There's a very strange old woman staring back at me from my new bus pass card which arrived in the post this week. ED helped me with getting it when she was here last month as I kept getting stuck moving photos from one place to the online form. It won't get much use while I can still drive, we only have a couple of buses each day passing through the village. They go to all the wrong places and take three times as long as driving and I don't really enjoy bus travel anyway - did years of it in the past- but it might be handy sometime.
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I'd been waiting for this pepper to turn red. It's from the plant bought from a boot sale when my own plants were so slow to get going.
Shouldn't have waited because when I sliced into it some of the inside had gone black. No idea why - but I'll blame the weather. A little was usable and went into a quiche.
I'll bring in two others that are not quite red later today and chop them for the freezer, if they are OK inside.
My four home grown pepper plants have a few peppers on them but they're still green.
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The rain that was forecast for Mid Suffolk for the 13th has disappeared from the weather charts, now there's nothing until perhaps the 17th and the long range forecast says above average temps and below average rainfall right through until September. With the constant heat I seem to have sunk into weeks of achieving nothing much..................and I don't know how I'm going to get out of the slump- it's very worrying and feels like depression creeping in.
All I've been doing is reading, doing all sorts of different puzzles in my puzzle books, going to exercise group, occasional bits of food prep in the kitchen and shopping and too much TV again for company.
I decided......had to force myself............. to go out yesterday to Pot Fest - a celebration of potters, sculptors and their work. I went last year and enjoyed looking at all the creations. It was very hot and dusty there so I didn't stay long - photos next week.
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| Grass on the park was dry as dust |
Hope you have a good weekend, there doesn't seem to be anything interesting to go to so it will be just the boot sales for me again then.
The heat (and my lack of diligent watering) has really affected my veg crops
ReplyDeleteI've been keeping the greenhouse stuff watered and courgettes and squash but the beans all went hard and horrible and the sweetcorn didn't do anything much at all.
DeleteI'm sad that I haven't grown any veg at all this year because of the building work.
ReplyDeleteGetting out of a slump is uphill work, especially in hot weather. You deserve a pat on the back for getting out, and doing a few bits in the garden!
Always next year - it will come around quickly as usual!
DeleteI could have written your sentence about a slump and feeling as if going into depression. I’m in Dorset and it’s forecast 30 deg every day until Thursday. I’ve done nothing outside apart from keep one raised bed of veg alive. Lost shrubs and perennials, just dead and crispy, on a water metre so can’t afford to water apart from throwing the contents of washing up bowl over lawn. Living alone certainly has its challenges. Sandra.
ReplyDeleteI abandoned almost everything except food crops - just have to hope things come back after we get rain
DeleteI think the heat and dry is making a lot of us feel the same. We're not used to it and it's sad and frustrating to watch the garden suffer. I take a bucket in the shower each day and partially fill it while the temperature sorts out. A chosen plant gets it later on. But, I've missed buying plants - there hasn't been any point because the ground is like rock and I wouldn't be able to keep them alive. It feels like we all just waiting.
ReplyDeleteGarden like rock here too, I hope a few things survive
DeleteThe weather definitely affects my get up and go and I keep hoping it will be cooler soon so that I can do some useful things. Enjoy the boot sales -I always enjoy seeing your buys. Catriona
ReplyDeleteBoot sale finds are few and far between this year which is good for the purse.
DeleteSorry your weather is getting you down. I'm glad you got out a bit. Hopefully, August will fly by and the weather will improve for the Fall. Do you have a college campus near you? My son and I enjoy walking inside the local community college with connecting buildings and student work up on the walls here and there. It's got A/C. :)
ReplyDeleteLack of enthusiasm is the problem .
DeleteNowhere to walk with A/C out in the countryside!
Same weather problem here in Virginia...if I can get into the garden before it gets too hot and buggy I can weed or prune, but if not I feel trapped and although there is plenty that needs doing inside none of it seems to be inspiring me, and the black dog of depression starts to sniff around. Trying to adjust my attitude is laborious but needs to happen!
ReplyDeleteCeci
Yes I'm watering early and late and cutting things back as usual and trying to get up enthusiasm for doing other things.
DeleteI'm sure the unrelenting dry weather affects the way we feel. A good downpour would clear the air and fill the rivers and streams, but it seems we have to wait even longer. I hope your lethargy and low mood lift.
ReplyDeleteSo do I - it's boring being boring!
DeleteThe pot fest sounds fun -- too bad it was so hot. I'm really feeling for you with the drought. The New York Times showed photos all over England of dried up, brown grass. Seeing Stonehenge surrounded by all the brown felt especially jarring. Red peppers! I don't know why I don't grow them because I spend a fortune buying them at the store!
ReplyDeleteIt's the TV programme called Great Pottery Throw Down that's been on each year recently , that's brought the enthusiasm for pottery things. I wonder if you can get it there.
DeletePeppers need a good hot season - they've certainly had it this year
This weather is wearing on all of us. Too bad about the pepper. It's weird that you saw no signs of deterioration from the outside.
ReplyDeleteI found a slug inside one of the other peppers, growing fat!
DeleteHeat is a problem all over. I went out early this morning to do some major weeding and trimming. I'm amazed I lasted three hours but I was intent on finishing the task.
ReplyDeleteI do watering early and late, thankfully it's done quickly
DeleteYou are wise to lay low in this extreme heat. It’s very dangerous for older people to exert themselves as heat exhaustion/stroke sneaks up. It’s only a temporary situation.i live in California and we have long spells of heat over 100 and we just wait it out. I love to read your blog as it’s so interesting. Lini in petaluma
ReplyDeleteI didn't know I was old until this years heat!!
DeleteI'm glad you enjoy reading - I enjoy writing - unless I run out of ideas
We're not on a hosepipe ban - YET! I'm watering the pots and baskets every day and my 1 raised bed once a week (tiny garden). Veg and washing up water gets thrown on the lawn. My bus pass/passport photos are awful, and when I look in the mirror I see my Mum, but OH says but your Mum was really pretty - think he's just being nice. Xx
ReplyDelete