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Another nice day here but any thought of getting into the garden was a non-starter. I had a massive back spasm when I got up so an easy day is called for. The physio did tell me that the back trouble will gradually worsen as I get older so I have to pace

I watched a programme yesterday about the making of haggis. Haggis is the most foul smelling revolting looking dish imaginable but boy it does taste good.here's the story 40% of all haggis made in Scotland is eaten in England by the way Haggis is a

Another good day here and with my back in normal mode I decided to cut the grass. Now it is just a weekly trim I just walk behind the little hover and let it do it's work. I did the front this morning then a break for lunch. I had no re-action from my

I walked over to town for a little shopping in Iceland this morning. The contrast between Sunday and Monday morning is an eye opener. Sunday a few cars in no hurry to get anywhere and pedestrians taking their time wandering across in both directions. Folk

After a morning with patchy cloud the sun won the battle this afternoon and Ellen and me spent some time in the garden. She was lying down soaking up the rays while I did a little weeding interspersed with sitting on my little deckchair. My knees were out

The best weather so far this year,or last for that matter.We have sunshine all the way and no breeze to speak of I spent time in the garden attacking the bad guysand sat awhile.Ilittle white cloud cover forecast for tomorrow the sunshine all the way for

Another sunny day and a colourful visitor. I spotted a goldfinch while having breakfast and took a couple of snaps After lunch the garden beckoned and with a gentle breeze it was ideal for working. Today's project was to clear the grass from the bases

A full day in the garden in glorious weather today. I started this morning on the rose beds while the sun was on the front. I say rose beds they have been colonized by California Poppies self seeded from next door and very colourful they are. I weeded the

Just a quick note here. Jenny should be up and running again later today Folks

Another glorious day here and I have done a little shopping now it is into the garden once more. Yesterday I cleared the grass and debris from under the gooseberry bushes and cut and edged the grass outback.Today I have the front grass to cut and edge and

this weeks photo fun is pristine,a long time since that could be applied to me. Here is the nearest I got as best man at Biffo the Bear's wedding,we both scrubbed up well that day. this horse is in a pristine condition and I think this dandelion clock

I thought I would have no blog today the last blog on a dumb cat and the garden only produced 2 views so they are dropped a subjects and it was just just the normal Sunday walk over town for a little shopping. However today turned out a little

Hooray Jenny has returned to us .As for me wall to wall sunshine again and an afternoon in the garden mostly chatting to neighbours until Ellen came home after a long day. She is over half way through a 12 day unbroken stint finishing Friday.She worked

The sun finally managed to penetrate a blanket of cloud at around 2:30. Not brilliant sushine as the last week or so but improving as time went on.Then around 3:30 the sun got serious and the temps climbed into the low 80s in my little sun trap. Not very

Today the summer went away again and a dark and left a cold dark rainy day With this meaning I would be indoors a lot I decided to drag out and update my old computer I retreived from Ellen's X before he could abscond with it. The idea was to have it in

I received a pair if sandals today just in time for the rain. Still they did spark a memory of a nice summer walk with Margaret many years ago. On a nice day we decided to lunch at the beach so made some buns up and stowed them together with

I skipped breakfast this morning there is nothing to watch as from today. I have removed my bird feeders from the garden,the cats caught another 2 yesterday.It is heartbreaking to watch.It is no good me attracting the birds for them to kill. It's

Ok a problem to solve,I like solving problems. The cats have been catching birds too many birds. The birds have all been fledglings plus 2 nestlings which were really beaten up and already dead I think. Solution 1 shoot the cats, tempting but nope

a little odd news before I start work, Click the link HERE

I have two selections for this week. This is a chubby robin. And this type of screwdriver is called a chubby

On a rainy day like today when I am cabined up with two cats one who likes the rain and runs in and out demanding to be dried(Sooty) to the other who hates the rain and wants me to make it stop (Zazzles) light relief can be found on here. First thing was

Today is the wedding of some old family friend's son. Daniel by name and a nice lad. A big swanky occasion this and Ellen was in a dither this morning getting ready. The rain stopped which pleased her because she had to go to the hairdresser for a make up

