Fathers Day card from my daughter to her allotment owning father!
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Ah, could be poison and the poison transmits into gulls, kites etc.
I would have suggested gloves ( ideally disposable ) and double bagging it for the dustbin.
I do have a small rat problem at the moment and am loathe to potentially introduce poison into the food chain .
Best wishes
Ian
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An air rifle is eco friendly
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Or a mini crossbow, only thing is cleaning the shaft after the kill
Hydrangea finally in blossom. We had a cold and and rainy season this year, yesterday still 18C, pretty low for mid June
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The roof terrace had ivy being overdue for a good trim. Just done. Yes, I also cut the antenna cable halfway Belgium - Slovakia. Repaired already to keep domestic peace.
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Iāve been utterly delighted to have this little beauty living on our roses for the past few weeksā¦a beautiful creature. I rehomed it to another rose as the original bigger rose lost all its petals. The spider seems quite happy, luckily (once I put the camera away, lol).
Pink Crab Spider
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I remember many years ago living in the U.Sā¦ā¦i did my neighbour a favour and strimmed his front yard.
Oopps
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That certainly crossed my mind as the claws (particularly hind ones were very bruised), so wondered if it was bleeding internally - either that or a respiratory infection or maybe a close encounter with a cat or gull which left it injured.
It actually looked pretty cute as it slowly wandered over that old Swingball base.
Ultimately theyāre only creatures trying to survive itās a shame they spread so much disease and can be so destructive.
Spoke to the neighbours either side - one said heād put poison out recently as something was tearing recycling bags apart. Pretty sure thatās the gulls as I saw one making a right mess of a bag a few doors away a week or so ago, and one of our needed re-bagging last week due to dozens of slits/holes.
Iād swap him for some of the likely false widows Iām finding more and more frequently.
Tiny spiders seem to have infested our clothes pegs too. Very sad destroying their webs every time we peg things out poor mites.
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Delighted with my new Stihl pole cutter - low end model, new ecosystem, but undoubtedly better than the DeWalt consumer version which shares the same pole system as their pole saw I got a few years ago which bends at every joint and feels flimsy despite the saw mechanism working fairly well.
Spent most of yesterday in the garden cooking food on the BBQ and cutting growth back.
Stupidly got on a 5-6 foot ladder to attack the willow we had cut back professionally earlier this year which has produced massive new growth.
Looked up, lost balance and fell off the ladder - how I avoided serious injury I have no idea. A bit dazed and stunned but that was it.
Getting too old for this kind of thing.
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Ouch. Iād ask you to take care Grandad, but apart from the falling off bit I have been doing similar (age 69 and half). Hope the bruising comes out quick.
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Oddly, I donāt think there will be much bruising - somehow managed to twist and land not too uncomfortably possibly as I partly landed on a packaged collapsible gazebo weāve not used for years which is probably completely trashed but Iāve not opened the ācaseā up to see!
Was aching all over last night and this morning though and was very tempted to try to take a day off work at short notice but didnāt.
Actually probably a case of being more sensible.
A glass or two of cider during the afternoon and silly footwear were quite possibly contributory 
At least I didnāt land on Mrs AC who was supporting the ladder and got a bit of sympathy for my troubles 
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Old blokes and ladders are a dangerous combination, glad youāre ok.
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Please take care , my previous neighbour planted a willow tree , and then left , itās a bloody nuisance ( apologies for language) . My current neighbour has zero money so canāt afford to have it removed and I am not spending hundreds of pounds on someone elseās property , even though I will be the beneficiary.
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Thanks Pete - I probably wouldnāt be considered that old but itās a little reminder that using ladders at any age is potentially hazardous. I thought twice about standing on a stool to change a light bulb yesterday.
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Thanks Ian
The previous owners loved their plants/shrubs and trees and probably planted things too densely.
The garden isnāt huge but big enough to be a real chore especially as Iāve always been reluctant to aggressively prune/cut back growth due to a combination of ignorance of the best techniques for unknown plants/shrubs and enjoying privacy.
Itās all become rather overgrown in recent years, so we had a tree surgeon in a few months ago as our neighbours were using him for their cherry tree. Possibly the wrong time of year for some of the work but he did in 2 mornings what would have taken me weeks to do badly these days.
The āwillowā is some kind of variegated type apparently and quite dense once the leaves set - compounded by some wisteria getting up into the branches I thought Iād cut back last year!
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GQT visited the neighbourhood today and conducted some recording on the Green. Two episodes were recorded this evening in the Church next door ā the first scheduled for airing on 5 July.
Panellists were Chris Beardshaw, Christine Walkden and Bob Flowerdew.
Profits from the ticket sales went to the local YMCA. Good midsummer evening.
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Job to do.
Wood-staining the shed using Barrettine Protective (light brown).
The tanalised wood shed is over two years old and has become very thirsty for a drink.
After this 1st coating i removed the gutter; decided to refit it with water butt at other end, and fit it better so the doors donāt rub on the underside of the gutter.
This also makes room to stain the parts the gutter obscures.
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