Chitchat thread #24

[Nicos]

There is suddenly a very strong wind here too gf - OH went outside to check on our parasol only to call out to me to go and help him

Yup -I rushed out into a hot, forceful hairdryer of a wind to see the patio table on its side with the parasol acting like a sail.
The table top is now shattered in the middle
Its fixable but what a shame, all because we hadn’t noticed the strong gusts.

And yes, my max/ min thermometer is smashed as too is a potted geranium.
I did a sort of rain dance gf…..mainly because I rushed out onto the concrete patio with bare feet ouchy ouch !…bet you could fry and egg on that!

[Nicos]

Talking of insects…
( I know…no-one was )

I just thought I’d share this with you as it is yet another climate change concern.
We’ve had several groups of guests arriving from various distant parts of France, Germany and the Netherlands. I have specifically looked at the fronts of their cars after their 5-8 hour journeys. Very few splattered insects.
When we first started visiting France in the mid 70s our car bonnet and grill/ lights would be absolutely splattered with them. It was quite a job on getting back home to sponge and soak them all off.
I really haven’t seen much change in the last few years to be honest. I had hoped reduction in pesticides, less mowing of verges etc might have begun to help with the recovery .
Slowly slowly maybe ?

[lottie dolly]

afternoon all,this cold bottle is brilliant,nice on the back neck for a while,Nicos,what a shame about the table,we had one do that,,a glass to ,millions of bits,good job it was on concrete,and not grass,would not have another one,

[Snoop Puss]

Our insect population has changed. The moth population absolutely plummeted a few years back but seems to have recovered very slightly this year, but there are very few butterflies. Even cabbage whites are a rarity. Certainly a lot more bees of all kinds and sizes. But we have very few spiders and next to no beetles. Some insects seem to have almost disappeared completely. Glow worms used to be a menace, in fact, but I've only seen three or four this year. A cricket is a rarity now and we used to have hundreds of the things. Next to no mantises. Lots and lots of cicadas, though and mosquitos and flies aplenty, sadly.

Yellowjacket-type wasps about the same as in previous years, though I haven't seen a single Scoliid wasp and we used to have lots of them, and I've only seen a couple of ichneumon wasps, again we used to have loads of them. Also, we have a new wasp species moved into the area and I've seen them take extremely large grasshoppers (big black wasps, look just like Texan black wasps), so maybe they've been making inroads into the other insects. I don't like the look of them so I hope they don't become a problem. They can fly off with grasshoppers and mantises several times their size.

Maybe lots on insects were caught out by the very warm weather late winter and then the very cold spell later on. Also, we've had two 'fields' ploughed, which could have made a difference to some insects, of course.

[Snoop Puss]

Just read this in the Guardian, Nicos:

"Nantes, near the Atlantic coast, recorded 42C on Monday, beating a previous high of 40.3C set in 1949, while Brest, in Brittany, hit 39.9C, more than four degrees higher than its 2002 record of 35.1C.

Night-time temperature records were also set, including at La Hague in Normandy where 32.8C was recorded at 3am on Tuesday. Officials said France’s entire west coast, from Landes in the south to Finistère in the north, was affected."

I cannot begin to imagine nearly 33 ºC at night. That's terrible. We're forecast 29 ºC at night in a couple of nights and I'm not looking forward to that at all.

[greenishfing]

I also have really noticed a lack of insects over the last at least three (maybe four or five) decades. I remember as a child the windscreen and radiator grill had thousands of them baked on.

It has, according to my phone, now started to cool off but I am in no hurry to find out......Eventually I will go out to grab the washing (very dry no doubt).

I am just so happy that we are still reasonably cool and tomorrow is supposed to be a lot cooler generally. We have evidently hit the unprecedented temperature of 39°C here today.

[bramble]

Good evening all.
Just 19 degs here at the moment.
The weather today was very mixed.
Vrrybhot this morning.
Thunder and lightning with a shower at lunchtime
Thrn 26 degs in the afternoon.

