Hi folks, Hot here today. Went to Picton Gardens and picked up a nice Aster. Had a walk around Malvern and ended up at a pub in Ombersley for a late lunch. All in all a nice day. Yesterday I watered the garden without any insect repellant on and ended up with about 20 bites. So far today I've taken 3 'one a day' antihistamines and I'm still itching.
Meant to post this earlier but my tablet crashed while composing it.
Had a hot air balloon low overhead at about 6pm. Haven't seen one for weeks then one turns up after today's conversation. The sound of the burners trying to gain height is an unusual one which is embedded in my sound memory bank along with other odd things like Spitfire engines and steam trains which we also hear from time to time.
Trimmed back the front slope below the house this afternoon, hot work with shears first then Flymo. It grows as a sloping meadow which I cut twice a year but it is about 30 feet by 15 feet and at least a 45 degree slope with some vertical bits so is rather dangerous. It gets lots of creatures in it including our slow worms and lots of frogs so I try to be careful. No sooner had I finished with the Flymo though when a big slow worm appeared out of the cut sward, thankfully intact. It was about a foot long and as thick as my thumb so a big mature specimen.
I was also interrupted by the arrival of a roe deer which got nervous and wandered back into the woods next to us when she realised I was there.
Morning all/afties Pat if you're there. Lovely here too @Dovefromabove, but single figures again overnight. I think it'll be too hot for me later so I'll get on in the garden this morning instead. Going to walk tomorrow instead as it's to be cooler. No Bank Holiday here of course, but the hills can be busy with folk up from darn sarf. I'm always in awe of those that do that.
Wonder how many lives slow worms have @steephill Do you often get hot air balloons overhead? Fabulous things
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
The sound of the burners trying to gain height is an unusual one which is embedded in my sound memory bank
It's very distinctive, isn't it? We rarely see them here, but also just after we were all talking about them, one one came right over the garden here and landed 2 fields away. They must have heard us all talking
I've seen one or two slow worms here, and a couple of grass snakes. Saw an adder once but it was dead on the lane - I assume a buzzard had dropped it? Do buzzards eat snakes?
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
@steephill was your balloon a red Vi@#&n one? If so, we saw the same one, at about the same time, whilst walking round Waggoners Wells. The ducks went crazy 😜🦆😜
It was an eventful walk as we met a dog that had decided to take itself for a walk. We got close enough to read his collar, and make a makeshift lead from Mr C’s belt. No phone signal so we walked to the nearest house, who then used their landline to call the owners (who hadn’t yet missed him 😳). Then waited half an hour for them to come collect him, before we continued on our merry way. Our bbq tea was much later than planned 😉😇
I think it must have been the same one as it was headed over towards Waggoners Wells. Funny that the ducks went crazy, they always set off the neighbours dogs for some reason.
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Had a hot air balloon low overhead at about 6pm. Haven't seen one for weeks then one turns up after today's conversation. The sound of the burners trying to gain height is an unusual one which is embedded in my sound memory bank along with other odd things like Spitfire engines and steam trains which we also hear from time to time.
Trimmed back the front slope below the house this afternoon, hot work with shears first then Flymo. It grows as a sloping meadow which I cut twice a year but it is about 30 feet by 15 feet and at least a 45 degree slope with some vertical bits so is rather dangerous. It gets lots of creatures in it including our slow worms and lots of frogs so I try to be careful. No sooner had I finished with the Flymo though when a big slow worm appeared out of the cut sward, thankfully intact. It was about a foot long and as thick as my thumb so a big mature specimen.
I was also interrupted by the arrival of a roe deer which got nervous and wandered back into the woods next to us when she realised I was there.
another beautiful morning ... hazy blue and full of clattering wings and fat woodpigeons cooing.
Lovely post @steephill 😊
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Lovely here too @Dovefromabove, but single figures again overnight. I think it'll be too hot for me later so I'll get on in the garden this morning instead. Going to walk tomorrow instead as it's to be cooler. No Bank Holiday here of course, but the hills can be busy with folk up from darn sarf. I'm always in awe of those that do that.
Wonder how many lives slow worms have @steephill
Do you often get hot air balloons overhead? Fabulous things
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I've seen one or two slow worms here, and a couple of grass snakes. Saw an adder once but it was dead on the lane - I assume a buzzard had dropped it? Do buzzards eat snakes?
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
It was an eventful walk as we met a dog that had decided to take itself for a walk. We got close enough to read his collar, and make a makeshift lead from Mr C’s belt. No phone signal so we walked to the nearest house, who then used their landline to call the owners (who hadn’t yet missed him 😳). Then waited half an hour for them to come collect him, before we continued on our merry way. Our bbq tea was much later than planned 😉😇