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Thursday - Therapy buddy
Knight in shining armour
When I decided to have my ears pierced, I was more than a little wary as I had seen quite a few examples of uneven holes and lopsided earring positions. I hunted around and found a jeweller that used an old fashioned piercing method with good precision. My earlobe made an awful crunching noise as the needle went through the skin. Then I had to have the second one done!
Finally, when I looked in the mirror I was pleased with the result as the holes were evenly matched and small gold studs had been placed in position. Then came the regular bathing to heal the open wounds. The one healed very quickly but the other oozed with stickiness for week after week and month after month.
After reaching the point when I truly began to wonder if it would ever heal at all, I met up with a friend who had had a similar problem. Hers had wept and oozed for almost four years when, by chance she happened to mention it to an elderly country lady who had told her the secret of how to make it heal. I was all agog - what was this magical answer? I was told it was very simple - all that I had to do was buy a block of Knight's Castile soap - take the studs out every morning wash both the ears and the studs thoroughly with a good lathering of the soap and water, rinse and dry and replace the studs. I was told no other soap will work it must be this particular brand.
It all seemed too good to be true - how could something so simple work? But it did - and very quickly too. I was so surprised at the effectiveness of this simple old fashioned remedy ~ it was simply soap and water magic!
~~~~~
St Patrick's Day
I travelled the long, hard, stony track With the fine mist and breeze on my face.
My bundle was heavy and slipped from my back -
When a wraith of a monk appeared at my side;
I sucked in my breath and feared for my soul
And the monk scooped his hand to the verge
He captured a creature as long as a pole
And was gone in the fog as I cried!
Anon
Happy St Patrick's Day to everyone!
"May you always find shamrock's under your feet and extend kindness and goodness to all that you meet."
Irradication of the enemy - total blitz
I have had to resort to placing the gardenia in a black plastic bag or sack so that I can spray away to try and kill off the little bugs or mites that are killing off my plant. I liked the idea of trying to do this using something natural and so have mixed up a solution of washing-up liquid, lemon juice and tea tree oil. So far the plant has now received three heavy sprays and has been left dripping wet. It has been a good idea to contain it in the plastic bag as all of the loose drippings have been caught in this. I now have to play the waiting game to see whether the minute creatures have finally been obliterated.
Beware! The Ides of March
The 15th March was Julius Caesar's most unluckiest day. It was the day he was stabbed to death. Some people are still superstitious over this day - so take care ... be safe.
Note: William Shakespeare made this popular when he wrote a play called Julius Caesar which dramatised the scene around the Ides of March and the death of Caesar.
Silent invasion - plant perfection
Around two years ago I was given a gardenia as a present. It had dark shiny perfect leaves and at the tip of each small branch was a soft white flower. For those who have never seen a gardenia flower, the simplest way to describe it is a smaller version of a cross between a rose and a camellia. Mine had a heady perfume with a hint of vanilla that flooded through the room and wafted into the hall and on a warm afternoon could be smelt throughout the whole house, including the kitchen.
My excellent plant did not stay in this perfect state for long though as it was slowly invaded by a micro attacker. At first all that I noticed was fine fluffy webs that were spun between branches and leaves. Finer than cotton wool fibres they lassoed small branches and leaves together almost like opaque woven cloth. I searched to see what it was that was making these gossamer webs but nothing was visible.
My gardenia resides in a tall, glazed, flowerpot which sits on a tiled surface. The tiled surface developed a sticky, tacky coating - not only in the area of the plant's stems but two to three inches further out from its shadow. After scrubbing the area with a strong detergent for the umpteenth time I caught glimpse of a light brown spot slowly moving across one of the leaves ... I watched this spot and then saw others all moving in different directions.
I have since been searching to identify this minute little creature which appeared to be some kind of a miniature brown spider mite. The surface of the leaves have been etched and sculptured away and so I really need to eradicate this tiny villain even though I keep imagining it as a kind of 'who' like creature without a 'Horton.'
