Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

twopenny said:

Dusty, for goodness sake be more careful. If you're knees are playing up take a break. Walk around publicly with a couple of walking sticks and make a point of you can't do it right now.

I don't want to disagree with the need for rest when one is past a certain age, but studying the literature supplied to physiotherapists, there's much emphasis on exercise for those afflicted with osteoarthritis.  I don't think the bad winter/spring weather helped me keep my fitness where it should have been, or my weight under control. While I'm doing some recognised exercises, I also think 'jobs around the place' count too. I don't feel any worse for th things I did yesterday, but I should have pointed out, I don't use the chain saw when on ladders or pallets!

Sadly, I can't offer advice about what you should be taking to ward off the various 'coughs & sneezes,' afflicting many since Covid, certainly in my extended family, but not here. This site forbids that. It's well known, older people cannot easily absorb certain vitamins, trace elements etc even if they pursue a very diverse diet. Those nutrients are a very important part of maintaining a healthy immune system. A doctor whose name reminds me of concentrated soup is a good YouTube source of info on this.

While I can understand why MSE doesn't allow the dissemination of unapproved and specific health advice, one wonders why the NHS did not take the opportunity to point out the  benefits (backed by research) which a few supplements, costing pennies, could have provided older folk, right from the start of the Covid years.

OT: It's clouded up and the NW wind is back, but with 17c and no need for sun cream I'm happy enough.

pink_poppy

Thanks all, I'm feeling much better today. I drank water and slept for most of the day yesterday and just have a tender feeling stomach, probably caused by the retching I did yesterday morning (sorry if tmi)... Anyway, I won't be eating soup again anytime soon, especially after Farway's petri dish comment

That field really is a sight for sore eyes, Dusty. Very pretty. Weird about the ninja neighbour filling the bins in the middle of the night.

I like that poster from the open garden, twopenny - it's good to have a sense of humour.

YBE, in my head you look like Victoria Coren now

All was quiet in the garden last night when I peeked outside, I thought the birds were in a huff with me because I hadn't fed them, but they were back this morning, with the robin coming right up to the back door step Unfortunately I found the remains of a body at the side of the house - I think it might have been a young goldfinch that was in and out of the garden the other day - it wasn't 'natural causes', so something had managed to grab it

In happier news, my baby bunny nibbled hollyhock is growing again - I noticed it was starting to get tiny leaves on Saturday and today it's got proper leaves. No sign of the bunny in the garden for a while, so fingers crossed it won't get eaten again.

I thought the weather was going to be nicer today, but it's actually quite grey and cloudy and my feet are cold - time to find my fluffy socks out  

Farway

The sun did pop out for a quickie, which was enough time for me to sort out the new runner bean spot, and found a couple of Frenchies still growing , obviously 8 out of 10 slugs prefer runner beans & not French ones.

Which brings me on to

Dustyevsky said:

YoungBlueEyes said:

I prefer your marigold to my ones Farway,

There are two plants people call marigolds. Farway's last picture sort is fine in making salads look pretty. I'm not sure the other sort would be as innocuuous!

The smelly little ones are French Marigolds

The large open and tasty ones are English Marigolds

Quite easy to remember.

Latin tags are Tagetes for the tender, pongy little ones,

Calendula for hardy, tall & open ones

I won't add links but search on Latin names for details

I think the Calendula may have some medical uses with old wives, but not on here, DYOR.

I found a tip rooted thornless blackberry as I was clearing up, spot of luck, I may ask DS if he wants it, otherwise I'm sure I can find a good home for it

twopenny said:

Farway you're keeping a low profile - everything ok jointwise?

Thanks, but I'm fine, just been doing “things”, all necessary, the type you just have to eventually do once you find the Roundtoit.

The fuchsia plugs I got on offer from T & M are growing, but now I need some wall baskets, normally I'd go to Home Bargains etc, but time is limited this week, so maybe a trip up the South American river.

-taff

2p, you can't go back and ask now can you? I'm intrigued, I want to know what happened to the lawn...I did laugh at you finding associations with poppys ailment yes, rest, sitoot etc...

