Stormy Weather II

[oddoneout]

Warm already - 25 on the patio - so it'll be an early trip for errands. Fortunately I don't have much to do, but it would be nice to get some samphire from the market and perhaps some little brown shrimps if there are any, so worth making the effort. I'm working tomorrow but the northerly wind is expected to pick up which should knock back the temps - downside is seeing all the plants having the water sucked out of them and leaves and flowers battered.

[BBMmk2]

Warm already - 25 on the patio - so it'll be an early trip for errands. Fortunately I don't have much to do, but it would be nice to get some samphire from the market and perhaps some little brown shrimps if there are any, so worth making the effort. I'm working tomorrow but the northerly wind is expected to pick up which should knock back the temps - downside is seeing all the plants having the water sucked out of them and leaves and flowers battered.

Going to be 26C, down here.

[Serial_Apologist]

Going to be 26C, down here.

Blisteringly hot in the powerful sunshine just now while dead-heading our roses, but still comfortably fresh on the shaded side of the block.

[oddoneout]

Blisteringly hot in the powerful sunshine just now while dead-heading our roses, but still comfortably fresh on the shaded side of the block.

The sun is a bit hit and miss today which is keeping things manageable. A reminder of how off kilter the weather is was the fishmonger in the market apologising that he only had frozen crabs for sale as the boats hadn't been able to get out due to the very strong northerly winds.
The dustbin lid birdbath next to the patio is needing refilling every day, which may be good from a hygiene point of view (how did they manage before we started providing fully serviced facilities...) but is a stark reminder of how much water is being removed in these conditions, given that the lid is quite deep (it needs a bit of brick in the middle to allow small birds better safer access) and holds quite a lot. At the bottom of the garden I have a large saucer, intended for under a plant tub, balanced on a large flower pot as a bird bath/ drinking facility and that only lasts about half a day at best as it's shallower.

[Serial_Apologist]

The sun is a bit hit and miss today which is keeping things manageable. A reminder of how off kilter the weather is was the fishmonger in the market apologising that he only had frozen crabs for sale as the boats hadn't been able to get out due to the very strong northerly winds.
The dustbin lid birdbath next to the patio is needing refilling every day, which may be good from a hygiene point of view (how did they manage before we started providing fully serviced facilities...) but is a stark reminder of how much water is being removed in these conditions, given that the lid is quite deep (it needs a bit of brick in the middle to allow small birds better safer access) and holds quite a lot. At the bottom of the garden I have a large saucer, intended for under a plant tub, balanced on a large flower pot as a bird bath/ drinking facility and that only lasts about half a day at best as it's shallower.

I have a small flowering plant in a pretty blue porceline bowl outside my front door. I have forgotten what type of plant it is. Luckily for me, it tells me whenever it needs watering by curling up its leaves - which at this time of year is often, every two days at least. Much to my surprise an identical plant is growing in the adjacent stones - it must have dropped a seed at some stage - funnily enough this addition to my collection doesn't seem to require any watering at all; it must have its roots in adequate moisture.

[oddoneout]

I have a small flowering plant in a pretty blue porceline bowl outside my front door. I have forgotten what type of plant it is. Luckily for me, it tells me whenever it needs watering by curling up its leaves - which at this time of year is often, every two days at least. Much to my surprise an identical plant is growing in the adjacent stones - it must have dropped a seed at some stage - funnily enough this addition to my collection doesn't seem to require any watering at all; it must have its roots in adequate moisture.

Lobelia is a classic one that drops from hanging baskets or tubs. Many's the time I've been able to transplant into a new season's tub from such offspring. Plants that seed into apparently unpromising ground can do well as they can get their roots through very small gaps and find soil and moisture underneath. There was an item on Gardeners' World recently to do with people taking on small neglected urban corners, and one of the projects involved getting concrete broken up but not lifted and then establishing a wide variety of plants in the cracks. It created a lovely meadow effect using garden and native plants and of course others came in of their own accord. It's only a version of what happens in the wild after all but has considerable potential for brightening up intractable spaces which otherwise are eyesores and attract waste and undesirable activities - and at minimal cost to the public purse.

[BBMmk2]

Another hot day!

[Serial_Apologist]

Another hot day!

Many people around here were commenting on the remarkable strength of the sun yesterday, comparable they said to how it can feel in the Mediterranean region. The two men working on our block had to take regular drinks breaks - water, I should emphasise - in the shade around the north side of the building. This was probably ascribable to a combination of low humidity levels for hot weather in this country - humid layers tend to act as a partial blanket, though in respects other than direct sunshine they also tend to increase bodily discomfort - and literal air compression since the cap, or temperature inversion, was low in heights terms, as was indicated by the tiny amount of cumulus growth, which people might also have noticed.

Last night's temperature here did not fall below 16C, and since it is now 20C indoors I am wishing I had opened all doors and windows on the previous night when the temperature fell to 11C, in order to air the flat. An important opportunity missed there, as night time temperatures seem set to rise over the next week. I can see myself resorting to putting pillows in the deep freeze fridge compartments, and taking lukewarm baths before hitting the sack each night. This morning was actually quite pleasant as a result of fairly thick stratocumulus and underlying cumulus spreading down from the NW. I was able to cycle the 2 miles to E Dulwich Sainsbury's for a load of groceries, including a block of ice cream which was still unfrozen on my return home! If the cloud persists to any degree, it should help suppress temperature maximi, at least today.

[Joseph K]

Idyllic, here. Almost cloudless and quite hot, but with a fresh wind. 23C.

[oddoneout]

Fortunately I'm not rostered to work next week (just have to hope I don't get a distress call!)

Well I talked that one up! There is a big happening on Monday and when I was in working today my manager was getting a bit stressed at the amount of clearing up there was going to be on Tuesday, and lack of bodies to do it as two staff have just gone off with Covid (which means that more may follow as both were at work last couple of days) so I have offered to come in for the morning. It's set to be the hottest day but as I've offered rather than being rostered I can bail if it gets too much.
Was pleasant today temperature-wise as expected although it suddenly went up at about 3pm and is taking a while to back down.

[Jonathan]

Very warm here too, sat outside and ate lunch and about to do the same with dinner! Earlier on, watched clouds evaporating as they moved across the sky. Most restful

[BBMmk2]

Very warm here too, sat outside and ate lunch and about to do the same with dinner! Earlier on, watched clouds evaporating as they moved across the sky. Most restful

Apparently clouds are sucking up the water in the world’s lakes!

Another hotty today. Around 26C?

[Serial_Apologist]

Apparently clouds are sucking up the water in the world’s lakes!

Another hotty today. Around 26C?

As long as they are releasing it back into the lakes, all is well!

I sincerely hope predictions of 37C for next Sunday are wrong; that's nearly 100F in the old money!

[oddoneout]

As long as they are releasing it back into the lakes, all is well!

I sincerely hope predictions of 37C for next Sunday are wrong; that's nearly 100F in the old money!

My neighbour forgot to open her greenhouse this morning... She said it got up to 51 degrees - be interesting to see if the plants survive that. I hope so as she's put in a lot of work and they are starting to get tomatoes and cucumbers in quantity. Mind you I still don't understand why she shuts it up at night now, especially as there aren't louvres to leave open or an automatic vent to prevent heat buildup once the sun gets up in the morning, or if the evening is warm.
Noticeable how the (cool)direction of the airflow comes into play when the sun is obscured as has happened several times today.

[french frank]

My neighbour forgot to open her greenhouse this morning... She said it got up to 51 degrees -

I've just had to come out of the garden at 27C in the relative shade. Clear blue skies and a temperature of c. 21C suits me.