Heatwave! its official! & a little felling today

The ~Express plugs the current "Heatwave to last 2 weeks! which must surely be the "death knell" of our current good weather!  - - - 

 This story also warns about the heatwave and targets "vulnerable groups" about health issues as well as predicting that there maybe rail delays because of the possibility that the heat will buckle the rail lines. 

there's a rare treat in the sky tonight as Jupiter and Venus appear in the sky almost alongside each other although they are millions of miles apart 

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Having finished my Alternative Activities of the last 4 days we are off early to fell a few large trees this morning.  Sally will be using Boris who, if things go according to plan will help the trees to "not fall" onto a stock fence which is close by.  

 great views from the top of the garden earlier 

 the sun is highlighting the opposite side of the valley, nice and cool in the garden at this time 

here's a view from alongside the birdfeeders 

 warming up already with a near 13c 

 crystal clear sky on the weathercam 

as Mr Blackbird enjoys his breakfast 

Enjoy the day 

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Or this one just to see  Live webcam - - Birdfeeders

Tunisian beach death toll rises & Tree felling on the horizon

In the wake of the Tunisian beach killings the British death toll is reportedly now 30 and the paper reports that a top military official has reportedly said the SAS should be used to "crush the "Jihadis".  The underlying "quotes" suggest that an on the ground response is required and that it should be "brutal and harsh" 

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 another warm day in prospect with the Temp at 14.1 already

 the weathercam pic shows a partly cloudy sky and the forecast indicates there will be a high of 21c and no chance of any rain

the Euro might be on the brink in Greece but this early morning Parga  beach weather shot shows the swallows care as much as the Grecians about it ! - - -

Its the last day of my current bout "alternative activity" today so the next few days will herald a round of tree felling with the help of Sally and Boris as well as some DIY - - - oh and the book must get to the book! - - - 

Enjoy the day 

Follow this link to see  our weather website

Or this one just to see  Live webcam - - Birdfeeders

Tunisian shooting aftermath & a Heatwave warning for the UK

The express like all other media this morning is focusing on the aftermath of the Tunisian beach killings  .   38 dead of which 15 are reportedly British.  The shooter is shown in photographs wandering down the beach after the act carrying his AK47 being shouted at by locals - - - 

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 We sat in the garden yesterday around 17:30 and it was so hot we retreated under the garden brolly!  This morning the Temp is already almost 15c

a gloomy pic on the weathercam and it is spitting with rain as i scrawl.  The forecast for today is for the gloomy weather and cloud to clear gradually giving a clear sky sunset.  

Metcheck  have issued this "Heatwave Warning" which could last until next Sunday in southern part of the UK.  Looks like Wimbledon might get off to a flying start! 

Squirrel acrobatics for a few nuts just now! 

Enjoy the day 

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Or this one just to see  Live webcam - - Birdfeeders

Holiday horror & a mini ice age coming

The Tunisian killings are featured just about everywhere around the world this morning and the Express headline echo's many others.  This story from Sky News covers the Tunisian, French and Kuwait attacks in some detail - - - 

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the story is a couple of days old but in Mini Ice Age terms a blink of a frosted eye! Time to panic? well - - - not so sure the pundits say the Mini Ice Age could strike at anytime in the next 40 years - - - stock up with winter fuel now! -  --

 such a calm stunning morning as this pic shows from the top of the garden

 these Nasturtiums are not meant to be in front of the bench but it seems a shame to uproot them when they are doing so well

this rose which has a fantastic fragrance used to climb up into the apple tree but we are now getting it to go onto the pergola

 with the Temp in double figures all night i think its safe to say that summer is here - - -

the weathercam has a view of the sun bathing the other side of the valley even at this early hour (06:50) todays forecast is for a hot sunny day with a welcoming breeze this afternoon

Enjoy the day 

Follow this link to see  our weather website

Or this one just to see  Live webcam - - Birdfeeders

keep taking the pills! & touch pad problem resolved

the Express headline gives us another 10 years with a pill while while the text of the story indicates it will be 10 years before we see it - - - juxtaposition? - - - 

the pic shows water being given to passers by as the storyline says the death toll in the Pakistan heatwave exceeds 1000 - - - The government is not doing enough say some people out there? - - - 

