Ten Pin Bowling

Whilst i've been over the West Coast just lately i've been known to play the odd game of ten pin bowling and now i'm eager to improve my game....here's another way to get my weekly fix. Try it and see how you get on.

Funny Videos, Pictures and Stuff - Ten Pin Bowling

St Swithin's Day

Sunday 15th July was St Swithin's day and we got Sun! Yay....now how does that poem go?

St Swithin’s Day, if it does rain
Full forty days, it will remain
St Swithin’s Day, if it be fair
For forty days, t'will rain no more

Well...we got a fair St Swithin's day so how come i've got rain, and not just spits and spots but that stuff whereby every drop is a bucketful?

So who was St Swithin?

Correctly spelt St Swithun he was apparently the Bishop of Winchester. St Swithun died July 2, 862. Whilst he was dying he asked to be buried out of doors, where he would be trodden on and rained on, in the following century he was regarded as a saint, and the then Bishop had his bones reburied in a shrine inside the cathedral on 15 July 971.

The story goes that as St Swithin was being exhumed, it started to rain. Unfortunately the rain didn't stop for forty days and forty nights....sound familiar? Apparently this was St Swithun showing his disapproval and punishing the monks.

St Swithun's day used to be a “feast day” in the Christian calendar, but it is now just seen as a quaint British thing.

Oddly enough, while most of us would rather not see rain in mid July , apples need it. If the rains fail, the apple crop will be a poor one. Well, my apples certainly can't complain of water shortage this year.

The Fatsia japonica is really lovely after rain, the water sits in big droplets on the leaves. Since repotting the fatsia has really taken off.

Well we're not out of the woods yet and as the song goes 'I'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining'. Sooo as we can't do any gardening. Check out the weather trivia site for the answer to all those questions that keep you awake at night.....like how big are raindrops?

Who'll stop the Rain?

This just seemed relevant at the moment....we seem to take water for granted but maybe we should think about how precious it is and what we do with it. Take a peek at Water Treaty and Water Aid UK.

July 2007

The weather has been appalling. I could've cried when i returned at the weekend. The grass was ankle high and the weeds were growing apace. It's a struggle to get outside with the weather and working away and to keep on top of things at the moment.

There are some highlights though. My first strawberry was picked and it is big and luscious. I haven't netted them yet but noticed that another red juicy one had been at the mercy of the birds. The frame is all ready to go on the strawberries and i just need to staple the netting to the frame which was built as a nice surprise for my return by OH.

The pots are starting to fill out now but they need some sun to bring them to their best. The rain is welcome but they are really looking a little rain bruised in parts but they are adding a lot of colour to the garden.

Another delight was that my nasturtiums which i planted from seed sent to me from a fellow gardener are doing great, they are in full bloom now. I also noticed that my nasturtiums from last year had self seeded around the apple trees but are a tad behind my tubs. Despite today being a cool and windy day there was one determined bee working the nasturtiums.

Those that know me well know i have a fascination for bees and wasps and often sit and watch them at work in the garden. I have taken the time to try and understand the role each visitor to my garden plays...by understanding what they do helps me to live in harmony with them. I have to say that wasps usually get a bad press being persecuted just because they can sting more than once. I can state in all honesty i have only been stung once by a wasp, other stings i have received have been by bees, and if i'm being honest it's been my own fault each time in all cases so I have the utmost respect for wasps and bees.

Blackie's bench is worked by wasps who use their strong jaws to take the wood, rolling it into a papier mache ball to take back and build a nest. This is a dead give away for a nest nearby. Wasps chew wood pulp from sheds, fences, eaves or barge boards or other wooden structures on or about the house. Try to watch their flight paths and where they disappear to and come from this will give you an indication of where the nests are. They are relatively docile unless attacked; a wasp will normally only use its sting to defend itself, the nest or to subdue prey.

Wasps build a new byke each year usually in the spring, they never use an old byke. Then come the autumn the wasps all die off and the queen will go into hibernation. When you see how much effort they put in and how much wood they collect to make a byke you wouldn't want to destroy one. I would encourage anyone to think twice before getting rid of a byke unnecessarily. What? I hear you cry - has she taken leave of her senses? Well, no, actually. Wasps are hard working gardener's assistants, eating insects, caterpillars and other nasties. They do have a useful role scavenging for the larvae of other insects, controlling garden pests and clearing carcasses early in the season. They even dispose of rotten timber. You may do well to actually encourage wasps in the garden as they do a good job of culling greenfly and other aphids.

Late summer is when the workers indulge in sweet substances - fruit, jams, syrups etc. and this is when they start being a nuisance as they search for sweet food, and whilst not particularly hostile, they will sting if aggravated.

As the cooler weather comes, the wasps become drowsy and more irritable, and this is not helped by them feeding on over-ripe fruit. They are better left alone when like this but then so would you if you had a hang over!

So perhaps we should give the wasp a break...afterall every being on earth has it's place in the ecosystem and work together......even wasps.

Happy gardening!

Random things about me......

I've been tagged for a meme....haven't done one before so here goes.

In Blogspeak, a meme is an idea that is shared and passed from blog to blog, like a question posted in one blog and answered in many other blogs. I'm to list '7 Random things about me'.

Hmmm not easy i can tell you so here's my best shot! Thanks to Kenneth for tagging me.

• I grew up in Grimsby, NE Lincs, which was the largest fishing port in Europe at one time. I moved North to Scotland at the tender age of 19 years of age...came for six months and apart from a couple of years back in England it's been my home ever since.

• I'm a bibliophile - there i've admitted it. Thankfully it's not an offence but makes the world a more interesting place. I love books and have done so since being a small child. The internet has just extended that. The first novel i read was 'Kidnapped' by Robert Louis Stevenson. I read this at age 7 years.

• I read the whole of the Encyclopaedia Britannica between the ages of 10 and 13 years old. I love knowledge and learning new things.

• I love people, new places and cultures. I often like to sit and people watch, it's very interesting. I love hearing about other folks' adventures and cultures.

• I once tried to 'stow away' on a ship heading for Africa so that i could see the Elephants.I was found by a crew member and promptly returned to dry land. As a child i was desperate to visit Africa. My first trip abroad at the tender age of 18 was to Africa!

• I started gardening at age 10 years and have done so ever since, i was fascinated with Allotments as a child and all those plants growing. My mother recalled me 'gardening' as a toddler...although apparently my efforts were not always appreciated by my father!

• I have always wanted to keep bees. One day i will fulfil this dream and keep hives.

Gosh that was really hard to do! Now i had to decide to tag seven others and here's my choice....it wasn't easy!

• East Anglia Sea Fishing
• Gregs Private Garden
  
• Kaypee's Lottie
• American Garden Freak in Istanbul
• Morning Glories
  
• Suburban Wildlife Garden
• Phils Allotment
  

Here are the rules for newcomers to this meme:

Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to then report this on their own blog with their 7 random facts as well as these rules. They then need to tag 7 others and list their names on their blog. They are also asked to leave a comment for each of the tagged, letting them know they have been tagged and to read the blog.