In the bleak Mid Winter, Bits and Bobs.

[oldherbaceous]

Evening Richard, i think that is really bad show, regarding your insurer.

[Motherwoman]

Klargesters are a nightmare in this weather if there is nowhere left for them to drain. I'm so, so glad that we re-did the soakaway this summer with new pipe and gravel. It was a vile and disgusting job and don't ask what happened when I pulled the drain jetter back out the hole just a little too far... But so far, touch wood, it's still draining. Hope yours is OK Richard.

MW

[Cider Boys]

Well it is a lovely sunny day here in Somerset, Lord Chris Smith is due to visit us - oh! I hear he has arrived, meeting people behind closed doors- very wise man!!!

My son and I have had to sell half our cattle and calves, we moved them last weekend to a neighbouring farmer on higher ground.

Later to-day we will be gathering our sheep (three of which have already drowned) and hopefully get them to market on Sedgemoor for tomorrow.

We will have made a significant loss on them all.

Despite this I feel very lucky as the house is dry and hopefully it will remain so unlike many on the Moors.

Lets hope it stops raining, but it does not look good.

Barney

[Parsons Jack]

I've just got back from 2 weeks in Madeira, where the parks are being watered with hosepipes

Warm and sunny all the time, with Monarch butterflies and various dragonflies in abundance.
We even went past a small allotment site, which looked very well stocked. Just the odd cabbage white fluttering around the brassicas

Went to the allotment this morning and quite a bit is under water. Managed to get some leeks and parsnips out of the pond.
Will this weather ever get better

[oldherbaceous]

Old Blighty seems to be in quite a turmoil over the last few years, let's hope things settle out a little!

[oldherbaceous]

Just had Codger round with my eggs, and some of them really are whoppers... But thay's not what i was going to tell you. he had twelve packets of seeds in his hand, that had come out of a KG Magaazine he had bought from Sainsburys. Since i'm a regular subscriber of the magazine, it seems a little unfair that i only got two... bah humbug....

[old codger]

I love getting OH wound up,i thought yesterday when I bought the book with 12 packets of seeds in ,this is a good chance to get him on his high horse, and it did.

[alan refail]

Hatches well battened down this morning in expectation of 50mph gales and gusts forecast up to 100mph. We have been fairly fortunate so far, and no threat of floods from the latest storm.

[oldherbaceous]

I cancelled the outside job i had today, but the huge amount of rain we were meant to be getting first thing, hasn't materialized. A bit blowy though....

[peter]

Blustery rain here for last twenty minutes.

[alan refail]

This is us for this afternoon
Don't get many red weather warnings.

[oldherbaceous]

I hope you and everyone else gets through it safely, Alan.

[Geoff]

Top corner of that red bit isn't nice, hope you are OK in the middle of it. Can't see my big greenhouse surviving if it gets worse as predicted, flexing wildly at the moment. Just been in and fastened the autovents shut with cable ties as they were flapping but got out quick.

[alan refail]

All well here - no damage.
Hope you get through it OK Geoff.

[Geoff]

Well I think we got away with that really. No glass out of big greenhouse, door had tried to get out of its track but had failed. Fences that started to go in December got worse. Shed lost a pane of glass but I can't see how and some of its tiles are damaged. When I was retrieving some garden furniture that had taken a 50 yard trip undamaged I noticed the neighbours hens were out and about because their hut was on its back. Only managed 73 mph gust and 57 mph sustained (remember 1 m/s = 2.24 mph). Big hailstorm early this morning so crunchy everywhere whilst checking things. Oh forgot, snapped a screw holding peanut feeder to post.

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