Category: Warm.

Sometimes I do wonder about our postal service!

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So I woke up to e clear sky just before the sun started to rise and we went out for our morning walk as soon as I had put on my clothes and the dogs their harnesses. I did take a look at the thermometer before we went out and it showed 4C (39,2F). It was wonderful to take a slightly longer walk in that temperature because not a fly or mosquito were around to bite and annoy us πŸ™‚

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Alma had once again decided that she would be impossible but she did at least not scream loudly when we passed our neighbors and Albin didn’t even look for Salmiak. Salmiak however is totally ok and it might actually be that Albin never tried to bite him but just push him down with his nose but as I said to the beekeepers I’m not willing to try it again just to see if that’s the case πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ Anyway we walked down to the creek and followed it down-streams. Alma was everywhere as usual and when Albin wanted to walk out on one of those small bridges that cross the creek she naturally had to follow and since Alma is like she is she then fell down and in to the rather muddy water πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

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Those three trees are the last ones in the WOW trees πŸ™‚
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That didn’t calm her down especially much and we had a full blown war between us all the way home. It’s fun but as soon as we pass the gate she calmes down and becomes that wonderful dog she is here at home. She smelled of mud and rust, lots of rust in the waters here so I had to shower her. I could have and should have done it outside with the garden hose but instead decided I should do it in my tiny bathroom. I decided that she would follow in her own pace and everything was going fine until both Nova and Albin decided they too had to go in to the shower. Well I did manage to get in there but she wasn’t happy. At least until she realized it wasn’t that bad, perhaps even rather nice πŸ™‚

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After that I had to go to the store. I decided I should go to the one in the village where I work, mostly because I needed duct tape. They are the only ones I know that sell a kind where one can split it in half and get two thinner strips. All other ones are difficult to do that with. So off I went. At the same time I got two text messages that told me I was going to have two packages delivered to my home but I didn’t need to be at home at the delivery. Just before I left the store I also got a text message that Almas new harness had arrived and that I could pick it up in Gudhem. I could have waited but thought I really want to try it as soon as possible.

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When I came home again my neighbor told me that a guy had been here to deliver my packages but went to them instead. My neighbor told him to leave the packages with him or just put them in my garden around 20 meters beside. No problem the delivery guy said, tossed the packages in the car again and drove off??!! I then got a message that the packages had been delivered but I didn’t have them and my neighbor hadn’t either. So I called our postal service and was pretty angry, asked something about if the driver possible had some mental challenges or other problems (I’m not proud of that)Β  (I did say to the girl in the phone that I wasn’t mad at her but she was the one who unfortunately had to take my anger). She fully understood and after perhaps ten minutes waiting she then asked how my neighbors house looked like. The delivery guy had told her he had placed the packages close to the post boxes (around a 100 meters, much the same in yards)Turns out that he had placed my packages at the farm up the slope!

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I know I have a high hedge but my cottage is very visible when driving down the slope so I have no idea why he though my neighbor next door meant the farm up the hill??One package weighs 20Kg (44,1 pound) and the other package was very big but not heavy at all, so I had to go back home and take my car to get it back home πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ On the other side, I did get my neighbors mail in my mailbox instead πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ Well everything was solved and now I don’t have any more packages so everything is as it should but if I can chose who will deliver my packages in the future it will never be our postal service again!

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Have a great day!

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If Albin doesn’t want to play Alma is fully capable to entertain herself with an apple πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚
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Finally cooling down!

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The hot weather has not been kind to the flowers in the old wheel barrow πŸ™‚ Not to self, don’t have too high flowers in it πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚Β 

Yesterday was horrible. We didn’t set a new heat record but it was still the hottest day in 73 years. Here in the village it reached 36C (96,8F) before it slowly, slowly started to get less hot. I really don’t want to go through that kind of heat again but most likely I will because of the climate change.

