In the bleak Mid Winter, Bits and Bobs.

[oldherbaceous]

Well, actually it looks like the next few days are not going to be as bad as the new topic reflects.

It did turn out to be a nice sunny afternoon, a lot better then the morning.

[Monika]

Thank you, OH. Yes, winter so far is just odd. Temperatures in double figures? Only three nights of frost so far? There must be something wrong. "They" say that north-American weather usually hits us within three or four weeks, so we'd better get prepared.

Hoping to get some gardening done towards the end of the week.

[Westi]

Will we get the US weather as it's a vortex just dropping down from the North so I assume it will shrink back up there as it's not a storm as such going east to west?

Please tell me I'm right - that is just too cold!

Westi

[Motherwoman]

Nooo...don't want the snow! Just makes life so difficult.

Glad I got the holiday cottage garden done in October/November as it's now absolutely sodden clay. By contrast my allotment only a couple of miles away from it can be dug without clag! I hate being at the top of a free draining slope when I have to push barrows of manure up, but when it's wet everywhere else I can work on my plot.

The garden at home is on sand so that stays workable too.

MW

[Redfox]

Weather in west yorkshire hasn't been too bad, lots of wind and rain but as far as I know no flooding. The forcasters say that the bad weather that they're having in N. America and Canada will hit us back end of this week but shouldn't be as bad because as it comes accross the Atlantic it will warm up a few degrees . I will wait and see what comes.

[oldherbaceous]

I was cutting a couple of large conifer arches this morning at my Mums, when something caught my eye moving on the gravel drive. As it was still fairly dark i thought it was a large willow leaf, but on closer inspection, it was a very large great crested newt, and very much awake. How i hadn't trod on it i don't know.

So, not sure if it hasn't hibernated yet, or woken up early. There were two frogs on some rushes, yesterday, too.

[Motherwoman]

Having given my pond a good clear out I'm hoping for a return of the mating frogs this year. The last two years there have been no frogs with affectionate intentions, I think it was the very cold weather that put them off. It was always around Valentines day when I could stand in the garden and hear all the calling and croaking going on... and a bit of splashing! My pond also has newts but just the ordinary ones.

MW

[Monika]

We have seen two different frogs in the garden in recent days and there are certainly plenty of slugs about, making their way up the house wall as usual!

We also had a lovely surprise today whilst having lunch in the Bay Horse pub in Skipton which is immediately adjacent to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. I was just glancing out of the window when a blue flash shot into view and a kingfisher landed on a branch over the water, no more than 6 feet from the window. We watched it for some time and even drew other diners' attention to it - lovely.

[Shallot Man]

We have a funny red thing in the sky.

[alan refail]

[JohnN]

Monika: Have you any idea why slugs crawl up walls and windows? I get them too, but as there's no food supply (as far as I know!) up there it seems a pointless activity.

[Parsons Jack]

and why do worms make their way up to the topmost part of a polytunnel?

Quite often see them from inside. Far too many to be dropped by birds

[Monika]

I have no idea, JohnN. I keep a weather record and go outside every night at 10.30pm for the readings. That's when I see the slugs going upwards, sometimes in their dozens, though when I open the door in the mornings, they have all retreated downwards again. There is certainly nothing edible up there at this time of the year!

[oldherbaceous]

There were some Snowdrops and Aconites open at the Big House today, now that is early.

[oldherbaceous]

Had the most delicious cauliflower harvested off the allotment, for dinner tonight. I'm rather pleased, as the very hard Winter last year, put pay to nearly all of them, and the few that did manage to survive, never really made good curds. Just goes to show how the weather really does dictate to us gardeners.