Friday 23 July 2021

"Pingdemic"

Don't worry, its only me, and luckily I don't have the Covid-19 pinging app. so you are perfectly safe here.

Has Bo Jo's so called Freedom Day fallen to earth like a lead balloon before it even got underway. We, along with many others (not including the young) appear to be carrying on in much the same way as we have done for the past 16 months i.e wearing our masks in shops etc, being cautious and taking care. Now dubbed "The English Experiment" around much of the world, many are now wondering just how it will pan out - wellwe aren't planning to be a part of it. 


We had intended to travel across the water into Wales this week, but we now find ourselves sitting in the centre of an amber heat weather warning, which is not at all conducive to travel. We have a cool shady spot in the garden and are generally taking things slow and easy.
In the garden the Regale Lilies look and smell divine. Lilies were the Pre-Raphaelite painters flower of choice, especially these Regale ones.
Yellow Tiger Lily Leichtlinii - we really do love our lilies
The Callistemon citrinus - bottle brush tree is covered in blossom and stands about 2 meters high,
but it is the pleasant fragrance of Lavender filling the air that we are really appreciating.

31 comments:

  1. Dearest Rosemary,
    So you did not go to Wales...
    Heat wave warnings for temperatures as hot as 30°C then we would have to close our State and Florida included.
    But your garden is lovely at the moment for staying put; enjoy your superb lilies and fragrant lavender!
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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    1. Dear Mariette - you are right, best just to sit tight and ride the hot weather out. We hope that when it does depart we shall receive some much needed rain.

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  2. Love those lilies. I was talking to a cousin in Oswestry yesterday and he mentioned the temperature in the 30's . That is too hot for me but I think we are going to get it more frequently.

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    1. I think that you are right Susan - extremes in weather conditions are becoming far more frequent around the whole of the globe.

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  3. Oh, those lilies are gorgeous! Let's hope there's no further waves of Covid-19 variants!

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    1. Unfortunately, as I understand it, that is sadly what viruses do - they are very, very clever little beasties.

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  4. Those lilies are stunning, Rosemary! A(nother) holiday at home in such beautiful surroundings sounds like bliss. I'm curious about your callistemon - do you have any nectar-feeding birds in your garden that feed from them? As you might expect, there are many bird species here in Australia that go into raptures over some of our native flowers.

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    1. Dear Pip - apparently I am not even supposed to be able to grow your native Callistemon here, but as you can see it survives well in our garden and has done so for over 20 years. Sadly we don't have any nectar-feeding birds, but the flowers are enjoyed by our many butterflies and bees.

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  5. My phone is from the Jurassic period, so no danger of getting pinged here either. Your garden looks so lovely that I don't think I'd want to leave it anyway. Stay Cool And Enjoy The Flowers!






















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    1. Mine too John - the 'pingdemic' appears to be totally out of control.

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  6. Hello Rosemary, I'm glad you postponed your trip--those are no temperatures to be out in! Here in the summer the temperature never drops below 30, so I avoid going out (again, this helps with the covid violation), except sometimes late at night, when the sun is down and no one is around. I only use the air conditioner in my bedroom, so even the rest of my apartment is too hot to stay in for long (often up to 40), except for brief forays to the kitchen. I'm glad you have such a colorful and comfortable garden--your spectacular lilies and other colorful flowers seem to be enjoying the weather.
    --Jim

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    1. Hello Jim - no air conditioning here, so we shall just have to ride it out in the garden. I suspect that when the weather finally breaks then we might have an almighty thunder storm, but the garden is crying out for rain.

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  7. Pinging app - looked it up, sounds indeed interesting Rosemary.
    Your Lilliam's are beautiful.
    Unpleasant travelling in a heatwave, a wise move to stay put.
    Take care.

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    1. We will ride the heatwave out, and delay visiting Wales until it is cooler.

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  8. The warming planet is really becoming serious and we are going to be living with these conditions from now on. A friend of mine in Leicestershire is seriously considering having air conditioning installed throughout his house. Here in Canada it sometimes seems that half the country is burning.

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    1. I don't like to be a prophet of doom David, but have we left it all too late?

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  9. It is true, we are all watching the Freedom experiment with alarm! I would not be part of it either. I tried to find the amber weather alert temperatures - a few sites mentioned low 30s. While we have to tolerate much higher temperatures, I don't like going on car journeys in the Summer heat. Best to stay home and be cool. A garden is a great help in this regard. What a super close-up of your Lavender, you are an artist with the camera.

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    1. The Lavender is quite surprising to see in closeup - all of its tiny flowers pop out of such soft fluffy buds - who would expect that?
      Fortunately most people are carrying on in much the same way as ourselves. However, the young, but I certainly don't include them all seem to think that they are invincible!
      Our weather is hovering at around 31°, not hot by Australian standards but far too hot for us.

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  10. Oops, following the hacker, I am. Loved seeing your garden flowers. I've not seen that variety of lavender...but am happily reminded of the scent. Stay safe!

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    1. I have spammed the 'hacker' and sent him on his way Barbara. The lavender is the one seen in most gardens, it is just that they look completely different to what our eyes think when magnified.

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  11. Dear Rosemary - why should you travel at a time your garden offers so many treasures?
    Of course I know that we all want to see something new and exciting - but at the moment I enjoy simple pleasures (and amenities at home) very much. So: Enjoy your stay at home - you will travel later, I am sure of that! xxx

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    1. Dear Britta - we were only popping over to Wales for the day - there is something medieval that I am particular keen to see, but it can wait for a cooler day.

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  12. I've read some scathing comments about the Pinging App and the havoc it's causing. Here we are moving cautiously. I'm just so glad that we can see family and friends again that wearing a mask in a store or indoor public place is something I'm glad to do if it will prevent a huge uptick in cases. Interestingly, the vast majority of our new cases are in the unvaccinated population.
    Enjoy your garden. I remember the intense heat of your area when we were in England five years ago at this same time.

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    1. It is the same here - there have been a few cases of people who have been double vaccinated catching it, but they have only had it mildly.
      I do like warm summer days, but not when it is so debilitating.

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  13. Beautiful collection of flowers. I recognize the bottle brush from walking in Australia. Although I'm not a fan of politics in general I am glad I live in Nicola land during Covid as at least she seems sensible and intelligent in her choices during a pandemic. Maybe the extreme heat in London has got to Boris. I expect to see him as a skinhead soon though as I've already done it today and it's much cooler than his usual thick thatch. I'm pleased with mine anyway.

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    1. Don't forget to wear a hat if you are out into the Glaswegian sun.

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    2. Beautiful and healthy flowers , your garden pics are always a real pleasure to see.

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― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh