Weather 2008

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Göte,
Isn't wildlife a blessing ? 

[Paul T]

You're not wrong about gardening in a zoo.  Wow!!  It sounds so exotic that you have Lynx sometimes visiting your garden, and Moose, and badgers, beavers, wild boar, Pine marten etc.  Then again seeing the damage they do maybe it is better that they're all the way over there in your garden and not here.    I don't mean to be selfish, but in this case I can probably live with myself.  That is some list of critters attacking everything. 

[Lesley Cox]

Gote, I'm printing your post and pinning it on the wall in my potting shed, to remind me not to moan about ANYTHING!!!

Having said that, it would be great I think, to see these wild species in one's area - well, for a LITTLE time - as we have no wild animals at all, except introduced species and those only occasionally, like the possums. They're there in the trees but only now and then do a little damage in the garden. My heart goes out to you and your fellow gardeners.

[Iturraran]

Göthe,

I sympathise with you, our garden is in the middle of Pagoeta Natural Park, and we have also a loooong, varied  list of wild visitors, especially by night 

[gote]

I certainly agree that wildlife IS a wonderful thing. The cranes (Grus grus) have arrived and the whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus) halts on the neighbouring waters. Soon i will see the osprey (Pandion haliaetus), make its afternoon inspection tour over the shallow waters, However...

The deer are very nice to look at but they are too many and they are no longer shy. They further have the habit of first nibbling anything that looks differently. Crocus in a lawn, Tulips in a bed, Standard roses and so on. There are simply too few predators. This includes the genus Homo. "How can you kill Bambi you BRUTE!!".

The beaver is OK in a forest brook where it will create a dam that invites wildlife and plants of many kinds. On a lake side they are a menace that will eradicate a lot of plants that I find desirable like Sagittaria, Stratiotes, Sparaganium and Nymphaea. (It is not true that beavers have sewing machines)

A part of this is our fault. In previous centuries we killed too many deer and eradicated the wolf and nearly the other big predators. Now the deer bounce back but the predators are slow in the uptake.
Some people talk about imbalance but there is always balance in nature but never static. They really mean that the balance is not what we want it to be.
A man falling from Empire state building is in balance. Gravity, air drag and inertia are in balance. (His mental balance is something else)

Most of my plants that suffered from the extreme spring cold have recovered. the Ypsilandra flowers are, however, a permanent causality. I am undecided about the Cardiocrinums. Helleborus thibetanus is OK but H. abschasicus lost half its flowers.

Göte




   
   

[mark smyth]

I hope the rest of the UK have as nice a day as we are getting today. 19c today

[David Nicholson]

We had 19C today too. Thought about painting some shading on the greenhouse but having seen Sunday's weather forecast I'll leave it a while!

[Casalima]

Crazily up to low 30s here , but due to go back to much lower temperatures and rain next week.

Chloë

[Iturraran]

Wow Chloe, that's pretty hot!. Here nice weather at last, after some dark weeks of nonstop rain and strong winds. Today quite sunny and some pleasant 18ºC.
We need the soil to dry quickly so we can keep on with the preparatives for the plant show 

[Luc Gilgemyn]

9°C out here.... and +5°C + showers of rain/hail and wet snow....forecasted for Sunday.

The tour of Flanders cycle race classic promises to be memorable....

[Diane Clement]

A bit of weather came this way last night. 

[mark smyth]

Happy not to live in Wolverhampton today. Havent been out yet but no white stuff on the ground. Today is rescue Anenome day

[art600]

At six o'clock the cat woke me to be let out - not a sign of snow.  At nine o'clock when I resurfaced - what a difference.  And it is still snowing.  Forecast for the next 3 days is sleet.  Had hoped to tidy the garden and put in the recently acquired plants before I depart for Iran - thank goodness for the light evenings.

[mark smyth]

This weather at this time of years always makes me think of birds that already have eggs and chicks and early spring migrants. It pays not to be an early bird

[mark smyth]

Just been informed I missed the snow here.