CoTT 2 House of Cards

[dughlas]

17 hours ago, Marty said:

If you have one, my advice would be a good long soak in a hot bath. Preferably with a good dose of bath salts added.

Great minds at work ...

[dughlas]

16 hours ago, Valkyrie said:

  That's not what I meant   I enjoy reading about how everything is coming along.    I think my sleep apnea has been bad the last couple of days because I've been utterly exhausted.  It takes all my energy just to do my dishes at night.    I'm glad I have my setup appointment tomorrow.  I really hope it makes a difference in my energy level.  

Fighting that infection may have someyhing to do with your energy level too.

[dughlas]

15 hours ago, Story Reader said:

Never open a snack pack of pudding with your teeth or you will get squirted in the mouth! lol

Weren't you gonna eat it anyway?

[dughlas]

15 hours ago, Valkyrie said:

  I love soup.  It's never too hot for soup or too cold for ice cream   

Mum says she could eat soup every day. She says the same thing about salad.

[dughlas]

3 hours ago, Marty said:

Good advice, Tim!

Which I am aware of. I remember years ago having to leave a huge pile of branches left over from hedge cutting on the smallholding I used to own standing all summer before I could burn them, as a pair of blackbirds had decided to build a nest in them in the early spring. At least by the time I did get round to burning them they were well seasoned, so it wasn't difficult to start the fire.  

I had to be concerned with groundhogs nesting under any brushpiles I built. Also, my local township has an ordinance against burning brush or trash, there is an exception for farms allowing them to burn brush.

[clochette]

2 minutes ago, dughlas said:

Mum says she could eat soup every day. She says the same thing about salad.

This makes me thinks of my grandma. Often we would arrive late evening and she would be eating soup and salad and kissing her cheeks I'd say "ugh you've got salad breath"  she loved lot of shallot in her vinaigrette for her salad. I miss her so much.

[dughlas]

2 hours ago, Headstall said:

Happy Thursday, all! 

Very pretty ... the dog is too.

[Marty]

4 hours ago, Headstall said:

Happy Thursday, all! 

And you, Gary!

[Marty]

3 hours ago, Bucket1 said:

Hi everyone

Greetings, B!

[Marty]

3 hours ago, Bucket1 said:

Off to bed for me 

Sleep well!

[Marty]

3 hours ago, Valkyrie said:

Not just birds... my BFF had a momma cat and kittens live in one of their brush piles.  They didn't see the cats for a while, so thought they had left and burned the pile... turned out one of the kittens had been left behind.  Thankfully, she was able to save it and got it to the vet immediately.  It ended up losing its tail, but she kept the kitty and had him for quite a few years before he passed away. 

Whenever I burn all the brushwood, I'll do my best to make sure there's no cats, hedgehogs, or any other mammals using it as a home.

[Marty]

2 hours ago, dughlas said:

I had to be concerned with groundhogs nesting under any brushpiles I built. Also, my local township has an ordinance against burning brush or trash, there is an exception for farms allowing them to burn brush.

Strictly speaking, there's a county by-law here about burning rubbish. But as long as it's not a constant thing, or creating dangerous and noxious fumes (burning old tyres, or the like), there's usually a blind eye turned to it.

And I assume your "groundhogs" are the hedgehogs I mentioned in my reply to Val above...

[Valkyrie]

3 minutes ago, Marty said:

Strictly speaking, there's a county by-law here about burning rubbish. But as long as it's not a constant thing, or creating dangerous and noxious fumes (burning old tyres, or the like), there's usually a blind eye turned to it.

And I assume your "groundhogs" are the hedgehogs I mentioned in my reply to Val above...

  Groundhogs are different from hedgehogs.  They're bigger and don't have spikes lol

[Marty]

So I didn't get as much work done in the garden today as I would have liked. Partly because I felt lazy this morning and stayed in bed a good bit longer than normal; and partly because it was raining at times.

Here's a view of the two sheds taken shortly before dusk this evening:

As you can see, there's not really a lot of growth still left to remove.