Insects here are becoming rarer as well.
I havnt seen one ladybird in the past two years.
Butterflies seem to be doing litylbettet.
Lots of all type of bees.
Our forecast is to go back to normal tomorrow.
Have a cool night all.

[greenishfing]

Down to a comparably bearable 28°C now and the hot wind has gone.

I've just been and put a tray of cold water out as last night at just gone 11pm there were a couple of hedgehogs around and maybe they'll reappear tonight. I keep peeping out now in hope.

[Nicos]

Our temperatures have finally started dropping. Phew eh?
We actually had some heavy rain earlier for about 5 minutes!
Now it’s just hot and humid
France has been badly hit indeed Snoop - but we’re clearly not the only ones.
We’re over the worst of it here from the looks of things.
Glad things are back to ‘normal’ for you now Bramble.
Maybe I can start looking forward to catching up on my ironing tomorrow?

I hope your hedgehogs appear tonight gf….such lovely animals.
I had to chuckle lottie- I had a 2 litre bottle of water in the freezer and left it in there a tad too long. Holding the bottle did me far more good at first than actually drinking it!

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all.

We had five minutes of rain yesterday as well. Those whopping big drops. Might even have started as hail up top but thawed on the way down and landed as rain. Lots of thunder but no reports of fires. Phew. Temperatures a bit cooler here today as well so far. Due to get hot again - forecasts say even hotter than last few days - but fingers crossed they're wrong.

Had a really lovely morning so far and now stuck at the computer for the rest of the day, but never mind. Can't have the rest of it if there's no money to pay for it!

The smiles couldn't believe their luck when I went back down into the fields for a second time. Dozens of yellow dragon flies flitting about the place or resting on the onion and leek leaves. Gorgeous wings in the sunshine. Didn't have my book for identifying them but I'll take it down with me tomorrow morning in case there's another round of them. Never seen so many all at once. The smiles had a right good time flitting about with them before setting off. I told them to drop off some hugs for them as would rather have a hug than a smile. Thinking of you still, Flo and Rary.

Right, on with the show. Have a great day, everyone.

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all;D

Give that neighbour of yours a massive hug gf!….it’s very much done the trick!
We too have had rain overnight - and it’s pelting it down as I speak!

The desiccated lawns are glowing a lovely shade of pale orange and the garden smells devine.
The chooks can’t believe their luck and are happily getting drenched!
And Hibou flatly refused to come in last night.
You can almost hear Nature giving a massive sigh.
Even the birds are chirping away again. Bliss.

How wonderful to see the dragonflies Snoop. Might be easier to take photos and ID them later?

Ironing for me today I think I’ll just get the basics done and nip out in the camper for a few hours. There’s a lovely lake nearby with a Lidl nearby so that’d make the fuel usage worthwhile.

Time for a quick brew anyone?
Hope the temperatures have dropped now for everyone? If not - there’s loads of icy water in the fridge still!

[greenishfing]

Morning all. I must tell the neighbour that the rain dance worked somewhere, even if not here.......yet.

I never got a sighting of a hedgehog last night but something has had a good drink at some point. I'll fill it again tonight if nature (and the neighbours dancing) don't fill it for me.

It is cooler today and the wind is no longer hot and dry.

[Bren In Pots]

Morning

Cooler here as well this morning with the rain due from late afternoon hopefully enough to top up my water butts I've got trugs ready to catch every bit i can.

enjoy your day.

[Snoop Puss]

How wonderful to see the dragonflies Snoop. Might be easier to take photos and ID them later?

Yes, I thought the same. But I never go down to the veg patches with my phone. I might tomorrow, though. It's a bit surreal seeing golden dragonflies sitting on onion leaves!

[mothhawk]

Morning all.
The cooler breeze today is very pleasant, as is the haziness keeping the sunshine clouded away. The air is scented with hay and dusty earth and the thermometer is still in the high twenties.

Ordering groceries online today, I noticed that at JS pigs in blankets have become pigs in beach towels.

Golden dragonflies, Snoop! How lovely. I've seen red, green and blue ones, but never a yellow one.