Wildfood campsite

[Suffs Profile]

Good morning campers

It looks as if we’ve had some rain overnight ... now we have glorious sunshine ... everywhere looks lovely ... OH and I did lots of gardening yesterday ... he cut and edged the grass, thinned out the pondweeds and tidied all the marginal plants, and put a stepladder up on the shady bank and did a radical cut back of one of the big honeysuckles ... its a shame to lose all the berries but it has to be done every few years or the honeysuckle gets so big it could pull the fence over! We have three other honeysuckles so there are plenty of berries. As I suspected there was a lovely little dunnocks’ nest in the thickest part (now disused of course) ... I’d seen dunnocks to-ing and fro-ing around there so thought that might be what was going on.

While OH was doing all that I cut a load of perennials back and did some weeding, tied in the tomatoes, did the summer pruning on the espaliered pear tree and fed and watered the squashes, courgettes, tomatoes, cannas etc and all the other pots and containers. No wonder I was ready for bed by 9!

I’m hugely relieved that Noris has seen a bit of sense at last and said that everyone must wear masks in shops. OH wears one all day but not all his colleagues and customers do ... even if they only provide a little bit of protection, in current circumstances anything has to be better than nothing. I’ve got some very natty homemade ones ... now my neck/shoulder is a lot better I shall get the sewing machine out and make some more very soon.

[Busybee Profile]

I’m ridiculously happy..........after seeing a piece on Countryfile we built a small wildlife pond using a big old plastic toy box which had contained Lego many years ago.

We used stones and bricks to fashion almost a ladder in and out and filled it with the smelliest green water out of one of the butts.

We bought some pond plants for the edges and an oxygenator one in the bottom. Almost immediately birds stated using it for a drink or a bath. The oxygenator has done its job and the water is really clear, we can see the pebbles on the bottom. Last night I spotted a newt He has been christened Neville.

I’m hoping to attract frogs, does any one know how to lure them to your pond?

BB

[Suffs Profile]

Frogs will find it no worries just make sure there’s plenty of planting around the pond, right up to the edge, to provide the frogs with cover from birds ... ‘our’ frogs spend most summer days sitting on the edge of the pond in the damp foliage and plopping into the water every so often to cool off ... then they hop around in the flowerbeds and the compost heap at dusk looking for little slugs etc.

[Seatallan Profile]

I'm with Suffs BB- frogs will find you (and hopefully a toad or two). I made a mini wildlife-friendly pond when we lived at previous house (using an old washing up bowl as a starting point) and we had frogs, toads and plenty of pond-skaters, etc. Good luck.....

Off Down South today, to see BF who has week off as her birthday is hoving. She's a senior NHS manager and has been working 12 hour days for months so she'll be glad of a break. Not madly looking forward to train journey but am as equipped as I can be.

Re face masks- I have six now. I seem to be collecting them! I ordered 4 from Etsy (all made by local people) and bought 2 at a local shop. Am very glad they're to become compulsory.

See you later

[Kacey Profile]

I too now have a collection of washable face masks, some of them quite snazzy! OH has been wearing them for months and on the few occasions I've been out shopping etc I've worn then myself. Yes they're a bit uncomfortable, yes they're hot, yes your glasses steam up if you don't get the mask on properly, and yes you feel ever so slightly pillocky, but its bearable if there's even the slightest chance that is saves someone getting Covid 19.

[scullion Profile]

good morning, all.
overcast and damp at the moment but supposedly brightening later - but not suggesting sunny.
the mask law should have been brought in weeks ago but better late than never. why shopkeepers are considered so 'slow' as to need ten days to get their heads round the legislation is interesting. i will no longer feel the odd one out using a mask in shops.

the easiest way by far to get an instant breeding colony of frogs in your pond is to inoculate it with spawn each winter/spring for the next four years.
there used to be a place at the old city hospital, in truro, where frogs spawned and which was drained/dried up before the tadpoles could hatch and mature. i used to transplant the frogspawn to more hospitable places.
a friend dug a pond half way up a hill, away from other water sources and insisted that she would have frogs in there by the following spring. when she didn't and was a little disappointed i surreptitiously started putting spawn in, for the next couple of years, while she was out. it was some years later that she triumphantly pointed out that i had been wrong but was a little red faced when she found out that the kids and i had done it with her neighbour, gleefully, sworn to secrecy when she caught us at it one year.
i love newts. i hope you have elodea (canadian pond weed) in the pond. newts lay single eggs under the leaves and curl them under to protect them while they grow - and make sure you have a pile of rocks nearby as adult newts tend to live in such places when they aren't in the water.
also, getting a bucket of pond water from someone else's pond helps to get the microfauna that's at the bottom of the food chain into yours.
have a good day, everyone.

[Earthmaiden Profile]

Morning all! . How lovely that your pond is developing well BB!

You sound very down, KK. Understandably. We have a lot to be thankful for. Hope you keep safe.

Looking forward to hearing of some of the features you chose, icey!