But what is left is proving a bit difficult. I would love to be able to put the ladder up against the back wall inside the left hand shed. But, if you look carefully, you might see there's a single row of slates still left up against the wall, which would leave the ladder unsafe were I to try to use it from my side of the wall.

I'm not sure if those slates have been fixed to top of the back wall with mortar, or whether there is the remains of a wooden rafter under them that they are nailed to. There's a lot of tangled branches that still need clearing from under the tiles before I'll know if there's an old rafter, and there's an accumulated mat of decayed leaves and tangled twigs on top of them (also on top of the wall itself) that's currently stopping me from seeing what's actually above the slates. 

I actually spent most of today working from the ladder on the neighbour's side of the wall. I'll be doing the same tomorrow, weather permitting. Slowly, slowly, wins the race.  

(Sorry for all the words you have to read, Val.)  

[Marty]

1 hour ago, Valkyrie said:

  Groundhogs are different from hedgehogs.  They're bigger and don't have spikes lol

Spoiler

 

The hedgehog in the British Isles is also spiny.

British (also European) hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)

When frightened, one of its defence mechanisms is to roll up in a ball so that it is difficult for it to be picked up. Unfortunately, this often results in hedgehogs being killed by cars at night. Many people over here only ever see a hedgehog as a result of road kill.

I've also read that in the past people would actually cook hedgehogs by picking them up when they were rolled up in a protective ball (wearing gloves or using a thick cloth) and putting them into the embers of the fire.

Edited January 21, 2021 by Marty
Clarification

[Valkyrie]

3 minutes ago, Marty said:

The hedgehog in the British Isles is also spiny.

British(also European) hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)

When frightened, one of its defence mechanisms is to roll up in a ball so that it is difficult for it to be picked up. Unfortunately, this often results in hedgehogs being killed by cars at night. Many people over here only ever see a hedgehog as a result of road kill.

I've also read that in the past people would actually cook hedgehogs by picking them up (wearing gloves or using a thick cloth) and putting them into the embers of the fire.

I guess they have built-in kebabs...   

[Albert1434]

Well I got my Cpap very cool and the lady who is about my age was very nice!

[Albert1434]

Oh my God the monarch butterfly is almost extinct!😢

[dughlas]

1 hour ago, Marty said:

Strictly speaking, there's a county by-law here about burning rubbish. But as long as it's not a constant thing, or creating dangerous and noxious fumes (burning old tyres, or the like), there's usually a blind eye turned to it.

And I assume your "groundhogs" are the hedgehogs I mentioned in my reply to Val above...

Our groundhog is not the same as a hedgehog, entirely different species. The groundhog or woodchuck is a double coated rodent, marmota monax, related to the marmot. 

[Marty]

1 hour ago, Marty said:

The hedgehog in the British Isles is also spiny.

Having just re-read Val's comment, I think I may have misunderstood what she was saying. Was she telling me American groundhogs are not spiny?

[Page Scrawler]

1 hour ago, Marty said:

When frightened, one of its defence mechanisms is to roll up in a ball so that it is difficult for it to be picked up.

Hedgehogs are amazing creatures. 

[dughlas]

45 minutes ago, Albert1434 said:

Well I got my Cpap very cool and the lady who is about my age was very nice!

A very nice lady you say, about your age you say ... hmmm ...

[Marty]

1 minute ago, Page Scrawler said:

Hedgehogs are amazing creatures. 

Well, they're certainly prickly little buggers!

[dughlas]

4 minutes ago, Page Scrawler said:

Hedgehogs are amazing creatures. 

You might not mind a hedgehog in your garden since they are primarily insectivores but you don't want a groundhog since they're herbivores and fond of a number of garden crops such as peas, beans, carrot tops, spinach, etc.

[Marty]

4 minutes ago, Marty said:

Well, they're certainly prickly little buggers!

They're apparently also very prone to infestations from fleas.

Because their spines make it almost impossible for them to scratch themselves.