sign of good weather

[Rick Hughes]

Annual sign of good weather .. last weekend bricklaying, and just booked tracked digger & dumper for a weeks hire next week ..... Big Boys Toys :-)

[geoff]

Not here - the ign key snapped in half

£100 to replace it

If I hadn't had the spare, it would have been £700 for a new lock set (installed)

[Tim Lamb]

In message , Owain writes

I'm up to 14 plus 1 probable (hit on the wing). The Queens love Contoneaster blossom and we have two bushes on South facing walls. Sunset is the best time:-)

Mary will tell us they are important and loveable beasts but they insist on nesting in our eaves and frightening the window cleaners!

regards

[Jules Richardson]

Oh, well reminded - there's one in our basement which I forgot to get rid of yesterday. I've been seeing wasps for a couple of weeks over here, and bees* for maybe three.

• there's no global bee crisis, the buzzing little bastards are all just having a big party in the hedge behind our house.

cheers

Jules

[The Natural Philosopher]

They are all but absent in agricultural areas, but doing well in towns and the wilderness areas.

[damduck-egg]

Last evening and this evening there is that other feature of a warm spell. The acrid smoke and distinctive smell of cooking by those hit by a sudden desire to abandon perfectly good kitchen facilities and cremate food on a barbecue in the garden amongst the flies and wasps. Vehicles have their emissions controlled,pity these anti social show offs can't be.

G.Harman

[dennis]

That's because the farmers are hunting them down and killing them. Someone needs to tell them badgers aren't black and yellow.

[Dave Liquorice]

Yugh, agree brings back nasty memories of smoke and stench filled summer evenings in St Albans. Up here last time we smelt BBQ was during the F&M outbreak in 2001 and then is was coming from about 30 miles away...

[Tim Lamb]

In message , "dennis@home" writes

Bit of BBC news conflation yesterday... *Nicotinoid insecticides reduce the Bee's immune system* coupled with *large areas of Oilseed Rape grown*.

The point is that rape needs insects to pollinate and farmers often invite local Bee keepers to bring in hives for this purpose.

For many years, it has been a requirement for crop sprayer operators to notify a local *Bee* co-ordinator when known harmful sprays are in use.

I note the local police have taken out an order giving them powers to control trespass at the Rothamsted GM trial site.

regards

[The Medway Handyman]

Why is this group so full of Luddites?

Don't like decking, BBQ's, WD40.....

[Alan]

In message , The Medway Handyman wrote

Luddites? Surely those were only popular in the previous millennium?

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

They're not getting poisoned by Monsanto in those areas.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

All (with the exception of WD40) ersatz approximations of the real thing, and an urban disease.

[Bob Eager]

WD40 is an ersatz lubricant...

(ducks)

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

I hadn't even got around to classifying it. An expensive way of buying paraffin, for sure. My WD40 (or GC74) is a dash of motor oil in a squeezy bottle of diesel/kero mix. I've been using it for years, it's great for penetration and cooling, drilling, cutting and leaves behind some measure of lube. Shit, if I used de-ponged diesel/kero and added some perfume, I could sell it as a poncy urban all-jobs lube.

[jgharston]

Useful when you need your ersatzes lubricating ;)

JGH

[Tim Lamb]

Are your neighbours tunnelling out?:-)

regards