I haven't cursed anyone else's Lamb's ears...? 

I didn't know that about stomach ulcers either, I thought they were from too much stress or a bad diet or both. Live and learn eh I reckon DGD was sorry she hadn't a self-cleaning driveway this morning Farway, if her weather was anything like mine.. I'm not even sure it was forecast. 

I love your wee robin Arb, isn't it cheerful  

If you've any leftover marzipan 2p you can send it my way If I got my way I'd have 2 layers of marzipan and no layers of icing on cakes  

I like your pic Dusty. I wouldn't thank you for the squashes and pumpkins, but I'd thank you very kindly for the building..? they're in. Looks just right for keeping a lot of cheese in ha haa! And as for threatening events being prophesied... better a bit of notice than them just slipping nawtiness in unchecked - 
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6490558/gov-access-to-bank-accounts-for-those-in-receipt-of-sp/p1 ....

Sunny and still and musical (3' ) out there now, feels colder mind. 

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

I like your pic Dusty. I wouldn't thank you for the squashes and pumpkins, but I'd thank you very kindly for the building..? they're in. Looks just right for keeping a lot of cheese in ha haa! And as for threatening events being prophesied... better a bit of notice than them just slipping nawtiness in unchecked - 
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6490558/gov-access-to-bank-accounts-for-those-in-receipt-of-sp/p1 ....

Individual little bills and adjustments to legislation are slipping through parliament very regularly under the guise of helping to catch criminals and keep us 'safe.' While individually they don't always seem worrying, taken as a whole, they represent a considerable erosion of rights and freedoms, hard-won by those who preceded us.

As Reagan said, the most terrifying words in the English language are: “I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.” And as Jefferson, or someone like him also said:” The people get the government they deserve."

Hmm, I didn't realise I'd been that bad!

The squashes and pumpkins are displayed in the Cottage Garden shelter at Rosemoor. (Not my photo)

Of course, everything in RHS gardens is as perfect as they can make it, but it's comforting to see even they get it wrong sometimes:

ArbitraryRandom

Another day when I did not get to see daylight (other than briefly through the window of one of the areas I was being toured around) as it was all gone by the time I was free to do as I wished. It's really poor planning you know. They should have learnt by now there's a shortage this time of year and stored more of it away when we had an excess in the summer  

I'm more optimistic for tomorrow though. A packed morning, but with any luck I'll be sneaking away to the train station nice and early while everyone is distracted by a big wig visiting to officially 'open' the building we were touring today - cast of thousands attending (well... not thousands, but plenty enough no one will notice if I'm not there )  

So, as I have no new nature shots, I'm going to force you to admire something I DIDN'T buy on my trip through the Christmas market, but did think was rather clever - an enamel lace wing in a slate frame. The whole thing is about the size of a coaster, so the lacewing is about to scale - and the piece in real life (with the iridescence) was just incredible: 

Dustyevsky

Nice piece of Welsh slate as a frame, and I'd guess it's meant as a coaster too, Arb. I think the clever touch is the sgraffito halo, although the enamelling and choice of colours is simply wonderful. Looking at the artist's website, it seems those colours predominate and the lacewing is a common subject. Here's a picture of earrings I pinched:

Enamelling is something I've never tried. Looks like a steady hand's needed.

Seeing the lacewing, and the way they hibernate behind things like pictures on a wall, reminds me of a queen wasp I found while replacing the hen house window the other day. At the bottom, where it hinges, there's a piece of flexible black plastic used to direct water away from the frame and over the sill. Behind that, was the wasp. The window and plastic were off for a good few hours, but wasp didn't wake up, and she was still there when I reassembled the window and frame. I will be interested to see if wasp survives the winter, shielded from the weather by something just a millimetre or so thick.

Well, folks, the drunks, and others, are forecasting huge amounts of rain over the next few days, so get your analogue candles and radios at the ready. We seem to be just outside the Yellow Zone, but our main river comes from inside it. It'll be a good way to swoosh all the fallen leaves through the stream and away, but now I'll start to worry about the sheep's feet, as the fields will be a bog.

YoungBlueEyes

2 good quotes there Dusty. Oh aye there's all sorts of bits slipping through, but I thought that one was particularly *ahem* ...overbearing. Fingers crossed the Lords doesn't pass it cos it really is too much, we're not China for gawd sake!  Anyway. Cottage Garden shelter - a little slice of heaven there. I expect I'd be disappointed if I asked for Santa for one.... not sure I've been nearly good enough this year ha haa! 

