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  • The awesome MakerMoot is coming up (13-15th Nov 2026), Visit the TORM & ARM markets,and have space back at camp to work on projects and enjoy great company. PLEASE CLICK HERE for more information.
  1. Toddy

    Mosquitos

    There have been so many initiatives to encourage home gardeners to have small ponds, saucers with pebbles so that bees, wasps, and butterflies can drink, bird baths, etc., It would be horrible to see all that diversity destroyed.
  2. Toddy

    Mosquitos

    My Dad was in North Africa during the war, and he ended up with malaria. It bothered him for the rest of his life. It seemed to come back in waves and then settle down for years, only to flare again. I hope we're better at dealing with it these days, but it's an own goal we really don't need here.
  3. Toddy

    Mosquitos

    In light of the Summer we have had, and the obvious climate changes, an article link this morning on Medscape is perhaps something to consider. "An invasive mosquito species known to transmit diseases such as dengue and Zika virus has been found to be breeding in the UK for the first time" I...
  4. Toddy

    The Buffalo Field Blanket

    I have a buffalo fleece bag and a pertex cover for it. Sandbender gave them to me twenty years ago. They work well, they last well, and they're comfortable. Worth it if you can find a set in decent condition.
  5. Toddy

    Cats

    I confess, I would have told the police and the local paper, and nowadays I think anyone who has a pet really ought to get it microchipped (not sure if that's the word, the little electronic tag thing the vet puts under the cat/dog/whatever's skin.
  6. Toddy

    Horace Kephart Camp Cookery

    That is a really good read :) Not just the recipes, but the sheer practicality of it all :) Thank you for the link. M
  7. Toddy

    WHAT DID YOU MAKE TODAY?

    Another pair of hiking socks for my husband. That's four pairs this month. I am rather scunnered of knitting socks just now. M
  8. Toddy

    A New Tinder (for me)

    Synchronicity can be wonderfully apt, and at sometimes most annoying.:bluethinking: I've just been to the loo, but Son2 had been in the bathroom half an hour earlier for his shower before he left for work, so the window was open. I'm literally on the loo, and a blasted wasp came in and started...
  9. Toddy

    A New Tinder (for me)

    I do take your point, but from the reality of a street full of young children (there are over thirty of them now) and their pets, all of whom have become uncomfortably familiar enough with wasp stings that there is no, "do not swipe at them", no, "less aggressive".....it's all out war. They know...
  10. Toddy

    Some Sorbus today

    I made rowan and apple jelly today; we're having a really heavy fruit year. The rowans were huge, and a deep red colour. Not as bitter as usual either.
  11. Toddy

    A New Tinder (for me)

    As I understand it; ....gave up writing on this, copy pasted from google..... "The lifecycle of a wasp colony is closely tied to the seasons. After hibernating through the winter, queen wasps emerge in spring to build new nests and lay the first batch of eggs. By early summer, the colony starts...
  12. Toddy

    A New Tinder (for me)

    Speak to John Fenna......he has a love of ventile too.
  13. Toddy

    A New Tinder (for me)

    Wasps are maniacs in late Summer, and sort of angry maniacs, and they sting when folks panic and flail around....which being honest is the usual reaction to them too close. I live in Lanarkshire, we have a lot of fruit, as in forty fruit trees within range of the street I live in, a lane lined...
  14. Toddy

    A New Tinder (for me)

    We call that a wasps byke. No idea why, just what it's named. I live next to woodland, and we have an annual cull of bykes from rafters and sheds. Usually we just put a paper bag over them and tie a bit of string around the stalk (how they fasten them onto the rafters) and then cut that off with...
  15. Toddy

    Ajungilak bags

    We have one that age...might be more, nearer 25 years, and it's still in superb condition. As @Damascus said, they were built to last :)
  16. Toddy

    Cats

    Honestly ? I think all breeds have outliers. My last wee British short haired tabby was the calmest, gentlest and most cuddly cat on the planet....my previous one was a true template for Greebo. He was my big soft pet, but he attacked everything else. Stole my neighbours just roasted chicken...
  17. Toddy

    Coping with the heat.

    We run Meaco dehumidifiers too. In Summer, with no heat in the house and high humidity, I know how easily, and quickly, mould can grow. Later in the year they really help pull excess moisture from the house, especially when everyone's showering or I'm cooking.
  18. Toddy

    Wales based survival TV experience.

    On that note; the anatomical skeletons that were used in teaching were often sourced from India. A lot of those old skeletons were eventually buried.....all wired up, numbered, etched, engraved....now there's a conundrum for the archaeologists of the future :D
  19. Toddy

    Wales based survival TV experience.

    When someone dies, it's like a library burnt down. One that had no other copies. I am truly sorry for your loss. I was fourteen when my Mum died, all I can say is that you'll manage fine. You learn by yourself, you will be strong by yourself, she set you up well to learn, to make, to thrive...
  20. Toddy

    Wales based survival TV experience.

    My Dad had two pieces of advice on being outdoors. He said his Grandpa had told him his Grandpa had told him..... Firstly, if the sea runs away hard and fast away from you, run as fast and as far as you can inland, get high, not on a tree, but get high. Secondly, if you ever meet a bear, stand...