Re: Gardening Thread.

[bb1]

It'll pass, Sabot.  

[Sabot]

I wish it would hurry up, Bonny. It is blowing my mind. The worst I have ever experienced.

[lily]

Sabot, take a few deep breaths. Make yourself a drink and tell yourself you are safe.   

[Sabot]

I know it's not going to get me. Lily, but the noise is deafening, and it is almost worse having to wait two seconds for it to bang.

[lily]

If I were you, I would imagine that the thunder is Thor all angry at the haters.  

[Sabot]

Okay. It's gone. Phew. Three hours.

[Sabot]

My neighbour had three Bee Swarms leave his chimney yesterday and this morning. So I have just watched a Bee Keeper collect one of the swarms. Fascinating. He chopped off the branch around which they had swarmed, and banged it into a Bee Box, and all of the Bees fell off, including The Queen, obviously. Dead easy, really.
The Box will now sit there for a couple of days while all of the strays come home.
There is a flap inside this box so the bees can get in but they can't get out.

He was covered from head to foot while he was doing this. And warned me not to get too close.
I do so love it when something like this is harvested safely.

[bb1]

Hope he shares the honey with you, Sabot....

Your thunderstorm seems to be heading in this direction....the lights are flickering, and there are rather a lot of rumbles in the sky, growing louder.....

This does not bode well, as never mind me, the canine residents HATE thunderstorms.

[Sabot]

My neighbour has been collecting the honey that was dribbling down his chimney, so obviously it was time for some of them to leave.

For once, I was grateful for the loss of Romulus who always went apeshit in thunderstorms, and pulled every book I own that he could get at, off the book shelves.
I have been terrified of lightning ever since a lightning bolt hit the ground about ten yards in front of me, in Singapore. It truly does scare me rigid. Silly really, since by the time you get the thunder clap the danger has passed.

[bb1]

Yes, I am typing with a canine trying to hide in my armpit....there was one mega-loud clap of thunder, and then a downpour started.

I preferred the heat and sun.  

[Sabot]

Romulus used to sit on the chair behind me, with his head buried in my arm pit. Dear of him. Oh dear, I really don't want to think about this.

I nearly kidnapped a very nice little mutt yesterday, because it liked me.

[bb1]

We had a HUGE storm late last night.  

[Sabot]

Just given up my last gardening job. The Mower packed in again, and the cost of repair just isn't worth it. And no way I am forking out 500 Euros for a new one.
Half of me is pleased with not having to battle with the weather anymore, and the other half of me is sorry to see it all go after all this time.
Nearly twenty years I have been doing this, and made a few bob one way and another. Best paid job I have ever had, by the hour that is.
I have passed the job over to a Brit neighbour, so sort of kept it in the family.

But I must now get another dog, otherwise I will get no exercise at all beyond my own miniscule garden.

I think I feel a bit sad. Almost like the end of an era.

[lily]

Never mind, Sabot. As one door closes another opens.... 

[Sabot]

I am sure you are right, Lily.
Life here was a bit desperate in the beginning, but I don't actually need the money anymore. So time to think of something else. And this last job was always going to depend on The Mower. These monster mowers do a very good job, but they are expensive. You can expect them to last at least five years, but I really don't want to be cutting grass for a living when I am eighty, mainly because it seems a bit undignified.

[bb1]

Your joints will thank you for it, Sabot, I genuinely don't know how you've managed for so long. We seem to be about to have more interesting weather, following the heatwave, fog and thunderstorms...



Must be odd to live in countries with predictable climates.

[Sabot]

Probably not the right place to ask this, but I have been this morning to see away some holiday makers and got my first hands on look at an iPad.
Are there any practical or technical reasons for why I shouldn't replace my failing lap top with an iPad?
Help much appreciated.

[Sabot]

Shock, Horror. During one of those horrific storms we had a couple of weeks ago the roof came off my local Supermarche, and the whole place was flooded. It won't reopen until December. Sheesh, what a mess.
This is really boring. I now have to travel twice the distance to do my shopping, to shops I don't even know, and don't know where anything is, and where no one knows me. I am really going to miss that place. It is generally my only social discourse. Everyone say Hello to me, and they make me feel like a person.
Who would guess that such a small disaster could impact quite so hugely on someone who lives alone?
And then there is always the "Sell by Date" counter, without which I will not eat so well.
I do hope the owner of the franchise was well insured, and that no one will suffer for the temporary loss of their jobs. They are all such polite people.

