Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Farway

I have the sun today but from forecast it's downhill soon, snow may just reach here by the looks of it

Luckily I managed to get out into the garden yesterday & prune the figs, plus a snip here & there with a couple of apples, just twiggy branches i had missed earlier

The recent frosts have killed off the top growth on some ferns so i have that soggy mess to clear some time, but I'll leave it for now, it'll make a nice photo covered in snow

Davesnave

We managed a couple of hours this morning: polytunnel, chickens and then apple tree crown lifting / pruning in the orchard, but  rain arrived over lunch and it looks like game over now.

twopenny

Was trialing a coat of paint on a garden door this afternoon at 6C.

Well it's remained at 6C but right in the middle of the painting there was a bitter breeze got up and the sky turned a strange colour.

It feels freezing, a large spider was trying to come in, so far it's the wind that's causing the cold. It;s predicted for the week which is depressing. hopefully they are wrong. Can't cope with a whole week inside after 3mts of lockdown. It was brilliant to get a day outside in daylight.

Farway

I've not poked my head out but it looks cold & dull, with bitter East wind & maybe snow due

I've taken the plunge and ordered more apple trees, slightly miffed because I'd made an order up the other day but my basket vanished because no further orders were being taken that day, Covid it seems, at least they could've left the basket there , yes, that's you Chris Bowers, are you listening?

And what have you ordered? I hear you ask.

One, yet TBD, is for my son in law for his birthday, he doesn't know it yet but has large garden & bought a James Grieve last year so thought another wold complement that

All on M9 dwarfing, one is columnar style but I've forgotten which already

 Exeter,  Jester, Joybells, Saturn

The Joybells I chose only because it originated in Surrey so it should do well just over the border here

twopenny

It's got colder!

Wrapped in several layers I've painted inside the garden gate and scrubbed some reclaimed pavers. It's worth the suffering. Miles of fencing and the gate the orangy  tan coating. The gate is now cream and the whole 'wind alley' so dark now looks amazingly light and bright. I didn't expect that.

Wind has blown out a standard lavender from it's ties I put in the brick wall yet again. They are so big and fluffy this wind is a problem. So tomorrow I'm going to have to get out front to the freezing North and start digging a deeper hole and stakes. The others seem fine but this one hasn't enough root. I'll find out why when I dig the hole.

Davesnave

twopenny said:

It's got colder!

It sure has, but it's dry and there's only a narrow window left to do certain jobs, so....

We were back in the orchard today, raising the crowns of some trees, taking out crossing branches and reducing some of the over-long ones. No fancy pruning stuff for us; just the basics! I also took down a couple of larger willow stems in the copse area. They get to about 20'+ and then start to lean, so before they fall, I cut them. Not brilliant firewood, but OK if stored 2 years.

We had sunshine in the morning, but  it disappeared for most of the afternoon. Not sure how much vitamin D gained with just our faces exposed, so we take a supplement at this time of year. Excellent in helping to protect from the lurgy, whatever label one puts on it. (I see 'flu has vanished in the past year! )

I have another bonfire ready to go, but until we have a west or south west wind I can't set it off.

[Deleted User]

Morning Campers 🖐
It's a chilly one, opened the door at 6 to let the cat out and wowee it's cold !
The outdoor thermometer says 0 but it feels much colder, that windchill is evil 🥶🥶🥶

Davesnave

It feels a lot colder than it is. Compost in pots is hard, but the hens' water, which is the real test, wasn't frozen. Inside the hen shed it stays liquid if their little bodies can heat the air sufficiently.

I moved all the borderline potted stuff still outdoors into the polytunnel yesterday and stuck fleece over it. That's all I do now; plants have to survive without heat. It's surprising what we still have, despite a tough regime.

Might shop today, just in case things get worse.......

Farway

Snow has arrived & settled here, still falling but not blizzards of it, enough to make you stay indoors unless desperate

I'm not desperate so will content myself with heating on & looking out of the window at it

If it gets "pretty" enough I may take a photo in the garden

twopenny

Decided not to dig a hole on the North facing plot to secure my standard Lavender. It's propped up with pots and will do for now. Ditto not going to finish the gates today. Too darn cold and i;m fed up with fighting it.

Woke up to blue sky & sun on one side and dense grey cloud the other but it's brightened just icy. Found the wind whistling through a window frame that I requested attention for 3mts ago so taped that up which seems to have done the job. It's a toss up, if I ring and she comes to fix it the window will have to come out and my tiny place will be freezing where the temporary fix seems to be working.

BTW I notice some potted items are wilting. The dry wind has dried the pots out. Keep an eye.