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The Creeping Bellflower is quite beautiful but seen as one of the worst weeds one can get in the garden. The roots grows so tight and it becomes too dense for anything else to survive with it. The roots are edible though so why not eat it to death πŸ™‚
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One hot summer isn’t any proof of the climate change but when this happens frequently year after year, when it perhaps happened once every tenth year before it is one of the evidence of that the climate is changing. There were areas of rain and thunder all around this area but none reached us, the same today and I really wish it would come to us as well because the flies are soo annoying as they always are when thunder is about to arrive (well or at least it’s nearby). It is much cooler today though, 18C (64,4F) and hopefully dropping. This village is more or less in the eye of a low pressure so the rain just keep circling around us but it does at least cool us down.

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Potato flowers are quite beautiful. I hope that these gives fruit, looks like small green tomatoes (rather poisonous so don’t eat them). One can sow those seeds and get all kinds of different potatoes from those seeds. Be aware of that those new potatoes might get all kinds of diseases they’ve managed to get rid of on those one took the seeds from. Best to grow in a big bucket if one tries.
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Nova was the one taking the heat best of us all. She didn’t seem to care especially much and even slept in the sunshine on the kitchen stairs πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ Albin can’t take any heat at all, then again he can’t take any cold weather at all either, he truly is a lukewarm weather guy πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ Alma and I took it in much the same way, not as well as Nova but lots better than Albin. The night was horrible, the fan worked at maximum speed but I can’t say it felt much better. Also a fly had found my bedroom and did its best to annoy the heck out of us. The sticky fly paper has been full of flies so that was another thing I really needed to buy today. They didn’t have it in the big store I went to and the one I asked said Do You have flies? We all working here were just discussing about the lack of them! I said they all could come home to me but none seemed too interested to be honest πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

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Perennial sunflower.
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Finally big buds on the rose planted on Teodors resting place.
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It’ll look like this when opening up.
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Some “weeds” are quite beautiful and since they are easy to grow I’ve always wondered why they don’t try to grow these to give bigger flowers so we can have them in flower beds? Well I have them everywhere but I was thinking of those who are more meticulous about their flower beds than I am πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

I was out watering the vegetables and a few other plants and small trees already at 5 am πŸ™‚ I went to the store quite early too since I wasn’t sure if it actually would calm down or not, one never knows with our weather services πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ I had almost nothing left to eat for breakfast and I also needed to renew my lottery tickets. I know the chances of winning the big lottery winning (today around 1,265 billion swedish kronor (around 126,5 million US dollars) is slim to none but it is a bigger chance to have a couple of tickets than to have none at all πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ I wonder if I would go insane if I won that much money, it’s so much that I really can’t understand how much it really is πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ I would never tell You if I did win but then again You would most likely notice that I had taken an early retirement πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

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The Chinese Catalpa really need some rain now.

The coming ten days they’re guessing that it’ll stay around 20C (68F), give or take a degree up or down and also some rain. I will not believe it until it happens but I do sure hope it’s right and that we’ll get even more rain than they are guessing πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

Have a great day!

I’ve finally found out what she’s good at!

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Not much walking in this heat but I did go up the the mail box yesterday morning.

I’m writing this early today because yesterday was so hot here that my computer had a slight heatstroke πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ Suddenly the fan inside it worked insanely hard, have never heard it working that hard before and then the computer froze and the fan stopped working at all. I quickly went down to the freezer and brought two cooling pads, placed one beneath the computer and one on top of it. I checked if it would start after a while and have had no problems at all after that.

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Lots of chicory growing in the field outside my cottage. I think we all know that it can be used as lettuce but back in the days it’s root was roasted and used as a coffee surrogate. One can still buy that but I haven’t tried it.
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Today will be even hotter than yesterday and we might break our heat record if we’re unlucky. I think we had one of those rather rare tropical nights here, it was 20C (68F) outside when I went up at 4:25 this morning. Inside the cottage however it’s still 28C (82,4F).Β  The fan worked all night and I like it but the dogs don’t seem to see the good with it πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ They actually avoid the bed when the fan works, can’t remember when I had that much space for myself πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

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The piglets aren’t morning piglets at all πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚
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The last flower on the Dog rose.
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Still plenty on the big rose beside it.