[bb1]

Providing it was insured, and was profitable, it should come back, Sabot? The storms have done some horrendous damage, they seemed to start in your region and move north.

[Sabot]

Not sure if it was all that profitable, Bonny. They have just spent a huge amount of money doing an upgrade in size. And being a bit of a mathematician I do notice some things that aren't necessarily obvious to others.
This is a lone franchise owned by just one family. Most Supermarche franchises are owned by several persons who aren't all that involved. But then they don't care about people like me.
The man who owns this franchise is always there. Never a day when he isn't. And much of his success for me is that even he knows me.
I suspect that his colossal mortgage will be covered, but I doubt that he will get much profit.

[Sabot]

Just recovered some of The Lord's good bounty. One Kilo of very nice small plums, most of which descended on my head when I shook the tree.
I no longer cut the grass in this garden but have no qualms about taking the fruit, especially as the owner told me to cut down this rather stragley bush some time ago, and I didn't cut it down because I knew what it was. Funny how you know more than you think you do.
My own Plum Tree, three years old now, still hasn't produced anything, but maybe next year.

The Apple Trees and The Walnut Trees are doing great this year as well, as is The Cob Nut Tree, but that one always does. The Cob Nuts just disappear for some reason, probably squirrels, but I shall keep a closer eye on that one this year.
And then there will be Mushrooms before much longer.

The air is already beginning to smell of Autumn, but it always does around mid August. I love Spring and Summer, but Autumn is my favourite time. The bounty you see.

Oh, and I dug up a couple of Chestnut seedlings, now in pots and hopefully recovering from the trauma of being pulled out of the ground. But I did get the tap roots.
I shan't plant them myself because Chestnuts are in abundance around here. But one of my sons has recently bought a small holding which already contains several of my cuttings and seedlings. What a hoot. I grow all this stuff in France and he takes it home to Cornwall. But at least he doesn't laugh at me.

AND, I have got three Squashes forming nicely. Really exciting because I have never managed this before.

And one very small Grape Vine grown from a pip.

We won't talk about the tomatoes, pretty nearly a disaster, as usual, but I can't quite give up on them.

I truly am a bloody amateur at this lark. And sometimes it is all a bit depressing.
Mais en y var.

Another year nearly done. Dark by ten pm. now. But Winter will be okay. It always is. Christmas and then Spring again. And back to the awful Wisteria.

[bb1]

Business opportunity for you, Sabot:




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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2401762/7-99-potted-nettles-And-dandelions-3-99-it.html#ixzz2d4be9EXX
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[Sabot]

Indeed, Bonny. Thousands of the bloody things I have. But I mostly eat them. Saves on Spinach. And they are good for bad knees.

[Sabot]

Right. Having got frightfully fired up about the dickhead Cameron, and all things to do with The Insurance rip off, I have a need to calm down a bit.

Had a really good day today. Saw out those really nice holiday makers, the small daughter of which drastically reminded me of the daughters of The While Queen. Long blond hair and perfect skin. And the dear little girl actually looked delighted to see me. Such a greeting I got. And the two boys were nice as well. A really nice family. I shan't forget them in a hurry. In any Summer that entails endless holiday makers that you mostly can't remember at all.

Earned 45 Euros for cleaning a house that was definitely cleaner than when most people clean the place themselves.

Then a friend who has just sold her house here, dumped a load of really useful stuff on me. I have guarded her house for many Winters, for which she has paid me.
Her husband who was a brilliant man academically, had a devastating stroke many years ago. And her care of him was beyond what any normal mortal could expect. His name was Wilson, and he could have an intelligent conversation if you had the patience to wait. He never actually lost his marbles. He just had difficulty in putting his thought into words.
Sadly, he died about two years ago under debatable circumstances within the NHS.

Anyway, Elaine is very sad. Their lovely old rural property is now sold. And I am going to miss her.

So I am off out in a minute to her house to say good bye. She could stay a friend, but you never know with some people.

[lily]

So glad to hear about your day, Sabot.   

Boiling nettles and drinking the water or eating them cooked are really good for the blood too.

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