Valkyrie

Nice haul DM. Horizontal everything although the borlotti beans are fighting back and have flowers. Charles Dowding has done a nice Youtube video about the weather conditions/climate. I picked 2 onions today and one potato plant. The Casablanca earlies are now quite large tubers and very tasty. We had them crushed and mixed in with butter and garlic (also from the garden) and then baked/roasted for about half an hour - crisp and crunchy on the top and if you turn it half way through cooking it should make the rest a bit more crunchy.

I remember Dixon of Dock Green saying "Evenin' all" and not much else! Was it Monty Python?

Why? Just WHY!!!!😲

Well that former quote is very apt for this morning! Loved the books. Must find them again as we did bring them with us - no way was I parting with those. I remember the Gytha Ogg quote now that you have reminded me. I was banned from bedtime reading Terry Pratchett books because I had to stifle laughs which just made the bed shake until I had to laugh loudly - HRH told me off many times. What made it worse was I could never put the book down either!

Probably interfered with their x-box gaming. I agree - so flabbergasted at people. Very sad.

Love Granny Weatherwax! Sorry Major - you did mention Terry! LOL!

Ahhhh that version. I think I prefer Discworld - they seem to get it right in the end! LOL

Now it's ducky floofing - except OH gets in there first! Fudge (in the piccy) now has broken her record for the longest broody period. She's a stubborn little brat and although she doesn't like the sin bin - 5 weeks! She started before the first lot of ducklings hatched - tomorrow they'll be 4 weeks old. I had noticed the last few days were spent longer with the other bantams and then I'd find her later in the nest box again and cooking. So back in the sin bin she went. Today is rubbish weather, so went to check on the duckies all round and Fudge was still out with the others. I think we are sorted. Hope we are sorted. She'd better be!!!!

Was that Ankh Morpork by any chance?

Over the winter we had issues with mice and then rats that had overspilled from the farm. They tucked into our potatoes. I did notice that they must have brought takeaways as I saw rat killer in the corner of the workshop. I knew the farm had called in the experts because she came here first - nice girl! We found 3 big deceased rats in the garage, a little revolting as one was well decomposing! 🤢 It is dark at the back and there is about a 2ft drop down - we think that it may have housed cattle in days of yore, so nice and cosy for the ratties and the mice. So we have been without them for quite a long time. No mice either. But while OH was looking for something and tidying up at the same time he came across a bag of garden netting - brilliant as that will be used for popping across the duckling run to protect from predation. But then he spotted a box with fluff coming out at the corner. Turned out it was a bag of rat poison that we'd brought with us and the rats had chewed into the very box, so committed suicide. We said serves them right for being greedy!

My daughter said that their local pubs were open at 6am this morning - I didn't believe her! But she saw them open as she was going to work! Ludicrous. Unless they are hoping to make up for social distancing - hopefully soft drinks and teas and coffees or possibly breakfasts were being served at that hour.

It had the central heating plumbed in but it needed electricity for blowing it out in a fan. It had 2 switches - one for settings on the fan, fast and slow or off. The other was cold or hot or off! I found the slower speed was more effective. We never needed it on cool! But it was still better than the silly little radiator that we did have as all it did was warm a wall that backed onto the garage and we felt no benefit from the heat.

Our last kitchen had one instead of the radiator - we lacked space and the kitchen was always cold. Underfloor heating was not an option. But the Kickspace heater was installed and for a while it was really good. I guess it lasted about 20 years. Getting a plumber to install another one was a big difficulty as our guy didn't want to know. Probably because he was too busy feuding with his father - his father not a nice person for several reasons so I understand - but do not excuse. So as luck would have it we found another young lad who was living fairly close, new business and he was brilliant. He sourced a new Kickspace, had to saw out the bottom of a cupboard to reinstall it as it was a little bit larger. He put the base of the cupboard back superbly - also the new heater was much better. I think if we stayed I might have had another installed, but when the cooker was on, it wasn't necessary. There are 2 in the new house, one in the utility and one in the kitchen. I don't think we have ever used the one in the utility, but the kitchen here is freezing cold. With the new extension we will have under floor heating via the central heating system - we have a really good plumber and he's young too!

That is a very meaty looking fence layout. My electric fences come from Electric Fencing Direct too. The first year we used them we had deep snow and the fox tracks were quite visible - they gave it a wide berth - like several metres! Which was lucky because the fence had stopped working because of the snow, so I take it that the foxes recognise anything that might zap them! We now have another fence around the duck pen. The only time the fox has shopped was when the birds were free ranging, then it only took the one who was separated from the rest - due to wanting to be alone at the time. Foxy also took a small tub trug. Perfect size for a toy. I had left it in the garden ready to bring in for a wash. Probably it's a foxy shopping bag now.

Was at the Quatre Saisons a couple of years ago for MIL's surprise 50th anniversary! I loved the tea house. And then it stormed! But the following day (we were in the amethyst room - oh my goodness it was beautiful, thank you FIL!) we had a look around the orchards before going home. Patsylabby - beautiful garden! I have a zen garden - it's the vegetable patch - oh how I love my rake. It is really relaxing - my favourite part - except for harvesting and devouring the end results!