Weather not fit for ducks
Overnight the winds pushed northwards and began to batter northern Britain. Several areas were affected worse than others. We could still hear the ferocity of the wind as all kinds of items rattled through the night and gusts howled like wild beasts. One of the main contenders as the winds moved up the country was the town of Preston. Worst affected were the older areas of the town as at least one building began to crumble and its roof started to topple down onto the pavement. We are awaiting to see if after tonight the weather will remain calm . . .
Weather forecast - storm battle
Yesterday it became apparent that we were in for heavy storms and violent winds with gusts between 70 and 80 miles per hour. The worst affected areas would be in the west and south of Britain. I looked at the maps that kept appearing at the end of news items and saw that the line that they had drawn for this bombardment of wind and rain was well in the area where I live.
During the night you could hear the rattling of items outside and the sound of heavy rainfall but to my relief in the morning it had quelled quite a lot. However, we were more fortunate than some. In parts of Wales in coastal areas the wind and waves were very violent. There has been flooding in some areas, power lines are down in a few districts and there are currently warnings advising people not to take to the roads.
There is more bad weather due later on.
Bird table, 5 star restaurant - gift
All my life I have enjoyed the various birds that come into the garden. Occasionally being enthralled with a bird nesting in a bush. I had always wanted a bird table to place the various food groups enjoyed by a variety of songbirds that reside in my area. I also remember the long-tailed tits pecking at sunflower heads that had been chopped off and carefully placed on old discarded tea trays.
A few years ago I was given a special birthday present of a bird table. It was the kind of bird table that up until that point I had only seen in books mainly as illustrations in fairy stories. It has now become a five star restaurant for the many different birds in our neighbourhood.
As I also have a cat, it is good to know that she has never tried to climb up the table legs. She does, however, sit and look either from inside with her nose not quite pressed against the window pane or from the corner of the house where she appears to think that she is invisible!
It has now had chance to weather, taking on a slightly worn appearance. The birds that visit the garden have got used to it and check it out to find what is available at their little wooden restaurant. It is surprising at the variety of foods that they eat even, on occasion, the odd tropical fruit.
As I also have a cat, it is good to know that she has never tried to climb up the table legs. She does, however, sit and look either from inside with her nose not quite pressed against the window pane or from the corner of the house where she appears to think that she is invisible!
Down under the armillary sun dial
We have in the garden an armillary sun dial that usually rests on a hollow stand. As the path was in need of a sweep, and the armillary needed a good clean it was decided to tackle both at once. The sun dial was lifted off its hollow stand and the stand was lifted off the pathway. This revealed a mound, rather like a small sandcastle but made of fine elements of soil.
The mound was gradually excavated to reveal the start of an ants nest. There were only about six ants scurrying about and if you look at the bottom photograph just about three eggs.
Thankfully, the ants in the garden are mostly the black variety. They are probably the most common in our area - and are friendly in character. They also enjoy eating the hedgehog food or cat food especially any form of tinned fish. The ants also congregate over any fruit pieces that are placed out for the birds. In fact, with the various creatures food stuffs and the 'milk' they acquire from all of the greenfly, I should say that they perhaps have the most varied diet of any of the insect family.
In the above picture you can just make out a few of the entrances to some of the ant tunnels and their approximate size when comparing them to a finger.
More tunnel entrances are visible above.
The tunnels and ant eggs are easy to observe in the photograph above.
We found that the ants had brought all of the soil heap through a hair-line crack between two paving slabs. Now I wonder whether the ant home will reappear under the hollow stand.
The mound was gradually excavated to reveal the start of an ants nest. There were only about six ants scurrying about and if you look at the bottom photograph just about three eggs.
Thankfully, the ants in the garden are mostly the black variety. They are probably the most common in our area - and are friendly in character. They also enjoy eating the hedgehog food or cat food especially any form of tinned fish. The ants also congregate over any fruit pieces that are placed out for the birds. In fact, with the various creatures food stuffs and the 'milk' they acquire from all of the greenfly, I should say that they perhaps have the most varied diet of any of the insect family.
