Well I thought I had better make a start on catching up with my blog.I didn't realise just how long I have been away from it and needed to read some of my postings to see where I had got to....
The fish tank has been doing quiet well and I have found it quiet theraputic watching the fish wizzing round the tank and also seeing them grow so large,so large in fact they have turned out t be right little piggy's eating all the food that we put in for them so that some of the smaller fish miss out.We were starting to over feed them and had to take a water sample to the fish shop to have a test done on it,{even though Stuart had already checked it and it seemed slightly high to him}Anyway we had to do more water changes and cut the feeding down to every other day but at this moment in time everything is fine with them and so far our Guppies and Endler Guppies have produced over 200 baby fry between them.
It was quiet exciting watching the tiny babies grow from very tiny replicas of their parents to having to let them go to the fish shop where they were sold on and have gone to new homes to give other fish keepers the same pleasuer as they have given us...
At this moment in time we have some more babies due at any time because the fish man was so impressed with the colours in the babies we sold him he has done a deal with Stuart and after providing all the food free to us then he is going to give us a good price for any future that we can produce.We already have some credit with him which we will be able to use to buy any bits we need and any money we make will go towards any new fish we fancy...
I shall have to catch up with blog agian soon because our female Guppies are giving birth as I type.Have got at least 5 new fry......
Tuesday 30 September 2008
Wednesday 12 March 2008
Catch Up
Havn't felt much like posting anything for the last couple of weeks due to the fact that I have been trying to get outside to weed the borders and get some allotment work done inbetween theses horrendous storms that are now battering the country.At the moment we have managed to escape lightly with the wind and hopefully it will soon go away and we can resume normal life.
I have been able to get over to the allotment and have got loads of clearing up done of nettels and brambles that looked like they were going to take over all the spare ground.Any greenery that is showing underneath the fruit trees is being left so that Stuart can get in with some Roundup weed killer that should work it's way right through the plant system.We don't spray any of our fruit and vegetables aiming mainly to be as free and clean from any insect damage by good insects like ladybirds that and our feathered friend that like to forage amongst the trees and plants.
Hopefully once all this wind and rain has died down we will be able to start getting the vegetable seeds sown,like Broad Beans and Parsnips that are usually one of the first ones to be sown at this time of the year.
In the greenhouse I have Bedford Filbasket Brussels growing.All the Year Round lettuce,Primo Cabbage and some leeks which the name of escapes me at the moment.I only sowed them on March 3rd so i am well pleased with how they have come on so quickly,though using fresh seed has helped with 100% germination.We shall be eating them until they come out of our ears but at least we will be able to share a lot of veggy's with Punkey and Mabel our Guneia Pigs though I don't think they will like the leeks very much..
I have been able to get over to the allotment and have got loads of clearing up done of nettels and brambles that looked like they were going to take over all the spare ground.Any greenery that is showing underneath the fruit trees is being left so that Stuart can get in with some Roundup weed killer that should work it's way right through the plant system.We don't spray any of our fruit and vegetables aiming mainly to be as free and clean from any insect damage by good insects like ladybirds that and our feathered friend that like to forage amongst the trees and plants.
Hopefully once all this wind and rain has died down we will be able to start getting the vegetable seeds sown,like Broad Beans and Parsnips that are usually one of the first ones to be sown at this time of the year.
In the greenhouse I have Bedford Filbasket Brussels growing.All the Year Round lettuce,Primo Cabbage and some leeks which the name of escapes me at the moment.I only sowed them on March 3rd so i am well pleased with how they have come on so quickly,though using fresh seed has helped with 100% germination.We shall be eating them until they come out of our ears but at least we will be able to share a lot of veggy's with Punkey and Mabel our Guneia Pigs though I don't think they will like the leeks very much..
Monday 25 February 2008
Monday
Couldn't wake up this morning after another sleepless night.It is getting to be a regular thing now,and I don't know why I bother going to bed.Another forum I peruse,it seems that there are loads of us having the same problem,though at the moment I just lie there trying to nod off instead of getting up.I always think if I start getting up then I will wake Stuart and then there will be the two of us staring into the darkness.I shall be ok once the light morning come back round...
Had a nice breakfast of porridge with grapes on the top instead of sugar{good girl} and a nice hot mug of Earl Grey to kick start the morning...
When Stuart went outside to start the car up it was quiet frozen so he had to defrost it before he could set off.I waved him off from the comfort of the lounge.I reckon the neighbours must think I am a bit crackers standing at the window waving him off like a small child would wave goodbye to her daddy as he sets off for the days work....