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Its quite muggy here this morning but the weather radar shows some rain not far away 

 warm temp already 

the weathercam shows a heavily cloud laden sky, the weathermen indicate that the chance of rain will diminish slightly as the day go's on

a Jackdaw joins us for breakfast this morning 

sadly the book did not get any further yesterday i had been having a problem with the touch pad on my "book computer" which resulted in it having to be shut down to get it working which led to some "save" problems.  I spent the best part of 3 hours trying to load my ageing copy of MS office onto Sally's old Toshiba without success!  It was a problem i had encountered with another machine and succeeded but this time i was unsuccessful. - - - 

I eventually googled the touch pad problem and managed to resolve it so nothing lost - - - 

Enjoy the day 

Follow this link to see  our weather website

Or this one just to see  Live webcam - - Birdfeeders

"Normal" UK Teenager dies in Kenya & BOOK TODAY!

more migrant mumblings as the Calais situation gets worse the French say "its not our problem" but Cameron insists there should be no "finger pointing" - - - 

an incredible escape story  is revealed in this story of a plane crashing in the Colombian jungle.  A woman and her baby survived for 5 days before being found.  The wreckage of the plane was discovered on the 3rd day after the crash but the woman and baby had wandered away from it and were not found until the 5th day of the search - - - 

interesting insight into  how a "normal teenager" from UK dies in Kenya attacking an army base as second in command of an Al Shabaab unit - - - once again there are interesting "reader comments" at the foot of the story

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The weather report for yesterday was a little wide of the mark with its report of showers especially in the afternoon.  We bathed in sunshine for most of the day, so it was time once again to get a few little jobs done. 

 lunch was taken on the sky terrace before a relaxed afternoon of pottering around - -  - 

Half way through the blog this morning and i have popped out for my round robin walk 

 the foliage round my favourite river view is so thick this year!

 the ransoms are shutting down for the year 

 some cows take an early breakfast 

 and the view up the valley towards Bakewell is stunning in the early morning sun 

 this rhodi is in full bloom with Peak Tor off in the distance 

not a very good Zoom on the kodak but i can see rhodis in bloom in the centre of the pic and two groups of sheep under the trees in the meadow 

 very warm Temp stat already this morning 

the earlier clear sky has clouded over a bit and the weather bods are predicting that there might bev al ittle rain in the afternoon

BOOK TODAY! BOOK TODAY! BOOK TODAY! -----------------------

Enjoy the day 

Follow this link to see  our weather website

Or this one just to see  Live webcam - - Birdfeeders

Scots won't pay & old photo's re-discovered

Interesting story behind the text "Scots won't pay" where the SNP are intending to keep the profits from the Crown Estate in Scotland - - - 

Great story about a bloke nicked for middle lane hogging on the Motorway! - - - the comments at the bottom of the story? - - - Priceless!

Homeless man returns wallet he finds  here's one of those stories that makes you think that not all people are bad - - - maybe the homeless shelter "programme" this guy is involved with should be more widely practised - - -

We popped down to see Daughter No1 (the elder) yesterday but before the lunch break there was work to do.

the tree im attacking is a plum and i think originally it was meant to be in the Espalier mode as the wires were still there on the wall of the garage.  It had however shot up above the garage and needed to be taken down - - ah well a little more firewood for the log burner.

at lunch the girls share photo's on their phones

With Number 1's Mum passing away recently she has been sorting out her personal items and our old wedding albumn and some other photographs came to light 

13th of August 1966 on our rainy wedding day, so so long ago! 

fast forward to 1976 at our Army quarter in Hereford with Number 1 sharing the blanket with Smokey on the left and a Burmese Brown who's name escapes me.  I remembered last night that the poor Burmese had to be put to sleep over a tumour she had. 

Returning home later than usual we became embroiled in the M42 car park known as the, Variable speed limit zone.  This was a regular Friday evening activity, stuck in endless queue's, for us when we both lived in Chesterfield and worked in Remploy's Banbury Office back in the the early 2000's. Yesterday the overhead display showing 50,40 or even 60mph as we bumbled along for 40 minutes at less than a crawl sometimes. We eventually passed a single Army Defender and recovery vehicle on the hard shoulder before being able to resume normal speed. 

 not a bad Temp this morning 

the weathercam shows a blanket of high thin cloud and the weather bods are predicting that it will stay dry through the day its unlikely we will be basking in sunshine

having forgotten to feed the birds yesterday before our excursion i had better get up there and serve up breakfast!

Enjoy the day 

Follow this link to see  our weather website

Or this one just to see  Live webcam - - Birdfeeders