I actually mowed the lawn yesterday morning when it still wasn’t that hot. Why You might ask? Well the grass on the north side has been growing fast so it was quite high and needed to be mowed before any rain will fall. Well we might not get that rain they had promised was on its way, still changes in their guessing about that but we do need it now. I also wanted to use that cut down grass to cover the ground in the potato and vegetable patches. The grass will keep the moisture in the ground for much longer at the same time grass is full of what plants need to grow so while it decomposes it’ll give that to the ground and plants growing there.

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My now three? year old date palm seedling. It takes quite some time until it finally starts growing those leafs we all know.
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My Chinese Catalpa is in bloom again πŸ™‚

So the first thing I did after feeding the dogs was to water the vegetable and potato patches. Albin and Nova stayed indoors to sleep some more but Alma followed me outside. I’ve finally found out what she’s really good at (as long as Albin isn’t close though), she’s really good at fetch! She comes back with what ever it was I threw away and does so every time I throw it away!! If Albin’s close it’s just grab it and run away so that he will follow and chase her πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ Nova has never been good at it and now days she really doesn’t care at all πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ She prefers to mostly sleepΒ  on the sofa πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

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I still need more grass klippings to fill up the vegetable patch though.

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Can’t remember the name of this flower but it should be growing in sunshine and fairly wet to like life, so I’m wondering why it thrives here when it grows really dry and mostly in the shadows πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

It is time to go downstairs and make another cup of tea and perhaps something to eat.

Have a great day!

The beginning of our three day heat wave.

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We were supposed to have sunshine from the moment the sun rose but it tok quite some time before the clouds thinned out. It was so dark actually that I needed the camera to be set on ISO 1000 (One only need to use ISO 100 on a sunny day so it’s a big difference).

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It has been hot here today, Scandinavian hot that is, 28C (82,4F) and it isn’t nice at all. No problem at the beginning of it though because we had a strong and cool wind blowing but when the wind died out so did our energy πŸ™‚ Alma tried to be full of energy for as long as she could but even she had to give up in the end πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ Tomorrow we’ll most likely reach 34C (93,2F) so I’m not looking forward to that at all. It’ll only last for three days, on Friday it’ll get much cooler and we’ll have loads of rain if they are guessing it right.

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They are now gathering all twigs and branches in big piles, they’ll make pellets from it all so that we can buy that and use in our heating systems.
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Like on me Novas joints don’t like the hot weather at all, she has problems walking up the stairs now, while she in the cool and early morning had no problems at all. She has been a bit spoiled now when she has been feeling bad because of her ear so I’ve added something she likes (well both the others likes it too), Tuna πŸ™‚ Now she refuses to eat at all unless I put in tuna or something else she really likes πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ So this morning when there wasn’t anything extra in the food she just sniffed at it and walked away, she ate almost twice as much as she usually do when I had added tuna to the food this afternoon. Hot temperatures really didn’t affect her appetite for something she likes πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

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Fewer and fewer birds sing during the days now, they are doing what they can to secure the future for the younglings they have now rather than prepare for another batch of them, instead katydids have started playing, and loud as well especially in the evening. I do like to fall asleep to the sound of playing katydids. Especially hot days like this one can pretend that they are rather quiet cikadas πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ We don’t have cikadas here so it’s easy to let the imagination fly free πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚Β 

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This one used to belong to the Corydalis family but they split that family up. No idea what it is called now though. I think it is annual and really grows as much as the weed it is. It is a favorite of mine in my garden.
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Lots of blueberries in the one bush I still have left.
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Perennial sunflower.
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The Sweet William grows here and there in my garden.

