@bullstuff2
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I cannot support the truth of this Ed, but I was once informed by an RAMC corporal that anyone who recovers from a scorpion sting, would find the next such event less painful. Apparently a partial immunity is involved. Perhaps the fact that we used to address this guy as “Hey you – nearly a Doctor!” might point to the reality… Anyway, please don’t ask Mrs. Ed to verify that! ?
Richard, I also had a busy day in the garden today, glad your plumbing went well. 23 to 25ºC here today but a very strong wind and clouds coming from the West, disappearing just as quickly to the East. I began with my roses, pruning and dead heading the front of house ones, mowed the rear lawn. Roses:
The pink ones have a gorgeous scent, very heavy, especially at night, when some rare moths arrive to resume the pollination duties after the bees go to bed. I like to see people stop and look when they get a whiff as they pass. I don’t charge for this… The white ones bloom all year until just before Christmas, but have little scent. I love roses, have planted six more at the rear and two more in the borders at the front since this pic was taken. The neighbours behind our bungalow, two single blokes, don’t do anything more than mow the lawn, they have a jungle that I keep chopping back. I dug out the horrible pink bush to the left of the white rose, which was a nightmare: the roots went under the brickwork and the roots are a cross between a rhizome and a tuber. Took me about two hours to remove all traces, which I guess is a measure of how far my health has improved now. The rear neighbour to our left has a beautiful rose that our old friends and former neighbours planted 4 years ago: it is deep yellow with red shading at the tips and he has built a huge shed in front of it, does nothing for it, it is neglected. I will
pinchask him for it at the end of the year. Pruned some suckers from the older yellow rose on the back garden rose arch and dead headed the red one. They are old roses now and I will have to make a decision about them later this year. Tomorrow, out with the hedge trimmer, avoid losing digits and limbs, and attack several overgrown bushes. Fill the Green Waste bin and wait two weeks for the Council Waste truck to call, at £40 a year for that.I am so glad to have reached the point at which I can do what I need to do myself, instead of relying on others. Hope it continues.
When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.Today it was 26ºC here, with a strong breeze from the West, which brought scattered cloud and finally a little rain about 8 pm. Earlier, we went to Sutton on Sea and had a long walk through a warm incoming tide. Unlike Skeggy and Mablethorpe, all that long beach was underpopulated:
This is S on S Gardens, a sea of roses, planted and maintained by locals of S on S Gardening Group:
We ate a Farmer Brown’s ice cream from a van, on the blue seats after a nice lunch at a local cafe, then went home. Farmer Brown’s is a local farm business that has diverged into a restaurant and ice cream parlour, best ices ever! To the right of the gardens is what used to be a colonnade below several chalets. The whole structure housed a cafe, ice cream shop and seats, but was declared unsafe last year. It’s boarded up and awaiting work to start on renewing the whole thing. Meanwhile, Farmer Browns’ saw an opening and brought their van to the rescue, right by the kiddie’s paddling pool. Smart!
When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.I remember those in Aden and the Radfan, horrible things. An Arab interpreter told me that they blamed the Egyptians, specifically the Pharaohs, for the existence of these things. The story he came out with was that what he called ‘Tomb Spiders’ had gott into the Pharaoh’s tombs and snacked on the occupants, then spread across the middle east. I pointed out that the mummies were dehydrated, devoid of flesh and organs, full of embalming fluid and would not be a source of food, even for a spider. Retort was a muttered “You Inglese know nothing, NOTHING!”
I would have been more worried about the Fat Tailed Scorpion, which lives in those parts and has caused human deaths:
I hated what the tribes did to them: make a sand circle, soak the circle in petrol, throw in a captured Scorpion, set the petrol on fire and watch the Scorpion dance. Entertainment for a people that were once at the height of civilisation, now reduced to mediaeval behaviour.
The ants tried to stage a come back today, in very small numbers, all outside the lounge window. The front of the house was a sparrow smorgasbord, must have been dozens of the hungry little buggas. Every bungalow in the Close has a resident sparrow nest under the eves, they are our first line of defence and Early Warning System. RSPB reckons that sparrows are declining in numbers in the UK: no, they are all here!
When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.Richard that is interesting. One of my German Shepherds was given a mix once a week of my own make: contents of a slow-boiled and simmered (for 5 hours) sheep’s head with other sheep bits, made into a stew with dried biscuit and beef gravy. That recipe was passed to me in the Army by an old RAVC Warrant Officer. However, my Blue would only eat it if it also contained cabbage and peas! His BM’s were legendary in kennels. Rest of the week, proprietary dog foods with a little dry mix and an occasional small piece of raw beef. I kept promising him some IRA testicles as a snack, but was only able to fulfil that promise once. ??
Dogs are all as individual as we are. Another GSa rescue that became my dog and trained for the workshop, JJ, would not drink water on a hot day. Being an outdoor dog, JJ had a very thick coat: loved cold weather. So it was imperative that he drank. I found that he liked milk and the only way to get him to drink, was to pour a little cold milk into a dish and keep adding water. Now dogs are not supposed to drink milk, but the amount he got was very small and he just kept drinking the water as the milk slowly disappeared. He was the biggest GS I ever had and hated everyone and everything outside the workshop. I used to take him out late at night on a short lead, down into the forestry that the village was surrounded by, to give him exercise. We walked miles in the dark before I took him back, then he would settle down with his squeaky monkey toy for the night. Any burglar breaking in would have been lucky to get out in one piece. He loved my family, tolerated the boss’s family. He is laid to rest on the bank above the workshop compound, where he used to sit in the sun, at lunchtime sometimes with his huge head on my lap, nicking my lunch. RIP, JJ.
Bringing back his football. Again. And again….
When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.Here on the East Coast it has been quite sunny all day, but only around 20ºC, so pleasant. Tomorrow is when the real heat is supposed to arrive, but still cooler on the coastal strip, so we may take a trip to either Sutton on Sea or Cleethorpes.
My neighbour’s daughter lives in France with her two multi-lingual teenagers and she phoned mum to say they were in the town fountain: French government has switched on fountains and opened park lakes to the people. Free drinking water everywhere. Neighbour’s mum died yesterday in QMC Nottingham after a long illness, she has been driving back and forth for a few days and we have had her lovely little West Highland bitch to care for. It’s been great having a dog in the house again.
‘Ellie’ was rescued by our neighbour after 5 years with a miserable old cow who never walked her for 5 years, kept penned in the backyard. She has settled into a better life now and loves going out. Some people should never have a dog.
When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.