Dusty, what do you use the hay for? And neighbours are awlays weird, well known fact, whereas we are not neighbours, we are merely observers fo odd behaviour and do nothing like that ourselves [ anyone up for a light sabre fight in the dead of winter in the street at night? ] My neighbour brought some tools back for me I'd left outside for anyone to take, when I got through to him I really didn't want them, he took them for his son Up by six? no no no no no no no.....

Farway, I'm happy your fuchsias are growing. Mine in the pot are fine, the ones in the bed have gone to the fjord after being repeatedly sat on by the cats. I find black toms tatse better, some of them are hit and miss taste wise, I thought I'd found a fab normal cherry one this week but unfortunately OH ate the two I was saving for seed. They were lovely too, really sharp and sweet, the skin was quite thick too which made the pop even better when you bit on them. We've got two episodes left of Fallout. I'm a fan of Walton Goggins, he was fab in Justified and Predators. I liked your bees knees too, are we moving onto other bosy parts?

GF, i like that, the hards, I'm going to steal it..I love this place I have so many new expressions to roll out.

YBE, fancy being lectured on etiquette by a 14 yr old? well done his parents! 

Nothing much happening today. Being as I resisted nobbling a bit of variegated sage [ the one with the proper white bits] from the garden party last night, I got myself one today. And her's a pic of an unidentifiable sitooterie..

What is making the roses leaves pink?

twopenny

I love that brickwork.....I asked a posh place that had rough bricks in an enormous sitting out dining area about slippage but she was non-plused and vague. I think they have a gardener and handyman

One gorgorgeous garden on the posh side had 9 sitooteries.....I commented and she laughed. A fellow 'a garden is for sitting in' gardener.  But heck their view was amazing from all corners!

Yet again I went with a friend who (at last) likes gardens but totally uninterested in the veg gardens - which are my favourite. I'm going to have to do it on my own again. Photos later.

Meantime a curiosity that I covet

It's a buddleia. We recognised by the smell but never seen anything like it. Even the branches are different.

That would take on a hefty job deadheading.

-taff

-taff said:

What is making the roses leaves pink?

Don't answer that, it's not a rose is it? Is it a hydrangea?

Dustyevsky

-taff said:

-taff said:

What is making the roses leaves pink?

Don't answer that, it's not a rose is it? Is it a hydrangea?

I think it's an Actinidia. (Done without spell check, 'cos I have to put the hens to bed )

goldfinches

I'm very excited to have read about toms with dark foliage as I have three currently doing quite well on my plot. I'm not sure of their name but think they are Black Moon which I got from T & M but will check the next time I go up. I can't find any good photos of them on my phone either so I'll snap one then too.

Glad to hear everyone is mending slowly but surely and agree with Dusty about the osteoarthritis regime. I think of it as pottering along and keeping going rather than stopping and starting because I find being in one position becomes painful after a short while. I also agree about the weight and last winter's wet and cold having a bad effect on painful joints so am currently losing the bit I gained while immobile and enjoying getting out and about again. 

Ybe I've discovered that simply uprooting the thistle sprout leaves a main root that it shot from underground and having a shoot removed stimulates the fiendish little bl*ghter to send up more shoots so I've been digging down around the shoot to find the main one and then removing the lot. Once or twice I've unearthed a sort of main junction box of roots and shoots which had sent roots underground in all directions and have followed and hoicked out all those too. All this work does seem to be getting on top of them slowly but like Dusty says they all seem interconnected to one another and one of the plots next to mine is infested because the owner is on holiday, she'll be returning to non-stop weeding when she does get back, and it seems to be spreading the thistles back to mine!
Oh well, you asked after the wedding flowers and the answer is very patchy. Some things have taken off and are beginning to flower, others seem to have vanished completely so I think they won't get quite what they hope for but since I haven't seen any sign they've visited the plot since they planted it out I'm keeping quiet and just waiting to see what happens.
The electrician finally arrived after lunch rather than before but I now have a heat detector rather than a smoke one in the kitchen and he wired up two others in places I'm likely to be able to hear them even at night which is all good and he put the master one for me to turn off in an accessible place for me rather than him which I'm pleased with as I'm 5'5" and he was at least 6'2".
Last but not least the weather here today was warm enough to prevent my heating from coming on and I had all the windows open today so things are looking up even if only temporarily. 