22 new species are added to the list of invasive and forbidden species here in the EU.Β  From the previous forbidden species we already had around half of them growing in the wild but so I’m not sure if forbidding them actually will help anything. My guess is that since we have problem enough as it is, like the drought most likely will reduce the harvesting to around half of what they normally can harvest and the war in Ukraine will reduce that perhaps even more, the will of killing of plants and animals that shouldn’t be here might be a bit low. I was surprised that the TheΒ African clawed frogΒ (Xenopus laevis) actually is seen as a threat here, our winters are after all still quite chilly in periods.Β 

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It is hard to see any apples in my Aroma apple tree but it doesn’t look as a successful year for that tree.
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However it’s a totally different thing when it comes to the tree I once sowed from an Aroma apple kernel. The apples on this tree are delicious but they tend to be hit by rot and fungus easily.
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Lots of small fruits on my Japanese quince bush too. I’ve never made jelly or jam from these but I have from it’s relative the real Quince and it was delicious. It is said these will be just as good to use but they aren’t even a quarter of the size from the real quince.

Lots of garden plants are also forbidden now, even though we seems to be allowed to still have them in our gardens but they are not allowed to be sold or spread by humans. Last year they tried to have a “Kill all Lupins” day here in Sweden and I think zero people cared about it πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ We love our lupins and really don’t care what authorities says about them. Do You know why they are seen like a problem? It’s because they start growing in places where very few other plants will grow due to really bad soil. When they start to grow someplace they actually make the ground much better and plants that can’t compete with other plants where the ground is good will then die instead.

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This is now the first thing I see when I start my mobile. He does look a bit grumpy, doesn’t he πŸ™‚

I’ve baked another bread in the slow cooker and it turned out even better than the first one. I really can’t understand how people can fail baking bread in a slow cooker. Just do as always but instead of letting it rise the second time just put the dough in the cooker. The temperature is so low that it’ll have time enough to rise before it starts to being baked. For once I even took a photo of the bread. It is up side down so the top is pointing downwards and that paret is very light but the rest is just as brown and crispy as one wishes πŸ™‚ the “folds” on the surface of it are prints from the baking paper (parchment paper).

Have a great day!

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I really don’t like to change phone.

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Another rather nice day, at least after a while. The morning was quite chilly but we had sunshine and the flies were still hiding in the vegetation trying to stay warm. We went out on a short walk because Nova didn’t seem to want to go at all. She isn’t as alert that she once was πŸ™‚ She really didn’t want to eat much either so I was a bit worried.

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Turns out that if she can eat my food she can eat rather a lot πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ It does look like the ear drops finally have made her feel better though because she, after eating a lot of my food, also ate most of her own food as well. She didn’t even have any problems gulp down lots of dog biscuits either and they are pretty hard πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ Also she is, to be honest, not a big fan of Alma so she’s either walking a big distance behind or in front of us when she can πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

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So I’ve finally started to use my new phone. I really don’t understand why I need to go through zillions of questions and decide zillions of things how to manage my phone every time I need to change phone? They already know everything about me, it should be enough to just log in to Google and after that I shouldn’t have to do anything more. There was something called quick switch I could have used if I had downloaded that on my old phone (don’t think I could get away from all those questions and settings anyway) and even though it said that I could get that on my old phone even if I started to use my old one it still didn’t work. At least all my contacts followed the phone this time. I am very grateful that I can call my work friend, who’s much younger than I am, any time I need to ask how to deal with new technology πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

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I’ve now baked a bread in the slow cooker. I looked at the recipes ina cook book that followed with the first one I had and it’s more or less regular bread but there’s one thing I didn’t understand. They never say that the bread should rise before putting the dough in the cooker. Shouldn’t it taste horribly much of yeast if one do it like that? I just did like I always do and let it rise once outside the cooker and the second time I just started the cooker when it was supposed to rise the second time. Worked perfectly! However no matter how much towel one puts beneath the lid the top of the bread will not become brown but that’s no problem since the rest of the surface towards the cooker will be. Just turn the bread upp side down and one will have a nice brown surface πŸ™‚ I had a bit too much basil in my bread though, I like basil but this time I learned my limit for it πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

