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Post by felonious on Jun 17, 2019 6:32:04 GMT
I was over at Dimmingsdale yesterday. It pissed down all the way over there so I thought I drive to the Ramblers Retreat and have a pot of tea and a piece of cake until it subsided. Sitting outside while it hammered down for 40 minutes was magnificent. Quite a few people were doing exactly the same and a fair few with sorry looking soggy dogs. Well were you outside but under cover, Fel? That's right all the outside seating has one form of covering or another.
Interestingly later on the walk I got chatting to a woman who is in the midst of walking from Land's End to John O Groats.
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Post by Northy on Jun 18, 2019 6:49:05 GMT
I don't want to seem to be like Monty Don but I've never had any problems growing foxglove seedlings. They've been one of my "dead-cert" plants to grow, together with Verbena Bonariensis, lupins, cosmos, poppies, salvias, and quite a few others. They usually do self-seed and grow well for about two or three years and then die off, but by then the others that I've grown have established themselves quite well so I've always got two or three areas with foxgloves. I've even had a try with chinese lanterns this year and they're growing quite well. I've got two trays of wallflowers just coming through ready for planting out in October ready for next year. One of the only ones that I can't seem to grow from seed for some reason is penstemon, although I can successfully take cuttings and grow them on. I'll certainly watch Carol Klein on Tuesday to see what she says. I've also got her book "Grow Your Own Garden" which is full of tips and "how to do" for all sorts of seeds and cuttings. Well worth adding it to your library. You bar steward, Dees. Jealous to death now. D'you grow the foxgloves from seed? (I gather you don't leave them to DIY…...) How do you do it? You've clearly got the touch, which Mellors hasn't. Not for growing foxgloves, anyway. Lupins! Another bad word. I love lupins but gave up on them about 25 years ago when I'd finally had enough of the greenfly world regarding me as their Escoffier equivalent & having them constantly award my garden 5 Michelin stars. Oh, poppies - gorgeous! Apart from the years-old clumps round the garden I've got some of a totally different variety which suddenly appeared, all on their own, last year in the long herb bed (ie. a little distance away from all the other clumps of perennials) and they've come back this year. Quote: "Yesssssssssss!!!" Hampton Court Castle and Gardens walled garden yesterday, they were everywhere
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Post by Northy on Jun 18, 2019 16:29:30 GMT
Boat trip on the river Wye today from Symonds Yat east, a cracking little place, saw 2 kingfishers, herons etc. And peregrine nesting on the cliffs in the valley
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Post by Northy on Jun 18, 2019 16:53:55 GMT
Thought I saw a golden oriole this morning outside the cottage, but they are very rare in the uk esp. over in the west, but it must have been a green woodpecker with the sun catching it ?
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Post by felonious on Jun 18, 2019 18:10:46 GMT
I've solved a puzzle this afternoon. For the last few years there's been a series of white poles of different heights in roughly a 20 by 15 metre patch on one of the fields. There were 3 blokes cutting and weighing it today. Checking fertiliser yields.
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Post by felonious on Jun 20, 2019 18:42:59 GMT
I was over at Dovedale this afternoon and spotted three separate Dippers on the river.
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Post by Northy on Jun 21, 2019 6:33:29 GMT
I was over at Dovedale this afternoon and spotted three separate Dippers on the river. Red or blue 😉 Spotted a scarlet tiger moth yesterday
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Post by cheeesfreeex on Jun 21, 2019 20:54:16 GMT
I was over at Dovedale this afternoon and spotted three separate Dippers on the river. V. nice. Mini-Otter-bird. Trapped in bubbles. Not seen one for yonks. With the multiple pond set up |I was hoping to attract some to me garden. Got plenty of Goldfinch but the squirrels have nailed the specialist species specific Niger feeder. This bird feeding lark is a losers' game. Got a jackdaw, pigeon, squirrel dependent on me and a Robin who goes into a stare off if the mealworms don't come out. Nah.. they can go back to fending for themsels. I've found that wrens are dependable. Proctor's nursery Brown Edge is the current favoured nursery. Gone big on Hollyhocks and various Cosmia/Microcosmia. Pitchers, Sundews and cacti doing ok. Flytraps fairly disasterous, one winter survivor struggling, moved into a sort of terrarium thing. One up the folks' abused/neglected/endured frosts, flowered and thriving. Double sunset over The Cloud toneet, a bit cloudy for pissing about but it'll happen without me, same as it has for millenia. Merry Solstice. 555
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Post by Northy on Jun 25, 2019 18:52:46 GMT
Was on top of our 10 storey building in Bracknell today, there is a peregrine falcon nest with chicks, (its all fenced off and access up there is limited to us techies) Saw one of the parents flying around the building just above us. About 30 foot away, in amongst some gantry we spotted a robins nest with eggs, they probably there as corvids won't go near it.
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Post by cheeesfreeex on Jun 25, 2019 22:28:42 GMT
Was on top of our 10 storey building in Bracknell today, there is a peregrine falcon nest with chicks, (its all fenced off and access up there is limited to us techies) Saw one of the parents flying around the building just above us. About 30 foot away, in amongst some gantry we spotted a robins nest with eggs, they probably there as corvids won't go near it. Brave Sir Robin.
