Can it get more depressing? Well my heart goes out to the people of Whaley Bridge as the dam threatens their small town. The infrastructure of the dam is 19th century, so perhaps was not unexpected given that nature has become more fierce. As the Yorkshire Dales will no doubt recover, perhaps Yorkshire Day was an unfortunate time to be held. But no troubles, the tourists are flocking to Britain, Chinese especially, and Japanese, though getting no further than the city of York. There is a new word 'staycation' which means people who stay in their own country for holidays. A friend came the other day who is doing three home holidays this year, she takes the train to Glasgow today, then up to Oban to catch the boat that will travel round the Scottish Islands.
Well less depressing, the conservatives have only one majority in government, 'luckily' they are all going off on holiday for I believe 6 weeks, so will not have to worry. Oops perhaps they should we leave Europe on October 31st! Especially as there has also been a Liberal win in Wales....
Well the garden bed of roses has gone white, snapdragons, cosmos and the shasta daisies give that effect, but I have no planting for autumn, which must be addressed. Next year it will be a wild display of dahlias, perhaps the cactus type.
Butterflies of the coloured types have decorated the buddleia shrubs, a frog sitting quietly under the milk basket on the front doorstep and a little mouse in the recycling box. Also last night the sound of an owl, and I hoped that my mouse was not its dinner. Insects galore in the garden, the hover wasp is grateful for the two plantings of fennel.
It must be very scary for those folk who have had to abandon their homes (and I am guessing, those who are resolutely staying put too). That dam may not hold if there is another torrential downpour on Sunday, and the results don't bear thinking about. Tam and I did a walk to Bradfield near Sheffield once, site of the Great Flood of 1864 when the Dale Dyke Dam collapsed, killing 240 people, and destroying 5,000 homes and businesses. It happened at night, when everyone was asleep, so casualties were higher because of this.
ReplyDeleteI had a Painted Lady butterfly visit my Teasel today, and she was feeding half the afternoon there. Later on I spotted a black and silvery-white bumble bee which wasn't very co-operative for photos - turns out it was a Bombus bohemicus (a Gypsy's Cuckoo bummblebee). Never ever heard of one of those before, so a privilege to have it visit my patch.
Hoping that Paul might be home this weekend.
Paul is home now Jennie, drinking a lot of milk and getting through protein drinks. He is very happy to be home as well.
DeleteI really feel for those people living with the knowledge that their homes may disappear. The lady clutching her tortoise in a washing bowl with two dogs in the car brings it home. I saw your bumble bee on F/B sounds very unusual.
So frightening for all those poor people. Lovely details from your garden. Thank you. My raspberries are alive with bees and wasps, so I have to watch carefully when I'm picking the berries.
ReplyDeleteArilx
We are being told to love wasps Aril, they tried to enter our house through the side door last year but I kept them at bay, just found a small wasp nest in the gas meter box next to the door which would account for them.
DeleteI like wasps!
DeleteArilx
It is surprising how quickly my garden is beginning to recover from the floods - shasta daisies and cosmos have carried on flowering, as have the antirrhinums.
ReplyDeleteI love the 'featheriness' of cosmos, such a delicate flower. There are now big brown slugs moving round the garden enjoying the rain.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how we seem to live our lives with feet planted in two different camps. One foot is in our everyday lives - our gardens, our meals, our family members and friends. The other foot is in the external world - of Brexit and by-elections, global warming and American politics.
ReplyDeleteI put it down to the radio news, who talk of nothing but bad things. I love the radio, especially 'sounds' and their drama stories which I listen to whilst weaving.
ReplyDeleteMy other camp is calm and always needing attention, the garden and house of course. Then there is Paul, seeing that he is eating enough. Perhaps lives can be constrained into a small circle.
Jan Morris once wrote that you could read in one square metre of land the whole history of Wales, our lives are similar.