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It has been lovely here too :) Blue skies, bird song, greenery coming up, buds opening....and the light's back :)

And, if you're more into Stationery (as in Staples) then this is an absolute steal :)...

Today's bargain ...... If you like making stuff, like opening a mystery box of stuff on a craft theme, happy to split stuff up and pass it along (I sent a lot to the Salvation Army shop and more to my weekly craft group, but I took out an enormous pile of good things, from scissors to beads to...

I am so pleased that this worked out well :) Good needles are good things. Those say Made in England on the packaging too....so none of this bend like a pretzel, snap like a cracker dross, that is so prevalent today :D

DIY coffee bags.....you can buy permeable bags to make your own Tbags, they work fine with ground coffee too....and if sealed inside a mini zip bag, they last well too. If you buy good ones you can just burn the whole thing when you're done. Having written all that I just use a fine metal mesh...

Well, you just need to get through the clay and stir stuff up a bit. Get some organics into it, and stuff will grow fine :) So long as they can get their roots into something and not drown, given enough light, most native plants will grow in our climate. We're on heavy Lanarkshire blue clay...

How about on the British Mineral Survey ? or the maps of the 1850's to 1950's that show the geological overprint on the 6" OS maps. These are now out copyright so freely accessible. Like these.... https://maps.nls.uk/geological/6inch/

The British Geological Survey is maybe worth a look. Experts can get so much information from the records, but anyone who can read a map can find out a lot about an area they are familiar with. https://www.bgs.ac.uk/technologies/web-map-services-wms/geoindex-wms-services/ Worth spending a...

I wondered that too. Mercury's a funny metal. Turns out that it was pollution from burning coal (China's still doing it) and it ends up building up in the smaller fish that the tuna eat. It's methylmercury that's the issue apparently. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68339664

Have you seen the reports about the increase in mercury consumption in Europe because of the fish ? https://www.bloomassociation.org/en/mercury-contamination-bloom-exposes-a-health-scandal-on-an-unprecedented-scale/ I know I don't like the stuff, and must seem biased, but maybe worth being...

If you have goats, they'll eat it until the plant is exhausted and dies. They just keep grazing on any young shoots, so start them as soon as it begins to show. Starve it of it's wee solar panels :) Donkeys will do so too.

If you whistle for them, repeated long and flat then dropping off, they'll gyre round and come to see what's making the noise :)

Those are good, but they're heavy. Much like the Gorilla wrecking bar that I have. https://www.screwfix.com/p/roughneck-gorilla-wrecking-bar-48-/29330 I can get through pretty much anything with it though, even concrete.

Depending on your budget, and it could prove expensive even just trying to find the right tool, there are also Pegasus and Sirius hoes.... https://implementations.co.uk/shop/pegasus-pick/

It makes an excellent mushroom ketchup too, but just added to veggie mince it makes it a much tastier ingredient.

It is, but like truffles, the flavour is rich :) It surprised me. Very unami, tastier than miso. A lot easier to store, or carry, too.

It's missing sommat. It needs tea or wine or a decent ale.

Honestly ? your best bet is probably to source plastic bags. I loathe them, but they're useful, especially to keep stuff dry.. I think @hughtrimble is right though; what do the locals use ? If you really want to DIY stuff, then dry bags are effectively made from waxed cotton. Keep your seams...

Good olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a decent selection of good bread :) Seasalt. Doesn't need anything else :)

Rich red mature Scottish cheddar, McClellands. Caerphilly crumbly white Welsh. St.Agur creamy blue. Applewood smoked. An apple sliced up finely. Fine oatcakes. Strawberry jam. Small silverskin pickled onions. Cress.