HAPPY NEW WEEK!
Last week's Chat thread is here.
Sorry folks, no cheery picture this week. Busy this evening with all sorts of minor crises. LOL
Everyone have a wonderful week!!!
Diane: Sorry, forgot to say thank you for pointing me in the right direction. It didn't look the same but worked it out.
Lindybird: that's a lovely garden and I bet a lot of work but I'm sure you find it worthwhile. It has the feel of our garden when we were living in Tunbridge Wells and I had more energy and time than now. That is a while ago as we have been here for 13 years now. A move never regretted.
Well, it was too late for the weather to turn nice today as Sunday mornings are shower days, unfortunately this takes around three hours and we have Sunday lunch out to break up the weekly strain. Similar routine Wednesdays but eat out in the evening, so do get some things done. Roof will be finished tomorrow, hopefully before it rains again. I did have a very pleasant surprise though. I thought the quote was just for the back of the house, where we have had all the problems, but it wasn't, it was for re-doing the whole roof. I don't think I will have to worry again! Front beds now on automatic watering and greenhouse is on manual as the two back beds need sorting first as the timer is a dual one, a slightly longer task, but will be done before we go to the Cairngorms. At this rate in a couple of weeks more hedgehog food will definitely be required.
Morning all: Mother's Day greetings exchanged with daughter and other - as AQ would say "appendages." :-) Will celebrate (or something like that) with daughter later when she's settled from her trip.
Keith: Well, I've been on the site for years and you've now leapfrogged waaaay ahead of me in one fell swoop with your video clip and post. How sweet. Why do I think the one circling is the male? :-)
Lindybird: Nice pix - hang on to that plum tree as long as it's producing delicious fruit! Some sheds are really nice (I'm thinking of pix posted here in the last year or so of a garden show that someone attended). You could plant a climbing something-or-other to hide it! That Magnolia looks a bit like star jasmine, which is currently in bloom and its lovely perfume wafts back and forth around the neighborhoods.
Rosy: Will have to Google Longleat.
Has anyone seen anything of Rita lately?
Off to start the day....
Aching all over – not the bit of gardening done today, but I think it the result of car journeys and sitting on the scooter while away – although I did some walking too! I was outside watering in the greenhouse while OH did front garden, but have been sent in to rest and he will finish the back garden and the other young plants.
To finish description of our time away, the Scottish Railway Preservation Museum and Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway (Saturday)was excellent, and we stayed there several hours. But outside the wind was bitterly cold, so we were glad of hot soup at the station buffet! We decided to visit the Motor Museum nearby, which was quirky but interesting, and forget leave the Linlithgow part of our plans for another visit. I noticed in the news that our First Minister and her followers went to the Kelpies for a photo call the day after our visit; I was relieved that we weren’t a day later there!
Linda – well done to you and OH with the Robin rescue! Yes, there are photos – uploaded but not yet “weeded”, so they will follow. Sounds good, that your clear-out has even reached the back porch (wish we had one!) Lovely garden photos. Our Fritillaries and Tulips have nearly all finished now, but three wee “Species Tulips” have just opened in a small trough of “odds and ends” – need to save them into one of the alpine troughs so they don’t get disturbed.
Wendy – we were also only four on our Kelpie Tour, with another couple probably just a bit yonger than ourselves (saw them at the railway yesterday also) so easy to get around inside “Duke’s” head and to chat with our guide. Aberlour is a long walk, and I hope your knee was better today, and that you enjoyed the ballet.
Annette – a long drive for your Daughter, even with the overnight stop; I hope her back will be alright after it; enjoy celebrating Mothers’ Day when you both can.
Dibnlib – so pleased your Mum answered the phone after all this time, whatever the actual conversation! That must have lifted your spirits ready for seeing her next week.
Rosy – Welcome back from your visit to Wiltshire; lovely that you saw “her” Hedgehogs. I well remember the Myxi outbreak affecting all the wild Rabbits on the downs when I was young. Our own (Dad bred them for food, but I had pet ones too) were all vaccinated and escaped the disease.
Diane – thanks once again for the new week; I hope the minor crises were indeed very little ones!
Keith – how clever to work out how to post your video – and good to see. Great news that you are having the whole roof done for what you thought was the price for half, and so good that the weather has been good for the job to get done.
