@Jolenealaska if dogs and cats understand human speech, and we have trouble understanding them.... Humans are the dumb ones :p

Woof!

Woof. Woof woof.

Woof?

Arf

scratch

o/

o/

Here I am again - armed with a bad coffee and sitting on a hard bench.

I learned that the bench-like radiator covers are less uncomfortble than the actual chairs. Knowledge that will be filed under "things I never wanted to know".

How's the weather? We are expecting a storm later tonight, but until then, are going to enjoy an unseasonably warm and sunny day.

we are having a storm right now

high winds, pouring rain

30cm snow in Scotland

Storm Doris

@Stephie ow.

@ElendilTheTall 30cm? My, I have to remember to take the herb pots inside again!

on the hills

My estragon won't like temperatures close to zero, snow or no snow.

@JourneymanGeek yes, but the fact that I'm waiting for minor 1 is again an indication how well the "swoop in in full meeting garb including laptop bag" routine tends to speed things up. I gave them a hard deadline and what was originally a "perhaps this afternoon" event is happening right now.

Estragon?

Tarragon. Sorry.

bleugh

let it die

No! I finally found a French tarragon (as a random supermarket, even!) and I fully intend to keep and if possible propagate it.

why would you want to spread misery like that?

:P

Because it took me years to find one with a really intense flavour? I've been touching and smelling every plant in every nursery I came across. No success, not even when I ordered one, that was only so-so as well.

the flavour is the problem

makes me feel sick

I think el just hates herbs :o

My frost-hardy variety is mainly "green", flavour-wise. But yes, one needs a very light hand with the French one.

Otherwise you get "sweet licorice".

@JourneymanGeek herbs are great

herbs are fantastic

herbs are vastly underused

tarragon is the devil's toilet paper

The first wild garlic has been seen a bit further south in the Rhine valley, I need to check on ours next week.

some blossom has started to appear here

Snowdrops?

yes, snowdrops are out

no daffs yet

bit early for them

Winter aconite? Here, they are often out before the snowdrops?

haven't seen any

not that common here AFAIK

Tulips, hyacinths, crocus and daffodils are in the "just a few green tips " stage.

ah, crocus are out

saw a beautiful carpet of them in a garden the other day

Out as in "blooming"? Wow, that'll be at least another two weeks and only if it stays warm.

yes, fully out

jet stream, baby

Sigh!

I'm going to dig up some crocuses from my in laws, they have some of the famous ones that grow wild a few towns away. And while one can't dig up wild ones, garden volunteers are fair game.

I'm not aware of any famous croci

So, if I post a question on ideas on how to get my partner to quit using the fire alarm as an indication that things are done cooking, would that get closed as off-topic? Nvm, she might read it anyway. I knew I should not have bought her that gun she wanted for Christmas.

@Stephie Stephie! Ben's getting bigger (proportionally). He was weighed today for his 6 month exam and he's up to the ~55th percentile instead of the ~32nd. :D