beer is good for you & one less black Rabbit

This initiative which is covered all over the media today targets GP's to spot and treat cancer earlier  great idea if they can cope with the extra work after recent reports about surgeries closing because of overworked doctors taking early retirement - - -

 10 scientific reasons why drinking beer is good for you - - - sound advice - - -

Amazing video of of a cat using up 8.99 of its 9 lives

Intending to do a few jobs in the morning yesterday then take cover from the expected rain and insert a few pics in the book i modified the drainage system on Boris's carport.  The system had been "none functioning" since we built the adjoining one in the winter and just pooled behind Boris.  the previous system just drained to a dustbin which then, via a hosepipe on the ground fed it away to the drain by our kitchen window.  

This was always suspect because the pipe could get moved and inevitably as it did every winter when it froze with vehicles driving over it it cracked and needed replacing. 

It struck me that i could funnel the water back to an underground drain we put in when we had the washing machine in the shed years ago.  We still use the drain to get rid of pond overflow so i knew it was working 

with an old plastic plumbing elbow joint and lashings of fernox ls-x leak sealant the job was done and tested as the heavens opened for a short while. It might overflow if there's a real downpour but hey its only water! 

Flushed (NPI) with this success i completed a similar job on the old wood shed roof which allowed us to get rid of the dustbin the water used to collect in and gives us a little more room. 

The wet weather predicted didnt appear so we idled the afternoon away chatting in the garden about future projects and the book work was abandoned - - - THURSDAY! do it THURSDAY!!! 

Sally has often mentioned seeing a black rabbit when she does her early morning walk and in the past i have also seen them.  LM however has ideas of reducing the black rabbit population!! Around midnight i awoke to the familiar strains of him announcing he has something to show me.  In the darkness i imagined the pathetic black bundle to be a blackbird and hoped for its and our sake it was already dead.  Switching on the light to investigate it was plain to see that it was a small black rabbit! - - - I returned to bed while LM devoured it noisily and cleared up the, "remains" this morning, the carpet needs cleaning again!  - - - the landing carpet is the only one we have in the house but it must have been cleaned to within an inch of its life several times - - -  

 weather data transfer not playing this morning current Temp is 9.6c

 stunning sky on the weathercam with a sunny day forecast

Gerrroff! me sunflower seeds! 

Enjoy the day 

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Greece on the brink & a book day methinks today

The story on the Express is of a possible airlift of British tourists back from Greek Holidays if the country drops out of the Euro Currency! - - - Andy Murray's wife appears on the front page after his straight sets win over the big server Anderson at the Queens Club yesterday, only a week now until Wimbledon begins 

4 days after Wimbledon begins the Tour de France starts to roll - - - there could be some serious TV watching in July then! - - - 

after last months heatwave in India where over 2000 deaths were reported there is a similar situation in Pakistan  the death toll stands at 120 so far - - -

The weather here yesterday was a blustery sunny cloudy affair.  The wind, coming mainly from the North West climbed up and down the Beaufort scale most of the day. 

 we decided early on to walk around the Magpie Mine an old lead mine site near the village of Sheldon high up on the dales 

looking into the howling wind up there we can see various shades of grey clouds scudding towards us 

 at last we reach the point where we are walking with the sometimes chilly wind behind us 

 close up to the buildings now and grey clouds are approaching fast 

 there's a brief respite and a clear sky patch as we leave the mine building area 

 we feel a few spots of rain and looking into the wind the rain clouds look to be gathering 

 Sally points out this quintessential "old fashioned meadow" which is brimming with all manner of wild flowers  

by the time we are on the edge of Sheldon village the scene is one of fluffy white clouds as we look back towards the mine.  

before watching the final at Queens i determine to paint the kitchen window frames and that's another normally "July job" done. i do discover just a little damp wood on the lower sill so maybe that can be sorted in July. 

