h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hello Ed.
I finally managed to escape the mayhem that was christmas It's great to be home again. Having said that, the tribe are descending on me today to help me celebrate another year on this earth.
I hope you suceeded in keeping Eddiepuss out of the bin I had a cat that used to turn out the pedal bin in the kitchen. I would often come home to find leftovers and used teabags all over the kitchen floor

Cats and bins eh? That's probably how they got into human company in the first place, is my guess.

What happens with your Orchids during winter? Do they sleep below ground or leave leaves and stuff behind?

It looks like we're in for more snow from Wednesday onwards (my mid-summer 'bet' for January 2008 was that it would be the 'warmest on UK record' ...) we've had just about a covering since Friday last but the rain before that was Biblical (again!) - DK loved it! and sent me through more puddles and fresh-springing becks than i counted. I was soaked.

Happy days with your descendents. ed.

Hi Ed
The Bee Orchids die back after flowering, then around Sept/Oct they start to grow new leaves. The leaves stay all winter, then grow bigger in Spring.
The Spotted Orchid dies down to the ground in Sept and does'nt re-appear until March/April. It grows very quickly once the new shoots appear.

We havent had any snow here and i'm hoping we don't get any either Everyone says we need a hard winter to kill off all the bugs, my experience is a hard winter and i get more bugs!
How does DK cope with snow?

hmmm, my garden looks very sad too: the holly is okay but my lack of attention means the rest looks very tired/overgrown: the buddliea (sp) 'orange ball' looks more like 'rat's nest'. heigh ho...

Previous cold spells hereabouts tend to bring 'plagues' of human illness too. P'raps the bugs are getting us sussed?

I've ridden a bit of snow but studded wheels are the correct solution (i may invest soon) and a recent youtube shows mtbs to be equally as fast as skiers/boarders and the like on snow-slopes. whoopee!

Eddiepuss has ventured out (!!) but i bet he'll back in the bin 'ere too long: especially if snow does fall. Toaster seems to have disappeared into his 'field barn' again. I think he runs a card-school or something down there. And the shiny one looks comfy in her seat by the fire.

Stay well and i hope you enjoyed 2007 and will continue next year and next etc...

All the very breast of duck! (As they say in these parts.)

(ooops! nearly a party going on...)

I'm sure you will get back on track with cutting down your overgrown garden eventually. It's not the right time of year to cut down the budlliea (I can't spell it either) Spring time, usually March is a good time to cut it back if you want to.
Who needs a snowboard when you can have a faster bike eh!
It's been surprisingly mild here the past week, though i've heard there is some nasty cold weather heading this way. I guess it's too late to hibernate now

One thing you can always guarantee with cats, is that they know where they prefer to be and where to go to get fed and warm eh!
One day i will have a cat again, in the meantime my neighbours cat has adopted me as a head scratcher and chin tickler
Happy New Year to you Ed and many more to come

It's been a long time since you've appeared online I do hope that everything is ok and that you are well.

Hiya

There's so much going on that i feel to have negelected the beeb.

How goes it with you?

Hi Ed
Nice to hear from you and pleased to see that you are indeed alive and well.
Things have been going well here. I went to an orchid show in London a few weeks ago, that was great! This Thursday just gone, i went for a day at Kew with my friend MMF. That was also a great day.
Thinking about it, it's been rather busy here of late, especially now the gardening season has started again.
Oh and i've had a population explosion of Bee Orchids in my garden, currently there are 10 of them, all growing happily. It was shear luck that i found them before i started mowing the grass. I'm not sure how many of them will flower this year, some of them appear more mature than others. Either way i'm very happy to have them. I managed to buy two more native orchids to plant with the others, a Pyramid Orchid and a Lesser Butterfly Orchid.
So, what great things have been happening in your world?
Hows the training with DK progressing?

Living near sea level closer to the equator has its benefits, i see.

Still wintry-showers hereabouts; garden twitching and croaking but the daffs got flattened by inclemency.

DK-training is going well. It's got me under complete control, now.

Passport piccys tomorrow.

It's not nearly so mild here, as in Devon and Cornwal. But it does have it's advantages.

How did the passport photo turn out? It's strange how passport photos always make you look like you've been dug up from a grave, and not looking like you at all Mine is absolutely horrible, i'm sure the airport checkers must get a good from some of them.

It's been a lovely day here. I spent some time watching the newts in the pond. The two males were looking in their prime, sporting their mating colours.

When do you go abroad?

Ooops! again,

ermm, leaving next Monday, back early September...

Hope to post more soon...

How's you?

Ey-up Ed.
Nice to hear from you

I hope you have a great time on your trip abroad.

Remind me to tell you about my encounter with a snake in my pond

Untill another time