NOVEMBER SURPRISE

Your autumn trough is very attractive Ba - good work:) I saw some amazing Pieris in New Zealand: they grow so well there that they are even used as hedges!

I think it looks great, much more in keeping with the autumn, all those lovely blended colours.
I had a very nice Heuchera in a pot which started to wilt and die. When I dug it up it had all the roots eaten off by those delightful little white grubs! I disposed of those (fed them to the peacocks, who were extremely pleased) and stuffed all the tiny little sprigs into a segmented tray of compost which was standing about. I now have about 12 new plants growing on nicely. So.. next year perhaps I will plant up a trough just like yours with my extra Heuchera!

I'm feeling that awful slide down into Winter too Ba, lack of light and murky days, another month and we'll be passed the shortest day....:)). I like what you've done with your trough, those rich velvety, winter colours against the white are beautiful, I love it!

Looks lovely BA, the leaves on the cyclamen are very attractive :))

Lovely Ba... I've missed you on here, I can always rely on you for cheering me up.No more 'incidents' to write about.Don't let Autumn/winter get you down, it'll be spring before you know it!!!:-)))))))))

I love that cyclamen. Gorgeous. And the euphorbia as well. Good to see you here again.

Hi ba ... lots of shrubs flowering late this year ... nice to have the variegated leaves too ..

Hi Sheila, they must have been quite a sight. This Pink Beauty is fabulous in the spring when in full flower .....ah spring ...:-)

Heucheras certainly regenerate easily Honey except those with heuchera rust. I didn't even know it existed until a few years ago when I lost quite a lot of pretty ones. it's almost as though those vine weevil grubs did you a favour isn't it? Twelve new plants! :-)

Thanks Janey, only another month eh? See, that's the sort of positive thinking I need:-) It is horrible though isn't it? I can't believe I used to love the autumn when I was younger:-))

Thanks Jane, they are lovely aren't they and contrast beautifully with those fuchsia pink flowers :-)

Gralew ..... You're relying on me to cheer you up? .... I did have a slight incident in a delightful little tea shop in Ludlow, where I had gone with friends to the Food Festival. When the waitrose arrived for our order, I said in my best voice (which I reserve for tea shops) " do you have a red bush? " at which my friends collapsed in laughter. I don't drink caffeine anymore. I'm also trying to master this Lenova tablet, which I'm using as my PC has been attacked and is now virtually useless, and much to my amazement, your name has turned into grapes!!?? Good job I checked or I'd have looked like a mad woman muttering grapes for no apparent reason:-D

Thanks Klahanie, I don't suppose you have the the dirty, dark, murky, damp Autumn problem ... Not that I'm moaning or jealous lol:-)

Hi Terra, are you an Autumn hater or lover? Your lovely poem in your last blog didn't seem to indicate the former:-)

I knew you'd make me smile!!A Lenova tablet eh!I've just spent the last 30mins looking at one.....how about that for coincidence....I was looking at the Yoga(not the exercise, Oh No!)but if I'm going to turn into Grapes.......Let me know which one you've got and if you're pleased with it.:-)

Hi ba ... autumn is the worst season for me ...
glad you like my poem ... my eyes struggle these days so I don't write much text any more !

Mines the Yoga 8, there's nothing wrong with it, in fact I'm rather pleased with it. it's just its owner, bit of a technophobe. I find it quite easy to use, but in hindsight, I would buy the 10 for the larger screen. The yoga 8 cost £119 from Argos, bit cheaper than the 10. Me and my economies! :-(

Such a shame Terra, there are specially adapted PC screens, have you thought of contacting RNIB? You don't have to be blind, just struggling, to get help and advise. My son is registered blind and can't use computers, but I know of one partially sighted man who finds he is now able to use his computer again with adaptations:-)

Hi ba ...
it is mostly the small print ... and solid blocks of text ... with which I struggle ...
easier to see in the morning than in the evening when my eyes are more tired !

I have been thinking about you and am so glad that you are 'here' again! x

I will cheer you up.....it is much better at the moment than it will be after Christmas, for me January is the worst month of all and lasts for ever!!! There that was cheering wasn't it?!!!
I love your clematis and it made a special late appearance just for you.

Hi Chris, thanks for cheering me up lol. At least January is lighter and if there is snow, it's brighter too ....and Spring is just around the corner .... and I bet you'll be off gallivanting again, basking in the warmth of the sun in foreign lands:-)

Hello my friend !:o) U thought you had sailed off with Captain Johnjoe,and ended up in the Bermuda Triangle! Lol.Lovely to hear from you again..Your trough looks lovely and the white sets it off a treat..We will endeavour to keep you smiling throughout the next few months,but you have to do the same in return ! xxxx

Ay up Sandra I'll give it a go :-) How to get through the dirty damp Autumn hmmm ...... I have an idea .... We could all follow Chris to far off shores ... What a lovely surprise it would be for her. When she's taking her lovely pics of rocks and trees and beautiful things ...... We could photo bomb her. How happy she would be as we all pop out from behind things and make her pics even more beautiful :-)))))

You have the best ideas,Ba.not sure about the beauty of photo bombing would appeal to Chris..maybe if it was just you :o) It just depends where she is going next..if it's Morecambe,I'm not coming ! Lol xxx

If only you were correct Ba!! Sadly there are no foreign shores for us in the middle of winter - younger son is getting married in July so that has to come before my love of sunny places!!
Mind you we are going to Portugal in March but that doesn't really count. It would be nice to see you there too, and Sandra of course!!

