Today.

[Renton]

Much as we would like to wipe them out it reminded me of this story I heard the other day on a youtube short

In the early 1950s, there was an outbreak of a serious disease called malaria among the Dayak people in Borneo. The World Health Organization tried to solve the problem. They sprayed large amounts of a chemical called DDT to kill the mosquitoes that carried the malaria. The mosquitoes died and there was less malaria. That was good. However, there were side effects. One of the first effects was that the roofs of people's houses began to fall down on their heads. It turned out that the DDT was also killing a parasitic wasp that ate thatch-eating caterpillars. Without the wasps to eat them, there were more and more thatch-eating caterpillars. Worse than that, the insects that died from being poisoned by DDT were eaten by gecko lizards, which were then eaten by cats. The cats started to die, the rats flourished, and the people were threatened by outbreaks of two new serious diseases carried by the rats, sylvatic plague and typhus. To cope with these problems, which it had itself created, the World Health Organization had to parachute live cats into Borneo.

 

[Saint-Just]

Yes. It’s called the food chain. Break it at your peril.
Ticks are still a pest.

 

[MaC]

Over thirty years ago I was given a very old spinning wheel. It's a Saxony wheel, it's one of those produced by local artisans for the Scottish Spinning Schools....that was away back in 1746/7

Three times within living memory armies of Highlanders had come crashing down through the lowlands, which were on the cusp of Industrialisation, that whole enlightenment, and had had enough of the threat and trouble of them.
In the aftermath of the 1745 uprising, the government's stated intent was to turn the Highlands more prosperous, industrious and lowland like, and to do that they had to break the reliance on man renders....give your time and effort to your landlord (clan chief), and thus loyalty, etc.....and they did that by introducing cash into an economy where cash was not the usual transaction. Offered the chance to have money though, the landlords took it, and often just went south to hobnob.

Anyway, women who could could spin flax were paid cash.....but spinning on a drop spindle is slow going, so using the already set up Schools for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge (Scots of all ilks really did like their education!) they brought in teachers and spinning wheels, and if the women and girls were hard working they were given their wheels....and importantly the Clock Reels....those measure the length of the spun yarn, you only get paid for the yarn you've spun, and they let the tax man (tacks....chains of ponies carrying loads) check the quality of the yarn too.
The wheel I have was used on Skye and nearly 2,000 women were taught to spin on it.

It is still a lovely wheel to use, it wants to spin It's mostly oak, but the distaff is applewood,

But when I first got it, it had had woodworm on one leg, and the man who repaired it had used an organophosphate treatment on the timber....and every time I touched that wheel my hands broke out in the most horrendous wet seeping rash.

It took my husband three weeks to scrub and re-scrub and clean that wheel so I can use it.

When I was little, we played in the heather and the bracken and I never, ever, not even once, got a tick. They were pretty much unknown. I got one as a teenager up Loch Aweside, on the inside of my forearm, and it was such a novelty that everybody had to have a look.
That was the sum total of my knowledge of ticks....until organophosphate dipping of sheep was banned, and at the same time deer numbers increased.
Suddenly there was an explosion of ticks, keds, weird biting flies, etc., and it can be miserable just being out for a walk. I have friends whose lives have been utterly ruined by Lymes disease, something pretty much unknown until fairly recently.

Damned if we do, damned if we don't, on the insecticides.

 

[Quarterstaff]

I used to see at least one roe a day, not so much in the last year or so, only 1 this year! The RSPB culling seems to be a bloody slaughter. I’m wondering if I’ll see a downturn in the ticks?

Circa 5,000 years ago Otzie was in the Lyme gang!

 

[Greg]

The warmer summers and milder winters contribute the to growing tick numbers. Not something I ever thought about until I got bitten by one in 2017.

 

[GeoffW]

I used to see at least one roe a day, not so much in the last year or so, only 1 this year! The RSPB culling seems to be a bloody slaughter. I’m wondering if I’ll see a downturn in the ticks?