The sky terrace in the garden beckons late in the afternoon after watching Murry win at Queens but the advancing clouds and cooling wind soon drive us back indoors 

 not a bad Temp stat and at least yesterdays wind seems to have departed after 1mm or so of overnight rain 

the grey weathercam pic and a forecast of afternoon rain make me think it might be a book day! - - -

just spotted this Blackbird and great tit on the feeders

then a couple of seconds later this lesser spotted woodpecker - - -

Enjoy the day 

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Exhausted doctors & Solstice revellers

The story behind the headline paints  a picture of exhausted doctors closing 1 in 5 surgeries in the last 5 years! A happier note is the red devil team members lucky escape when they became entangled in mid air - - -

its the Summer Solstice today and taking this early morning pic from the top of the garden i could hear the Solstice revellers celebrating the rising of the sun at the nine ladies stone circle - - - hey ho all downhill until Christmas now! 

the resident squirrel is not giving up on the new peanut feeder, i just missed its latest gymnastic attempt to gain access to it via the extra netting around the base - - - 

With the not of bad weather of yesterday we completed a couple of what would normally be July maintenance jobs on the exterior of the house.  The leaky gutter joint, second time this has happened, turned out to be a separation of the guttering from the joint.  I cant imagine how this happens as i need to hit the end cap on the guttering to put it back into place.  At the same time, using the borrowed ladders, i replaced a bit of putty which had come away from a wooden window frame above the porch roof and gave it a lick of paint. 

Spurred on by this enthusiastic approach i painted the porch and front door woodwork noticing that the Southern side panel is in need of replacing, definitely a job for July.  With just a little rain falling i quickly replaced a leaking gutter downpipe on the kitchen roof drainage system before abandoning the days work and watching Andy Murray's game at the Queens Club tournament follow in a similar vein a few minutes later - - - 

warm stats already although the wind speed must have been a bit of a gust because stuff is hardly moving out there now. 

nice looking sky on the weathercam with the weather people hedging their bets by saying there is a 5% chance of rain for most of the day 

Enjoy the day 

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Growing furniture! & a little logging

There appears to be some substance to the Express headline of Big Breakthrough about type 1 diabetes.  Even scientists are convinced that a jab used in the treatment of Tuberculosis can reverse the effects of type 1 diabetes - - - 

a bloke somewhere in Derbyshire is growing furniture ! A business from a childhood vision is it would appear flourishing. Pre orders for his first harvest of furniture next year have sold out and people from around the world have expressed interest in replicating the business venture - - - 

A climate change phenomenon makes thousands of tiny crabs cover a beach in Southern California after warmer than normal ocean currents carried them closer to shore than normal.  A university of California official said "This is a warm water indicator, whether its related to El Nino or other oceanographic conditions is not certain" (!)   - - -

Although there was some chance of rain yesterday i ventured forth to do a little logging.  The sky was heavy with grey clouds to start with but by the time i finished it was glorious sunshine all the way. The final gangly bits of tree prove as usual to be difficult to fell having grown into and around a dry stone wall 

 patience is however rewarded with only one slight touch to a stone with the chainsaw blade which then needs sharpening.  

 picking up some wood for my Number 1 daughter (the elder) from one of our covered piles Bertie, one of Lisa's pet sheep comes to lend a hand.  He's really only interested in the ginger biscuits i feed him and Napkin when i'm trying to get in and out of the fields with Boris 

 On my way driving out of the fields  Lisa feeds Bertie and Napkin the biscuits to keep their attention off the open gate.  A renegade sheep, at left, joins in the scrum! - - -

 14c! already this morning! Sally just returned from her morning stroll and pronounced it "Very warm!"

full cloud cover on the weathercam and there's a small chance of some rain this morning according to the weather bods 

Enjoy the day 

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Giant Jelly fish invasion! & squirrel capers on the feeder