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Post by chuffedstokie on Jun 30, 2019 10:05:46 GMT
Travelling up the Welsh valley behind the steam engine. Nice sedate 12 mph and sitting on a fence post watching us go by was a beautiful adult barn owl, splendid.
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Post by felonious on Jul 2, 2019 11:44:43 GMT
8 miles of wildflowers planted in Rotherham
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Post by harryburrows on Jul 3, 2019 19:06:47 GMT
I was over at Dovedale this afternoon and spotted three separate Dippers on the river. Were you wearing a mac and hiding it the bushes
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Post by murphthesurf on Jul 5, 2019 19:20:48 GMT
I was over at Dovedale this afternoon and spotted three separate Dippers on the river. Red or blue 😉 Spotted a scarlet tiger moth yesterday Doing quite a bit of catching up.............. wow...... INCREDIBLE photo, Northy........... worthy of a prize!
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Post by murphthesurf on Jul 5, 2019 19:44:16 GMT
8 miles of wildflowers planted in Rotherham That's fantastic, Fel! I always think it's a pity that we all pull dandelions up, because bees - who need all the help they can get - love them. Anyway, who decided which were the 'flowers', which we should grow and nurture, and which were the 'weeds', which should be destroyed?
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Post by Northy on Jul 5, 2019 20:02:04 GMT
How about this one murph? The husband of a lady I know through running took this the other day right outside the entrance to the Anderton boat lift, I was 50 yards away where it took off as a dog barked at it, the guy had his camera out ready as he was taking pictures of the other swan and it's cygnets. He was shouting with delight looking at the pics on the camera. He's entered it into the BBC countryfile photo competition
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Post by chuffedstokie on Jul 5, 2019 22:38:34 GMT
How about this one murph? The husband of a lady I know through running took this the other day right outside the entrance to the Anderton boat lift, I was 50 yards away where it took off as a dog barked at it, the guy had his camera out ready as he was taking pictures of the other swan and it's cygnets. He was shouting with delight looking at the pics on the camera. He's entered it into the BBC countryfile photo competition Got to be onto a winner with that one.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2019 11:05:22 GMT
How about this one murph? The husband of a lady I know through running took this the other day right outside the entrance to the Anderton boat lift, I was 50 yards away where it took off as a dog barked at it, the guy had his camera out ready as he was taking pictures of the other swan and it's cygnets. He was shouting with delight looking at the pics on the camera. He's entered it into the BBC countryfile photo competition That a fantastic picture and he should rightly be very pleased with it. The clarity is superb and the reflected image is excellent. I look forward to hopefully seeing it in the Countryfile calendar choice and as the overall winner.
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Post by murphthesurf on Jul 6, 2019 20:26:57 GMT
How about this one murph? The husband of a lady I know through running took this the other day right outside the entrance to the Anderton boat lift, I was 50 yards away where it took off as a dog barked at it, the guy had his camera out ready as he was taking pictures of the other swan and it's cygnets. He was shouting with delight looking at the pics on the camera. He's entered it into the BBC countryfile photo competition YEP --- That'll do fer me, Tommy! That's another fantastic pic, Northy. Always lived in the countryside & been used to huge lakes very nearby & seeing lots of swans --- when we were very little we were always told not to go near swans and were warned that "swans can break a man's arm….." So I was always glad I wasn't......... (yep, no need to add the punch line..... ) Corkin' pic, though, mate, and as Dees says, the reflection makes it even better - if that's poss. All the droplets of water, too. Fabulous!
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Post by potterinleeds on Jul 7, 2019 16:11:29 GMT
Very pleasant short walk around Tixall and along the Trent & Mersey Canal to Great Haywood yesterday. Plenty of lush vegetation along the canal bank, lots of small dragonflies and good to see the canal so busy with boats. Canalside Café at Great Haywood good too.
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Post by felonious on Jul 7, 2019 18:03:56 GMT
How about this one murph? The husband of a lady I know through running took this the other day right outside the entrance to the Anderton boat lift, I was 50 yards away where it took off as a dog barked at it, the guy had his camera out ready as he was taking pictures of the other swan and it's cygnets. He was shouting with delight looking at the pics on the camera. He's entered it into the BBC countryfile photo competition YEP --- That'll do fer me, Tommy! That's another fantastic pic, Northy. Always lived in the countryside & been used to huge lakes very nearby & seeing lots of swans --- when we were very little we were always told not to go near swans and were warned that "swans can break a man's arm….." So I was always glad I wasn't......... (yep, no need to add the punch line..... ) Corkin' pic, though, mate, and as Dees says, the reflection makes it even better - if that's poss. All the droplets of water, too. Fabulous! As the song goes.... the female of the species is more deadlier than the male
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Post by felonious on Jul 7, 2019 18:07:26 GMT
On the early morning walk on the field with Gnasher I spotted a fox as I turned a corner about 30 yards away. He looked at me and I turned around to check that Gnasher was his usual 50 yards behind me. He went crazy when he picked up the scent but fortunately the fox was long gone.
