Gardening - NOT amateur radio

In the last few weeks with some decent sunshine the garden has "come alive". There is new growth everywhere.

Here I am in the garden yesterday. Lis (my wife) has done most of the work. I am pruning a rose and clearing a bramble.

Heathers - NOT amateur radio

At this time of the year, heathers are in flower in UK gardens. This show was in a nearby garden. Sadly, they do not look so good all year around.

Signs of life - NOT amateur radio

There are stirrings in the garden.

After what seemed like a long, dull winter the daffodils are in flower, snowdrops are past their best, there are buds on the trees and bushes. Only a few weeks hopefully and we'll see the first swallows back.

So, the cycle of life goes on.

Frosty Garden - NOT amateur radio

The last few days have been glorious with bright sunshine and little wind, but it has been (and still is) cold. We have had night-time frosts, which have been slow to clear.

The photo shows the slow to clear frost in the back garden. You can see where the sun has reached! The bird bath has been frozen solid for days.

Does all this suggest a cold winter ahead? Met Office winter runs from Dec 1st (tomorrow). To me, December, January and February are winter months and March 1st seems like spring again. So, I agree with the Met Office.

See http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/ .

Shed cleaning - NOT amateur radio

Autumn and lots of leaves! Time to put the garden to bed until the spring and clean out the shed. All the spring/summer garden furniture will go away until the spring.

It is hard to believe I got 4 bags of leaves yesterday and 2 today before this picture was taken. And still the leaves fall.

Weather today - NOT amateur radio

Today has been miserable. Although mild, it has been dull and "November" all day.  A week ago we visited the Botanic Gardens in Cambridge when it was sunny between the showers. November really can be a dull month.

The photo shows the Cambridge Botanic Garden early last week.

Gardening - NOT amateur radio

Although colder than of late, today was a bright and sunny day, so ideal to be in the garden. There are leaves everywhere at this time of year.  Our son came up this afternoon from London to help us "put the garden to bed" for the colder months ahead. We had no idea just how long the roots were on the shrub our other son dug up last week!  He turned over the ground and planted some bulbs with my wife. It will be fun seeing these appear in the winter and spring.

Our back garden in autumn - NOT amateur radio

This is view of our back garden at the end of October. Most trees are now changing into their autumn colours. In autumn you can get some wonderful shades.

Garden winding down - NOT amateur radio

UK autumns often have strong winds. Winters often cold but not very cold. Some winters have no snow but the average winter has a few days of snow only. One winter is likely to buck the trend. For the last few years years our sensationalist press has been forecast a very cold winter. By the law of averages they will be right some time.

Our garden - NOT amateur radio

Our garden is better in spring when the blossom is freshly out.

Our grass is going brown in places as we had quite a decent August after a poor start to summer. It always recovers after some rain.

The picture shows me next to one of our rowan trees in our garden with the windmill in the background. Richard G3TFX took the photo. He thinks I should string a long wire to the top of the mill! Of course the top and sails turn to face the wind. It moves several times in a week. Currently the sails are facing west. In this picture they are facing south.

Our rear garden in mid August - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows our garden in mid August. The rear garden always looks better in spring when there is lots of blossom. The rowan berries are out. The trees in the orchard next door are filled with apples and plums. Our sunflowers (in pots) have yet to flower. The windmill is just visible on the top RHS.

Hot day - NOT amateur radio

We have had the hottest day of the year so far with a temperature of 32 deg C, so we spent some of the afternoon in the garden. We had tea outside. There was a gentle breeze.

Here are a few images in our garden. The first is our Crocosomia "Lucifer" and the second a cobweb on our birdbath. The birdbath was being well used by the wasps today. There was a sparrowhawk chasing the young swifts high above us. The last but one picture is of a goldfinch on our neighbour's TV antenna.  The frog (?) appeared when we started watering.

Working in garden - NOT amateur radio

Back Garden

Yesterday, I was going to cut our lawns but it was too wet. Today, the weather was good so I managed to cut both the front and back lawns. My XYL did a bit of weeding and chopping back. It is amazing how everything seems to have grown in the short time we were away.

Rear garden in late May - NOT amateur radio

This was our rear garden shortly after we got back home from Devon. Most blossom has now gone sadly. In the front, our laurels are growing and we have roses out.

Garden - NOT amateur radio

Another view of the back garden

Not visible are my earth-electrode "antenna" for 630m (are you surprised?) and my end fed wire Par antenna covering 10m, 20m and 40m. This antenna works on other bands with an ATU.  Also out of sight are my 6m, 2m and 70cm vertical V2000 and my 2m horizontal big-wheel omni and 2m halo.

As you can tell, I do not like big, ugly antennas! The garden would fit a 66 foot long wire - maybe next winter?

Garden in Spring - NOT amateur radio

This is a photo of our front garden yesterday. The windmill is in view on the right. Spring has nearly sprung: all the trees are now starting to look green or are in bud. Mind you, we still had a frost on Sunday morning.

Our rear garden - NOT amateur radio

This was our rear garden taken this morning. In a few weeks time all the blossom will be out. In the distance, in our neighbour's garden, is an apple and plum orchard.

Frog (or is it a toad?) - NOT amateur radio

For the first time since last summer we saw this fellow in the garden. I think it is a frog rather than a toad, but I am no expert. Last year we saw these most times we were in the garden. This one was about 10cm long, maybe less. We have no ponds in the garden so I don't know where it comes from.

The back garden in autumn - NOT amateur radio

We are clearly in autumn now, with the back lawn carpeted in fallen leaves. Soon the ornamental cherry (just visible on the RHS) will be bare until the spring. There is something good about all UK seasons.

Here is my wife taking a photo.

Gardening - NOT amateur radio

This afternoon was fine and dry, so it was a chance to do a bit more gardening.  Because of my 2013 brain bleed, I soon get very exhausted and this was the case today. I managed a couple of plants and dug in some flower bed edging, by which time I was so tired. What has changed is that I soon recover. In the past I would be totally exhausted for hours but within 15 minutes I was out with the hose.

This last few weeks I do seem a little bit better.  Although I still get tired I don't seem to be "done in" totally. Although I still have to take just sips, I do seem to be able to drink more thin liquids. Progress is slow, but I think I can still see progress.