good morning +

[hickybank]

Wow not seen one of those before looks fascinating.
Camera just arrived Got to go

[Herbidacious]

Morning! Looks a bit brighter today. I am feeling a bit rubbish as late night out then insomnia. Dinner at Vanilla Black to celebrate 24th anniversary. Need to srot out catteries (Yay to one nay to the other) today for Basil. I kind of said yes to both at the weekend

How's the camera, Hicky?

I hope everyone has a good day.

[hickybank]

Cold but sunny here & we had our sprinkling of snow last night.
Might make some more bread today & have a play with the new toy

[Herbidacious]

It's certainly goodish photography weather here. If I weren't so shattered, I'd take my camera into work for lunch time.

[earthmaiden]

Congratulations Herbi!

[StokeySue]

Good morning
Congratulations Herbi!

Certainly sunny here, will get out into it in due course

Need to decide where to walk, quite a lot to do indoors but the great outdoors certainly calls

have agood day everyone

[suffolk]

Good morning all

Congratulations Mr and Mrs Herbi

It’s a lovely sunny day but the wind is cold and jolly blustery.
I’m having a lovely day being spoiled rotten ... all I have to do is make sure everything is ready to pack up to be whisked away tomorrow for a night on the Suffolk coast.

Have a super day folks.

[PatsyMFagan]

Good morning ... so far lovely and bright here today. I am in the shop, but dropped daughter off at a local nature reserve (Maple Lodge at Maple Cross) so she can take advantage of the weather. Her targets today are to find a Water Rail and a tiny little bright red fungus (name unknown to me ). Also to get inspiration for the latest essay she has been asked to write for the Herts/Bucks Talking Books for the Blind entitled 'Joys of Spring and hyperactivity' She has also been invited to go along to the recording of this sometime in March. Of course she needs a chauffeur

[Herbidacious]

Thanks very much! I should have said it's (just?!) a being together anniversary. It will be our 19th wedding one in August. So next year...20th wedding anniversary, 25th together, and a three month sabbatical (for me). A good alignment.

[suffolk]

Think the ‘being together’ one is the most important ... without that nothing else would’ve happened. Our ‘being together’ will be 25 years next month

[scullion]

good morning, all.
overcast, windy and possibly wet but i wouldn't know - i'm still in bed (shock horror).
the temperature was 9.3°c when we got indoors last evening. my partner went straight to bed as he still felt 'parc' and cold (i've got the same cold but mine isn't "man-'flu"!) while i lit the stove. it had got up to 13.3°c by the time i went to bed and something like 15°c now. staying in bed is the best option in more ways than one.
the cats are looking after their investment and keeping pretty close. lazy boy woke me up in the night trying to remove the covers from where i'd pulled them over my head. he was either checking that i was still here - or still alive.
i may put some washing on - when i get up.
congratulations, herbi, enjoy your meal.
have a cosy day, everyone.

[Badger's mate]

[scullion]

[hickybank]

Oh to be young again this year will be 53 for us & that is 53 of the best years of my life

[Seatallan]

[Gruney]

Congratulations to you all. I really hope you all continue "being together" for many years to come.

[suffolk]

Thank you Gruney ... having ‘been together’ whether for a long or a short while, is what is important

[scullion]

good morning, all.
the rain has stopped, the breeze has died down and it looks quite sunny - and i'm having another lie-in.
i should go and do some shopping but i think it would be a bit antisocial - people may think i'm spreading coronavirus!
and anyway, i would have to shift cat from my lap and that would be cruel.
have a good day, everyone.

[suffolk]

Good morning all

Hope your lurgy disappears quickly Scully ... hope you didn't catch it from me ... and yes, it would be cruel

We're packed and heading for the Suffolk coastal marshes .... tell you all about it when we get back ... the camera is packed.

Wishing you all a lovely day

[hickybank]

Surprise, surprise, it is raining here again, so stuck indoors which is frustrating as I want to get out & play with my new toy, next week l00ks a lot better so planning a trip to Ebbor gorge again with a stopover at Ham Wall to see the Starling mummerations, so should be a good chance to take some pics.

So the big day tomorrow, bye, bye Europe, we have been invited to a farewell party< not bothered either way but a good excuse for a party

Have a good day all

[Herbidacious]

Lucky you re Ham Wall. We had a weekend in Glastonbury to see the murmuration about 3 years (3??!!) ago. It's getting to the tail end of the season, so not sure I will mange to see one this year. Brighton is my nearest (impressive) one.

This is useful in case anyone else is interested.

https://www.starlingsintheuk.co.uk/roost-map.html

Could you do some indoor photography? Portraits, macros, miniature scenes, abstracts etc.