Panicked a few years back when he set chase after a badger
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Post by harryburrows on Jul 7, 2019 19:33:29 GMT
Just got back from a lovely weeend in staffs moorland , some beers at the fountain inn and a nice dinner in leek . And a beer festival and trip on churnet valley railway today .that plum porter by titanic is very moorish 😋
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Post by murphthesurf on Jul 7, 2019 22:49:32 GMT
YEP --- That'll do fer me, Tommy! That's another fantastic pic, Northy. Always lived in the countryside & been used to huge lakes very nearby & seeing lots of swans --- when we were very little we were always told not to go near swans and were warned that "swans can break a man's arm….." So I was always glad I wasn't......... (yep, no need to add the punch line..... ) Corkin' pic, though, mate, and as Dees says, the reflection makes it even better - if that's poss. All the droplets of water, too. Fabulous! As the song goes.... the female of the species is more deadlier than the male Not all of us! Although I'm certain we could all be pretty deadly given the right circumstances - eg. usually protecting loved ones. Anyway, I hate that song quote, Fel --- we all know it should be either 'more deadly than' or 'deadlier than'. It's the sort of crappy incorrect grammar that has the same effect as the sound of fingernails being scraped down a blackboard. Sets yer teeth on edge.
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Post by murphthesurf on Jul 7, 2019 23:02:37 GMT
There's a separate new thread on EE called 'Green shield bug' that's just been started by mattador78 and this is a copy/paste of what I've added to it as I think the subject should be included on this thread so that those of us who are gardeners can know about it - I say this because I'd never heard of these bugs before. Matts said it stank like hell: The Green Shieldbug Scientific name: Palomena prasina
Length: 1.3cm When to see: May to November
'The Common Shield Bug (there are two sorts) was once restricted to Southern England, but has since been moving northwards and is now quite widespread. It can be found in all kinds of habitats from gardens to farms.'
............................................................................... I'm very keen on all things gardening-related, Matts, but have never even heard of these before I saw your post - wondered what on earth you were talking about, so Ggd them and a few links, including the RHS one at the bottom of this post, came up. Before that, here's another ink which refers to their unpleasant smell 'to deter predators' and also contains a small section ('Think you've seen one? Submit a Sighting') giving people the option of reporting their findings if they want to --- apparently the bugs are on the move northwards in the UK owing to climate warming and so an account of sightings is being kept:
So that's something else I've learned today, courtesy of the Oatie.
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Post by felonious on Jul 8, 2019 3:01:04 GMT
There was an informative chat by a couple of local RSPB representatives yesterday on the radio saying that it was important to continue feeding birds through the summer months. For the adult parents it was an easy source of sustinance during the grind of findind insects, caterpillars, etc for fledglings and in some cases second broods. Basically talking about the need to keep a source of fresh water available also for cleaning their ever deteriorating feathers prior to the moult.
Nuts are perfectly ok if they are behind a mesh. As the man said we wouldn't give our babies a slice of pizza so birds can be trusted to give their chicks the right food.
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Post by felonious on Jul 10, 2019 19:24:27 GMT
I was over at Dimmingsdale late afternoon and had the pleasure of watching a Kingfisher diving for about 5 minutes. It spent a couple of those minutes diving straight down from a low branch and back again. Bonus was that the Dipper was on the usual stretch of rapids at the bridge by the Rambler's Retreat. Had a very nice chat with Moira from Fenton on the way back to the car park
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Post by murphthesurf on Jul 10, 2019 23:03:40 GMT
I was over at Dimmingsdale late afternoon and had the pleasure of watching a Kingfisher diving for about 5 minutes. It spent a couple of those minutes diving straight down from a low branch and back again. Bonus was that the Dipper was on the usual stretch of rapids at the bridge by the Rambler's Retreat. Had a very nice chat with Moira from Fenton on the way back to the car park How many times have I told you about leaving your wallet in the glovebox, Fel? Btw, just fyi, we decided to risk an early parole release for her a couple of days ago but it sounds as if she'll be back in again sharpish at this rate.
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Post by felonious on Jul 11, 2019 5:45:06 GMT
I was over at Dimmingsdale late afternoon and had the pleasure of watching a Kingfisher diving for about 5 minutes. It spent a couple of those minutes diving straight down from a low branch and back again. Bonus was that the Dipper was on the usual stretch of rapids at the bridge by the Rambler's Retreat. Had a very nice chat with Moira from Fenton on the way back to the car park How many times have I told you about leaving your wallet in the glovebox, Fel? Btw, just fyi, we decided to risk an early parole release for her a couple of days ago but it sounds as if she'll be back in again sharpish at this rate. Hope not Murph, she's was keeping an eye on her hubbie, just out of hospital by making him go on a hike
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Post by Northy on Jul 11, 2019 6:10:45 GMT
I was over at Dimmingsdale late afternoon and had the pleasure of watching a Kingfisher diving for about 5 minutes. It spent a couple of those minutes diving straight down from a low branch and back again. Bonus was that the Dipper was on the usual stretch of rapids at the bridge by the Rambler's Retreat. Had a very nice chat with Moira from Fenton on the way back to the car park Life in the old dog yet then 😁
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