A funny day here weather-wise with the sun and clouds battling for supremacy. with this is mind a flashed the pass for my Sunday jaunt to town. Nothing exciting to report on the food I bought just the same good bargains.I did get a 6 for the price of 4

On the problem of a cat feeder there are several requirements. The food containers have to be a lot higher off the ground with a shelf of some sort to stop the food falling to the floor and tempting the birds down. All round visibility is a must cats

Well another birthday draws to a close and I feel no older. Stephen was round earlier with a bottle of 10 year old Irish malt whiskey for me,that will hit the spot right enough. Gemma followed with a cute little sign from her and Carl.It's hung on the

Just a quickie A sunny day in prospect so grass cutting is top of the agenda A lovely start to the day for me I have the first visitors to the bird feeder this morning and they are having a rare old time.Off to start work,have fun today folks.

Another bright morning as reported in my morning blog and as promised I cut and strimmed the grass, I had it all finished by 11. While mowing the back I spotted this bloom. Do you remember how I found that thick stemmed plant growing? I left it to see

The miniature white roses are starting to bloom in the front garden,the pinks and reds won't be far behind.There is also a little more colour appearing out the back. Here's a tip for you,never take the rise off woman washing her car if you have to pass by

Zazzles is collarless again this time for keeps. I spotted him this morning down in the blackcurrant bushes thrashing around. Upon investigation I noticed he had somehow hooked his collar around a branch and was struggling to pull it off. I managed to

origin of gargantuan late 16th century: from Gargantua, the name of a voracious giant in Rabelais' book of the same name Nothing around here is really gargantuan so I have 3 of the largest things I have shots of This family tent for weekend camping is

Very heavy rain and stormy winds blew through overnight leaving a trail of debris as usual.The haul from my garden was,a watering can,I know the owner of that,a beach ball, various pieces of plastic packing and a large cutting from a privet hedge. My

It is the wee small hours now in my corner of the world 1:50am. My house guests are sleeping,the wind and rain have buggered off,my evening chat with Jenny has long gone and I just watched a documentary on the goggle box. Now I have a bottle of beer to

Nothing much to report today,after a calm start the day is now very windy but at least it's dry. I flashed the pass for my Sunday morning trip over the bridge. Only two shops to visit today as Ellen picked my pipe fodder up yesterday. With more time to

A much calmer day today with the sun trying to win the battle of the skies. The cats have kept me entertained for a little while this morning. Sooty playing hide and seek waiting to pounce on any passing toy mice. Meanwhile Zazzles was hiding behind the

Tin openers,scissors,tin snips,cameras,cam-corders with foldout screens,printers,computer keyboard and mouse. What do the above have in common? Well they are just a few of the everyday items made for right handed people.You can buy left handed versions

I am off to visit my mother this morning.It is a really beautiful day and the hills in the distance remind me of a trip there in 2011. Enjoy the English lakes if you have a few moments,such beauty on my doorstep I am very lucky.The video is from my You

A lovely morning and a trip to mothers was the order of the day. The cats were having their morning nap so I left them provisions and wandered off over the bridge and through the little haven. Plenty of colour starting to spread in there now,a lovely

Another fine day so it is grass cutting day. I did the front and that was all finished by 10. This afternoon I have the two back patches to mow and strim and as it it is not too long ago since I trimmed it last a nice simple job,it just takes time of

A trip to the doctor for my regular check up today brought good news, all is fine and dandy and I don't have to go back unless something drops off.He told me considering the drastic change in lifestyle bringing added stress,Sooty and his terrible

If it is raining all day and he can't play out? Well have some food,race around the house with his brother causing havoc,nip out for a pee,race around the house some more and then fall asleep for 3 hours. A perfect solution to a rainy day

O.E.D. Definition of detritus noun [mass noun] waste or debris of any kind:the streets were foul with detritus gravel, sand, silt, or other material produced by erosion. organic matter produced by the decomposition of organisms. Under that broad

A small glitch on my computer. When it goes to sleep the little bugger won't wake up again so I turned the sleep mode off until I figured it out.A little problem to solve that's always fun. I had a couple of inquiries about how the border of wild and

It is time to assess the impact of my lodgers. This will be in two parts part one about learning to live with the cats. Ellen and the cats moving back in with me after I had lived alone for 13 years was a massive change in my lifestyle. For the cats in

