27 December 2009
Someone Is Getting Excited - and its not the dog!
24 December 2009
The Snowman.
As you will see the these first two are of the snowman which I thought they did a really good job on.
This picture is just a snap of the tree we have in the garden. Its actually a Chrustmas tree with a twist as its a Eucalyptus tree rather than one of the standard varieties of Christmas tree.
This is an outside view of our cottage, the lights you see at the window is the curtain of light that I showed you the other week.
Next up we have Tommy faithfully guarding the Turkey - or something. By the way, there is a reason for the ball on a rope being fastened to the cupboard door, I will try and remember to show you what that reason is one day.
11 December 2009
Christmas Things.
This next one is of particular interest to the dogs. They are little metal buckets on a string each bucket having a number 1 to 25 - its a doggy advent calendar. It can be any sort of an advent calendar really but we have it for the dogs, all the buckets have a doggy treat in them for each of the dogs.
This is new for this year, its a curtain of light.
ChrisJ I think perhaps there is no place like home also I doubt if there is any place that has everything that we wish for. I would like to live somewhere warmer, mainly to make more use of my time but I know where ever I moved it wouldnt't be home.
The Weaver of Grass The pond is empty because of the children. The trouble is that when it was first drained, for some reason the dogs ripped holes in the liner so we had to take it up and now its not just a matetr of refilling it once the children are old enough, its going to cost a lot to get it back in order. It was very nice when it was filled with water and the little waterfall was working.
26 November 2009
Girona.
We did go inside and found it fasinating but as with most of these sort of places you aren't allowed to take photo's inside so sorry about that.
The short time we were allowed to spend in Girona passed very quickly and it wasn't long before we had to make our way back through the narrow streets to the coach park.
As before I will include this link [Click Here] for those who want to read more and see a few more pictures.
I happened to see the item below earlier today and found it both interesting and staggering.
THE ITEM BELOW IS COPIED FROM YAHOO NEWS
The Taxpayers' Alliance has reported that local councils in the UK collected a total of £328m in parking fines for the financial year 2008-2009. The good news for drivers is that the amount is actually a 16 percent reduction compared to the £379m collected the previous year. Of all the UK local councils, 99 percent responded to requests for information.
Shockingly though, of the ten councils who collected the most fines per head of its daytime population, six are permitted to use parking fines in whatever way they wish - bolstering the theory that fines are just another revenue raiser. The worst offender is Kensington and Chelsea council in London, which collected a staggering £85 per person. The average per person across the UK is £6.14, which is bad enough, but that puts Chelsea's figure in sharp perspective.
In Scotland, Edinburgh council is the worst offender, charging £12 per person on average, in Wales it's Denbighshire with £5.62, and Northern Ireland's average is £3.50 - its fines are dished out by a single body.
Chief Executive of the Drivers' Alliance, Peter Roberts, said: "Parking enforcement has become a massive money making industry and we are seeing unscrupulous and target driven enforcement of parking laws where the penalties far outweigh the offence. This report shows that some local authorities are treating drivers unfairly and cashing in on parking fines."
19 November 2009
Barcelona
I forget when work on this was started but its still in progress, they build as money allows which all comes from donations so I reckon it might never be finished.
One of the back streets of Le Ramblas
Le-Ramblas
The rest of the pictures are what I took while visiting the cathedral.
Sara That is so true what you say about the bridges looking different when you're actually on them. I remember also that it was quite a surprise on seeing it for the first time, it would have no more of a surprise had it been a flying saucer sitting by the roadside as it seems so out of place in its surroundings.
17 November 2009
Millau Viaduct.
Before we reached Spain though I got to see something that I’ve been wanting to see ever since I watched it being opened on TV and that something is the Millau Viaduct.
Below are the pictures I took from the coach as we travelled along. I won’t write all the details as I would only be re-writing what is written on many different websites so I will include this link Millau Viaduct so if you want to know more just click on it to be whisked away to be informed.
I’m sure you will agree that it is a wonderful piece of engineering and well worth a trip over it if you ever get the chance. I’m not sure but I think it’s possible to stop close by and get a better view but we didn’t as I think the drivers wanted to press on with our journey which was pretty long that particular day.
8 November 2009
Off On Tour.
http://www.leger.co.uk/Tours/esa/Barcelona_and_Spectacular_Spain_-_All_Inclusive
Best wishes,
Bob.
22 October 2009
Festival of the Plough (Balance Plough).
20 October 2009
Festival Of The Plough.
It was a great day out for dogs, there being almost as many dogs as people!
Here we see a thrashing machine at work being powered by a stream engine.
There were donkey rides too.
My dad, mum and Vicki (In the big hat).
One of the big stream engines.
And a little stream engine being put to good use, can anyone spot what that good use might be? There is a clue in the picture.
15 August 2009
New Series - Castle Howard.
[Click] on the name above for a link to their website.
So that I can post the readings on the same day as the blog post they are of the previous 24 hours up to 6 pm today.
Temp Low: 18C
Temp High: 28C
Rainfall: 0mm
Cont. Days Without Rain: 3
Dry Days This Month: 9
Wind Level For The Day 47
Pressure: 991.3
Weather: Mostly overcast.
2009 Highs & Lows
Min for the year: -5 C (4th February)
Max for the year: 35 C (1st July)
Most rain in 24 hours: 39mm (5th June)
MY WORK BOOK
Subject -See to the sheep
Location-Field
Categories -Misc
Start -Sat 15/08/2009 07:30
End -Sat 15/08/2009 08:30
Duration -1 hour
Message -Helped the farmer go through them and treat for maggots.