Circa 5,000 years ago Otzie was in the Lyme gang!

Yes, the RSPB have a lot of ground from United Utilities up here in the peaks
Apparently, between them they employed a stalker to cull the roe deer on their patch.
I used to see them frequently on my walks, but not seen any for months

 

[ElThomsono]

Another busy but unproductive day. I'd been to the shopping centre, some dozy bastard at the front of the queue missed the traffic lights (probably texting) so only a couple of cars got through and I had to wait for another stage. Got to Sainsbury's and picked up a few wee miniature wines for Laura's birthday, checkout lady tells me contactless is down company wide today, they didn't think to have someone on the door saying that. Driving home I'm behind an old duffer who pulls out on a car then gets so flustered he misses two actual solid openings to go, and then when I get back home I wait at a junction as there's a car coming and at the last second he indicates and leaves the road, with a dozy expression as if to say "lol, what am I like?". Honestly having to share the road with these absolute goobers.

Bit of work on plastering and woodwork, still haven't sorted the conservatory. Laura got home with the kids and I went for a nap, just as I'd dozed off she came in and asked me to watch them as she had a bath. Now it's back to my mother-in-law's house for the evening and I can feel my back tightening from sleeping on a mattress made from the contents of a scrap yard. She's back late Sunday so I'll likely sleep here for that night too.

Our house looks like a bomb's hit it from Laura having to look after the kids solo and not having a chance to tidy, but at least I've got the light switches screwed back into the wall and not projecting on the wires, it's the small things like that that make a difference.

Got to pick up some cheap plywood on Monday, there's a guy on Gumtree selling 18mm sheets for £35, those are 2018 prices, normally it's £55. Not had the Landy out for a few weeks and I've no idea how much fuel is in it, we'll find out then.

Where has the day gone?

 

[5teep]

Start of a weeks holiday and my next big project, pulling out the bath and installing a walk in shower.
I found the floor boards under the bath rotted :( it was tight up against a wall and it seems the seal wasn't that great so many years of condensation have made a real mess underneath. Still, I'm glad I looked as it needs fixing and better now than finding myself in the kitchen sitting in the bath instead of the bathroom
Also the original plumbers were lazy arseholes and ran the water pipes above the floorboards directly under the bath so I have to reroute them.

 

[Stew]

I just spent the day chopping another few big chunks off the conifer tree in the back garden and splitting it all up to season. It’s been a few metres every six months or so. I think I can get away with taking the rest out on the next go.

 

[Templogin]

Carrying on with the stove project I went to the other half's place, set up the Workmate laid out the tools and materials needed, borrowed her battery drill and discovered that the chuck is too small for the arbour bit holder. Bugger! Pack everything away and await my battery drill arriving, which has a sufficiently sized chuck that should do the job.

 

[noddy]

To shake off a little hangover, I went for a few hours bike ride down by the river. Warmer than I planned for clothes wise, so I opted for a rucksack. I took the Hyperlite day pack. I'd forgotten how light and comfortable it is, how much it can carry (so flexibly) and, well, just how companionable it is.

 

[MaC]

Had a lazy day. It was wet and not terribly much fun to be outside.

I have a new booknook to build up, so I spent a few peaceful hours with glue and sandpaper and it's kind off fun

It's this one I bought from Temu....half the price of the same one on Amazon here.

 

[Winnet]

Woke at 8 this morning and received a text from a friend about going for a walk at 9. Managed to walk 3 miles without any complaints from my foot. Looks like I can try a short run to see how it goes. That is 3 weeks since I had the operation so I'm happy with my progress. I have the Lakeland 50 ultra at the end of July so need to get back to training.

A quiet afternoon going through stuff in one of the cupboards and throwing stuff out. We had food in there with a Use by date of July 2017.

G

 

[MaC]

It's dry for the present, so I've been pottering outside. I've been weeding.
Today's haul of sycamore seedlings is 57.
That makes this week's count 385.

