Marty

When and if I manage to dig the book out, I'll give you the tile and author.

Hi, Page! Hope all's well with you. Your seconding has been noted. But I would point out that Albert didn't actually propose a motion. He simply jumped right in and voted. And I must also point out that this is not a democracy as far as my garden is concerned. At the end of the day the decision will be mine, and mine alone. And a good part of me reaching that decision will be to do with what wildlife (in particular pollinators) will be encouraged by what I plant.

Noted. And thanks for the encouragement. It's a long wall, and not the only wall in the garden, so I may go for a mix.

Possibly. And maybe Clematis, Wisteria, and possibly Virginian Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)...

I'm not sure if its the same in your province, but I read an autobiography (can't remember who by) many years ago of someone who lived in British Columbia. He said that in his part of that province he didn't experience spring. Apparently summer would eventually just appear. It's a book I bought in a second hand bookshop sometime in my early to mid twenties (so sometime in the 1970's), and had been written in the early years of the twentieth century. I seem to remember the author's opening sentence being something along the lines of "The first time I saw the place that I now call home, all the land around me was burnt." He was unhappy with the exploitation of the land, and the clear-felling that had been done of the native forests. He realised that the beaver, which has been hunted to extinction locally, was an important factor in maintaining the balance of nature, and spent several years repairing old beaver dams to regulate the flow of water and prevent flash flooding and erosion of the soil. Eventually a wild life ranger became interested in what he was doing, and gave him a pair of beavers. Within several short years, as they bred and their numbers increased, the land returned to its more natural state. I have my copy in one of the many boxes of books that are awaiting bookshelves to be put up in my new place. I really must dig it out sometime and re-read it.

Lucky that no-one was underneath when that thing came down! Had to use Google Translate to understand the article, Tim. Not sure if it translated everything correctly. For example Google translated the following... "Men nu har der været en del blæst, og det var åbenbart den sidste blæst, der skulle til i går, og så faldt den." ... to this, in English: "But now there has been a lot of blows, and it was obviously the last blow to go yesterday, and then it fell." I'm assuming that blaest probably means strong wind(s), or gust(s), or possibly gale(s)? And am I correct in thinking the plant was a climbing euphorbia? (Google seemed completely confused there.)

Sleep well, B

Good morning, Albert! Please wish Steve the happiest of happy birthdays from me.

Good morning, all! Another beautiful morning here in the west of Ireland. Blue skies, and a promise that the temperature may be a degree or two (Celcius) higher than yesterday. I may have to think about putting sunscreen on. Especially considering there's still a cooling breeze, so my skin might not realise just how much sun it is getting... Far too nice a day to spend too long inside, so...

Before I started I considered doing just that. It was the fact that some of the main stems of the ivy were so thick that they were beginning to loosen the stones of the wall that made me decide to remove the bulk of it. Once I've repointed the loosest of the stones, I will maybe let the ivy grow back and just keep it trimmed in the future. Or I may grow some more colourful climbers on the wall (or do both?).

I like that suggestion! Of course he'd have to wipe me down as well. Not sure which of the two would excite me most...

He's probably too busy writing his next several thousand words...

As Quasimodo said in The Hunchback of Notre Dame... They're my friends, you know. (Although he was talking about the cathedral bells)

As it says on the bottom left... Hope Steve appreciates the effort you put in.

Here's the before and after views of the work I did clearing the ivy from the rear wall of my garden yesterday and today... How it looked yesterday lunchtime: And how it looked this evening: I am going to leave clearing the last bit of ivy (to the left of the ladder) until the autumn or the winter. I think there's a pair of robins nesting in the hedge close to that corner, and I wouldn't like to disturb it.

No! No! No! And a thousand times no! I need to decorate the wall on my new stairwell eventually. But I won't be trying that trick. Although, we all know someone who might...

A similar saying is Fools never differ. But I'll run with your saying, clo

All I am seeing in that post is a small icon and no image. If I right click on the icon and ask for the image to be displayed in a new tab in my browser, all that is displayed in the new tab is: This site is not available in your country And, of course, I still don't see the image.

To remind us of the days when social distancing was not an issue, here's another Kate Tempest poem (Hold Your Own) which she performed at Glastonbury in 2015. If you look carefully you may see one woman in the crowd is actually moved to tears near the end.

And a slice.

We demand pictures!

Yea, I had exactly the same thought... But I decided to let him get away with it, because I am actually older than him.

Sounds like the voice of experience there...

All joking apart, I am really missing just the opportunity to be able to shake hands with people.

Or I could just stand on the shoulders of a half nekkid young stud...