About Stuff

Pic of the week 19/6/22

Today is Father’s day and I have had a pleasent day with both children home, and Sophie making me a tea of Chicken Kyiv and chips – v nice!

I’ve spent the day pottering, as I like to do, a bit in the garden, planting up the last of the geraniums and lobelia and some pumpkin plants from a neighbour.  I mowed the path in the lawn (I love the pic above from earlier in the week), I was going to strim the long grass down, but my strimmer has now strimming wire, so that will have to wait.  I intend to strim it once and then let it grow again for the rest of the summer.

The chicks are certainly growing, it doesn’t look like there is much space left in the nest. Its been about a week since they hatched, I wonder when they will leave the nest?

A sad day – the Micra Dci got taken away yesterday, got about £240 for it.  I liked that car, and shall miss it. But I did fire up the pug today and “drove” it around our drive whilst there was space.  Just trying to stop things seizing up before I can give it some proper attention in the hols.

Pic of the week 12/6/22

So, we finally got round to getting Becky a new car.  In the end, she hasgone for a 2010 Ford Ka in a rather nice shade of blue.  The equipment level is quite limited (no central locking, wind down windows etc) but its low mileage, looks good and is hers.

I have spent a happy day examining the Pug (as I shall now call the Peugeot 205).  Had it up on sticks, took the wheels of, had a good look at the suspension and steering.  Think it does need some work – mainly where rubber boots etc. have perished, and I still think the heavy steering is not just because there is now power steering: I suspect the grease in the rack and pinion has dried up and degraded, and I think the strut mounts may need replacing.  But I spent a bit of time cleaning everything up, and working out what each bit does.  I think I have a fun couple of months ahead.

Chicks

A couple of weeks ago, I spotted a nest in the ivy hedge on the back wall, near where I hang the washing line.  Normally, a rather beaky bird has been sat on it, but occasionally they’ve not been there and I peeked in to see a few blue eggs.  Today, as I hung the washing up, I took a little peek: mum wasn’t sat on the nest and I could see a few small, and very helpless looking baby birds.  Pleased to say that by later today, the beaky bird was once again sat on her nest.

Pic of the week 29/5/22

So two years later than originally planned, on Thursday Becky and I went to see the Killers at Ashton Gate.

It was a cold May night and we were up at the very top row of the highest stand, as far away from the stage as you could possibly be, yet it was still great to go. And one point, i looked down on to the crowd below – a seething mass of humanity – and thought: “yes, the pandemic is over”.

The Manic Street Preachers were the support act, and were very good (I particularly enjoyed their cover of the Cult’s Sanctuary) but it was when, about four songs into their set, that the Killers launched into Mr Brightside that the stadium really erupted into life. Human, their encore, was similarly brilliant.

Back home, the wasps have continued to build their nest in my shed, and it has (had) grown to a reasonable size (golf ball?) – quite a feet of engineering, But now there were always a few wasps buzzing around my head as I went into my shed, so the decision was made to destroy it.  So donning long sleeves, a pair of gloves and my safety specs, I gave it a whack with a pole, and fled.  I returned to it a while later to find a fair few grubs wriggling on the floor, so I took them outside for the birds.  The inside of the nest was pretty impressive, I do feel a little bad about destroying it, but I fear it may have got huge by the end of the summer.

The inside of the nest.

And, in the ivy covering the back wall, I have discovered a birds nest. Much of the time you see a beady eye and painful looking beak poking out at you when you look closely, but this evening there was nothing sat on the nest so I had a closer peak and saw at least one blue egg.  I look forward to the new arrivals …

Pic of the week 22/5/22

I first spotted this a week or two ago when I noticed a wasp flying into my shed, and I’ve watched it develop and grow (I also spotted an old nest about 50cm away from this new one)

I must admit, I am conflicted. On the one hand, I don’t want a load of wasps buzzing around me, particularly as I go in and out of my shed, but I do think it is a thing of beauty and I can’t (yet!) bring myself to destroy it. It would, after all, go against my recent policy of making the garden as wildlife friendly as possible (I think its an age thing, but I am increasingly enjoying “nature”!) Today, I did tell Becky my secret (that we have a wasps nest) – she was interested, to the photo, but then suggested I get rid of it. Still not sure what to do.

I’ve been busy today in the garden, and have planted out my pumpkins that I grew from seed.  All 6 germinated, but on looked weak and deformed, so I binned that one and planted out the other 5. If they all establish  into good plants, that will be more than enough to provide the foliage for back drop & weed suppression that I want, and also, hopefully, a few pumpkins to nurture an watch over the summer months.

Pic of the week 15/5/22

So I’ve been a busy little bee over the last few days.

I’ve dug up the alliums from the front bed and planted them up in six pots – they seem to have taken well, and look good, I think for next year I’ll be planting quite a few allium bulbs in post this autumn. Then I dug up all the other bulbs that were in the front bed, they are currently in my shed, I intend to dry them out, store them over the summer and plant into the lawn for next year.

And into the front trough, I have planted out my sunflower seedlings (a mix of “Korg” and “Giant Single”), sown another batch of them straight into the trough and also planted up geraniums and lobelia. Now I just need to sit back and wait for them to bloom …

And, of the six pumpkin seeds I sowed last week, two have just started to emerge. And in the fig tree bed, the seeds I sowed last week are just beginning to poke their heads above ground.

Pic of the week 1/5/22

Yesterday, Saturday 30th April, whilst sat at my desk in my classroom I glanced out of the window and saw three swallows swooping around in the sky.  I think that these are the first swallows I’ve seen this year, lets hope they herald warmer days to come. (Spring has been dry, but not stunningly warm. Although frustratingly today had been constant grey drizzle – my day off when I could have got out and done some needed jobs in the garden: mainly tidying up bulbs that have gone over, and also mowing the path in the lawn.  The pic above shows the alliums in our giant container at the front of the house which are now bursting into flower.)

And I’m pleased to say that the sunflower seeds I planted a week or so ago have popped up and seem to be growing healthily in our porch.