.....I live under trees, the willows are next, then it'll be the oaks and the elders.
The silver birch come up like grass.

Folks say don't kill trees...well, I wouldn't get out the front door in a year if I left them. Any ground around here that's not actively cut or weeded grows a forest.

 

[MaC]

A plate and a fork.
Peel a banana and mash it on the plate using the fork. Add two heaped pudding spoonsful of dark brown sugar. Mash together.

In a bowl put (well, whatever kind of flour you like, I used spelt and oat flours mixed this morning...aiming for almost gluten free for Son2 but not the beany windy stuff of the commercial G/F flours that give Himself grief) a good mug and a half of flour, add a scant teaspoonful of salt, and two scant level teaspoonsful of baking powder and a very scant teaspoonful of ground mixed spice.
Blend together, then add two walnut sized lumps of butter. Rub into to make a coarse breadcrumb like mixture.

Turn the oven on to c200C....mine's dodgy, your's might be fine at 180, especially if it's a fan oven.

Crack an egg and add it to the flour mix, scrape the banana mixture off the plate into the mix too. Stir really well.

Grease a baking tray and using two spoons, (one to lift up a scoopful of dough, and one to scrape it off onto the tray) dollop out about ten wee buns. They don't really spread much, they rise gently. Think rock cakes rather than tidy scones.

I gently patted them down a little, but that was it. Baked for about quarter of an hour.

They don't rise an awful lot with oat and spelt flour, but they rose enough that they were light and airy despite being oat and wholemeal spelt.

There are three left of the eleven buns I made....and they only came out of the oven twenty minutes ago.

I think that worked
Sort of banana rock cakes.

I think they'd be nice with a wee shake of golden castor or demerara sugar on top just pressed on enough to stick before they're baked.

 

[Winnet]

Will give that a try

G

 

[5teep]

Dammit I just ate my last banana (

 

[Beachlover]

Prepared and distributed a “second communion” in the hall after Mass today. Finally and after nearly thirty years, the Church has discerned a fitting role for me.

 

[Saint-Just]

Prepared and distributed a “second communion” in the hall after Mass today. Finally and after nearly thirty years, the Church has discerned a fitting role for me.

View attachment 1893

 

[Renton]

Finally got the shelf brackets painted yesterday between rain showers so fitted this afternoon.


Some slight paint touch-ups needed and fitting the shelves was more awkward than hoped, not sure if it was the brackets twisting on uneven walls or just the brackets being slightly twisted!
Ah well one day i might be able to have a workshop space and some sort of fixture table rather than welding on flimsy saw horses.

 

[ElThomsono]

Nice!

 

[noddy]

That'll do

 

[Saint-Just]

My daughter was in London yesterday for a friend's birthday, with a group of others. They did the National History museum, went to an Italian restaurant for lunch, then Carnaby Street and an Irish pub, where she had her first (and second, and possibly third) Guinness. They still made it back on time to St Pancras to catch the train and the school minibus.
A Guinness on St Patrick's day! I am so proud

 

[ElThomsono]

I'm back in my own house tonight, thankfully. Earlier on today I took a trip up the road to buy some cheap 18mm plywood, £35 a sheet for exactly the same stuff the builder's merchants were charging £55 for, I had the Landy up to 50 mph on the way up and it seemed fine?

In the meantime, Saff has started giving us gyp at bedtime, not settling, wailing for all sorts of stuff, asking for her door to be left open them getting out of her room. Honestly it's the last thing you need after a long day.

I'm quite looking forward to waking up in my own bed, having a shower and just going into the office in the normal manner.

 

[Winnet]

In the meantime, Saff has started giving us gyp at bedtime, not settling, wailing for all sorts of stuff, asking for her door to be left open them getting out of her room. Honestly it's the last thing you need after a long day.

Enjoy it whilst it lasts. It will soon get to the point where she slams the doors shut, hides away all the time and you won't be able to move her.

G