Subject -See to the greenhouses
Categories -Glasshouses
Start -Sat 15/08/2009 08:30
End -Sat 15/08/2009 08:45
Duration -15 minutes
Message -Opened the vents.
NOTES
1) As you will see at the top I have come to the end of my Haddon Hall Pictures so now I will do a series on Castle Howard in Yorkshire. A few people have got confused thinking that Haddon Hall etc. Is the big house where I am the gardener at so I will just explain that my ‘Picture For Today’ used to be just random pictures that I had taken over the years so instead of dodging around from one place to another all the time I decided to do a whole series of pictures from one place at a time, for instance I am now going to do a series on Castle Howard. The pictures were taken on the 15th August ’09, I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them for you.
12 August 2009
Shady Dog.
TODAYS WEATHER READINGS
So that I can post the readings on the same day as the blog post they are of the previous 24 hours up to 6 pm today.
Temp Low: 16C
Temp High: 26C
Rainfall: 1mm
Cont. Days Without Rain: 0
Dry Days This Month: 6
Wind Level For The Day 27
Pressure: 1000.1
Weather: Warm and sunny after a wet start, quite a stiff breeze blowing most of the day..
2009 Highs & Lows
Min for the year: -5 C (4th February)
Max for the year: 35 C (1st July)
Most rain in 24 hours: 39mm (5th June)
MY WORK BOOK
See to the sheep
Field
Misc
Wed 12/08/2009 08:00
Wed 12/08/2009 08:20
20 minutes
See to the greenhouses
Glasshouses
Wed 12/08/2009 08:20
Wed 12/08/2009 10:00
100 minutes
1) Water round.
2) Took of some dead flowers.
Shopping
Garden Centre
Misc
Wed 12/08/2009 10:00
Wed 12/08/2009 10:30
30 minutes Went for some weed killer.
Break for tea
Home
Misc
Wed 12/08/2009 10:30
Wed 12/08/2009 10:50
20 minutes
Strim round
Courtyard
Public Gardens
Wed 12/08/2009 10:50
Wed 12/08/2009 11:50
1 hour
Mow the grass
Courtyard
Public Gardens
Wed 12/08/2009 11:50
Wed 12/08/2009 12:45
55 minutes
Stake the chrysanths
By the seat.
Public Gardens
Wed 12/08/2009 12:30
Wed 12/08/2009 12:45
15 minutes
Break for lunch
Home
Misc
Wed 12/08/2009 12:45
Wed 12/08/2009 13:30
45 minutes
Spraying
South Front
Main Garden
Wed 12/08/2009 13:30
Wed 12/08/2009 14:00
30 minutes
Sprayed the weeds in the south front gravel.
Spraying
All Hard Surfaces
Walled Garden
Wed 12/08/2009 14:00
Wed 12/08/2009 14:30
30 minutes
Spraying weeds.
Spraying
North Front
Public Gardens
Wed 12/08/2009 14:30
Wed 12/08/2009 15:00
30 minutes
There were some brambles growing in the rock garden that I cleared out last winter so I sprayed them with brushwood killer as I couldn’t get the roots out from where they are growing.
Tidy up
veg garden
Walled Garden
Wed 12/08/2009 15:00
Wed 12/08/2009 17:00
2 hours
Pulled out any old stuff past it’s sell by date and did some weeding. Also planted a few lettuce.
Tommy staying cool whilst guarding the cabbages.
Clean and put away the tools
Potting Shed
Wed 12/08/2009 17:00
Wed 12/08/2009 17:15
15 minutes
See to the bins
Hall
Hall & Pumpend
Wed 12/08/2009 17:15
Wed 12/08/2009 17:30
15 minutes
Put out six black bins.
NOTES
COMMENTS FROM THE POTTING
Sara, I’ll go with the poor bit but as I’m sure you know if you have a dog you’re never lonely. My dogs are my best friends and if that makes me a sad case so be it. The thing about buses and coaches is an interesting one. I tend to think of a coach as a posh bus. For instance when you go on a local journey you go by bus, as a rule they are just basic work horses. When you go on a longer trip you go by coach which has more luxury. The one we’re going to Spain on is a Silver Service coach which is a notch above the average coach. It has less seats so more leg room, The seats are recliners and there is a lounge at the rear where you can get refreshments etc.
Merle It is very busy in the garden at the moment, with just seven working days until the open night I am pushing all the time to achieve the best possible result even so things are slipping off the end of the calendar, hopefully I can drag them back on next week.
Jeanette, I will be over in September! Are you near to Bathhurst cos I could pop on over and see the race, that would be truly mega. I might disappear over to Merle’s place too cos I really fancy some of her home cooking. It sounds so good I’m sure I can smell it all the way over here!
27 July 2009
The Hooke ‘n Crooke™
http://holdredgeenterprises.com/
Below are a couple of pictures of the hoes they offer, one is a hand hoe and the other a long handle hoe.
18 July 2009
A Fruity Tip.
This one clips on to my belt (which is covered by the shirt) that I wear all the time to hold up my trousers.
You could find something along the same lines to do the same job at a hiking store or similar. I like this one because I don’t need a separate belt also its pretty stiff canvas which as you can see doesn’t crush anything you put in there.
Then when you have it full all you need to do is take it off and tip the contents in to something larger and then set too and refill the pouch – hopefully many times over because I think most of us like our fresh soft fruits.
I’ve used this method for many years and find it handy not having to use one hand to hold a tray or whatever, it leaves both hands free for picking the fruit.
17 July 2009
Fish & Chip Night.
So I spent all day titivating the conservatory plants.
Vicki has just called to say she is on her way home with dinner which on a Friday is take-away fish and chips so I must not linger any longer, however tempting your company may be its nought compared to fish and chips.
Take care and have a great weekend,
Bob.