Country File

[Steve J]

I saw some poo last week, but nothing since. At least the Red Admirals are still active, which is good to see.

[Big Insect]

Berries in 2022. Just wondering what UK berry supply like around UK this year?
Not all that much around locally... S Northumberland.
Brambles / Blackberries were not up to some years. Rosehips vary... some smallish. Not much on Hawthorns but Rowans plentiful. Some on Hollys.
In garden Cotoneasters have loads but not a lot on Berberis.

Massive crop of Slow berries around us in the countryside around Bristol & Bath.
Daughter no1 picked a load and put them in the freezer ahead of making Slow Gin. As it looks to be unlikely we will be getting frost any time soon.
I have fox on the allotment - young(ish) one - who sits about 10 feet away from me as I dig. He then moves in and eats the worms and slugs. I just wish he'd up his game and eat the rat that is living under my shed, that ate 1/3rd of my broad bean crop this year   

[Gwydion]

Borrow a terrier - no more rats. Probably no more allotment either, but you know, eggs, omelettes.

[Heedless Horseman]

Used to be Guy at work who Stank of Ferrets! Useful, maybe? LOL! 

[Techno 3]

Rats ?...I just give them lead poisoning, through the cranium. They don't seem to like that.

[Steve J]

An unbelievably warm and sunny day today, considering the time of year. Dahlias still in flower, Echinops having another go and some bulbs already beginning to show, plus I needed to cut the grass again. Strange weather indeed.

[Steve J]

Our Hibiscus has started growing again, which shouldn't happen for about another 5 months! However it looks like we'll get a touch of frost tonight, so the Dahlias will be blackened not doubt and the Bougainvillia will be a tad sad. Funny to actually have the first cold day of Autumn here in Bristol.

[toxicpixie]

An unbelievably warm and sunny day today, considering the time of year. Dahlias still in flower, Echinops having another go and some bulbs already beginning to show, plus I needed to cut the grass again. Strange weather indeed.

I cut the lawn once over summer. It's grown more this last six weeks than it did in the six motnhs before but it's so bloody wet I couldn't mow it even if I was minded to!

Avian Flu order is a bit awkward, means the chickens are roofed off.

[Raider4]

Huh, snow.

That wasn't forecast. Very quiet on my walk this AM. Good job it's a Sunday, otherwise the city would be completely grid-locked by now.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

WE had some snow but melted completely...

[John Cook]

Just heavy frost and fog here in East Anglia.  The frost hasn't really melted for about three days.  People are moaning about how cold it is - around -4c max overnight and -1c during the day.  That isn't cold really.

[Steve J]

We too had snow overnight which again wasn't forecast. Just around freezing now, so not too cold at all. The past few days we've had about -3C during the day, but in the sun it's been lovely. Nice to wrap up and feel crisp fresh air for once.

Also saw a male Blackcap in the garden this morning, the first of this Winter and normally see it quite often until it migrates again in the Spring.

[Heedless Horseman]

South Nld Sunday, Frost not broken since Thurs. Roads ok but paths dodgy. Thurs night was weird! Light Snow Gateshead to NW of Newcastle Airport... then just stopped... dead... in a line!
Something eating dry food put out... probably Fox or Cat. Coconuts or Peanut / seed feeders getting a hammerring.

[John Cook]

Update.  Snow this evening in Cambridgeshire.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Very light dusting here but at 12:00 it's still -3 - 2 pullovers and fan heater flat out.

[Ithoriel]

Temperature in kitchen/diner 3^oC, temperature inside fridge 4.5^oC. Excuse me while I pop into the fridge to warm up

Fortunately rest of house ranges from 13^o in bathroom to 18^o in the bedroom. Two PCs and body heat contributing to the latter.

Time to fire up the central heating for a bit.

[Heedless Horseman]

For 'kids' of my age... (60!)... it is difficult to imagine home life without central heating... just fires  or range. Some  modern 'burning' fires are almost TOO Good! How did people survive, clustered about some burning sticks? Maybe... 'survival', in the mind?
I used to prefer 'Cold' to Hot... NOT anymore! LOL!
Thoughts for those without anything.

[fred.]

I'm 10 years younger HH, and the house I was a kid in didn't have central heating. It was a big old vicarage, we had 'night storage heaters' in the bedrooms - these allegedly heated up overnight when electricity was cheap and then warmed the room. The only time I remember getting warm from them was sitting with my back resting on it! It wasn't unusual to see ice on the inside of the windows. Getting dressed in bed was necessary!

In the living room we had a coal fire place - that could really put out some heat - but the only way to regulate the heat was to move further away! But the far side of the room could be still be pretty cold. 


This morning at 7am the car read -7ºC which is 3-4 degrees colder than the rest of this week. Inside of the windscreen needed scraping!

[Steve J]

-8C on the car temp reading at 7.00am today. It really did feel cold, the first time it has felt like that this current cold snap.

Growing up in our first house we had a Rayburn heater in the kitchen cum dining room which kept the place relatively warm. Nothing in the rest of the house. So hot water bottles for bedtime, flannelette sheets and pyjames in the Winter with thick dressing gowns. A bar heater in the bathroom to keep it warmish for when you got out and still remember huddled over it with a towel around me!

As for storage heaters, they were utter rubbish! We finally moved into a house in 1978 that had central heating and what a luxury that was.

I do miss Jack Frost on the inside of thw windows in the Winter though as the patterns made looked just wonderful.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Lap top has just gone up from -7 to -6 on the weather forcast..