Jenny

Does any other gardener out there hunt around the garden searching for ladybirds and then move them to the apple tree to deal with the aphids..... no, just me.... OK then. @BBCSpringwatch @Buzz_dont_tweet

A kitchen surface covered with boxes and tins all labelled as containing tea. They are next to a black electric kettle and a small teapot covered with a tea cosy in the shape of a black and white sheep.

In honour of @Nationalteaday, I've had one each of my favourite teas: @WiltshireTea "s Summer Sunshine, their Green Tea with apple, their rosehip and hibiscus tea (I love Wiltshire Tea), also @Tesco's Finest Vanilla Chai and @Pukkaherbs 's Three Mint tea. #NationalTeaDay

A tall spire built of medieval stone against a deep blue sky surrounded by small white clouds, with a tree in blossom in the foreground.

Wow, @SalisburyCath looks stunning this afternoon. I love living in Salisbury!

A tall tree covered in white blossom flowers against a deep blue sky. It's sits in a border scattered with spring flowers.

My damson, which I planted as a whip 11 years ago, is a constant source of delight, whether it be the beautiful spring blossom, the wildlife that it attracts, or the delicious fruit it bears. Today, however, it should be full of pollinators and..... it's not and yesterday was the same 😢

It was just a pathetic excuse for rain here in South West Wiltshire. Didn't even manage to get through the trees. My water butt's are empty!

First bee fly of 2025 in the garden. They love those pulmonaria.

Picture of a glorious glowing orange sunrise next to an image of a calming reddish, purple sunset.

Happy equilux, everyone!

A blossom bud close to opening on a branch on a damson tree framed by deep blue sky.

Not long now until my #DamsonBlossom appears. 🌱

Long thin green leaves on gravel, with the beginnings of a bluish flower spike showing in the centre.

First signs of my muscari. It didn't do very well last year, so fingers crossed. It's funny, but I didn't really like them at one time, but they grew on me (oh, pun not intended!)

Study recommends new M4 to south coast corridor to avoid Bath M4 traffic to the south coast should be routed via Wiltshire rather than Bath, says National Highways.

For gods sake, we have enough HGV traffic thundering through our villages off the A36 as it is! Whenever there is an accident, they squeeze along country roads trashing the countryside & the rumble of traffic can be heard 4 miles. Put it on the railway!!
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Did they not engage their brains for more than 5 seconds before giving this the go-ahead?

It's not exactly helping the cause 🙄🙄

Microsoft 365 prices have risen by up to £30 a year – here's how to beat them - Which? News Microsoft 365 prices are going up, but there’s a simple way to avoid paying more

I just saved £25, thanks to an email to an article by @WhichUK. I had previously tried to find a way to get my Microsoft O365 renewed without the AI, but hadn't found it until the article. Probably saved cost of my Which? Money sub (well not quite 😉). www.which.co.uk/news/article...

A large plastic greenhouse cover over metal frame filled with plants in a gardening setting.

My old walk in plastic greenhouse (see below) has too many issues & I've had to buy a replacement cover. Does anyone have any ideas for recycling the old cover? I've thought about fashioning covers for crates as mini greenhouses, but I wanted any ideas from other gardeners out there. 🌱🌿💚

a man is covering his ears in a black and white photo with the words make it stop Alt: A man is covering his ears in a black and white photo with the words make it stop

So my neighbour clearly feels that they haven't irritated us enough by letting their dogs bark and howl all day and well into the night, as they've now decided to give them squeaky toys, which join in the cacophany, which adds to the the hell which is my life living next door to them.

Search results giving conflicting advice on whether to use condensed milk or evaporated milk. The results are directly under each other.

I really want to make some fudge, but I've never made it before. I tried to get advice online - fat chance! 🙄

Novichok poisonings: Seven-year Salisbury litter picking ban ends Dawn Sturgess died after being exposed to the nerve agent from a discarded perfume bottle.

Well, that's a relief, I couldn't go on much longer not being able to pick up someone else's filthy litter.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A cartoon image of a smiling black bat with wings spread and a beautiful green smiling newt, labelled with "Team Bat" and "Team Newt"

Myth-busting bats, newts and the economy vs nature protections | The Wildlife Trusts There has been widespread misinformation blaming nature as a blocker to growth in the run up to the Chancellor’s speech this week, writes Joe Keegan, public affairs officer at The Wildlife Trusts.

The Wildlife Trust bite back "...in fact, more than 1 million homes granted planning permission since 2015 have not been built, suggesting that unpicking the planning system and weakening environmental regulation will do little to help house building"
www.wildlifetrusts.org/blog/joe-kee...

I did think that just after I posted, but worth a try?

News article from the Times weekend supplement for Sunday 25th January that asks "Stop treating your dogs like spoilt children".

I'm going to get a lot of hate for this (or not as I don't get much engagement on here or X), but this really hits the mark. As the article says I don't hate dogs, in fact I love them and regularly donate to the dogs trust, but this article really resonates with me. Enough is enough.....

That's a coincidence, just spotted my first starting to bloom in my garden

Oooh, can't wait. I'm following and waiting....

Easy, sell to Britain for £1, then we give them immediate independence. Bish, bash, bosh,job done!

A screenshot of the Met Office weather warnings graphic, showing multiple yellow warnings all overlapped over each other showing a multitude of warnings that are not easily interpreted.

OK, @metoffice, this is really messy and really not helpful. I guess the way to go is to assume darker the yellow I'm under, the more I should worry? #NotGoingOutToday

Finally got it to work after a couple of reinstalls and clearing caches, etc. Thanks for the help.

Ahh, I'm on Android...

Thanks for checking.None of the bluesky notifications or links work properly for me at all. Your post, for instance, I got a notification, clicked it and it just opened the app at the last page I visited. I'll try reinstalling, probably the first thing I should have tried before whining on here 😊

Warning of stowaway snakes and tree-frogs hiding in pot plants Frogs, lizards, snakes and insect pests are being transported across the world on ornamental plants.

Every time I click a link to what purports to be a link to a Bluesky profile, it just opens the app and links to a page of posts and not the person's profile. The most recent was the link at end of this BBC News item (included as an example). Can @support.bsky.team help?
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Snowdrops, made up of green leaves with tiny white flowers at the centre showing through patchy snow on the grass.

Not my first snowdrops this season, but the first I've seen in the snow. Beautiful