I am off to my mother's tonight.... Enough said.

[StokeySue]

Good morning
There was a discussion on a local FB group about “celebrating” Brexit vs drowning or sorrows etc. I was treating it very lightly but it turned quite nasty, old fashioned class war broke out.

I will probably pour myself a valedictory glass of something French.

Have a good day everyone

[scullion]

good morning, all.
overcast and maybe a bit misty.
I've never travelled anywhere to see murmurations, they happen quite a bit round here although the first time i noticed one was getting back into the car, after shopping, when the kids were small. our son asked what the strange 'cloud' was a little way off. we looked it up when we got home and i started seeing them quite often after that.
i was on the way to a meeting one day when a murmuration was happening just a little way in front of me. i stopped the car to watch it and in a few minutes realised it was happening all around me and had then just disappeared into the hedges surrounding the car. amazing - like being in the middle of a swarm of bees that just suddenly melts away. maybe they roost in old mine workings (like greater horseshoe bats - but they winter roost in the shafts rather than topside) we have quite a few of those round here.
probably heading out to get some shopping today as not much fresh stuff left other than a couple of squash, potatoes and three wrinkly carrots.
i wonder if i have any black ribbon.
have a good day, everyone.

[hickybank]

[scullion]

oh, don't worry, they won't be going in the compost bin! i use everything, too.
soup is the repository of all 'end of the week' veg or previous meals (i love cauliflower cheese soup) - lentil and veg soup is a regular.

did you realise, hicky, you can select just the bit you want to quote before clicking the quote button? (you probably did).

[hickybank]

[scullion]

as it's not my real name i don't really mind what people call me (within reason!) - i consider it a job title!

[earthmaiden]

I haven't decided how to mark the big day tomorrow. I really have no idea if we will be glad or sorry in years to come. I do know that Mr Farage's speech last night made me ashamed to be British though. There is never any need to be so rude.

There is a local murmuration place a mile or so away. We saw a mini one out in the countryside the other day too.

[scullion]

good morning, all.
wet, foggy and breezy.
the wrinkly carrots are gone - it really is time to go shopping.
yesterdays decision was that we'd go at ten thirty - i thought at the time that that would be a bit ambitious. we may get round to it at midday - if we get our bums in gear.
i was supposed to have a sewing day with 'the girls' - it would be mean to pass the cold on - i'll just spread it round the shop instead!
have a good day, everyone.

[suffolk]

Good morning all

Keeping our fingers crossed here
I've just had a quick walk up the hill to hand deliver a U3A form about a trip later in the year ... it's nippy and quite windy out there.
Now I need to christen the new floor mop.

Have a good day everyone

[Herbidacious]

V windy in south Sheffield (as on blowing wheels bins over) and some rain. I have done the Sainsburys shop. Took about 2.5 hours. Phew.

[StokeySue]

It was quite nice early but has got darker and windier over the last couple of hours

I went for my walk, which is a bit longer than I’d estimated, I should go that way more often as it includes walking up the only steep bit of hill, which is good for me

Keep the cold to yourself scullion and get better soon

[Herbidacious]

Sunny here but very windy still. We are very high up here, though.

[hickybank]

Missed out on the Brexit party as I have gone down with a lousy chesty cough, kept me awake most of the night, so my energy level at the moment is nil.
So doing nothing today apart from being miserable.

[scullion]

good morning, all.
we are predicted sun all day apart from cloud and rain late evening. bread is cooking outside.
i think i need to replenish my stockpile of coffee before the price goes up.
i'm also running out of carob so that is also on the list.
pudding last night was a variant of the maryland cookie 'cake'. as i had no sherry i used some frangelico liqueur - a good choice - tonight's pud is the other half - should be even better. i realise it will probably not 'go' with the paella i fancy making - but i'm wanting comfort food and my partner is rarely choosy about what he eats.
nothing planned for the rest of the day although i may inspect the garden and plant a few seeds indoors. i think it may be wise to plan for more expensive veg!
have a good day, everyone.

[suffolk]

Good after morning all

Scully, did you hear the Yorkshire veg farmer early this morning saying that hopefully today will mark a return to the British eating proper seasonal winter vegetables, swedes, drumhead cabbage, sprouts etc rather than imported courgettes and salads. Not sure that’s what was promised

Hey ho ...

Have a good day everyone

Edited to correct autocorrect.

[scullion]

there's only so many pastys and bubble and squeak one can eat!

[earthmaiden]

Back to tinned peas ...

