When was the last time you or anyone near you got stung by a wasp? Its a shame! Well not that you haven’t been stung, but there just are not many around anymore, a few butterflies, a few flies, but nothing like a few years ago. Check the front of a car and notice how dead insect free it is! If you like everything neat and tidy, well plant lots of insect friendly flowers in straight lines. If you do not sit or play on your lawn – let it become a wildlife meadow. Large parts of the countryside have been sprayed to death – gardens can be a counter to this.
INDOOR PLANTS
How many times/people have you heard say that they cannot keep / or kill indoor plants? Lots. Well its no big secret.
I have been growing 60/70 plants in my place for a couple of years or more – the number keeps increasing. My philosophy is to water a little and often. The bigger the leaves the more I water!That way I don’t forget to water them. If they don’t like this then they fo and die. Harsh but it does mean I am surrounded with lots of beautiful greenery.
Garden news
A rather pretentious title! Just picked 10 tomatoes, and thinned the leaves out on my yellow ones. Picked a dozen or so raspberries – they are big fat and sweet, Also cut of old flower stalks of the chicory – I think my favourite plant this year – for seeds to dry before storing for next year. I have nearly 300 bulbs coming later this week so the spring show in the garden could be good – maybe even better than the xmas lights that many people put up outside their houses for some reason!
My mallow has died, and along with the apricot. tree, that is 2 sad losses this year. And no mulberries either – they are testing my patience. I am beginning to plan more for next year – suggestions welcome.
Random
There is some random news about this weekend. A football match between Fleetwood Town and Burton Albion was stopped due to apples being thrown over the stand onto the pitch!
And then there a growing numbers of reports of attacks by a pod of Orca Whales on yachts. They have disabled a couple. Come on you orca’s!! I read once about an incident in New Zealand. Geese mate for life. A guy went out shooting and shot one, the other of the pair flew straight at him and killed him! Geese fly very fast – 50+kmph.
Pizza in oven,Siri is doing the timing. I KNOW she is not real, but she has such a positive voice, and I love the Irishness! She tells some fairly bad jokes and her weather forecast is not that great, but she is nice to Alexa!
The new season – predictions and comments
CHOCOLATES
Life and things appear to be a bit difficult at the moment. Like Forest Gump said “life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get”. So it is important to keep looking out for the best ones, in my case strawberry cream; but also realise that you like most of the others. I am not keen on toffee ones, but can cope with them. Be positive, even the bad times teach lessons that make you better able to handle them, and therefore able to embrace the good times.
Eat chocolate and smile!
CLIMATE CHANGE – THE POST BELOW CONTAINS SWEAR WORDS!
Covid-19 might kill me, but in the grand scheme of things that is not a big deal. Even to me! Brexit is like a feather in the wind, it will blow away. Even a lying corrupt government is irrelevant when we look to the future. What is important is doing something about climate change. This will have a major impact on my children and grandchildren and future generations. But the government is silent! (Probably a good thing in a way as they usually talk bollocks and make false promises).
STRAWBERRY LEATHERS
Hull the strawberries – best done with nice music as it is boring! Liquidise – stew with lemon juice, an apple or two and some desiccated coconut or coconut flour (to thicken up the liquid). Heat to reduce liquid content and then heat for 6/8 hours at about 130C. 2kg of strawberries, 1 lemon, 4 apples = 6 leathers 30cm x 30cm.
BREXIT = HUMILIATION
This government seems determined to reach record beating highs of incompetence. So no deal with Europe, and none with the USA (it is unlikely that Trump will regain both Houses of Congress even if he wins a second term). Deals with Australia would seem to be environmentally unsustainable at any logical level? And even then we have to obey World Trade Organisation rules.
But we have a trade deal with Japan – not particularly different from present EU deal, but slightly better? OK so that is 0.7% of GHDP sorted, unless the government changes its mind in a few months!