Managed to get two lots of washing done and hung outside and also a load of ironing done, and put in the airing cupboard.All my friends think I am mad being tied to the Iron and never ever iron anything but I can't bear to wear clothes that have not been ironed or aired... Had beans on toast for lunch which went down quite well.Decide on the spur of the moment to pack the car up with all the bags and buckets of guneia pig waste and vegetable peelings and to head over to the allotment.It takes me about 20 minutes to drive over there depending on the amount of traffic there is on the road..
I off loaded the bags and the buckets and then went and parked my car outside the Allotments.Some of the lazy ones down there drive right up to their plots and then leave the cars parked on the track so anyone trying to walk past with a wheel barrow find it almost impossible to get past.Serves them right if they get their cars scratched....
Popped across to have a quick chat with my friend Chris who was down there before getting the rotavator out of the shed.I filled it up with fuel and then pushed it down to the piece of ground that I wanted to work on.It fired up on the first pull of the cord so I was quiet pleased that I could start straight away.I soon got the first large piece of ground turned over again.I am trying to turn it every couple of weeks or so so that it keeps it looking good and it doesn't pan down if we have lots of wind and rain.It is exciting times as the allotmenteering season is just around the corner and it will be nice to get the first crops into the ground.
I decided to move the remains of my last bonfire that hadn't completely burnt out so that I could plough up the ground that had been underneath it.It took a little time setting up the new one but once the apple branches and dried weeds were in place,I set it alight with my small weed burner.Much easier than trying to strike matches especially in the windy weather we have been having.The fire soon took off so I was able to start plouging the next piece of ground.I took some photos of the flames which were leaping through the wood and weeds.I do like a good bonfire,it so reminds me of the bonfires we used to have on November 5th each year.I think that is where my liking for them comes from though I don't like the smell of the smoke on my gardening clothes...Yuk.
After I had done my ploughing,or should say rotavating I decided that I had had enough for the day so decided to pack up and put the equipment back into the shed.When I got down to my car I looked at the time and it was 3.45pm.I had been over at the allotment for nearly four hours.No wonder I was feeling shattered.I was so glad to get home but realised as I pulled into the drive that I still had two lines of washing on the lines.I quickly un pegged it all and got it into the basket and the basket of pegs put away..Phew..
Indoors I could smell my dinner in the slow cooker.I was too hungry to have my shower first so quickly dished up a nice plateful.I had made the dumplings before I went out and because I hadn't turned the slow cooker up to high,the dumplings had cooked nicely.Once I had eaten and then checked my emails I went upstairs and had a nice long shower.So refreshing after all the hard work of the afternoon...
Had a nice breakfast of porridge with grapes on the top instead of sugar{good girl} and a nice hot mug of Earl Grey to kick start the morning...
When Stuart went outside to start the car up it was quiet frozen so he had to defrost it before he could set off.I waved him off from the comfort of the lounge.I reckon the neighbours must think I am a bit crackers standing at the window waving him off like a small child would wave goodbye to her daddy as he sets off for the days work....
Managed to get two lots of washing done and hung outside and also a load of ironing done, and put in the airing cupboard.All my friends think I am mad being tied to the Iron and never ever iron anything but I can't bear to wear clothes that have not been ironed or aired... Had beans on toast for lunch which went down quite well.Decide on the spur of the moment to pack the car up with all the bags and buckets of guneia pig waste and vegetable peelings and to head over to the allotment.It takes me about 20 minutes to drive over there depending on the amount of traffic there is on the road..
I off loaded the bags and the buckets and then went and parked my car outside the Allotments.Some of the lazy ones down there drive right up to their plots and then leave the cars parked on the track so anyone trying to walk past with a wheel barrow find it almost impossible to get past.Serves them right if they get their cars scratched....
Popped across to have a quick chat with my friend Chris who was down there before getting the rotavator out of the shed.I filled it up with fuel and then pushed it down to the piece of ground that I wanted to work on.It fired up on the first pull of the cord so I was quiet pleased that I could start straight away.I soon got the first large piece of ground turned over again.I am trying to turn it every couple of weeks or so so that it keeps it looking good and it doesn't pan down if we have lots of wind and rain.It is exciting times as the allotmenteering season is just around the corner and it will be nice to get the first crops into the ground.
I decided to move the remains of my last bonfire that hadn't completely burnt out so that I could plough up the ground that had been underneath it.It took a little time setting up the new one but once the apple branches and dried weeds were in place,I set it alight with my small weed burner.Much easier than trying to strike matches especially in the windy weather we have been having.The fire soon took off so I was able to start plouging the next piece of ground.I took some photos of the flames which were leaping through the wood and weeds.I do like a good bonfire,it so reminds me of the bonfires we used to have on November 5th each year.I think that is where my liking for them comes from though I don't like the smell of the smoke on my gardening clothes...Yuk.