The Sweet William are really starting to show now this bloom is the largest with 5 more close behind and some just breaking through. Sooty is a great one for washing he will wash anybody or anything. One of his favourite victims is a sleeping Zazzles

This part deals with the arrival of Ellen a much harder adjustment in someways. I live in a small 3 bedroom house with only one lounge or living room 18ft x12ft so space is tight. Ellen's room is the largest of the bedrooms and needs to be. She has more

Spell checkers don't recognise the word blog. Although it is an abbreviation of the word Weblog it is in the O.E.D so why is it not in the American dictionary that spellcheck uses? A little tale of Zazzles. Yesterday Ellen heard his distinct let me in

We had rain this morning and that scuppered my plans for a 3 miler down to the village and up along Thorney to the beach. Instead I found myself cabined up with two cats who wanted me to stop the rain. I did notice a couple of bright spots in the garden

Do you want to hear something funny? Our weather people have said that after this week we are in for a long dry hot spell right into August. Predictions of this kind from those bozos usually brings rain and lots of it. Don't hold your breath fellow Brits

Just a short note before Jenny rings. This is Margaret's rose today, now fully opened and a paler colour,the colour will change again. I love this quote. I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the

I have 5 buds very close together on Margaret's rose too close to all get space to open,now do I lop the 3 smaller ones off to leave room for the bigger ones. Does anybody out there know anything about roses me being a veggie grower all my life know

A rainy morning here meant being cabined up with two bored cats and of course bored cats get up to no good. Luckily around midday the clouds parted and we had sunshine for the rest of the day with a promise of more and warmer nay even hot weather for the

This weeks photo topic is altitude. I have three simple ones for you today A helicopter, a plane and a kite I can't of a better way to symbolise altitude than this,it's simple but that's OK

A gorgeous day here on the wild north west coast of England. We have had wall to wall sunshine with temps in my little suntrap of a garden reaching 78f. This coupled with a very high humidity made for a close sticky sort of day. I cut the grass this

My neighbours John and Pauline have just returned from a few days away. I keep my eye on the house whenever they shoot off,checking for mail or newspapers sticking out of the letter box and doing a morning and nightly walk around their back garden making

A warm hazy morning for my stroll over the bridge,with only pipe fodder and milk for the cat to get I decided to walk both ways as I would have no frozen food to carry. I cut through the little haven as usual but decided to show you the little areas

Zazzles sporting his orange foot,when he got home the paint covered all of his leg. Remember this little flower I showed you about a week ago? Well today I thought I better have a good look as it has spread at an alarming rate and taking over the

Temps up in the 80s since lunch and still are 85 in the house with all doors and windows open,88 in the shad outside at it's peak,great weatherI hope for a lot more but a week is the longest we get. I got a new toy today as did Jenny,I can't tell you what

Another cracking day here and with the cats taking a morning siesta I decided on a walk on the beach. So with camera, 2 drinks and a few butties stowed I headed off. I took a few snaps along the way mostly on a big zoom (well as big as this little camera

On looking round the room this morning I decided it was time for a clear up,something I am not used to doing because I don't leave mess. Before taking the rug and mats out and vacuuming I cleared my guest's junk. From Ellen,1 pair of shoes,a top of some

Another hot day here,this afternoon it got really skin leakingly muggy. I did no work after the tidy up this morning just lounged in the garden or in here reading mostly and watching the cats make a mess again,Sooty has already brought a big twig back to

I have embraced the touch screen technology. The little tablet I bought is a gem and once my fingers got used to jabbing the screen very simple to use and the 9" screen is a perfect size for an E book reader,download free. In fact there doesn't seem to be

A couple of ideas on the theme not very original but they fit

A lovely morning again here so after posting my snaps for Summer's photo fun I put the back door on the safety chain which leaves enough of a gap for the cats but nothing bigger and collected camera,drink and a chocolate bar, stowed them into my back pack

Just a couple or three bits from yesterday before I enjoy another glorious day. I checked on the calorie count as I didn't have a clue to what I should use on a walk. My profile for weight etc tell me a walk for pleasure should burn around 240 an hour