Mmm,that sounds nice,Chris..Didn't you go there last spring?..or maybe it was Cyprus...either would be good :o) x

Hi B/a I am surprised that you let Autumn get you down. I love all seasons. I will put the wellows on take a trip down to one of the local parks, my favourite is St Annes Park at this time of the year when all the leaves have fallen with the lovely colour of browns and gold and the sun flickering through the branches onto the browns and gold leafs and the shadows of the branches laying across the leaves as if it was holding them down is just magic. December January February we will start to see the buds appearing on the trees, and if it snows again my favourites park St Annes turns into wonderland

Last Thursday was like a good spring day I did decide to go over to bull Island, which is a lovely sandy beech just across the road from St Annes park as the tide was in and the sea looked so calm and colour blue and waves about 10" high I decided to go and get my 70s swimming trunks yellow with a blue strip. O' god they where they high. After I had my swim which lasted about 30 sec I was like a blueberry. So after the swim with my friends Peter and Michael and cup of coffee from Michaels flask. B/A that is how you enjoy Autumn. By the way don't tell Bloomer about the sailing trip to Bermuda Triangle you know what she is like for keeping secrets. Lol

What a fashion icon you are,Captain Blueberry..in your 70's style swimming trunks ! Lol..not to mention you must be borderline mad as well,to go sea swimming ! you did well to get back ok from the Bermuda Triangle..I don't think anyone else has,as far as I know..I know Ba wouldn't have joined you on the trip,being a sensible lady A Boating Lake..maybe :o)

Bloomer, you have to let your hair down sometimes? you have to be a little bit mad, or life would be so boring. Having gone on the Bermuda trip yet? Orders from the boss not to say anything about it yet, and if we do go it will be a 70's style trip.

Well,you knew I couldn't keep a secret,so you shouldn't have told me..Lol..My hair is too short to let it down,Captain Blueberry,but if it's going to be a 70's style
trip...yikes! does that mean,.(.if I'm invited by the boss,of course..) I might have to have to revert to the hairstyle of that era ?...OH No..not the frizzy curly perm..Aka Afro ???
I would rather be thrown overboard ! Lol

Now miss Aka Afro. I am not saying the trip is on or off I just don't know? If the boss does invite you. Do have your 70's swim suit with you and flowery swim hat to keep the frizzy Afro curly in. If she gets it into her head she could make all the ladies get the Aka Afro,,,and the men get the bebob. If that was the case I would also throw myself overboard.Lol

Come on,boss ,where are you? We are awaiting your decision ! are we going,or aren't we? mmm,I will have to give the 70's swimming gear some thought.,Captain B...I could still get into it,as I'm the same weight,but the Ordnance survey map may have to be redesigned a bit :o) No swimming cap I'm afraid..but I wouldn't need one with an Afro hair style..ideal instead of a net to catch supper..once entrapped,,no way out ! Lol..What benefits would your bebob hairstyle contribute ? :o)

Nothing at all, Miss Afro, you just have to keep the boss happy, or be giving an early dip...

Ba, that's a very impressive Euphorbia ... cannot get them to thrive in my garden. Lovely Cyclamen in the trough. I've just planted a dozen, in mixed shades of pink and red, in a window box at Mums ... should keep her smiling on a dull day! :o)

They are lovely at this time of year aren't they Shirley, I'm sure your mum will will be cheered by the sight:-))

Now, to you mad people ..... If, and I mean if ....we are setting off again .... we must all consider the P.C connotations as we are in the twenty first century. As you will know, women's lib was in its infancy then, men had all the say. What I suggest is that all the male crew, yes Captain Blueberry I mean you, wear the minis and those extremely wide leg pants (which I'm told were worn in that era and I'm obviously too young to know) and any other contraptions that poor women had to hobble around in. If you are a little self conscious about it, you will be allowed to wear that delightful little example of 70's style with the yellow and blue stripes underneath. Now I'm open to suggestion as to what we ladies will wear, but I think first mate Bloomer's idea of the afro was spot on. B.A.Fashions luckily has a huge variety of afro wigs in stock so no need to go to the trouble of growing your hair and perming it .... simples. Any more ideas welcome. Oh, before I forget, was it the droopy mussy that was all the rage then? :-))

Have you all jumped ship? Is it because of the afros? They're very reasonably priced, honest O:-)