OK then... I am lacking weed and grass eating ungulates. I do have some brambles for the goats, though.
Well my goats which I've only just re-homed loved weeds...especially milk thistles...shrub cuttings...laurel...mistletoe...brambles... roses...acacia branches...greengage cuttings...Mirabelle plums...and grass...but not as much grass as I would have liked them to eat.
I think it was late 70s. The warming lobby says they were predicting warming long before that, but the media paid more attention to the ice age prediction and referred to the mini ice age, which ended at the beginning of the 19th century, when the Thames used to freeze some winters and there were frost fairs.
But goats dont eat weeds as such they are browsers a nibble here and a nibble there better off on brambles keeping the hedges tidy
Didnt they predict a second ice age in the 70s or was it 80s
Nice :D
I'm dying to go to Spain! When we have time/money we only go to France. I'm not complaining about going to France. We need to live there so we can travel around Europe a bit, n'est ce pas?
Enjoy yourself Nick!
All I can say is it must be lovely with all that green :)
This is great info. I f*ing love science. Have you seen the fb page entitled that? Except they spell out the word I didn't, (because I'm too much the lady, LOL).
Very good to know about the science behind it. I love this thread, some very good information here, the weather is one of my concerns about moving over there. I'm in L.A. and don't really like the heat so much. My salon is near the beach here, (even though we live inland a bit), and even on a hot day it's usually quite pleasant. Here's a wee photo of my drive to the bank after closing up shop yesterday.
34 degrees and sun, but I am in the south of Spain at the moment.
The sun is shining at present. That's good, eh? Lacking goats, the weeds will get a good mechanized whacking. As me mum used to say, "Make hay while the sun is shining."
Cheerful chap aren't you Don ?
Is there any GOOD News ???
Tarn et Garonne, Moissac here. The past three summers have been getting progressively cooler and damper. My shorts and sandals are gathering dust. It was predicted that this was going to happen after the BP Gulf of Mexico debacle upset the normal course of the Gulf Stream Current. Added to this is the complete deviation from the normal solar cycles. Our solar maximum didn't happen on schedule and sol remains en repose at the moment. Little or no sunspot activity. Our research group is predicting the onset of a new mini-ice age. Higher elevations in Europe are now seeing glacier growth. Crop cycles will be affected. It probably wouldn't hurt to stock up on extra firewood until our star comes back to life. Oddly though, our winters have been milder.
It has been a really disappointing summer, high of 21 next week and so so wet.
Perhaps we will have an Indian summer.
Ooops! In Sarthe.
Blooming chilly!
Thanks for the heads up Kirsten...just got loaned three sheep two weeks ago...they're up in my top paddock where the grass is REALLY long.
By the way I live in 24...between Bordeaux and Bergerac. :-)
Hi Heather,
I'm responding to the phrase about having too much grass for your ponies. Your area sounds familiar. We don't live there yet, but our people are in the south, Montélimar. As for the grass, my aunt took in a couple of ewes from the local sheepherder, (he brought them to her), to help keep the grass under control. When she didn't want them anymore, the fellow came to collect them.
Hi everyone,
It would be helpful if in your posts you could mention where you are when you talk on this subject. I don't know where all of you live by heart. Thanks
Am I the only one who's not complaining about the weather I wonder...sunshine and showers...super. No pots to water...no flower beds dying of thirst. I'm always up early in the the mornings cleaning my paddocks...rain or shine. I love the fact that I don't have to stay inside out of the heat in the afternoons. My only complaint is that I have too much grass for my little miniature Shetland ponies...
Always look on the bright side of life :-)
Well, I don't know why other's aren't reaching for jumpers and jeans because I'm off to an out door event tonight and that's definitely what I'm going to be wearing as accuweather threaten 9°!!
But yes, lets be optimistic. An Indian summer please?