I wore a mask for the first time yesterday. So far I have only been to a couple of quiet, spacious shops and felt safe but going into town yesterday was different. I am glad it will be mandatory and hope that shop staff don't get the sort of abuse we have seen in the USA. I don't think they will generally. The one I was wearing was single-ply made of a thick, linen-type material and I was amazed at how hot it was. I couldn't wait to get out into the fresh air. I do feel sorry for those who need to wear them all day. My thumb is much better now so I might make a couple of the thicker sort I had intended on making originally. I noticed that the Welsh are insisting on three layer ones to be worn on public transport.

Still haven't picked the fruit . That's on the cards for this morning followed by my walk and meeting a friend I haven't seen over lockdown in the park. The little coffee kiosk is open most days now for takeaway drinks and we might buy some. I haven't bought anything like that yet but the kiosk is run by a nice clean local lady known to people so should be alright. I am meeting another friend on Friday for a takeaway afternoon tea (paid in advance) for her birthday which you can eat on the suitably spaced tea shop garden lawn. We know it well, it is quite quiet and clean and I can't see it being any worse than a trip to a park.

[herbidacious Profile]

Nothing special to proper photographers I expect but to beginners like me it should help my close-ups! I picked it up on eBay. (For £69).

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NIKON-AF-S-N ... 1a9b1ffa97

It's always exciting to have a new lens. It looks like it has a really useful range. I hope you get to use it soon. I'd really like to get out more with my camera too. I think my flower photography might have improved a tiny bit with practice, but suspect my architectural instincts have been dulled with such little usage.
Sunny here which is better than I was expecting!
I did a lot of gardening yesterday, too. Planted out peas and beans, potted up two clematis, planted out a few salpiglossis and other (unlabelled) things, potted on a few things, sprayed my sweet peas and marigolds (and so far unaffected courgettes) cut down all the water irises… (fed up with them and their slug and aphid-harbouring ways…) Back to work today. Might try to prick out various basils later.
I need to cut back some honeysuckle too, where it’s creating too much shade. On the other side of the garden it smells heavenly. It’s mixed in with jasmine.
Electrician came today to sort out dangling wires in kitchen. Phase two will be plastering up the hole. We get the new door painted on Sunday/Monday.

How lovely Busybee. We have a butler sink pond which is full of manky green stuff. Not sure what to do with it as it has frogs/toads in it too, so don’t really want to disturb them.
I hope your journey goes well, Sea.
Clive that does sound awful. We are indeed lucky here.

[Busybee Profile]

I did want to nick some frogspawn from my Dads large pond, but it would have meant going through their house and he wouldn’t bring any to the window for me. In fact he was a bit funny about it saying you shouldn’t transplant spawn in case you spread disease?

I’ll go next spring when they are out and get a jam jar full. I know we used to go frog spawn collecting when we were kids, I think everyone had a jam jar of tad poles, and later sticklebacks which were carefully taken into school and put in the pond there. I wonder if schools have ponds now? Probably lost to health and safety.

I seem to have lost the thread data wise re Covid, I found it easy to see the trends etc when watching the daily briefing but since it’s demise I have found it a bit hit and miss keeping up to date. It seems especially hard to get local data. I’m sure if this was readily available then it might give people more confidence to get out and about or conversely the need to be extra vigilant. Wearing a mask yesterday wasn’t particularly onerous, yes my glasses steamed up until I had it properly adjusted and yes it was a bit hot, but I was only in the shop for less than an hour.

BB

[Uschi Profile]

As far as mask-wearing is concerned, we have had to do it for weeks (I actually started a bit earlier than I had to as my FFP3 mask protects not just others, but seems to be a little safer for the wearer, too) and most people are good about it. Yes, it is a bit of a pain, and I do feel a bit faint at times, but I would not be without it. We live in such cramped quarters in this area that masks and keeping a distance are badly needed and work, too. It really is a small price to pay.
The downside of mass acceptance is that everyone who does not wear a mask is challenged. This is fine where idiots are concerned, not so fine where people with medical conditions that don't allow them to wear masks are concerned. Some zealots don't accept medical certificats.

As for ponds, my friend keeps saving spawn from a puddle that dries out later in the year and her pond is beautifully clean and clear. The tadpoles hover everything up and the newts keep the mozzies in check.
I would love a pond in Axel's garden, too, but we would have to ask the landlord and find a good place for it. It is walled and would not support newts or frogs.
We had Alpine newts in our old garden. Wonderful!!!

[liketocook Profile]

Good morning everyone,
Loving the sound of your pond BB. When we first moved here the elderly neighbours had a large one teeming with wild life and goldfish. But the upkeep of it and the garden became a bit much and it silted over. When their house was sold the new folk decided to dig out and fill in what was by then a muddy hole only to discover a huge goldfish was still alive and living quite happily in all the mud. Thankfully a local country park were able to give it a home in one of their ornamental ponds.
Still rainy and grey here. My son is making great progress in transforming the garage space, shelving materials were purchased and he's rattling on with building some sturdy shelves and benches. A few dump runs and we should have a much more usable and junk-free space. He's as happy as a clam as he loves a DIY project!
Today I'm helping my elder son on the personal statement he needs for a promotion application. He's "last minute Larry" usually but he might actually get it submitted before the closing date for once. I've had a first read through but reckon a large is needed before I start formatting my feedback

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Can anyone explain why we are waiting 10 days before making masks compulsory? I appreciate you maybe need a few days for people to stock up before you start issuing £100 fines but 10 days?