That lacewing piece is beautiful Arb. I do like cloisonne' and that's a really lovely example Hopefully you'll get snuck away early today, see some daylight!

I got some frosty pics yesterday. I think on closer inspection the lug holes are slug's chowings (although I didn't see a slime trail...) but I really don't like earwigs!

Cold out there this morning, 1' says my phone, but warming up a wee bit as a big long band of rain moves bottom left to top right today. I don't know if it'll make things better or worse for those poor souls in Cumbria 

Calamondin dreamin'...

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

2 good quotes there Dusty. Oh aye there's all sorts of bits slipping through, but I thought that one was particularly *ahem* ...overbearing. Fingers crossed the Lords doesn't pass it cos it really is too much, we're not China for gawd sake!

It's all softly, softly. Get the idea of government looking in your bank account accepted to catch 'crooks' (not the offshore ones, though!) Then, when digital ID and currency arrives, have the idea of AI monitoring expenditure normalised as well, maybe through concessions rewarding 'good' and 'responsible' choices. Punishment for 'bad' choices can come later!  All speculation, of course!

I'm not done with Rosemoor and arty-farty stuff yet, but perhaps some of you will remember our Acca, otherwise known as Fejoa sellowiana, which is why I call it Acca!   Originally sold to me as a semi-tender thing, years ago, it's sat outdoors here since we arrived, and there are now three of four of them dotted about. This year, the oldest bush set fruit in quantity, but rather late, so I snapped them and whipped them away just before the -4c.

They're about 30-40 mm long and taste a bit like guava and pineapple mixed together. Had about 25 of them.

YoungBlueEyes

I best not live to 100, I'm not gonna get on well with the world at all...

Acca fruit - that sounds like something himself would love, he has such a sweet tooth!

The rain's on here now, and that's it set in 'til bedtime ish. They say. At least the 'warmth' has defrosted my garden  Analogue candles and manual tin-opener are good to go, as are piles of books and fleecy blankets. I'll nip over and see what shape The Oracle's in. If you believed this morning's meeeja you'd be thinking the 4 horsemen were about to trot up the road  

Farway

My mobile phone tells me rain is due about 10ish, any minute now then, and it certainly looks like it could be true this time.

Dustyevsky said:

Seeing the lacewing, and the way they hibernate behind things like pictures on a wall, reminds me of a queen wasp I found while replacing the hen house window the other day. At the bottom, where it hinges, there's a piece of flexible black plastic used to direct water away from the frame and over the sill. Behind that, was the wasp. The window and plastic were off for a good few hours, but wasp didn't wake up, and she was still there when I reassembled the window and frame. I will be interested to see if wasp survives the winter, shielded from the weather by something just a millimetre or so thick.

Somewhere I have a memory that some creatures have inbuilt anti freeze within them, and they are just a flicker away from dead but come the warmth back they come, unlike my peach or apricot trees

I like the look of the Acca, I'll add it to my list for when my Premium Bond comes up, and I move into a larger stately home. By then DGD will be fully fledged so she can sort out the grounds and include an Acca.

I agree with the money speculation Dusty, slowly slowly catchee monkey as they used to say in non woke times

Checked on the Castor Oil plant, it seems to have survived the frost. The cannas are frosted, not sure how to proceed with them just yet, I may shuffle the tubs into a sheltered spot, but it's wet, not cold, that does for them, apparently.

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:  If you believed this morning's meeeja you'd be thinking the 4 horsemen were about to trot up the road  

Be ready with your bucket then, just in case!

Farway said:

My mobile phone tells me rain is due about 10ish, any minute now then, and it certainly looks like it could be true this time.

Dustyevsky said:

Seeing the lacewing, and the way they hibernate behind things like pictures on a wall, reminds me of a queen wasp I found while replacing the hen house window the other day. At the bottom, where it hinges, there's a piece of flexible black plastic used to direct water away from the frame and over the sill. Behind that, was the wasp. The window and plastic were off for a good few hours, but wasp didn't wake up, and she was still there when I reassembled the window and frame. I will be interested to see if wasp survives the winter, shielded from the weather by something just a millimetre or so thick.

I agree with the money speculation Dusty, slowly slowly catchee monkey as they used to say in non woke times

Yes, a bit near the bone for monkeys, though I have sympathies with those that are caught and imprisoned unnecessarily. OTOH did you see the ones that nick tourists' phones and other possessions, and then bargain for food with their owners for safe return ? Evolution in action, right there!