After I had done my ploughing,or should say rotavating I decided that I had had enough for the day so decided to pack up and put the equipment back into the shed.When I got down to my car I looked at the time and it was 3.45pm.I had been over at the allotment for nearly four hours.No wonder I was feeling shattered.I was so glad to get home but realised as I pulled into the drive that I still had two lines of washing on the lines.I quickly un pegged it all and got it into the basket and the basket of pegs put away..Phew..
Indoors I could smell my dinner in the slow cooker.I was too hungry to have my shower first so quickly dished up a nice plateful.I had made the dumplings before I went out and because I hadn't turned the slow cooker up to high,the dumplings had cooked nicely.Once I had eaten and then checked my emails I went upstairs and had a nice long shower.So refreshing after all the hard work of the afternoon...
Thursday 21 February 2008
Frosty Weather
I especially love this photo of the way that the frost has formed on the long twig of this sapling...
I would love to have been able to set up one of those time lapse cameras to have been able to film the growth of these ice crystals.I think that Nature is one of the most fantastic of things,but it is amazing how many people walk around and never see just what is under their noses...
The birds have been frantically feeding on my nut and seed feeders in the garden because at this time of the year they desperatley need all the help that they can get from us humans.
Always remember though if you do feed the birds don't forget to change the nuts and loose bird seed because even though the nuts look ok in the nut holders they will soon go mouldy if left out in all weathers which can be fatal to the birds as those nasty bugs can develope which will soon make the birds sick and that is when they are likely to die.
Also please remember to provide fresh drinking water for them every day and if you don't have any trees or shrubs or flowers in your garden,take my advice and get some because you will soon be rewarded with the sound of birds calling to each other and in the summer months if you are still feeding them,they will eat a lot of the pests that are likely to take up residence in your favourite plants.....
Frosty Weather
On Tuesday we woke up to quiet a heavy frost and very thick fog.We havn't had such a good frost since before Christmas so in the afternoon I managed to get out for a nice walk round the village with my cameras.
I was amazed at how the frost had formed on the trees,shrubs and flowers round the village.
The Pine trees in the photo looked fantastic so I just had to take a photo of them standing together like frosted soldiers.It so reminded me of the artificial trees that people were buying from the garden centres raedy for the big day...
Tuesday 19 February 2008
Sunset
This is a photo of the sunset we had yesterday evening.
The day started quiet frosty and we had to scrape the frost off of the cars before we could use them,brrrrr
Later on the sun came out and gradually the day got really quiet warm.After I had done some of my household jobs{housework}and had had some soup and bread for my lunch I packed up my gardening gloves and some water and headed over to our allotment.
I was the only one over there because the ground was still a little bit frozen in places so it had put some of the old ones off going to tend their plots.
I had to take my cardi off in the end as I got some weeding done because I was getting quiet hot doing it.
I soon collected up quiet a lot of dead leaves off the old plants and also dug up some of the nettles on a vacant piece of ground.
After having a nice drink of cold water I decided the ground that I had been clearing was ideal for rotavating.It was a bit of a struggle getting the machine out of the shed but it wasn't long before I had it up and running.
As I set off the tines soon got to work on the soil though at times it was a bit of a struggle as the machine though manageable wanted to do it's own thing as it trundled across the soil.At times it seemed like the rotavator had a mind of it's own and I had to struggle to control it.
Eventually I tamed this monster and soon had the first piece of ground completed.After another rest and drink stop I decide to have a go at an even rougher piece of land that I was determined to conquer.I may be small{5ft 1"}but I hate to let anything beat me,something I have had to cope with all my short life{scuse the pun}
All in all I managed to get three pieces of ground turned over and it was nice to see a Robin settling onto the turned soil in search of nice juicy worms.Something difficult to find in the frozen ground.
I decided after finishing the last piece of land that enough was enough for the day and decided to head for home,hot and tired but glad that I had managed to get something done for my efforts.
Back home I had a nice refreshing shower and then after I was dry decided to sit at the computer serfing and reading blogs before Stuart got home.Not long after he had arrived home there was a fantastic light outside that looked almost like someone had turned a giant torch on.It lasted for quiet some time,then we noticed that as the sun had set it filled the sky with a fantastic red glow,which we managed to catch with the cameras and one of them is what has started todays blog.....Enjoy
Sunday 3 February 2008
Take 2..Plants,Fish, Bog Wood And Willow
This is the finished tank complete with the first lot of fish, three plants and the Bog Wood.As usual Willow is keeping a beady eye on everything.
Next weekend we are due to take another water sample to be tested and also to do a 20% water change.If everything os ok we can then get some more fish.We don't want to get too many as it could lead to problems.We have mostly females at the moment apart from Romeo our one and only male.
Our fish will gradually grow to their finale size and the tank will be mature after 10 weeks.Hopefully by then we will just need to enjoy them. do their water changes as often as we need to and to make sure we either don't over or under feed them....
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