Another migrant/asylum crisis is threatening according to the headline this morning with suggestions that cash strapped Italy and Greece are letting migrants and asylum seekers in to transit further into the EU, in effect becoming the gateway to flood Europe while this story links Macedonia with  people smuggling where migrants are sold bikes because they are banned from public transport.  The migrants then avoid neighbouring Greece where jobs and "benefits" are low and head off deeper into the EU and inevitably i suppose to the UK - - -

no doubt the weather will have something to do with the Giant Jellyfish washed up on a beach in Wales and Devon this Metro story also covers the invasion of the Barrel  jellyfish - - - 

Unsurprising really that online reviews of articles and services are reported in this story to contain  at least 20~% that are bogus.  When hitting the "reviews" button on sales in particular its always best to hit the 1 star button reviews first! - - - 

 quite a warm Temp stat this morning 

 the weathercam pic though shows a heavily clouded sky, the weathermen are predicting only a 5% chance of rain, lets hope they are correct  

I managed to have a go at inserting pics into my book again yesterday but i must now admit there's no way i will be able to put them all in as i first envisaged, the book will turn out to be just too large.  I'll just put in the relevant ones to the text and might come up with a huge great "picture book" at some other juncture! - - - 

 one of the resident squirrels can be seen clearing whats left of the Robin mix from the tray earlier

while its attempts to break into the much modified peanut feeder are thwarted by me putting extra wire netting around the base of it.  No doubt he will triumph in the end! - - -

Enjoy the day 

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200 years since the Battle of Waterloo & a bit of weeding today

Cancer risk from sleeping pills is front page news this morning and suggests anyone using sleeping pills more than twice a week is two and a half times more likely to develop cancer of the airways - - - 

200 years since the battle of Waterloo today, a tad different than the present conflicts around the world great stories about the battle abound in the media - - - 

 the earlier breeze appears to have dropped a little and the Temp. is almost in double figures 

the weathercam pic looks pretty good and forecasters are not indicating any rain today, good day to rid the garden of a few weeds methinks

Enjoy the day 

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Lottery rip off & some garden pics

The Express highlights the new rules that Camelot are introducing to the Lotto game.  Condemnation from all sides as the odds against winning dwindle - - - 

Closer to home, 

I managed a couple of hours logging yesterday and it was quite pleasant to get back to sawing up felled trees rather than the monotonous task of making firewood out of piles of branches from last years work.  I'll operate that way from now on and once i clear away a few small stragglers form last year its on to the "big boys" 

In the afternoon i replaced the round, ball type peanut feeder 

 after refurbishing the old one which the squirrel had managed to damage.  The round one had holes big enough for the squirrel and the larger birds to take completer nuts out so hopefully they will last a bit longer in the cylindrical feeder. 

I spent quite some time in the garden watering in the afternoon and decided to snap some pics to capture the growing number of blooms we have 

 the foxgloves are really "reaching for the sky" this year 

 after considering digging up the old ornamental ?whatever it is? its now pushing out branches all over the place.  We are hoping for some blossom next spring 

 the roses on the southern pergola are great and the fragrance is very nice 

 Henry the heron looks down the garden and and the wisteria will need cutting back soon 

 the Azalia is past its best but the pot of Lupins has some splendid blooms.  We always claim not to be able to grow Lupins but the seeds from this variety are appearing all over the garden 

 the laurels are doing well and in some places are higher than the hideous neighbours fence

 we are trying to create a hedge from these seedlings which have just grown from falling seeds 

 the previously "bloomless" Irises are giving a dazzling display 

 lupins and foxgloves abound 

and heres a view of the garden from the bottom bed where we intend to put some roses this Autumn 

LM brought in this full sized rabbit last night then decided not to eat it ! - - - reviewing the security camera footage of him getting it through the cat flap was interesting! - - -

very warm Temp stat this morning already

the weathercam shows us a grey sky and the weathermen are predicting rain soon

Enjoy the day 

Follow this link to see  our weather website

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