A Pinch and a Punch for the First of the Month

Now that it is October it can no longer be denied that Autumn is well under way and Winter will soon be upon us. October is often a very pleasant month but today is wet and grey.

Frankie and his mother, Susannah, are on holiday, narrowly avoiding Hurricane Matthew. 

A blurry photo taken with my phone of a fast-moving Frankie 

 'Follow Mummy, Frankie.'

You're never too young to learn the rules of queueing.

Susannah was anticipating a twelve-hour flight from Gatwick with some trepidation but her fears were unfounded and Frankie behaved impeccably. There is still the return journey, of course . . .

The birds have not returned to the garden, sadly. Maybe when it is cold and wet and the cats don’t wish to go out they will come back to feed.

Life continues on a smaller scale.

This little creature is a Hairy Shield bug, (Dolycoris baccarum) so called because it is covered in short hairs. It is about 11mm long and widespread, though becoming rarer in the north of the country.

There have been many Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta) in the garden. This one, appropriately, is feeding on a buddleja, a plant often referred to as the butterfly bush.

Meanwhile, the cats continue to enjoy and explore the garden. 

Isambard

Jellicoe

Herschel

Lenny

Solomon

They go out first thing in the morning and often stay out until dusk or even, in the case of Susannah’s cats, dark!

There have been no more squirrel casualties though the dragonflies, mainly Southern Hawkers, (Aeshna cyanea) do not learn from experience. 

Southern Hawker female laying eggs

They are large, busy predators, hunting insects and catching them mid-air. They can hover and also fly backwards but they cannot escape the claws of cats!

One benefit of the shortening and cooling days is the excuse to have a fire. Today is cold, tomorrow may be warm – the weather is capricious.

I am linking with Eileen's 'Saturday Critters' and Misty's 'Camera-Critters'

SkyWatch Friday - October late afternoon

Late afternoon in the forest on a beautifully warm October day

Thank you, SkyWatch team.

Busy, busy, busy . . .

It's been a busy week so far and it's only Wednesday!

I arranged for the chimney sweep to come on Monday. We have two multi-fuel burners, one in our sitting room and a smaller one in the conservatory. Originally, the new conservatory roof was scheduled for installation a week ago but it was delayed. It was not a problem – the conservatory had been cleared out so the sweep had plenty of elbow room but when he started on the sitting room fire he found a snag. We knew that the chimney was only partially lined because the stove installers had not been able to fit the liner round the dog-leg bend. This had not troubled the sweep who came last year but Monday's man wanted to do a thorough job. His opinion was that the chimney was very dirty and if left the soot would fall outside the partial liner, building up over the years and impossible to reach. His solution was to disconnect the burner from the flue and move it to one side to gain access to the chimney. It's a cast iron stove and very heavy but between us we managed to move it – though to be honest I don't think I added much power to the enterprise.

While the sweep was engaged in his work a man from the gas board came to replace the meter. He inquired what gas appliances we used and I told him it was just the hot water boiler in the garage and the kitchen range. Then he asked if he could have a quick look at the boiler. I said, 'You're welcome to try – it's a bit hugger-mugger in there.' He took one look and we decided he should go in through the vehicle entrance. It was still pretty chocker but after we had moved a few things he was able to gain access.

Every time we have to find somewhere to store something and Barry says, 'It can go in the garage' my heart sinks. At the last count I think he had four sack-barrows each designed for a specific purpose. I don't often use my car - just as well really! The gas boiler is in the far right corner to the right of the overflow freezer, which is not connected most of the time. It cannot be seen from the door. The door into the house is on the far left.

He checked the boiler and then proceeded to drill a hole in the porch wall where the meter is housed. So now the chimney sweep's vacuum cleaner was going full blast and a loud drill was rattling the house. The cats were very unsettled, their eyes huge, and the dogs were restless and barking from time to time. Many 'cold callers' decided to contact me so I also took several phone calls which caused Frodo to howl – the pitch of the telephone's warbling tone hurts his ears.
When the sweep had completed his cleaning he manhandled the stove back into position but before he did so he noticed the remote control motor receiver box but couldn't see how it worked or where it fitted. I didn't know either so told him not to worry about it because Barry would sort it out when he got home. That was a mistake! It took much fiddling about, not a little cursing and many deep sighs were heaved. It would have been much easier to fit the magnet which retains the motor before the stove was moved back but Barry wasn't at home so it couldn't be. Eventually it was accomplished and calm was restored.

This is the remote control motor receiver, cause of frayed nerves! It controls the damper.

At 8:00 am on Tuesday morning the roof installers arrived to start work. It was a very noisy day and the cats were miffed because they weren't allowed in the conservatory. Buddy was upset too as he likes to lie in the doorway between conservatory and kitchen and keep an eye on proceedings. The old roof was dismantled and removed and the framework for the new one installed. It's steeper than the original and some of the brickwork has been exposed and will have to be plastered. When the men left yesterday the roof was open to the elements and I wasn't happy about that even though rain wasn't forecast.

Fortunately we had a dry night.

Doesn't the sky look clear? It should - there's no glass!

The workmen returned bright and early today to fit the glass, only to discover that one of the panes was the wrong size! The glass is blue K glass. It is self-cleaning, heat reflecting and insulating. It looks very attractive and we are looking forward to star-gazing as the nights draw in further.

We currently have a glass roof with two polycarbonate panels, through one of which the flue should pass. It looks rather strange but should only remain like that for about ten days. The flue panel has to be specially cut.

The polycarbonate spoils the overall effect but shows what a difference the glass has made.

The men also found that the fitting brackets for part of the guttering were missing. Why are jobs never straightforward?
We're going to redecorate before we put everything back in the conservatory. It's a good thing we're not desperate to use the dining room!

We have too many chairs most of the time but need 15/16 when everyone's gathered together.

All the conservatory furniture is in here plus two enormous Quad speakers (Barry lusted after them for years) and the associated hi-fi.

At the window end of the room Gareth and Nina have stacked many of their personal belongings that need to be kept securely until they are back in their own home in October.