Gardening in the rain

I am taking my lunch hour.  I've just had bread, Hereford Hop cheese, salad and some stonking home made pickled onions.  Somehow, I don't think my husband is going to be kissing me for a while!  I have the action of a live auction going on in the background, so I know where we are when it comes close to the items we plan to bid on.  Exciting stuff but gosh, Philip (auctioneer) has a very clear voice and I've had to turn the volume down.  I bid on a couple of things earlier, but was the underbidder on each.  Not items I had dealt in before, and neither had we gone all the way into England to view this, so I didn't want to go in too deeply.  The two items I am more interested in are up in a couple of hours.

The nut nets and feeders are still very busy, and now that the Jackdaws aren't coming to help themselves, the fat balls are lasting well - instead of me getting through 8 a day (I was only prepared to renew the two feeders once a day).  I assume that the thieving Jackdaws have now died and fortunately NOT passed on their habits to the young entry . . .  I have to say, now I have half a dozen Siskins almost permanently in attendance, they are quite the sassiest and brave little birds I've seen.  The Goldfinches are normally fairly bold, but the Siskins (even the wee females) see them off every time.  They only kow-tow to the Nuthatch, that Spiv of the garden with his impressive dagger-like beak.

So far today I have been gardening around the front gate area - the first thing the viewers will see when they arrive on Sunday.  I have bought several trays of bright Primulas and got some more this morning, as when we had taken an ancient 1960s Prestcold fridge (that was in working order until recently) to the dump and then dropped down the A48 into town and visited Wyevale briefly for yet MORE compost (another 300 litres) and 10 more Primulas as they had a deal on for their gardening club members.  I am one, but rarely do I visit Wyevale as it's so dear, and I think this is the first offer I have taken up.  At the checkout I noticed some half-price thermal gardening gloves at £2.99.  Well, since I am winter gardening, I decided they wouldn't go amiss!  I've worn them straight away and they really do make a difference.  I'm back out there in a minute.  I still haven't found the secateurs I tidied away somewhere, but the new ones are very good and I still hope to come across my original ones when I tidy up the Back Place.

If the rain gets worse then I am back in the kitchen, wielding my paintbrush as although I only painted it 6 weeks ago, the same bits are lifting so i will have to rub them back and repaint.  Attic bathroom ditto . . . the radiators need bleeding and haven't been working properly  so it's got damp in there. However, bleeding the rads isn't that straightforward as they lack something or other and if my OH takes the top off we could have an explosion of dirty rad water . . . or that's my understanding of the situation.

Right, I'd best check the auction out again . . .

P.S.  Ended up buying several things - sight unseen, which we would never normally do - but nothing expensive.  I am looking forward to the day out to go and collect our purchases.  Oh, and I can REALLY recommend the thermal gardening gloves (by Briers).  I had toasty hands whilst I worked out there and they also allow me to tackle the brambles which my other ones don't.