I took last week off (as announced in advance so I wouldn’t get deducted brownie points my our glorious leader Mr Propagator). I had intended to, horror of horrors, contribute to another meme on Sunday.
In the end, I spent Saturday and most of Sunday, and a bit of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, stripping my computer bare, reformatting everything (as you do) and reinstalling Windows from scratch. And everything that flows from that ……….! Sometimes I hate Microsoft almost enough to switch to Apple. But not enough. Not just yet.
In that flop film “Raise the Titanic” (you’ve got to see it if only for the Titanic emerging from the Atlantic Ocean in one piece and remarkably corrosion-free), someone said “Thank God for Southby” (which was a graveyard). I said “Thank God for backups” (which weren’t a graveyard).
In the process of restoring things, I noted that my collection of 48,386 photographs which I’d meticulously named, tagged and wotsnotted all returned to the fold complete with names, tags and wotsnottings. For the benefit of Gill Heavens, who embarked on a similar exercise of naming, tagging and wotsnotting her photo collection at the same time as I, that’s forty eight thousand, three hundred and eighty six. I hadn’t realised I had that many photos. Actually I didn’t and don’t. I’ve discovered another 12,359 on the backup drive… Those are not named, tagged and wotsnotted. Yet.
But ignoring this discovery, if I use six every Saturday, that’s 8,064 Saturdays taken care of. Or a bit over 154 years. I can relax now. The miracles of WordPress scheduling mean that you lot can look forward to another 148 years’ worth of my witterings, even if I snuff it at the obligatory three score years and ten stage.
But I digress (I’ve been known to do that occasionally). My six for this week are (in no particular order and using photographs which are not in the aforementioned totals):
1 Emerging Things
I’ve studiously avoided featuring emerging shoots and wotnots (and wotsnottings) but, at long last, something is emerging from that little bed of 150 bluebells and 50 frittilarias. So I think I’m justified in proudly featuring that. You may need to look carefully.
2 Emerged Things
Somewhat late, given that I am in Wales, the miniature daffs have flowered. Mind you, the big daffs haven’t. I may have to invite Gill to come back to Wales to have a stern word with them.
3 Copycatting
The aforementioned Gill Heavens featured Pieris in one of her posts in the last week. But she didn’t name the photo so I can use mine and name it, I didn’t take photos of the side that was covered in bumblebees. I wanted to leave them to enjoy themselves.
4 Woodstock
Some people hate them. But Woodstock is now part of the family. Even resident cat seems to like him and he isn’t phased by resident cat lying on the lawn within striking distance.
5 Camellia
My currently solitary Camellia is now flowering nicely. The only downside of Camellias is, I think, the need to continually collect fallen blooms. I have no idea what variety this one is. But I have bought a number of Everedge plant rings ready to repel the front lawn when I acquire some Sasanquas (you can stop forcing my arm up behind my back now, Jim) and a Hamamellis (ouch, Thomas) and some other stuff.
6 Hellebores
Mine have now come into flower. So number six is a little collection.
So there you have it. This week’s six.
Next week I’ll be mitching off again. This is because I have to set out early to get to the Hardy Plant Society’s Annual General Meeting and wotnot. And I’ll be meeting, in the flesh, in person, actually, another SoSer (ok, you guessed it, or didn’t, it’s Gill). So the week after’s contributions from the two of us could be interesting.
The Hellebores! Gasp! My sympathies for time spent on computer stripping/reformatting/reinstalling. Also congratulations on your attention to backups. These machines are one of those things we can’t live with and can’t live without.
Bring back the abacus, I say! The galling thing is that Microshaft are due to release their next major update in the next month or so and I know I’ll have to do it all again! I like Hellebores (though must remember to use the flash when photographing them from underneath).
Computers are wonderful when they do what they are supposed to do, the devil’s work when they don’t. Well done for sorting it. I was looking out for your Sunday contribution, now it is all clear. I will send telepathic (or is that psychopathic) messages across the channel to those tardy daffs, mind you this second wave of snow won’t be hurrying them along. Hellebores are lush. Yes, get a big foot camellia, lovely. Looking forward to next week, will you be wearing a carnation in your buttonhole?
