Awful weather - typical Brits talk

twopenny

Yellow rain warning today.
Not a peep from the birds. I bet they are snuggled down already.
Had to bring my seed pots in and drain them. They're sitting in the kitchen now.
The sun is shining at the mo but I've overslept on my busy day so not a great start. 

Somerset was on the telly last night  very rare. Showed all around where I live. Hope that doesn't mean swarms more visitors, we have more than enough to try and get around with our own lives.

Farway I used to plant brassicas deeper than pot level to produce more roots and tomatoes too. It worked really well for increased vigor. I'd forgotten about that. Advice from an old gardener. No fancy pots then   

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

Aww that's a good pic, I was wondering about your girls Dusty. Have they all properly taken to each other now?
Happy March and Springtime everyone  

The new hens are an accepted part of the flock, but 'taking to each other' is not really how things work. The hens of the same breed that arrive together tend to have a closer association, so are 'friends' in a limited way. Their status within the flock is something different, and highly dependent on the individual's behaviour. All new hens are low status, but they can move up the pecking-order by asserting themselves. This doesn't always mean retaliating when pecked; it can be as simple as ignoring the pecks and just pushing-on with the desired activity. That's what the new grey hen does. The new black one is a wuss. Despite being the largest hen now, she's bottom of the pile. The Dorking hen makes sure of this by pecking her aggressively whenever she gets in range, otherwise she would be bottom!

Hen society has the potential to show those who witness it, much about how human society works! We all go into new situations at the bottom, or at some sort of disadvantage. How far we overcome the difficulties, depends very much on how we react to the challenges that are bound to come. We can apply this to narrower situations too, like negotiating a bb contract, because we can assume the organisation we must bargain with doesn't have our best interests at the top of their priorities.A couple of years ago, Mrs Dusty and I walked away from our provider and began setting up a new deal. Suddenly, just before the end of our contract, the supplier came back with a much better offer. We still have the router from the other supplier; they didn't want it back. That's how much they care.

Farway

Very wet here, but blue sky right now, all my newly planted trees etc well & truly watered in

One job I must do ASAP is prune the rose cutting from last year, it's still in its pot, growing well but starting fresh growth already. I'll have to find a permanent home for it this year, could leave in pot, but with my vine weevil problem I think best into ground.

Nice to see the hens enjoying the outing, Dusty

YoungBlueEyes said:

The quote function hasn't woken up yet, it won't let me delete extraneous bits or type outside the quote box. But re your comment about watching something cute/funny on ootoob Arb - tell you what I was doing last night, looking up desert islands for sale (I was feeling that way out). Some of them aren't expensive at all, but whether you'd want to live on those ones is another matter.... Interesting and diverting though. 

Function seems to be back to normal, re desert islands, have you seen the Tom Hanks film Cast Away?

Had a quick skim through my seeds, found a packet of Helianthus [Giant sunflower] so I'll sow them and some coleus this weekend. I have a mini heated propagator which should do fine.

Dustyevsky

twopenny said:

Yellow rain warning today.
Somerset was on the telly last night  very rare. Showed all around where I live. Hope that doesn't mean swarms more visitors, we have more than enough to try and get around with our own lives.

Sun's out here.

As for the TV Prog, it's narrated by Mr Titchmarsh, so that will put quite a few people off! Mind you, with a loan to cover the deficit running at £77million, a few extra tourists might help the council.

ArbitraryRandom

Sounds like it's the same here - was tipping it down first thing, but now it's bright (bright grey) and dry. Quite nippy though - I need to get up for a hot drink and wander about for a spell.  

pink_poppy

Don't talk to me about councils - our Council Tax is going up 10% this year   

A frosty start this morning, but lovely blue sky, dry & sunny again   Shame I'm at work... 

pink_poppy

I’ve just seen my first wasp or bee 🐝 I didn’t hang around to get a proper look!!

Dustyevsky

pink_poppy said:

I’ve just seen my first wasp or bee 🐝 I didn’t hang around to get a proper look!!

Mrs Dusty and I spotted our first honey bee last week. We don't count wasp queens which always appear on unseasonably warm winter days, and then regret waking-up.   The dandelions seem late this year, maybe due to the sheep eating them. They help the bumblebees when flowers are limited in early spring.

A really mixed day here, with thrashing rain one minute, and bright sunshine the next. Overall, the sun is winning, which means a warm conservatory heating the house for free. I'm doing housework until Mrs Dusty goes out leafleting for the Garden Club, then I'm sneaking out to the polytunnel.

twopenny

Sameish here except it's 5c and I've just put the heating on!
Just checked my plants potted and otherwise and they're hanging in there. Lots of buds just waiting to pop but like me, not going out until it cheers up a bit.

The met office has it's own ideas that it's been warm. I'd like to disagree.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68435197
I've sunbathed in Feb before now. How is 5c warm?

wort

• Iris in flower will go in garden for next year