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Crepuscular Ray

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Posts posted by Crepuscular Ray

  1. 48 minutes ago, Jo Farrow said:

    Channel Islands  -All schools and colleges will close, islanders are being asked to stay at home. Only visit hospital if it is an emergency. No planned home births. All Gov Jersey sports facilities will close on Weds eve. Airport will close for commercial flights. Boat owners are being asked to secure their vessels securely. Also to buy responsibly, no hoarding.  

    Human nature being what it is, the last two words of that will prompt the few who haven’t already stockpiled necessities to head out and snap up the last few loo rolls. 

    • Like 4
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  2. After yet another wet night, it was a gorgeous sunny morning again, mostly, so I had to get out into the garden to finish off moving various pots, tubs of plants out of harm’s way in case Ciaran does take a left turn, especially my Nye Bevan roses, which were about as exposed as they could be in what is relatively sheltered spot, considering I’m on the edge of the Bannau. One of them took revenge on my arms.

    I was pleased to see that the moss is finally making a comeback in the lawn, after it took a beating during that hot dry patch all those months ago in May/June. I’m perhaps odd in wanting it there, but I’m not bothered about having a perfect lawn and the moss helps to regulate the flow of water off the hill - towards the kitchen floor - in wet weather. 

    • Like 3
  3. A pretty decent day here, too, apart from the brief torrential downpour as I walked from the surgery to the car park after having my flu and covid jabs. 😆

    1 minute ago, Sky Full said:

    For those of you who are in the firing line for this band of rain I recommend that you make sure your windows are all shut tonight!  The rain is now torrential and has now been falling like this for an hour or so, following an hour of less heavy stuff.  The yellow warning is perfectly justified especially as it looks like we’ve got another hour to go before it passes through.  I don’t have a rain gauge but I can’t believe we’ve had less than a couple of centimetres in the last hour.  Must be horrible to be driving in it.  

    Thanks for the warning! It’s just about to hit here.

    • Like 1
  4. What a glorious day! The neighbour and I went for a late-afternoon drive on the mountain road (aka the Top Gear road). It’s very autumnal up there, but there is still enough to eat for the sheep, so they were wandering over the road menacing the traffic.
     

    There were two colourful sun-dogs in the milky sky about half an hour before sunset, which made it look very atmospheric. Pity about the new 40mph speed limit and the average speed cameras, with their wind  turbines and outsize solar panels. The numerous accidents up there are usually from youngsters losing control while doing doughnuts, notfrom people going too fast.

    • Like 3
  5. Sounds good to me. I am hoping that it will be dry enough to mow the “lawn”tomorrow. The bees seem to have retired for the autumn, so I won’t be depriving them of food from the remaining clover, etc. 
     

    My delivery of mixed winter bedding turned out to be of two different varieties of violas, nothing like the illustration on the website, and with a substantial number of the plug plants out of their trays and squashed. I hear the garden centre at Ystradgynlais calling. 

    • Like 2
  6. 6 hours ago, Wetterfrosch said:

    From my perspective at least, it's not the Met Offices finest hour regarding this mornings forecast. Overcast ever since sunrise with showery rain for most of the time since about 9 am. I can only hope that we here in the NW are the exception and that their 'generally fine with sunny intervals' weather actually manifests itself in the rest of the country. Rant over!🙁☂️😉

    More or less the same here, and in Llanelli earlier, except that we’ve got that nasty penetrating drizzle on and off rather than proper rain.

    • Thanks 1
  7. 32.4 mm since midnight here so far. The mini-waterfall from the land drain in the garden is gurgling cheerily (I really must fit a tank there). 
     

    Once the land drain has done its job and I can walk, rather than wade, up the garden, I’ve got oodles to do out there; it’s only been dry enough for me to get the mower out once in the last seven weeks and the “wild flower borders” (ahem) are getting a bit rampant again. 
     

    Sorry to hear about your poorly dog Wetterfrosch.

    • Like 2
  8. 16 minutes ago, Wetterfrosch said:

    My two courgettes have only started developing their first fruit after producing countless male flowers first. So far I'm still hopeful but in recent years i had problems with flower end rot, denoting a lack of calcium, not surprising really living in an area with high rainfall that leaves the ground rather acidic. As remedy I now keep all our egg shells (and we go through a lot of eggs!) on a metal plate in the bottom Aga oven for several days. That makes them very brittle so they can be easily crushed and by means of a rolling pin ground into very small particles. Prior to planting I dig a handful or two into the soil and  occasionally scatter some around the plants even after they are established. Although it hasn't been 100 % successful, it has raised my chances considerably and given me at least some fruit last year.

    Have been on the Great Orme today as it was my volunteering day. The weather there had brightened up considerably although it was still a bit breezy and the sea rather choppy too. Still no increase in wind gusts beyond 35 mph forecast for Saturday  though for up here but the rainfall will surely be considerable. Glad to see signs of drier and warmer conditions now firming up for midweek - can't wait myself!😎

     

    Flower end rot - that’ll be what happened to the first few, after a prolonged period with only male flowers. Thank you for the tip about the eggshells; mine have been going in the compost bin, but I’ll do as you suggest next year. 
     

  9. 1 hour ago, Sky Full said:

    We’ve had a fairly reasonable day here after early drizzle.  It dried up mid-morning and although we had plenty of cloud cover, temps managed 18C in occasional breaks.   OK - not really what you hope for or expect in early August but better than recent days…..  Tried to tie up some floppy plants with canes to avoid them being flattened on Saturday - I’ll have to wait to find out if I’ve done enough.

    The pervading dampness has claimed its first victims in the veg patch. The courgette plants, after struggling to beat it, have finally succumbed to a nasty attack of some systemic mould, probably powdery mildew, so will have to be sacrificed in the morning to stop it spreading to the cucumbers and tomatoes. 

  10. 16 hours ago, snefnug said:

    I thought El Niño gave cooler North European winters?  No ripe blackberries here, nor elderberries.  Picked last of goose gogs  and jostaberries, summer raspberries huge, wild strawberries still going  strong. 

    Ooh, what pattern?  Is it on Ravelry?

    roomy-relaxed-turtleneck_Large600_ID-259
    WWW.ALLFREEKNITTING.COM

    The Roomy Relaxed Turtleneck is made with a beautiful brushed yarn that provides a new look to the basic worsted weight pullover sweater. You'll love how easy it is...

    It’s great for me, no complicated stitches and it’s bigger at the bottom. 
     

    After a few sunny intervals, there are showers springing up. At least I got a bit of deadheading done before I got chased indoors by the rain.

  11. It’s finally chucking it down properly for the first time in months. 
     

    The benefit to the mountains crossed my mind, too. It was too wet in the spring for the usual planned burns before the sheep were moved up there, so there’s been a lot of tinder-dry vegetation, just waiting for a cigarette end or an idiot who doesn’t know how damp down a barbecue. That there has been only one massive fire at this end of the beacons so far is very, very lucky.

    • Like 1
  12. There is definitely a whiff of October about, and not just of oil because my neighbour has turned his heating on. My weather station registered 7.9 °C yesterday at dawn, while my brother’s a few hundred yards away registered 6!

    This summer has provided a steep learning curve for me so far in the garden. The peas have failed to produce a single pod, the sweet peas did not take to that dry spell and I would like to introduce you all to my broad bean harvest. I don’t know whether to eat it or frame it. 
     

    On a better note, so far, the cougettes are beginning to produce and the tomatoes  are beginning to flower. The mini greenhouse is also providing endless interest for me in identifying all the butterflies that it catches as I release them. 

    Could contain:

    • Like 3
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