Also how do you keep the darn things on? I have a narrow skull which probably doesn’t help and I’ve worn 3 different styles in the past few weeks and the elastic just pings off my ear although it seems quite tightly fitted when I put them on. Perhaps I need to get some kids ones - I wear children’s woolly hats

[karadekoolaid Profile]

are the figures for venezuela accurate on the worldometers site? they seem a little low compared to your neighbour, colombia.

I don´t know if your "worldometer" is the same as Johns Hopkins, but yes, the figures are low. There are probably two reasons for that. The first is that severe lockdown was implemented from day 1. It was like being imprisoned (I imagine - never been there!) but the "government" failed to take into account that people need to eat and that there are not enough police/National Guard etc. to enforce any draconian measures .
The second is that this "government" is so inept, so corrupt and so brainless that they´ve (a) not invested in hospital maintenance or improvement (b) don´t have a reliable bureaucracy to collect the data - just a bunch of sycophantic goons with guns - and c) they´re probably lying anyway. They usually do.

But hey - I can´t do anything about it, so I´m not stressed. I just make sure I´m a looooooong, long way away from any possible infection points!

[scullion Profile]

signed this a little while ago - i may be fortunate enough not to need it but i've signed for all of those women who aren't.

these are a couple of websites that give a map of cases and deaths in the country. the first may not be very detailed for different areas, just county wide but the latter gives a 'parish' level if you zoom in. the worldometer site gives a statistical level per country.
we gave up listening to the daily update before they did. maybe a weekly one would be a good idea.

[Earthmaiden Profile]

I agree BB.

The trouble with Covid data is that it seems so varied, depending on the source and there seem to be issues with collecting it in a timely fashion. I, like many, have been completing the ZOE app each day and watching and feeling more and more confident as figures went down and down and the colour coded diagram of the UK changed accordingly. Now, with greater understanding of the behaviour of the virus, they've adjusted the way it is calculated and much of the country has gone from pale pink (good) to lots of darker shades of red again. I suspect a lot more accurate but it has changed just at the time most of us wanted to see the effect of everything opening up again and it has made it harder. It just makes me want to hibernate again - which is no bad thing of course!

Locally, a list of the local areas of town most susceptible has been issued. It is the same as one issued a couple of months ago. The worst are what one might consider as more leafy suburbs than cramped areas in the town. If you look at the location of most care homes and the main hospital, they are in the worst hit areas, which suggests why those areas might be high on the list. It masks the areas which might be of most concern other than those already well-documented places.

Perhaps you need made-to-measure masks Sue. It is a bit strange to think that one size will fit all!

I think that the 10 days is, as well as getting stocks in, to do with the legislation and enforcement training required for police, shop security etc. Also, putting arrangements in place for those who cant wear them. This should all have been planned long ago but I don't think it was.

[Pampy Profile]

I have problems keeping masks on too. My ears are quite small and I wear hearing aids that sit on top of my ears and also glasses for both driving and reading (needed when I want to read product labels in the shops). Add the elastic from a face mask and something has to give - usually the hearing aids!

[scullion Profile]

my thoughts exactly about the 10 days.

how do you keep the darn things on? I have a narrow skull which probably doesn’t help and I’ve worn 3 different styles in the past few weeks and the elastic just pings off my ear

you could try a 4-5" 'strap' of fabric that goes round the back of your head with a button sewn on to each end for the elastic to go round, just beyond your ears.
the scrubs caps we were making a while back had buttons sewn on in order to ease the pressure on nurses ears from the elastic.

[Pampy Profile]

The trouble with Covid data is that it seems so varied, depending on the source and there seem to be issues with collecting it in a timely fashion.

I think one of the main troubles with Covid data is that the government has been manipulating the figures to suit its own agenda.
I think it's reprehensible that politics is playing any part in the reporting and management of the pandemic.

[Pampy Profile]

you could try a 4-5" 'strap' of fabric that goes round the back of your head with a button sewn on to each end for the elastic to go round, just beyond your ears.

You can buy masks with a strap like this.

[KeenCook2 Profile]

Sue, when DS was here he bought a mask at Superdrug, I think it was about £2.99 or so. Anyway, it was so tight that he couldn't wear it. He said it pulled on his ears really uncomfortably. It claimed to be breathable, washable at 60 degrees etc.

I haven't been into a shop since lockdown, the odd occasions OH has been recently he's always worn a mask. I agree, it should have happened ages ago and they should have had the policy "oven-ready" so that they could simply put it into practice at a moment's notice. But, hey, is anyone surprised? Simply indicative of the dog's dinner of the entire approach to Covid.

Did you see the appalling news item about the French bus driver who was killed because he tried to prevent yobs from boarding his bus without masks?

DS is now in Barcelona and says that masks are obligatory and everyone he's seen has been adhering to the rules.

KK, hang on in there - not that you've got much option