Sasanqua. Yep, I like the sound of Sasanqua. OK, I’ll wear a carnation in a buttonhole. Problem is the only thing I’ll be wearing that has a buttonhole will be my boxer shorts. So I suppose I’ll have to lower my trousers to every lady I meet until I meet you. I’ll probably wear jeans but you’ll recognise me by the bag of compost over one shoulder and bale of coir on the other.
Can’t see that being a problem …..
Do you mean recognising me from the bag of compost and bale of coir?
No you flashing to the esteemed ladies of the HPS.
154 years of Six on Saturday – now there’s a promise (will the internet even exist then?)
If it is still around, will you let me know?
Ah these hellebores … a beautiful collection that you have here!
I hope that the problems of your computer are solved and with this wink on your 48386 images, I had to look in my browser … you won because I just have 18122 right now (I’m younger I guess that’s the reason) ….
You also won THE game. A very small difference between the 2 teams : the Wales players have been constant and rigorous, the French players have been fiery, perhaps physically superior but far too much faults … The next Six Nations in a year now!
I have a few more hellebores for a future six if they’re still in flower. It was a good match; perhaps the second half was more a case of the Welsh defence not letting the French attack through. Wales didn’t push their game forward after half-time but France couldn’t quite take advantage of Wales’ failure to get their act together. Roll on next year.
I am increasingly taken with the hellebore. I have some seeds in at the moment, i hope they germinate. Then in hope they grow. Then I hope they flower.
I hope you have lots of patience and used fresh seed.
150 bluebells?! That’s going to look stunning! At least the cold weather hasn’t dampened the daffs though, most things got a bit caught out with the beast (and mini beast) over the last couple of weeks.
i’m just glad to see some shoots poking out of the soil. I’ll be even gladder when there are more of them!
On the heels of Ali & her hellebore envy, I’m contemplating a midnight raid on your garden. Is Woodstock a guard pigeon?
Woodstock pops round for lunch every day. Overnight security is provided by resident cat. You don’t want to run into resident cat on a dark night!
For those hellebores, I’ll risk it, catnip in hand.
He’s immune to alien catnip. Has his own personal patch which he tends carefully, usually by flattening it when he naps.
Oh, those double hellebores! More to add to my coveted plant list.
Well they are not on the “thou shalt not covet” list (as I’m not your neighbour the “anything that is his” doesn’t apply). So covet away. The likes of Thompson and Morgan often list hellebore collections as young plants which are quite cheap so coveting need not be expensive.
I am complete besotted by the hellebores. Like you I am constantly tempted by the plants featured in SOS. Gardening budget already blown to pieces – paths – but, well… and I do need some of that everedge stuff!
There is one word which doesn’t belong anywhere near “gardening” and that is “budget”. You can always eat every other day. I find the trick with Everedge is to ignore the instruction that says the top should be level with the point where the grass meets the soil. I aim for about a quarter inch higher. The mower blades still clear it easily and you get a much sharper edge. Level with the soil and often the grass will flop over and root on the wrong side of the edging.
Morning John and I hope you have a great time with Gill down in Devon, sad to be missing it
Understand what you mean about Microsoft, updates do my head in and so much I will now only get an apple when I come up update my laptop which is well over due, had it once restart with 5 minutes left on a talk I was presenting on, use my phone now
Great six as ever, love seeing the plants emerging in the spring as well
I’ve heard that Apple updates are often a problem as they knacker the machine’s memory. I’m not quite fed up enough of Windows to switch yet (and if I do will probably switch to Linux). The meeting of me and Gill may well generate enough content for a few revealing Sixes over coming weeks. I mean, can you imagine her behaving with decorum? I mean, she wants me to wear a carnation in the button-hole of my boxer shorts so she’ll recognise me.