Evening all; now popping back to catch up on all your news.
MaryGK: Alaska ferries are definitely for folks who are happy to rough it, sort of. I wouldn't mind it if I knew I had a comfy hotel near the dock.
BrendaH: Good luck looking for the jacket to go with that dress. Thanks for news of Margo and OH's doings - great to know they're enjoying themselves.
Heather: Don't think my OH would worry about my disposing of kitchen stuff; on the other hand the garage (which he also doesn't frequent) might be harder to clean out. Chocolate teapot? :-)) Cornish pasties - yum yum.
Rosy: Daughter has always had a menagerie (pigs, goats, peacock, horses, dogs, etc.) now it's horses, ducks, dog and floppy-eared bunny. I just have her ancient cat which caught one bird yesterday and two today! Pesky puss. :-(
Hi to everyone else.
Other pictures: Some of the gardens on display -
We could hear the "tut tutting" of others of our age, who don't like the weedy look of too many ornamental grasses!
How about an ornament for the garden?
I quite fancied a peacock!
Or something posh to sit in, when its inclement -
This was H U G E - an amaryliss, but on a rather big scale - if you look carefully, you can see that there are purple glass parts for the flowers. I think you could buy this, but it was thousands of pounds.....
Detail:
~ Me: "Can I have one for my birthday??!" -- Answer: "NO!"
Morning all: No sign of the pyrocumulus at all this morning, but we're told to expect similar spectacles this afternoon.
Lindybird: Love those whimsical sheds - such fun, especially the Inside-Out one. Ornamental grasses look a bit weed-like in that photo. People here are sprouting "Gold is the new green" signs in their drought-ravaged gardens where a luscious green lawn almost makes you a neighborhood pariah. Wonder if the purple flowers on that amaryllis light up... Are those propane powered heaters popular over there? Seems like they'd be ideal in that climate.
BrendaH: Petrichor! Another new term, but what a clunky name for such a beautiful phenomenon - I love the smell of the earth after rain (a rarity here). I could get drunk on it.
Pesky cat Lightning has just caught her fourth bird in three days. She is almost 19 and you'd think she'd be passed that. She sits under the fountain until some hapless finch or other bird lands on the edge then leaps up to grab it. This is a cat that sits down very very slowly in the house before she snoozes in the corner. We encircled the fountain with a small fence last year, but then the birds landed on the fence, which defeated the purpose. Today we're going to putted potted cactii in her favorite lolling place and see if that helps...
Take care everyone.
Great to read everyones news, new words and pics.LINDY, Your pics from Tatton Park were wonderful.
DIANE yes, Shetland does not get over cold in winter, and nor does it get very hot in summer. When we were there it reached the dizzy height of 16 degrees so we donned shorts and t shirts and set out to walk round Clickimmin Loch. Someone was walking toward us wearing so many layers he looked like a Michelin man. This was explained by the fact that home was The Isle of Wight where the temp that day was 32 degrees. He was visiting his son who had opened up a glass blowing factory in Scalloway. He told us he would love to move to Shetland but his wife was having none of it.
My poor cousin is back in hospital, this time with sepsis. Her OH says she may be in hospital for some weeks.....nightmare.
Love your photographs, Linda. Plenty of thought put into those sheds.
Dibnlib, So sorry to hear about your cousin. She really has suffered for so long now and does not need a further set back.
Does anyone have any advice on how to discourage a mole. One has taken a liking to our back lawn and is making good progress :-(((
dibnlib: Oh crikey. Sepsis not good at all; what a difficult time they're having.
Lightning caught yet another bird, but now the fountain is surrounded by potted plants and some prickly cactii. Let's see how she handles that!
Dibnlib - Sorry to hear your news. A worrying time for you all.
Brenda - I only know that they don't like noise. I think you can buy a gadget which sends vibrations and possibly high pitched noise down through the ground.
Thanks Linda. We will give anything a try.