[scullion]

good morning, all.
overcast.
yesterday was a two loaf day - well, one and a half - the second, par-baked, is in the freezer for a later sunny day (or if we take it to a conventional oven).
off to a meeting this afternoon. i think my cold may be less infective although i seem to be emptying more than the contents of my scull through my sinuses. if my tpingy tartss to og grown you'll wonk my barin is leaving vai three, two!
we'll, maybe not that bad - yet.
have a lazy day, everyone.

[hickybank]

Well I have now gone down with the wilddfoods lergy, I feel absolute crap, went to0 bed at 8.30 last night just got up.
Used a complete box of tissues now on the second box, so just sitting here feeling sorry for myself

[suffolk]

Good just past morning all

I'm afraid your lurgy does sound very much like the way mine started off Scully ... a fortnight of congested head and dripping, then a quiet week lulling me into a false sense of good health, then a congested chest which evolved into the worst cough I've ever had ... I still have the remnants and it all started the first Wednesday in December Hope that's cheery news

It's very grey and wet here ... baking and soupmaking have been done and supper has been prepped. I may have to find a film to watch while I get on with another warm woolly cardi for DD's MIL.

Have a good day all

[scullion]

i don't think it's as bad as yours, thankfully.
i had a couple of days feeling quite rough with an irritated throat and which has moved on to the rattly, productive sinuses. my partner's developed into a cough but i tried not to irritate my throat when it began and so far have been lucky. i rarely seem to get colds and, luckily, don't hold on to them for long.
i wish i could get into knitting - i never find jumpers or cardigans that i really like.

[Seatallan]

I was at the dentist on Friday and the poor receptionist had it. She just couldn't stop coughing bless her.

Hope you all feel better soon

[Herbidacious]

Morning. Quite bright here.
I made myself put in some bluebells and double snow drops (in the green ones) yesterday, so had a stroll around the garden too. Some bulbs are coming up. Others aren't...
I suppose I put some in quite late. A fox keeps digging up one little bit in a raised bed out the front.

Scully, the cuttings I took of the jostaberry aren't doing anything, although the leaves which were in bud have come out on the stems. I stuck them in water, as a google search suggested this is usually successful. Could I have snipped them off at the wrong point? Maybe rooting powder and compost...

Anyway, thoughts definitely turning towards gardening. I have still not divided the rhubarb. Some are coming up already. I wonder if I should have a go at forcing some. I ordered some unusual dahlias and anemones from Farmer Gracy last night

I hope everyone has a good day

[suffolk]

Good morning all

Yet again, no sooner had our rhubarb died down than it was growing again and there's some ready to pull now ... crumble anyone? We keep intending to divide ours but it's too late again this season

The sun is shining and the garden is full of birds ... but it's still really boggy underfoot ... this garden used to be very dry but removing one of the ash trees has made a big difference (not that the trees use much water when they're not in leaf).

Have a good day everyone ...

[scullion]

good morning, all.
a bit misty at the moment with a prediction of rain.
today would have been my mother's birthday. it doesn't seem possible that she's been gone for over five years
nothing planned so maybe i should get on with some sewing. there's a few projects that need continuing/finishing.
if the buds have broken it may be too late to transfer the cuttings to compost so i'd tend to leave them in the water and see what happens - or try a proportion of them in compost to see if they do anything there - nothing to lose, really.
did you know that cinnamon is as good as commercial rooting powder?
i left my handbag down in the car when i got home yesterday - i hope no-one has tried to call me. i may go and get it later, although it's quite liberating knowing i can only be reached by people who know my partner's phone number.
the coffilepathy doesn't seem to be working - maybe colds cause a blockage in more ways than one.
have a good day, everyone.

[suffolk]

[hickybank]

Good morning, still feeling absolute crap with zero energy, all J want to do is sleep.
Just about to start day three in bed, bored, bored, bored.

[Herbidacious]

Scully I was thinking more of leaving them in the water and taking some more cuttings as well. I don't think it's too late.

Suffs, some of my rhubarb is coming up, some not, so presumably I could divide what's not visible (although how do I find it?! Semi-serious question...)

Might be a good time to fertilize it?

If I leave my hone at home, it is missed primarily for it's use as a computer and a camera. Thankfully, hardly anyone ever calls me on it, although I do get text messages from husband.

[StokeySue]

Good morning
It was nice and bright, but rather cloudy now. Rain not forecast though so should walk at some time
Need to do things I suppose
On my last few walks I’ve noticed many flowers I wouldn’t expect, there are rhododendrons and chaenolmeles japonica in full bloom, my tangerine sage which came with a warning to overwinter it indoors has doubled in size, and never stopped flowering, outside of course. The daffs on Uncle George’s grave have fat buds, they are a late variety not usually in flower for another month.
Have a good day everyone