2021 - What I did today

It's so wet and windy I couldn't do much this weekend but I did have to pop out briefly to gather up a sunflower which I was saving for seed and had been blown over and snapped at the stem.

It's a branching one that had self-seeded and I really liked it so I put it in the shed to dry off in the hope I can save some viable seed.

It's so wet and windy I couldn't do much this weekend but I did have to pop out briefly to gather up a sunflower which I was saving for seed and had been blown over and snapped at the stem.

It's a branching one that had self-seeded and I really liked it so I put it in the shed to dry off in the hope I can save some viable seed.

I did that once, in the rafters of the shed. But when I went back to collect the seeds, something had beaten me to them, probably mice.

Reorganised my flower seeds. I now have 2 tins, annual & perennial. Sort into varieties within the 2 tins. Still not sure it’s quite right. Checked on my sweet pea seeds I’d sown yesterday to find mouse/vole has eaten 90% of them   . Never seen evidence of them up on the potting bench before! Not happy! Sweet pea pots have now been turned into hanging pots. So we’ll find out if the furry little b@$t@r# has left me anything to germinate. Can’t even sow more that was my entire stash. I feel another unnecessary shopping trip coming on   .

Meanwhile we are still waiting for the drought to break, although we've had a mm yesterday, and another today. The ground is still pretty hard to work, but I got another five spring cabbages in, weeded the gravel, cleared the old leaves from the winter cabbages and dug out a few mole runs.
Set up the bird feeder and found that the bird seed in a plastic box left over from last year was full of weevils. We've been finding the odd one in the utility room but I don't know how they got out of the box as the lid was tightly shut!!

Thank you for mentioning mice, I hadn't thought about that! I've just dashed out between showers to inspect the sunflower and found one good head with ripe seed so I've cut that off and brought it inside, the rest has gone to compost.

My sweet peas are still alive. I put them outside each day in a tray balanced on an upturned bucket, then bring them in each night to hopefully avoid mice. The things we do!

I think it was squirrels that took my sunflower heads this year. The snapped the heads off and carried them away from the plants. Nothing is safe!

My tallest sunflower head which I was hoping to save seeds from is going mouldy!  I snapped off a goodly portion which wasn't mouldy and put it on the greenhouse staging to dry. I think I will bring it home next time I am at plot and let it dry in the house where there is less chance of mice getting to it...............that's if they haven't already munched it!

We had a power cut after some horrendous winds, the winds didn't last long, more like a mini hurricane, but the power was off from 9.30 to 4.30. I missed my daily dose of G&G. Had no idea when the leccy was going to be restored so planned for worse case and hoped for best. They estimated 9pm. Set up generator (with a bit of a kerfuffle), got Gaz lamps working, figured out evening meal on the stove top. All good fun but definitely missed my cooked brekky, eggs and bacon would be OK but couldn't figure out toast over the gas ring, so settled for cereal.

Looked in on next door, they were panicking because the couldn't reach me on the landline (now BT insist we go VOIP, no leccy, no phone) next door also rely on candles, frightens the daylights out of me. When our leccy came back on theirs didn't- checked the consumer unit. When he was investigating the power outage this morning he left the main power switch off! Their leccy would never have come on. Anyhow peace is now restored I really really don't want to get old........older

We've had rain, whoopee, so I've started the autumn weeding
Planted out a blackcurrant bush.

Not a lot! My cold has kept hanging on and developed into sinusitis. Had a video consultation last week and was asked to blow my nose and then show the doctor the contents of the tissue....disgusting job they have.

Told me the bright yellow colour was good as it is caused by an enzyme from my immune system. Just told me to ride it out. Sorry to be so graphic.

Said everything is worse at the moment because of lack of exposure to this little nasty.

I can deal with being bungled up but the headaches are a real pain.