I didn’t feel like going to church this morning – blame it on the high pollen count. We therefore got everything unpacked and then had our lunch out as planned. Not windy or cold today – up around 24 degrees C. We have been moving plants on a stage – from cold greenhouses to outside, followed by next batch from heat to cold and so on. Peas and potatoes are up, Dahlias are shooting, and annuals to be transplanted this week. I watered in the greenhouse this evening, then OH banned me doing any more because I was hurting so badly, but I am hoping to be more useful tomorrow, which looks like being a good gardening day.
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
Annette, Yes do Google Longleat. I think you will find it interesting. There are some very colourful inhabitants living there, and equally colourful goings on!
My sis was a house guide there for several years after she retired from the day job.
There were some television programmes last year about the House and Estate, and the various occupants.
OG Give yourself some time to rest after what seems to have been an active few days away.
I don't think we knew about the vaccination for Myxi at the time. It happened rather suddenly. This was in Somerset.
Hi everyone, sorry no contributions from here, just been busy with visitors etc. Was incredibly tired by the time they arrived on Thursday afternoon, seem to have been travelling and entertaining non stop for the last two or three weeks! I don't have health and mobility issues like OG, so can only apologise for being a wimp. Anyway, happy to report that today I seem to have got back my usual energy :-))
I have scanned posts each day - thank you for news and pics etc. Will catch up properly maybe on Wednesday when we will be in Denmark at the home of our friends. Meanwhile, take care, all!
Evening all: Very non-productive day today - spent the morning e-mailing friends and paying a bill or two, then it was suddenly lunchtime ( in the garden with a book followed by nap), then very minor tidying up of a couple of plants, then lo and behold, time for a shower and dinner!
KeithG: Sunday a good day for lunch out - a break for everyone I hope? Unusual for a home repair quote to be a pleasant surprise. What do hedgehogs eat when people aren't feeding them?
OG: My sister was out moving plants outside this morning. Now please take your own advice and take things easy!
Rosy: Good grief! Longleat much more than a stately home I see. Did you get as far as the Orangery? :-)
Heather: Oh please, non-stop visitors on your end for two weeks so absolutely no need for apologies! Relax when you're in Denmark. We'll be here when you get back.
Have a good Monday all.
Good Morning. Replies from me, later, as must get showered & decent, as glazier coming this morning to look at our kitchen window which has misted up. The guarantee is long out of date, so will have to pay for it but not expecting it to be too expensive.
No sign of the Window Man, yet.... ho hum. Been out watering pots in the garden as suddenly they are all beginning to look rather thirsty.
Yesterday my Friend came around with her OH and their little dog, and so a good Chase Around the Garden nicely wore out the pups whilst we talked. However, during this they knocked over one of my bird baths, which broke the bowl from the stem - it was cast iron so that is the end of that! :-(
Heather: You are entitled to be weary, after all those various visitors and gallivanting around! Hope you have time to gird your lions before getting yourselves off to Denmark. Have a lovely break, you deserve it.
Annette: I did keep hinting to my OH about the lovely small sheds we saw at the Flower Show, and how I could grow pretty things over it, but he won't be budged! Some of my tools are kept in a large plastic storage box, which is most inconvenient... you can't get to the bottom and you can't see what you have in there. Also spiders! Argh! - we saw lots of them yesterday, thankfully mostly dead ones, when we cleaned out the porch. I now have to re-sort some of the things which were left out to be "Looked At" as a result of the clear out. But today am doing other things, so expect I will have to buckle down later on today to get things tidied up. Was glad to see that you had some kind of a relaxing afternoon yesterday in the garden.
OG: You sound as if you are being too ambitious again - please don't try to take on too much. Your body will tell you when you need to stop for a while!
Margo: Thinking of you again this week - hope you managed to get out for another meal with your OH at the weekend. {{HUGS}}
More pics from me... this time from a walk we made around a local spot popular with nature lovers and dog walkers, just an old pit which was filled in to form a lake, but full of birds now.
-- You can just make out the swans, in the above, which are nesting safely away from any exuberant dogs and busy fishermen, on an island in the middle of the lake. Took some photos of them but they were disappointing.
-- A large log has been carved into the shape of a big fish, but its big enough to sit on and enjoy the view!
Lindybird, I have a mental picture of Heather girding her lions!
Have a good break, Heather. Having relatives to stay is very tiring, however much you like them.