Another pointless thread

Canes: I bought some canes last year from our independent local garden centre, but this year they had straight willow "canes" that looked as good/better and were cheaper, so I bought a bought a bunch of those - and they're quite good.

Then, later on, I realised that the garden hazel tree had pretty straight branches that only needed to be cut down, stripped of leaves, and left in the garage to dry off a bit - so did a few of those, and will do some more when all the leaves have fallen off. Hope not to be buying any more canes as that hazel tree will grow a lot more new branches next year

Raised beds: over the last few years I rebuilt all (7!) raised beds, but used treated fencing "gravel boards" and lined the insides with builders' plastic dampproof course sheeting - that should last quite a few years, based on experience with the previous lot

I remember the days of changing nappies for children who weren't yet house-trained. Real nappies, not the ones where you can fold it up and pretend you haven't seen what's inside . Compared with that, pooper scooping after a dog is almost a pleasure .

Steve

NB: ref using "gravel boards" for raised beds, from experience, I suggest:
- use posts at the corners and extra posts every 3ft/1m to prevent the boards bowing (some years ago, that was a good way of using old fence posts with bottoms that had rotted off - but this time I had to buy new posts and then cut them)
- put those posts into steel fence post "spikes" (the ones with bolts to be tightened are best) to stop the bottoms rotting off.

Costs a bit first time around, but should outlast my interest in vegetable gardening!

Metal fence spikes, not my favourite..

...managed to put one through a gas pipe a few years back...

OOPS! and might happen to "almost anyone" - but not here because there are no gas or other pipes (or cables) near the surface in our back garden, and they do "last" - as do the posts in them

I could hear somebody hammering in a garden down the street...

,,seeing where it was coming from I asked what they were building.

Nothing, came back the answer, it's him banging his head against a wall coz the holiday they had had booked since January had just been cancelled due to..

I sat down in my bar, sighed and opened another beer.

"Holiday"? What's that??

Steve

Are you now going into tier 3 HG?

I do regret not getting out more in the summer while we could. It's going to be a looooong winter.
We are making a non essential journey tomorrow, just because we are evil
We are going to see an artist with a view to buying one of his sculptures.
We were tempted to go in the camper so we could at least make a cuppa on the way but thought that might risk a telling off, so are going by car. We seem to have got rid of all our thermos flasks though, and it is a three hour drive each way. Probably just as well as the thought of a motorway service station loo (if they are open!) is not attractive. Ho hum.

All around us are going to 'very high' or top level or tier 3 or what ever bozzo will call it next week, we, on the other hand are staying in the middle which is actually lower than where we were for the last 3 months..

...we can now go over to Halifax and see our son and partner in their garden!!

It won't last long, Whitehall joy killers will soon cotton on...

No chance of doing anything like that in the Lubbyman household. We're in total isolation pending Mrs L having an operation in a couple of days time. Any breach of isolation and the op is off. Surprisingly, it's close to the estimated date she was given back in January. Not bad with what has been going on in between - well done local NHS.

Steve

Give Mrs L our best wishes and keep her safe.

Best wishes to all the Lubbys, what is already a difficult time for you may so much harder by this lurgy. I hope the op goes ahead, no last minute cancellations, and that it is successful.
Please let us know!

Indeed, adhere to the requirements and get through this.

Wishing your good lady all the best Steve.

Thank you for your kind words, folks. I'm pleased to report that Mrs L's op took place today without mishap . We are both extremely relieved, as a first attempt early last year had gone seriously wrong. She is now back home with strict instructions not to do anything for a couple of days then take it easy for a week.

It's quite remarkable that you can enter a hospital in the morning, have a heart op with general anaesthetic by lunchtime, then come home in the evening.

Steve

Great news! It's brightened up a somewhat miserable day up here in the North.

Wishing her the best.