Mastodawn

Further to my post yesterday about trees shedding their leaves early this year due to the dry conditions, here's a photo taken just now from an upstairs window.
The poplar trees, which probably prefer moist conditions anyway, are stressed by the lack of rainfall and respond by dropping their leaves.
And this is still just mid August, not late September!
#trees #climate #ClimateChange #weather #nature

elbowcrooker 2d ago

Autumn leaves? In the middle of August?
'Fraid so. It's the trees responding to the exceptionally dry ground this year.
Photo taken in my back garden an hour ago, 10 am Sunday August 17th.
The trees are Populus x canadensis 'Robusta', a cross between the Lombardy poplar and a North American poplar.
This was intended to be a 'Silent Sunday ' post with minimal blether until I noticed the ground strewn with yellow leaves...
#ClimateChange #trees #SilentSunday #weather

elbowcrooker 4d ago

I don't suppose the golf club are too happy about this very old public right-of-way crossing their course. You can't see from the photo but it is actually cobbled along much of its length, a feature that dates from the path's former life as a track across the pleasure grounds of Beauchief Hall, Sheffield, UK. The footpaths near the Hall and the nearby ruined Abbey are well worth exploring. Don't miss the deer paddock with its herd of red deer.

#footpathfriday #footpaths #Sheffield #landscape

elbowcrooker 5d ago

Sloes, the fruit of the Blackthorn (Prunus Spinosa) are abundant this year and are ripening early.
I reckon that 2025 is destined to be remembered as "the year of the fruit" because everything has done so well: soft fruit, stone fruit and top fruit.
The benign weather here lasted right through spring meaning there were plenty of insects to pollinate fruit plants of all kinds.
More info in alt text.
#climate #ClimateChange #fruit #gardening #gardens #insects #pollinators #pollinator #weather

elbowcrooker 6d ago

Another hot day in Yorkshire, UK. It got to about 31 Centigrade outside and was quite humid. So hot and sticky.
The greenhouse thermometer shows the maximum and minimum temperatures reached today between 7am and 7pm. The centre reading is the current temperature at 7pm.
The thermometer is situated in the shade near the door. The door and all the vents were wide open all day.
#weather #plants #gardens #gardening #peppers #greenhouse #climate

elbowcrooker Aug 9

When we plant our potatoes at the allotment in March/April there are always a few small tubers left over. These we plant in large pots at home, 3 or 4 per pot. The tops of these plants start to die back early August, indicating that the tubers won't get any bigger.
The variety in the foreground is Acoustic and the ones to the rear are Wilja. Both very tasty '2nd early' types.
The growing medium is just compost from our compost heap.
#allotments #vegetables #potatoes #gardening #compost #gardens

elbowcrooker Aug 8

This is plum wine. I just racked (transferred) it off the sediment into a fresh demijohn and lifted it onto the window sill while I wiped down the work-top. I couldn't believe the amazing colour when the light shone through it!

Made from our home grown Victoria plums. It should be ready for bottling in 3 or 4 months and for drinking a year after that. Roll on Christmas 2026......

#fensterfreitag #windows #windowfriday #wine #winemaking #homebrewing #fruit #fruitgrowing #plums

elbowcrooker Aug 2

We currently have a hose-pipe ban here but Bella the elderly cat doesn't care, she prefers water from a watering can. Mmmmm! So much nicer than from my bowl....
#Caturday #cats #pets #gardening

elbowcrooker Jul 30

View up the allotment, end of July 2025.
The broad beans and peas are finished and have been cleared. We've started setting out our young wallflower plants in the resultant gap. These are moved to the beds at home at the end of October and will flower April/May time alongside the tulips.
The runner beans are cropping heavily and we have started to lift the second-early potatoes.
The sweet peas have finished but they were good while they lasted.
#allotments #gardening #vegetables #flowers

elbowcrooker Jul 26

This month's peep into the greenhouse shows plenty of lovely ripe tomatoes. For an unheated greenhouse in northern England that's not bad, perhaps a week or two earlier than normal thanks to the warm spring. Varieties are Sungold and the wonderfully-named Bloody Butcher; both were chosen for their excellent flavour. The cucumbers are also cropping well and the sweet peppers have half-sized fruits already.
#plants #gardens #gardening #tomatoes #vegetables #greenhouse #cucumbers
#peppers