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The sun is still shining and it’s 21C (69,8F) outside. Clouds and some rain will arrive later today or just after midnight and by looking at how the flies are behaving even here in my garden I’m guessing we might get thunder as well. Tomorrow will be just as warm or cool depending on how hot it is where You live but after that we’ll have a three day heat wave. I’m glad it won’t last for longer but then again our meteorologists aren’t know to be the best in the world so it might just stay for much longer πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ I’ll go down to my friend with the garden center again tomorrow and I do hope that my brain will make me stop at the big store to buy that hose I’ve said so many times that I’ll buy πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ I don’t have much to put on sandwiches either, today I went outside and picked some dandelion leafs as lettuce (and i also thinned out some small iceberg lettuce to have together with some ham and cheese and tomato slices. All I have left for tomorrows breakfast (if I want sandwiches ) are a couple of boiled eggs and the last piece of cheese.

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It is time to go downstairs and make a cup of tea and to have a couple of bon bons I think πŸ™‚

Have a great day!

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A little surprise thunderstorm.

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The weather has been rather mixed today. Quite warm and very windy. Lots of clouds but still lots of sunshine and one surprising shower with five lightnings hitting not too far away to the south west of the village. I had almost all windows open but the ones in the living room when I looked outside and thought it must be raining. I did manage to close them all before the heavy raining started and the thunder started to thunder πŸ™‚

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I’ve ordered a “new” mobile phone. I really didn’t want to but realized that I really need to. I have a few cracks in it but so far that hasn’t been any problem but so the other day, when I had the phone in my hand while looking at Albin and Alma playing, I suddenly heard a rather quiet but still clear cracking sound. Turns out that the phone now cracks more and more and it’s just enough to hold it for it to happen.

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So I went to the website where I bought my computer, the one that sell used computers and phones. Turns out they had a sale on phones so now I bought an almost new Samsung Galaxy Note 9. It was almost a third of the price buying a new in a store. They go through all phones and deletes anything personal from the previous owner. My guess is that some company had it as a phone for an employee and that the company stopped to excists not long after they got the phone and that it is repossessed. Still I would rather continue to have the phone I now have but I doubt that the glass will hold much longer. I really dislike having to get a new phone or computer.

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I’ve mowed the lawn today, haven’t mowed since before the heatwave so in some places the grass were pretty high. Especially in those places where the water hose were placed, the one that is perforated so that the water slowly waters the plants πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ I did think the flies were slightly insane since the wind reached my garden but now I understand it was because of the coming thunder. I was actually planning to just mow a part of it all but since the wind blow so that it felt cooler than it was I just continued and mowed it all.

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My bon bons and film rolls have arrived at the grocery store in Gudhem today so I’ll go and pick them up tomorrow. First however I’ll go and buy a new garden hose, one that isn’t perforated πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ There’s really no need to water the lawn, the less it grows the better for me πŸ™‚

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Have a great day!

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Almost white now.

A really nice first day.

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I had a tough night last night, my dogs tried to take over my bed and push me off it πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ To be honest I think it mostly was Alma but the two others just spread out more the more space she gained from pushing me away πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

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I went to my friend who ownes a garden center today (didn’t take any photos but I can’t say I know why I didn’t πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ ). She now has two eight months old german shepherd/ rottweiler cross dogs and it’s fun to see the difference between them and Alma who is a cross between white swiss shepherd dog (more or less a white german shepherd) and dobermann. While her two dogs looks more like rottweilers Alma looks more like a german shepherd. One of her dogs has begun to behave much like Albin when it comes to other dogs while the other one is more like Alma. Really want too meet but is also really vocal about it πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ Two beauties non the less πŸ™‚

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I didn’t stay for long and wasn’t planning to buy any plants this time but I had planned to buy some soil because I’m out of it now. So naturally I didn’t come home with any soil but I do have a walnut tree here now πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ To be honest I didn’t buy it because she didn’t think she would be able to sell it any longer and was going to throw it away. So I could take it if I wanted and of course I wanted that πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ The tree wasn’t standing in a pot with soil but instead the roots were covered with something I can’t guess what it is and it had no problems staying alive as long as it got water.