In the above picture you can just make out a few of the entrances to some of the ant tunnels and their approximate size when comparing them to a finger.
More tunnel entrances are visible above.
The tunnels and ant eggs are easy to observe in the photograph above.
We found that the ants had brought all of the soil heap through a hair-line crack between two paving slabs. Now I wonder whether the ant home will reappear under the hollow stand.
St David's day - daffodils and leeks
St David is the patron saint of Wales and was born some time in the sixth century. His father was called Sant and his mother Non. St David's name was Dewi Sant. It has been claimed that during his life he went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. It is also documented that once whilst he was preaching the ground where he stood rose into a mound so that everyone could see his face.
. . . 'The month of March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.'
. . . 'If there are mists in March then there will be frosts in May.'
Today, many people celebrate St David's day by wearing a daffodil or baby leek pinned to their clothing. Wales often uses the flag of St David, which contains the red dragon, as its national flag. 
Happy St David's day to you all!
Random Ramblings - logo
Finally, I have a logo for my blog. It has been created in Blender by a member of my family (check out blog: http://beakers-3-dimensions.blogspot.com/ ). Using the rambling theme, I decided that a representation of the 'white dog rose' on a rambling briar would be suitable. The words 'random ramblings' were made to represent stone so that the briar could ramble around them.
The background, hopefully matches the original colour.
Surprisingly, it was difficult to upload the image into Blogger as it only allows for two sizes - large and small. The large version took up most of the monitor screen whereas the small version squashed itself shyly into the left-hand corner. It took crop after crop and stretch after stretch - not to mention a few shrinking sizes into 'Photoshop' before I could finally upload the size that is at the top of my blog. I looked into the back 'edit Html' code hoping to see if I could tweak the size but this appears to be hidden - so I had to proceed with a front picture view only.
Earthquake
Did you feel the earthquake? The epicentre was apparently in Lincolnshire but the effects swept down to the Isle of Wight and up into Scotland. It has been the biggest for 25 years and measured 5.3 on the Richter scale. Thankfully as it occurred at 12.56 am the streets and gardens were mostly deserted and so toppling chimney pots, gable ends and roof tiles clattered to the floor without apparently damaging anyone. We have now been advised to expect after shocks from approximately 36 hours time.
Peanut - monkey nut
One of the most entertaining plants that a person can grow is a peanut or monkey nut plant. The nut must be in its shell, which must not contain any puncture marks or cracks in. Place the nut about one-and-a-half inches below the compost in a small to medium size flower pot. Sprinkle with water and after about a week a small mound of earth begins to erupt in the middle of the pot. Very soon the nut shell is pushed to the surface. Shortly after this, the plant pushes the nut shell out of the earth and above the soil to about two inches - it is at this stage that it looks like a little old man wearing a very large hat (the peanut shell). It soon tosses off the shell to reveal lacy leaves these are similar to pea leaves as it is a member of the pea family.
This plant grows extremely quickly and soon forms a very small pretty bush with bright little orange flowers. The plant is approximately ten to twelve inches in height at this stage, so can either be placed on a kitchen windowsill or outside in a tub.
:o)
Blackbird
The blackbird that calls his ever changing song from a nearby aerial has a very large territory that includes our back garden. Sometimes he and his brown mate pick over the emptied compost pile pulling out one red juicy worm after another. As I have said before, we have a cat (a very well fed cat) who always is most insistent that her dinner table remains quite full! Topped up with meat, fish and several varieties of kibbles that all have to smell and taste just right and if they do not - she simply turns her nose to the right and walks away. The blackbird has been profiting from these left-overs that the cat has chosen not to eat ... on a daily basis so-much-so that he now waits in a nearby apply tree, I would say patiently except that he begins calling and fluttering about as soon as I arrive in the garden, for me to place the small mountain of discarded cat food down. He swoops and buries his yellow beak deep inside the pile and tucks in. Before long, between he and the magpies, all of the cat food has gone. Every time I re-enter the garden he appears and waits in anticipation of another contribution.
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