Tuesday 31 January 2017

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.

14 comments:

  1. If you want deadly beaks, check out the shots of the white throated diver in Lincs that have been doing the rounds. That beak could kill an elephant. I dealt with some Asda own brand "blue cheese" yesterday. pleasant enough, but rather rubbery!

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  2. Crikey - wouldn't care to be a fish on the receiving end of THAT beak, Simon! I seem to remember reading somewhere about a Gannet missing the sea and embedding its beak into the wooden deck of a boat . . . seems more than possible.

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  3. Hope what you bought is all OK and sells well. take care when gardening in rain - Welsh rain is extra wet!

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    1. We shall see. One piece was an impulse buy! - a brand new terrestial globe made from semi-precious stone. Looked good - we checked out to see retail price elsewhere and they are offered all over Ebay, at varying prices. Something different anyway, and a no-loss purchase. Welsh rain is . . . somewhat wet! I came in before it got very persistant.

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  4. lovely to bump into you yesterday, I think you are slightly mad gardening in the rain but needs must I suppose, hope all goes well at the week end

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    1. Well, it was definitely needs must Dawn! I didn't really notice the rain, tbh! It looks so much better with some colour about the place and with the weedy bit just inside the gate sorted out, although gardening in MUD is greatly over-rated!

      It was lovely to see you and meet Mandy, and I hope you had a really lovely time whilst she was staying with you - well, I know you did. Hope she can come back soon.

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  5. Gardening in the rain is a step too far BB.

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  6. A necessary evil Pat. It wasn't raining too hard, and then when it did get persistant, I was already indoors.

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  7. I love your photo of the snowdrops pushing through the ivy and leaf mulch. Mine in Surrey are through but not flowering yet. I did some planting in a light mizzle this morning. I planted 10 new autumn raspberry canes as my old ones had dwindled in vigour despite replanting in fresh ground a few years ago and my reward for turning up at the allotment was ... the first of this season's purple sprouting broccoli. And getting damp and dirty was fine as I cleaned up with a swim. I love the sound of your Welsh farmhouse and if we weren't wedded to Surrey for work would be sorely tempted.

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  8. Hello Sarah, I only found it again after I was looking for a suitable photo to accompany this. I'd quite forgotten taking it. I see I'm not the only one out in the rain then - I walk in it too, as long as it isn't really heavy when I set off. I hope your new autumn raspberries do well for you, and envy you the purple sprouting! My soil doesn't encourage any of the brassica family. You can always retire to Wales . . .

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  9. Hats off to you for doing what needed to be done - I've just sown some seeds in the dark :) we're as mad as each other.

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  10. Well Tracy, if we start potting Geraniums in bed, then I will know we have both REALLY lost the plot!!!

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  11. Not so sure about gardening in the rain. Glad you came back inside.
    The cleaning of the radiators sound awful hope theu will be fixed soon.

    cheers, parsnip

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  12. So do I parsnip - they work furiously all over the house, except in the one room I need heating, up in the attic! Typical . . .

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