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So the first thing I did was to plant it in a pot with the soil I had left and some peat and then I watered it a lot. I’ll keep it like this until next year, so it’ll spend winter in my cool cellar (if it survives for that long) and then I’ll plant it next spring. I know where because I have some plants I’m pretty sure won’t tolerate the toxins that will leak out from the walnut tree and that would be an easy way to get rid of them πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ All walnut species are more or less toxic towards their environment, a good way for plants to eradicate anything that would compete about the nutritions in the ground.

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The wheel barrow is full of flowers now.

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Today has been mostly sunny, warm and with a strong wind blowing. Quite nice to be honest. They’re guessing that tomorrow will be rather hot and after that it’ll slowly cool down until Friday when it will be rather chilly, 15C (59F) if we’re unlucky. We’ll also get plenty on rain on Friday so I won’t complain too much, I can always nap all day if the weather will behave like that πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

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I’ve sowed poppies in my garden for many years now but I get one or two as best. This is one of the two that actually isn’t growing in the wheel barrow.

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Have a great day!

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The walnut needed some support so I used this old ring net (is that the right word?). It’ll stand here on the north side of my house for quite some time before I move it anywhere.

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I told my Amur grape vine that if it didn’t give me any grapes this year I would dig it up πŸ™‚

Vacation.

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I think this must have been one of the longest days so far this year πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ I had things to do all the time but it still felt like time stopped early in the morning. I was in the painting department as I have been all week and it is nasty hot there now so it didn’t help to see what beautiful weather we had outside.

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Yesterday when I drove to work I noticed something like looked like a big dark stone by the side of the road just beside a big tree. I thought to myself that I’ve never seen a big stone there before so I slowed down considerable and suddenly three sows and twelve piglets came running across the road. The piglets had slowly started to change colors towards brown but I could still see the stripes and dots on their sides.

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Today I drove really slowly there but no pigs. I found them beside the clearway a couple of hundred meters away instead. I drive to work an hour and a half earlier on Fridays so today I saw lots of animals close to the road, like deers, hares and some bigger birds. I never drive as fast as I’m allowed when I drive on the forest road and mornings like these show me how right that is πŸ™‚

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I’ll do nothing at all for the rest of the day. I really should vacuum the entire cottage, mow the lawn and perhaps bake a bread in my new slow cooker but I refuse. I have four weeks to do that so why start today πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ I’ve already planned to have naps every day and even drink tea after 4 pm even though it might keep me awake all night. Those are the things one can do or skip to do when having vacation πŸ™‚

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Have a great day!

I hope they’re guessing it right and that cool weather and rain is on the way :-)

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No walk in this hot weather so only photos from my garden today.

32C (89,6F) again and I really don’t like it. They’re guessing however that we’ll get lots of rain tonight and most likely also thunder. The temperature will also fall down to more nice 20C (68F) and stay like that for at least ten more days (and more rain will fall). I’m already longing for the rain to arrive πŸ™‚

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I went to the physiotherapist for the last time today because even though my shoulder most likely never will go back to good it’s still so much better that if I just continue with the training I’ve learned it most likely won’t be worse either. I stopped at a garden center on my way back to work. I didn’t look for any plants but I did take a look anyway. Turns out that they now sell peach trees that gives those “Gold Peaches”. They also sold an almost totally white peach, called icy something. Both trees were however so small that I most likely would cut them down with my lawn mower but the price wasn’t small at all πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

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If the Hardy Kiwi likes where it grows it grows like crazy.