I finally remembered to ask my neighbour John about the plant with little flowers I culled last week,they are Fumaria Officinalis,there are 50 known varieties of which Officinalis is a common one.John rattled off the name straight away but then he does

The sun shone again so my Sunday morning shopping trip was a walk both ways clocking up 4.1 miles on the pedometer in perfect walking conditions,just enough breeze to keep things fresh. I only had pipe fodder and a trip to Cooltrader today so plenty of

The sunshine party ended this morning and it was back to reality with a bump.I awoke to slate grey skies with no sign at all of our yellow friend. All ideas about zooming off somewhere were cancelled. I wandered on to the front and found my neighbour

Our Government like most in the world is filled with idiots of the first degree,some of the bills they get through amaze me. We are in a time of tightening belts and saving money so they tell us and our prime minister said in a speech not long ago "We are

Today dawned bright and sunny so I decided it was a day for a trip somewhere. With my free bus travel pass I can travel anywhere within the local area so Windermere in the Lake District,The old market town of Kendal or Grange over Sands were my picks. I

Another fine day,a little hazy at first but it soon cleared. After spending yesterday walking on concrete which took it's toll on my feet and back today I decided I needed grass under my feet. I headed for the beach via the golf course and doubled back

Another good day and warming up nicely,it is 76 as I write this and it's not II:30 yet. I had a nice surprise when I came down this morning,a white poppy has bloomed in the garden and a couple more cornflowers have popped out as well. Ellen left money to

Today turned into a scorcher in my little garden suntrap,hit 90 around the hottest part of the day which is usually about 3 o'clock.Thankfully the humidity has dropped to under 70 but is still very sticky. I decided against an afternoon stroll with a warm

I am off out soon another very warm morning and getting warmer by the minute. 78f with 86% humidity when I came down at just before 6 Before I go here is my take on Summer's horizontal. 3 horizontal zones here horses on the horizon 2 cat

If you read my earlier blog you will have noticed my intention to go on a morning stroll which I did. With the temps already rising I set of at 9 for a stroll along the prom as far as the bridge. Here I crossed the road to the park and the wooded area

Today has dawned bright,sunny and warm again,a fella could get used to this.It is already 78f in here and it's only just gone 7am.It hit 100f in the sun and 91f in the shade yesterday,more of that will do. I think I might save any walking for this evening

As I was sitting in the front garden one of the fishermen came along and asked if I could use a couple of Cod steaks. Well that didn't prove to be a problem, one in the freezer and one in the fridge for dinner. I will mix up a beer batter make some chips

The sun had a day off yesterday but today it is back in it's full splendor.We are in for a hot one,bring it on. After a lazy day yesterday today I wandered off to mothers.I have put some photos of places that will interest her on a pen drive for her to

After yesterday's exertions I had decided today would be a rest day,no walks,no gardening just relaxing and thinking up a recipe for making a one dish wonder for dinner which I find very relaxing as I do with all cooking. Well all this is going to happen

You may remember in the years BC ( before cats) I had a bird bath and feeder on a pedestal.Well that had to go and I bought the high rise version,this works fine but of course there is only a dish big enough for drinking water. The birds really need a

After my mornings work on the bird bath this afternoon I turned to the garden again but before I bore you with that here is the regular morning stand off between Sooty and Peggy. Sooty's exit route is halfway along Allan's wall and down through his

When I finished the high rise bird bath yesterday my thoughts turned to the pedestal and what I could use it for.It is ornamental and needed a top of some kind. I hit on the idea of the mixing bowl I used for the gooseberries yesterday and decided that

A visit to see the nurse at the surgery today for my monthly check to make sure my meds don't need adjusting. Just blood pressure and a chat basically Blood pressure was 128/70 and pulse 78 and my cut off point is 150/90 so she was well pleased and

An interesting morning here.firstly on my morning garden patrol with my faithful sidekick Sooty I spotted a few of these,looking on the wildflower site they seem to be Fairy foxglove. After breakfast and the sun starting to warm the place up I heard

I awoke late around 7:15 and already it was warm and it got warmer so at 9 I decided on picking some blackcurrants for Allan and Sue. I spent an hour bending over picking the little fruits and my back didn't like it one little bit. I collected 4lb before