On Dec 10, 1:04*pm, Jake Nospam@invalid wrote:
Winter finally arrived last night! I don't know how cold it got as the
thermometer's decided to rise to and stick at 28 degrees C, but it was
enough to freeze the top quarter-inch of the bird bath and a very thin
layer on a water feature. Not enough to do anything to the pond
though.

But now quite a bright day and not overly cold.

Just need to write to Santa to ask for a new garden thermometer.

Noticed a couple of small groups of ladybirds hibernating in the
Christmas tree yesterday, clearly undisturbed by the process of
decorating it. Maybe it'll just have to stay there and decorated until
the spring!

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling (after the first frost) from
the dryer (east) end of Swansea Bay.

At the other end of Swansea Bay we had the temp down to 30f by my old
mercury thermometer, the grass was white this morning and out the
field there were a few shards of ice in the water filled footprints,
The foliage on the dahlias being grown for pot tubers has been caught
but some of the regrowth on some of the tree dahlias that's around 4
ft off the ground is untouched.
I have around 1000 pots to bring in and it's made difficult by the
ground being so wet I can't use the tractor and trailor, I have to box
them and then haul them in on a sack truck, about 75 at the time.
I am finding masses of slug eggs on the underside of the pots,
thousands of the things.
Anyone want some slug caviar?
The D. Imperialis are looking very battered from the gales so it will
be a few days before I know if they wiill cary on flowering for Xmas,
but I suspect the storms forecast for the start of next week will
decide their fate.
David