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I‘ll get flowers on my Chinese (or Yellow) Catalpa this year πŸ™‚

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What I was looking for was some kind of water tight semi big pot where I could put all my carnivorous plants I bought some time ago. It is time they move from the shadier north side of my cottage to a more sunny spot. I didn’t know if I wanted one big pot or perhaps two semi big ones but they were so expensive that I bought one bigger. Turns out that it didn’t really hold water πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ It is made out of a thin layer of metal but folded together instead of welded.

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I’ve sealed it with textile glue, more or less just liquid rubber to be honest. When it has dried I’ll fill the pot with peat and water. It’ll take some time for the peat to suck up enough water before I can plant anything in it though. But if I leave it outside in the rain tonight it might be good enough tomorrow. I can already now however say that my little carnivorous plants don’t starve πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ The Venus fly traps I have are almost always closed πŸ™‚ I don’t think they can over feed that way, I sure hope that anyway because I really need both plants and animals to eat as many flies as they can, we really don’t have too few flies in this area πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

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It is time for a cup of tea, yes warm tea πŸ™‚ I bought lots of things to make really nice sandwiches, like tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce and much more but it is just too hot to eat anything so tea it’ll be but I will also drink lots of cold milk πŸ™‚ Did You know that a survey shows that the best one can drink to re hydrate the body on a hot day is to drink milk? Because even the fat in the milk contains water so it actually works even better than pure water! πŸ™‚ I drink lots of milk πŸ™‚

Have a great day!

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I’ve tried to identify the huge rose that now is so high and heavy that it sort of collapses because of its own weight and because it can’t lean or grow towards anything else. It’s 4 meters high (much the same in yards) and the big difference (except its size) compared to the dog rose is that it has at least seven buds on the same twig. The dog roses I have only have five as most.

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The heat is back.

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Have You ever eaten Sea cale (Crambe maritima)? It grows wild in my old home town and now finally I have three seeds that has germinated. One eat anything from the flowers (like broccoli) to the leafs and the stem. Quite tasty. It’s a perennial as well.

Hot again today and I don’t like it. It has even been so hot that people at work who usually go outside during every break refused to do so today πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ I knew I would have to fetch a package today so I managed to go home a couple of hours early πŸ™‚

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It was the lens I bought at our EBay, called Tradera, that finally had arrived. Turned out that the seller were on vacation when I won it with my bid. I wouldn’t have cared if it just had said so in the add instead of getting to know it after I had bought it πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ Still I’ve tried it today and I really can’t complain. It is nice to once again have a tele-photo lens that works as it should. To be honest it has such a wide range that I don’t have to have any smaller lens as long as this one works.

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Earlier this week I bought two really big peaches called Golden Peach. Nasty expensive but I thought that I at least should try once. They were really delicious and evenly light orange all over. I’ll see if I can find any more in the store tomorrow. Later on I bought some nectarines and all were just slightly bigger than a big plum. They too are delicious but I must admit that I’ve never seen that small nectarines before. So I’ve saved the kernels and I’ll sow them next winter. There’s no guarantee that, if any of them germinates and grow to be big enough to give fruits, that the fruits will look the same but then again I do like to sow seeds and see what happens πŸ™‚

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I’ll go to the physiotherapist for the last time tomorrow and I must say that my shoulders feels much better. They aren’t good in any way but I can work and didn’t need any surgery to get here and that’s a relief. After that I’ll only have to work one more week and then vacation starts πŸ™‚ After this heat wave I’m really looking forward to it and I do hope that we’ll have temperatures around 20C (68F) and no higher than 25C (77F).

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In my garden right now.

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Nova’s eyes became better pretty quick after they had swollen up last week. Have no idea why this happened and I really wish I did know why because after the walk we had today I went to take a shower and when I came back from the bathroom one of her eyes were really swollen again. She doesn’t feel any pain and had a healthy apetite so I know it doesn’t disturb her but it does disturb me πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ She walked by herself most of the walk and I have no idea what she was doing while I took the shower but sometime around the walk and my shower she’s been in contact with something she can’t tolerate. I guess it’s some kind of grass pollen and I’ve ruled out insect bites because insect bites are irritating for a long time and she doesn’t even seem to know something is different πŸ™‚

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It’s time to drink something cold and after that I’ll most likely fall asleep in front of the tv, I’ve already fallen asleep in front of it once today πŸ™‚

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Have a great day!

