Stormy Weather

[marthe]

Sounds as though a lot is going on in RI marthe. How much longer will your son be there? Enjoy. Drizzly and cold here but it can only get better, fingers crossed.

saly, we've had drizzly and cold for the past two days! This evening's beautiful sunset promises a good day tomorrow! Son, Chris, is here until Tuesday and then flies back to San Francisco.

[BBMmk2]

It was rather cloudy and drizzly here yesterday but today bright sunshne! Lovely, although not warm enough yet to use the sun roof!! :)

Getting near the end of term now and close to the students Showcase Concert at the school where I work. they have put in some hard graft and it is good to see them surmount problems with the music they are playing!

I have a jamming session today! :)

[Serial_Apologist]

Nice big puffy cumulus clouds now developing. Let's hope they bring some much-needed showers as predicted, because that looks likely to be our lot for any substantial rainfall for the remainder of the week. Tentatively, the picture suggests we could be in for some record-breaking high temperatures on Friday - 23 C (73 F) being the UK March record from memory.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

well we just had the mother of a hail storm in the middle kingdom .... i could stand a warm dry spell as the dhobi is all backed up on me .... unlike swmbo all done & dusted she claims .... we missed a walk at Rutland Water and instead walked about Melton Mowbray High St in the rain .... i have to confess that we are a sad old pair we actually managed to have some fun ....

.. on the way we had called in on the grave yard to pay respects to grandma and other family members ... we were not nearly alone, remembrance appears to be very active ...grandpa helped create a whole new addition to the yard on the left of this picture and this is where he now rests ..

[marthe]

Fog is rolling in as I type, but we had a beautiful, sunny afternoon. I got quite a bit of my sunny border weeded. saly, massive dose of vit.D this afternoon...sending virtual vit. D your way.

[salymap]

Thanks marthe. Am getting my vitD from a tablet at the moment as too cold to sit in the garden yet.
In fact a sharp ground frost today, although it's not frozen the bird bath thankfully.

I'm glad youcan't see what's left of my big border. More weeds and grass than plants and can't afford anything but grass and hedges done. Soon the border can be mown/mowed with the lawn. Sad.

[Serial_Apologist]

Thanks marthe. Am getting my vitD from a tablet at the moment as too cold to sit in the garden yet.
In fact a sharp ground frost today, although it's not frozen the bird bath thankfully.

I'm glad youcan't see what's left of my big border. More weeds and grass than plants and can't afford anything but grass and hedges done. Soon the border can be mown/mowed with the lawn. Sad.

Yes saly, but take comfort that, unlike your friendly neeeeegh-bours with their scrupulously manicured lawns and borders, you are serving God's Purpose as His ecological missionary in Sidcup, silently preaching peace, love and welcome to that All without which We Would Not Bee?

[salymap]

yes saly, but take comfort that, unlike your friendly neeeeegh-bours with their scrupulously manicured lawns and borders, you are serving god's purpose as his ecological missionary in sidcup, silently preaching peace, love and welcome to that all without which we would not bee?

wot ?

[Serial_Apologist]

wot ?

These days all the horticultural "experts" (apart from one particular Irishman who displays and preens at Chelsea every year, and imv should be... decked) are advising us to leave at least part of our gardens to grow wild, thus attracting the bugs and butterflies but especially the bees now under threat, because of people's preferences for exotic blooms that don't attract bees to their gardens.

It's called "low maintenance management", and we're having it done here.

[amateur51]

These days all the horticultural "experts" (apart from one particular Irishman who displays and preens at Chelsea every year, and imv should be... decked) are advising us to leave at least part of our gardens to grow wild, thus attracting the bugs and butterflies but especially the bees now under threat, because of people's preferences for exotic blooms that don't attract bees to their gardens.

It's called "low maintenance management", and we're having it done here.

Cheers for that, S_A - I'm so proud that what comes naturally to me now has an impressive name

[Serial_Apologist]

Cheers for that, S_A - I'm so proud that what comes naturally me now has an impressive name

I don't think saly "gets" my GSOH, sometimes

[salymap]

I don't think saly "gets" my GSOH, sometimes

I tried to add a smiley S-A but it printed itself before I could do it. NO maintenance garden as far as I'm concerned these days. Even the daffodils are just leaves this year but some lovely ones in the park across the way from me. sal

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

a lovely springlike evening in the middle kingdom .... heavens above it is clocks forward this Sunday morning ... so light as it is right now, next week it will be light at 7 .... a civilised life returns eh .....

[marthe]

S-A: I love the idea of "low maintenance management"! Bees abound chez m. At the moment they're quite attracted to the tiny blue squill that are coming up through the grass. I do like to keep the weeds at bay but my garden is hardly the manicured kind. I'm my own gardener and landscaper. Mow, Blow, and Go (as we call the landscaping crews) have never set foot in my garden. All over Newport, the landscape truck, vans, trailers and equipment are clogging the streets of residential areas. The noise of leaf blowers, string trimmers, electric hege clippers etc is deafening. I use hand tools for the most part, though I do have a gasoline-powered mower and electric hedge trimmers. I spent the morning cleaning up the shade garden but downed tools at noon to take my son out for lunch and go visit Grandma (my mother.) We spent a pleasant lunch time at the outdoor patio of local a Mexican restaurant. It's been warm enough today (70 F) to enjoy the great outdoors.

[Nick Armstrong]

Bees abound chez m.

I was sitting outside today "out back" (as you would say in the U.S. ) and saw my first bee of the year, a big bumble-bee with a buzz like a distant bomber, systematically checking out each plant, fallen leaves, generally sniffing everything out before buzzing off to the neighbours'...

Chilly nights here but sunny day and mild-ish today and set to be the same all week. Great for the cycling