The yellow patches are the result of cutting the grass very late, after letting the the daffodils die back. I’m hoping to get some lawn fertiliser on the lawn in the next few days, which I’m hoping should put some colour back!
Posts Tagged ‘bblog’
Front Garden in July 2007
Sunday, July 8th, 2007New Secret Weapon against slugs and snails…
Sunday, July 8th, 2007This is my new organic, environmentally friendly, weapon against slugs and snails.
Let me introduce you to Mrs Tiggy-winkle
and for those of you who don’t read Beatrix Potter, shame on you, it’s a young Hedgehog that has decided to visit the garden to eat those pesky slugs and snails! I hope she’s road-wise!
The Slug Gone and Copper Rings have worked very well, and my Hostas are doing much better, or is it the work of Mrs Tiggy-winkle?
Angus & Matilda
Wednesday, July 4th, 2007The kittens have been named Angus & Matilda, and are doing very well, Esther still not keen, litter trained already – very good. Tilly is the brain, Angus well he’s just mad!
Angus Little Boy. Gus “Honeybun” for short!
Matilda Little Girl. “Tilly” for short.
They have their own webpages here which have been updated again with pictures taken on the 3 July 2007. It’s much easier for me to add pictures to these dynamic pages, rather than add images to the blog!
Folks in Somerset, Devon & Cornwall will understand the Gus reference! Remember the mushroom! That’s mushroom not mushrooms!
New Kittens!
Saturday, June 30th, 2007We collected two new kittens today, friends for Esther to keep her entertained during the day. I’ve finally moved enough boxes into the attic, so the kittens could have their own room. The third bedroom.
A ginger and white little boy, and a tabby and white little girl.
They have their own webpages here:-
Under Pressure!
Wednesday, June 27th, 2007I’ve been using two Hailea piston based, ACO-308 and ACO-208 air-pumps to provide air in the fish house, using a 22mm ring main “air-reservoir”. I purchased the first ACO-208 in September 2005, and when my generic 40lpm “Hi-Blow” failed when I moved just under tweleve months ago, purchased another larger ACO-308 to add to the “air-reservoir”. I’ve never really been happy with the amount of air, especially in the deeper tanks (> 2 foot). I switched to Hailea because they were cheaper to run, but I’ve since found, they cannot deliver the pressure and are noisy, my master bedroom is above the fish house, and I can hear the pumps through the floor!
So I’ve recently purchased a Japanese Secoh SLL-50, but I still wasn’t getting the required pressure required. After consultation with a DIY expert, we will call him SimonL at work, he mentioned that I needed to use 15mm and 22mm inserts in the Speedfit piping, and also cut the pipe using a poly pipe cutter, not a hacksaw (I knew this bit, but I didn’t think it would really matter!). I borrowed SimonL’s poly pipe cutter to re-cut all lengths of pipe, and disappeared to ScrewFix to purchase some pipe inserts (well I didn’t know, it didn’t say it on the pack!), re-assembled the ring main “air-reservoir” and like magic plenty of pressure!
Re-visited the fish house, 30 minutes later to find no air! I thought the ring main had failed, it wasn’t the ring main but the back-pressure on the diaphragms in the Secoh SLL-50, that had failed! I’d forgotten to open the bleed valve on the ring main, which usually feeds into a large volume of water, that I use to change in the tanks. So I purchased a Service Kit from KoiKit by JustKoi. Fantastic service, the service kit arrived promptly, Secoh pump serviced, diaphragms replaced, and to prevent this happening again I purchased Pressure Relief Valve and Pressure Guage Assembley from partsandpumps.co.uk, again Fantastic Customer Service, tell David I sent you!
This pressure relief valve is a pump protection device against over pressurisation. The valve will safely vent off any pressure over 0.2 Bar, and it’s been doing that!
I think I’ve got too much air now! But the leaks in the “air-reservoir” are fixed – Thanks SimonL
Secoh SLL-50 “Hi-Blow” Pump, with pressure relief valve and pressure guage assembley inline and connected to “air-reservoir”
The Secret Weapon – Bio Weapons of Mass Destruction
Sunday, June 3rd, 2007Well to slugs anyway!
This is my secret weapon, it must have surprised the postie on Friday morning, with the label “Living Material Urgent” stickered on the parcel!
“Living Material Urgent”
The parcel contained:-
Nemaslug controls all common species of small to medium sized slugs (up to 8cm – 2.5-3 inches).
Nemaslug uses the nematode Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita, which was discovered by scientists at the government research institute at Bristol, England.
I’ve also undertaken, an eight pronged attack to reduce slugs and snails:-
- Sharp-grit around the plants.
- Used coffee granuals around the plants.
- Beer traps suck into the groud, near the plants.
- Nemaslug – Bio Control.
- Slug Gone – wooden pellet that forms a fibrous mulch around plants
- Slug rings, yes your heard right, Slug Rings!
- Advance Slug Killer pellets – approved for Organic use.
- Collect the snails and slugs at midnight with a torch!
I hope my Hostas survive! because I’ve planted another two today, but these are blue ones, and slugs and snails don’t eat those!
Paint your Wagon!
Sunday, June 3rd, 2007Lindsey now has the painting bug! So she’s been painting our Antique Wagon/Cart with another flavour of Cuprinol Shades.
Antique Wagon
Hector’s House is finally finished
Sunday, June 3rd, 2007The weather has been so hot this weekend, I’ve been able to get on and give the final coats of paint to Hector’s House. Thanks to Lindsey because she touched-up the door and windows.
Shed completed.
So, onto the next DIY project, I’ve just bought myself a new toy, to replace a busted cordless drill, I’ve bought a new 18v combi cordless Makita drill, with electronic clutch, I’m just running around the house, drilling holes everywhere now! This is to enable me to complete the second loft and fully board it out, to free-up Bedroom 3 for the Nursery!
UPDATE The slugs and snails have still been eating my Hostas, the used coffee granuals did not work, so I’ve emptied 12kg of used coffee granuals on my garden for no reason! Strange because a friend, states they have been working fine for her, on her allotment, but she does get them from Starf***s! Maybe their coffee has something nasty in it! Unlike the Freetrade coffee granuals I’ve been using. But I’ve got a secret weapon for the slugs…!
Microrasbora erythromicron fry picture
Thursday, May 31st, 2007I think this is a better photograph, these fry, are very very small approx 5mm, very difficult to see with the naked eye.
Taken with cheaper compact digital camera! Told you the macro function was better! (click thumbnail image to view larger image).
Microrasbora erythromicron spawn, fry hatch.
Wednesday, May 30th, 2007At the end of March, a label on a tank in a local pet shop caught my attention to some fish called Galaxy Rasbora, which later turned-out to be Microrasbora erythromicron., common names could be Crossbanded or Emerald Dwarf Rasbora.
Male Microrasbora erythromicron
Photograph courtesy of Mike Noren
I purchased these little fish (25mm), knowing they were Microrasbora erythromicron in a hope to breed them, I don’t think these are rare, but at present probably less common than the famous Galaxy Rasbora.
I checked the tank this evening, and I have a few fry from the trio.
I’m ecstatic, I haven’t felt like this since, breeding my first guppies, and that’s a long time ago!
Maybe I’ll now find that elusive Galaxy Rasbora, and give them the same “luving”, in a hope to breed them.
It’s taken over 400 shots to get the following pictures, glad I’ve got a digital camera. These were taken on the digital SLR, I’m running back in with the other camera, it has a better macro function (and it’s cheaper if it falls in the tank!)
fry at approx 5mm (click thumbnail for larger image)
single Microrasbora erythromicron fry (click thumbnail for larger image)
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