Finally!

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Cornflowers, poppies and Californian poppies now flower in the old wheel barrow πŸ™‚

The temperature has dropped and the rain finally fell down the sky today and it fell a lot of it as well πŸ™‚ It isn’t often everyone around You are happy about lots of rain and still want more to fall, especially during summer πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ Yesterday it was 32C (89,6F) today it stopped at 22C (71,6F). We’ll get more rain on Friday but how much varies between the different weather sites. I do hope the one with most is the right one πŸ™‚

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They grow everywhere but in my garden. It might be that the dogs fertilize my garden too well for them to like it here.

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Chamomile always grow beside the gravel road. I really should pick the flowers and dry them so I can have them in tea during winter.

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The factory was still nasty hot though. I guess that shows good insulation but also bad ventilation I’m afraid. The first one walking in to the factory days like these also opens all big doors so the cooler air can blow in, well at least days when there’s wind πŸ™‚ No wind ever reach the powder paint department so the heat wave still went on in there πŸ™‚

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I was a bit worried that the flies would be horrible when we were out walking after work but they stayed calm almost all the way, only at the end of the walk they became nasty and tried to get inside the nostrils and ears. Must remember to bring the mosquito hat tomorrow. I don’t mind them buzzing around my head but I get really annoyed when they try to get inside it πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

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Almost all windows are open and it was really nice when the wind flew through the cottage but now there’s no wind but compared to yesterday it still feels pretty nice. I started to be a bit worried about my closest neighbors yesterday because they too got this cold/ covid? and I hadn’t seen or heard them for over a week. Then this morning I finally heard how one of them drove to work and today when we headed out on our walk I finally had a chat with them. The fever is gone now but they are still not feeling especially well to be honest, just like all of us that had this.

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Rubus odoratus, Virginia raspberry. The colors are a bit strong here, should have changed the settings πŸ™‚ Beautiful weed that rarely gives any berries here and when it does the berries doesn’t taste anything. Tried to get rid of it several times but it always comes back πŸ™‚

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Have a great day!

It comes close but then turns westwards again.

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I’ve sown this mock orange many years ago. It’s now almost three meters high (much the same in yards) and smells rather nice.

It’s just as warm today as yesterday and I can’t pretend to like it πŸ™‚ It is raining (with thunder) to the west of us and every time it’s getting closer it stops and turns westwards again. I really would enjoy that lower temperature one always get with thunder.

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I’ve done very little today. We’ve taken one walk before it got too hot and thankfully we had a wind blowing as well. I would have loved to get out early in the morning when I woke up but there was no wind and the flies would have loved to eat suck us dry from our blood πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ I’m telling myself that the flies are good for all the birds and that they do good things for nature but on days like these I really wouldn’t mind if they went extinct πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

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I’m glad I have the fan and it had to work a lot last night. It is a bit noisy to be honest but I didn’t have any problems falling asleep. I did wake up at some time during the night and turned it off, It’s amazing how quiet it was after that πŸ™‚ but I do remember that I heard some birds singing so I guess it wasn’t that long after I went up anyway.

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Another rose growing in the hedge πŸ™‚

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Tomorrow will be just as hot or perhaps hotter and guess if I’m happy I don’t work in my old department πŸ™‚ Working beside a hot oven and hot washing machine at the same time it’s a heat wave is not a nice thing, or healthy either for that matter. Still it won’t be nice to work anywhere in the factory with theseΒ  temperatures. They’re guessing the temperature will drop on Tuesday and rain will come as well. It might be hot again on Wednesday though, yay.

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My pink flowering and red leafed Elder.

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Another mock orange I bought long ago, has a weak but nice smell.

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Have a great day!