Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 24 May 2020

Heather - So sorry to hear about your nephew. My thoughts and prayers are with you and all the rest of the family, as well as with him. It must be so tough on his parents not being able to see him. Hoping for better news soon.

Heather sorry to hear about your nephew and these are worrying times and I think a lot of people are dropping their guard
. 70 days of neither of us being in a shop. OH is still working but taking the odd days holiday. We have redesigned a lot of the garden and I heaved a sigh of relief when I finished the last border on Wednesday. Next plan is 22 metres of wooden edging to replace. Sitting in the garden this evening he said it seems to have gone quickly . maybe something to do with having a project maybe.
Very hot here and both dogs just taking it easy.
New cooker arrived under strict social distancing etc. It feels like something out of Startrek. It has a steam oven capability it seems but I am hoping from advice from OG as I know she has one.

Just remembered I said I would be back! (O dear, that was yesterday morning!) Got the magazine finished to go on the website tomorrow. Spent time outside, but not too much as it is hot, with almost no breeze and very low humidity. Birdsong seemed louder than ever in the dry clear air – why does the Blackbird find it necessary to shout? Looked around the garden together and had a few surprises. Thrilled to see the Dahlias are through – we feared we had lost them by leaving them in their pots outside – wrapped in fleece through the winter. I think I have been thinking things are late because we have had June weather through most of May.

HARELADY – good to hear from you – I hope you will soon be able to see the Children and Grandchildren (that goes for others on here too) – but best not to rush things – stay safe.

HEATHER – I assume yesterday’s gardening was to put in your bedding plants – I hope you are pleased with them. Good to see your fence is happening, and good that you could enjoy a distanced family visit. So sorry about you Nephew and his parents unable to visit – I wonder whether he will test positive for Covid when they repeat the test – from what you have mentioned before, although he is young, I would think he would be high risk.

AQ – I hope your washing stayed clean with the Grand Design work going on in the garden behind. After a lot of stoppages, they do seem to have suddenly reached the roof.

ANNETTE – take care lifting the mulch from the car – don’t try to do it all at once.

LINDA – liked the horses and goats – all looked very relaxed. Lovely landscape there too. A beautiful; poppy - was that Patty’s Plum? And are the Pinks scented?

SUNNYKATE – good to see you pop in again! You are right about the technological benefits we have for keeping in touch – my parents didn’t even have a phone till after they retired!

DIBNLIB – I love the scent of Lilac (could smell it from the photo); but I find Choysia a bit too sweet.

WENDY – my steam oven is separate from my main oven, so doesn’t work in quite the same way, so I would be no help. I haven’t cooked a meal for ages, so I don’t even know how our new oven works – looks like a plane cockpit controls – all I know is that I can’t read the time from across the room as everything is so small!

OH is watering everything in sight this evening – even the front lawns, because the grass is looking parched. We really want to feed it, but can’t do it with no sign of rain in the forecast for the foreseeable future.

Sorry to hear about your nephew Heather. I hope there will be better news soon. I think that the tests are not always reliable, and can give false results.

Lovely flower pics Lindy and dibnlib. Thank you.
Our lilac has been and gone. It was lovely at the time, with wonderful scent. The choisya seems to flower for most of the year. A very useful plant for large spaces.

Thanks to everyone for news.

HEATHER – I hope your nephew’s tests continue –ve. A worrying time for his parents and you.

LINDA – More cheerful pics of your flowers.

Our crabapple is slowly turning yellow. Blustery winds expected later today, so more lovely yellow carpet on the lawn. It is a weeping variety – this is “inside” looking out.

 

And from the outside!

If you keep a green bough in your heart, the singing bird will come. (Chinese proverb)

The bird dares to break the shell, then the shell breaks open and the bird can fly openly.
This is the simplest principle of success.
You dream, you dare and you fly. (Israelmore Ayivor)

Why does the caged bird raise its voice in song?  
Because it lives in hope of one day flying free.

Oh dear.  I started the thread a day early (hence the 'Ignore this thread' thread) and only figured it out when I went to remind everyone that the SpaceX launch is now scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday ,which means tomorrow can't be Sunday.  Another side effect of the virus - and you don't even have to be infected.

Heather: Do let us know how your nephew is doing.....that's awful.

Wendyb:  You may be able to find a video online at the manufacturer's website that explains more about the steam oven (apart from the handbook).  You could probably Google something along the lines of "things to watch out for with a steam oven."   Good luck.

OG:  I anticipated your advice by unloading the mulch one bag at a time onto my handy little pull cart before hauling it into the garden. Easy peasy.   Hurray for the dahlias and Nature's resilience in spite of our oversights.

AQ:  Is a yellow crab apple good or bad or is it just the season?  

No sun at all today and heavy drizzle early this morning, which made it a good day for gardening. More of the same tomorrow (Saturday; it's Saturday!).

Take care everyone.

ANNETTE - The yellow is the colour of the fallen leaves.

Just bumpng us up.