A miserable morning, but at least there are clouds and up to now no rain. There is also a cook breeze, but it can only get better. Due to our self isolation and keeping distance from the others, I rarely see my neighbours outside. However I took a close look at my flower beds this morning, especially the raised beds and discovered a whole new world.
My sedum had begun to grow and flower and its leaves were overlapping the edge. I saw something creep out from beneath and lifted the leaves of the plants and discovered a whole new world. The woodlice had arrived and were enjoying the damp and wet world the rain had now brought them. They must be one of our oldest insects with their armoured body plates-.
There seemed to be a whole tribe of them, smaller and bigger and all were scuttling away as soon as I had exposed them to light, they prefer to inhabit the darker parts of the undergrowth. Are they harmful? I decided to learn more about these insects, and it seems that they do not do great damage. They have been known to chew on a few plants, but nothing to damage a garden and are also regarded as being useful, as are the earthworms. I covered them again with my sedum and left them to their own devices.
There was another visiter that I was not so happy about. He/She stayed long enough for a photo and I then removed him/her to the wild meadow to destroy a few dandelion leaves. I was surprised to find this hermaphrodite on the stop edge of my raised bed. I did not know they were so good at climbing.
After my explorations I returned to the kitchen for my computer and breakfast. Today is a day for an excursion to the store in the afternoon and I was busy composing a shopping list.
Yesterday I again endeavoured on a baking session, something I do not do very often, but I saw this recipe from a facebook colleague of mine who is a bit of a hobby cook and decided to make them. Just some flour, an egg, grated cheddar cheese and butter and mix it. You can also mix some fresh chilli into it and sprinkle it with remaining cheese and chilli before putting it in the oven. It only takes about 15 minutes to bake and I must say it turned out quite good, especially if eaten with your cold cuts when still warm.
However, I decided the effort is not really worth it for my two men. No. 1 son did not even try one, he does not eat cheese. Mr. Swiss decided to add a layer of jam to his, which is not the idea. I found their actions quite disrespectful in view of my efforts. I still have a couple left and will eat them as a snack during the day. I think this was the first time I had baked anything in the past year.
I read some interesting news yesterday. There was an article about what people are buying during the corona virus days. It seems the most popular investments are deep freezers. I must admit my No, 2 son and myself are both guilty. People have begun to think of the days when not everything works out as it should, part of the new Norm. I now keep an eye open for special offers in the store. Funny that I never used to bother so much. It seems to be a new hobby of mine.
And now I have better things to do and will move on. During the afternoon I notice I get a bird visitor now and again and I managed to capture this view as a tit was flying off with a seed in its beak.
Have a good Wednesday everyone, and try to ignore the virus. It will not go away, but we think about it all the time at the moment, at least I do.
Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss 
I don’t want to make you jealous, but here is the view out of my back door in Wiltshire. It’s still chilly, though https://strokesurvivor508830397.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/now.jpg
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Jealous? Not at all. A fantastic view. I love the big open wide spaces
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yes, my dislike of being around other people has increased with my age 😆 I used to endure travelling up and down into London every day because of this environment.
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I lived in East London, a short bus trip to the city. Glad now to be in the country
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Good Morning…It’s interesting what you can find in the garden when you take a really close look. The cheesey scones? look delicious. I have to admit I also like blackcurrant jam on cheese scones its a great sweet and savoury combination.
Have a good day and stay safe on the shopping trip. 🙂
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I even have two insect hotels with residents, but the are in isolation at the moment
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very cool..another world indeed….i love to watch my grandsons turn over stones and tress..always looking for this stuff!
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Inalso found the beginning of an ant nest, and am still thinking about what to do with it
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my roomie does most of our yard work and gardening..i like to just walk in the woods and look around, mostly upwards…:) but the kids get me looking down every time!
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😃
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Good morning … never forget … one benefit of living on Planet Earth … is that once a year … you get a free trip around the sun !!! … have a great day. The cheese pastries look good. SLP …
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Never thought of that, at least something is free. Still gloomy outside.
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Good morning I awoke with clear blue skies and expecting a warm windy afternoon. The warm weather does bring on insect and spider life. A mistake was made as the roses we brought in February were infected with the fungus black spot and as they were infected the warm weather allowed the red spider mites to hatch. I did manage to see the moon and the comment last. The light pollution makes the stars hard to see. Have a safe shopping trip this afternoon.
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That was bad luck with your roses and red spider can really be annoying. This afternoon we have sunshine and warm temperatures, but it certainly did not look like it this morning.
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How interesting about the freezers. It makes sense. We are still using some of the frozen foods that were stored up in the big cafeteria type kitchens at work. The conference groups that it was delivered for never arrived. I also get surplus groceries from friends, so that I can deliver them to those who need them. However, those who need them do not need as much as I get. At work, we activated one of the old refrigerators with a freezer that was too old looking for a guest cabin. The freezer is just about full! If I had more time, I would be canning instead of freezing. I do not want a full freezer if the electricity gets disconnected this summer like it did last summer.
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I always had a normal sized freezer fridge sized, but now I have a chest in the cellar. I decided inshoukd have more food reserves at home after realizing that life can have its problems. I even cook for the freezer now and again to have some ready meals if necessary. In my whole life I have never seen anything like the corona crisis. It was a warning that life is not to be taken for granted
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My preference for canning rather than freezing is because of the unreliability of electricity. My former home had no electricity. Now that I put away food for others, I do prefer freezing, just because it does not ruin food so much.
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