Dustyevsky

-taff said:

Dusty, what do you use the hay for? ...Up by six? no no no no no no no.....

What is making the roses leaves pink?

The hay is bartered for meat and skilled work, like fencing. The farmer who cuts it appreciates the wild flowers etc in it. It's not the usual bland stuff, created by killing off the native grasses and sowing something high-yielding, pumped up with fertilizers. The Powers That Be want to get rid of 'inefficient' little producers, like me. However, by rotating: sheep - hay- sheep- hay...etc we keep a traditional meadow and gain both meat and hay crop with zero extra input. It's not totally 'organic,' because I kill a few weeds by spot spaying, but it's near as dammit.

I don't have to get up by 06.00 all year round. In the winter, the hens don't come out much before about 08.30.

I think the vine in 2p's photo is an Actinidia, (Kiwi fruit) as that leaf colouring is typical of them.

pink_poppy said:

That field really is a sight for sore eyes, Dusty. Very pretty. Weird about the ninja neighbour filling the bins in the middle of the night.

The photo was 'helped' by the light of the setting sun. As for the neighbours in the development down the lane, the type of property tends to attract certain sorts of people, but I won't develop that further! The council bin lorries won't come down private lanes any more, so residents down there have to drag their wheelie bins + recycling up to 200m to the collection point. How much simpler just to chuck it all into black bags, drive it there, and then use others' bins!

YoungBlueEyes

Another lovely calm mild Spring morning here, it's come a bit cloudy now but it was beautiful earlier. Dry today too, they say. The Four Horsemen that were predicted for yesterday must have run out of puff before they reached me cos I got nothing. Himself said he got a good thunderstorm at work though. Did you get any of it wm?

Funny you thinking I look like Victoria Coren pp I don't but I wouldn't mind be £1 behind her. Actually our fathers looked similar, I've just D'Duck'd him. Main difference being Daddy had a good moustache, waxed it and curled the ends and everything. God love him. Well, the pair of them.
Hurray for recovering hollyhocks but booo for the babby goldfinch.

Thanks for the marigold info Dusty + Farway, I'll have to keep my eye out for English ones 

I need closure on those ducklings 2p, and the lawn! Is it far away? Can you just nip back and ask...? Hopefully your ...lurgy... doesn't floor you. You kinda forget about it now it's not on the news any more. Doesn't mean it's not still out there though. I love your disappearing steps, and who'd have thought that was a buddleia?! I would've said lilac or wisteria or something. Very attractive  

Taff I agree about the 14 year old. He was a great kid and helped my game no end. I sometimes wonder if he's someone famous now (in the right circles) cos he meticulously dissected my last few dozen hands and told me what I should've done. Fierce brain on him, I hope he went into mathematics or astro/physics or something. He'll be about 40 so if he was going to he will have by now. Going by the news this morning I suspect he was hoovered up by Nvidia..... 

Plant rings are not what I was thinking when I looked them up. There was a garden at the weekend that had a beautiful big cherry tree right in the middle of the (v large) lawn, and it had big deep rings round the middle of it so that's what I had in my mind. They were a thick band of strong material something or other, I forgot to ask about them. So that's another mystery for the list. 

Thanks for the thistle info gf, but I think I'll just have to keep doing what I'm doing. They're in my grass and borders and every-bladdy-where, coming in from next door same as yours. I knew I wasn't going to eradicate them by nipping the new ones up but I didn't think I was making it worse I might hang about in morries garden bit today and see if I can find a knowledgable sort to question... 

Here's another word for our vocab - Junuary. I saw that somewhere else, it's good eh.

Got to go to Posh Town today so I need to be on really. The roadworks round here are soul-destroying - going anywhere at all takes sooo lloonngg *sigh*