Last day of research trip was spectacular. I did the walk to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne barefoot across the sands.
If this isn’t on your bucket list, I strongly recommend adding it.
It’s like being in a watercolour painting, by a genius of light & tint, that is still wet.
Hello again
Such a beautiful painting by
Barbara Richardson new artist ( to me)
English painter well known for her sensitive light filled botanical Still Life Oil paintings
‘Auricula in Flower Pots’
@blakandblack@flightcentreAU I shopped in a different town this week, not the “posh” place I usually go to. Bought basics at some basic shops: K-Mart, Lowes, Priceline and Coles. Fabulous service, nice chats and a helpful young assistant at the chemist. Even other shoppers were pleasant. Attitude, people!
Customer service @flightcentreAU style.
I just walked out of a flight centre location after waiting 30 mins without any kind of acknowledgement I was there.
Five staff on:
Two talking about family stuff to each other
One laughing and joking to someone on the phone
Two actually serving customers
They’ll all whinge when they lose their jobs because people look elsewhere to book their holidays
Customer service matters … acknowledging the presence of a customer matters‼️
@LoveGrowingVeg Best honesty system I’ve encountered was in Tasmania: a fridge containing trays of shucked oysters, wooden picnic benches to sit at while you slurped them down, and a 1950s bathroom sink (cold water only) to wash your hands in afterwards.
Got a call on our doorbell from an African chap about buying eggs. Explained to buy them from the honesty box right next to him. He look confused so I rushed to find him. Guy works at the chicken factory and wanted to buy some eggs on his way back from work but was anxious that no one was at the farmhouse.
I found him and then explained the concept of an honesty box. He could not understand how any business can work like this. Basically I told him that most people are honest and I had CCTV which lets me know when I have a customer. Anyone who doesn’t pay I keep a mugshot on my computer and if I see them again they get a talking to.
Not sure exactly where he came from but the fact he rung the doorbell and discussed his concerns he was honest so the system can and does work.
Is dit leuk of is dit heel leuk? Mag ik zeggen, want zelf gemaakt 🤪 Kleine kommetjes om met water te vullen voor de bijen en andere insecten #maaikekeramiek
@giveashitnature I was stirring some matted leaves in the bottom of the compost bay before piling in a new bagful and uncovered a blue tongue lizard in a state of brumation. Luckily I was stirring with my hands and not a garden fork. Note to self: remember this!
Most people start composting because they want better soil. There's a wildlife bonus most people never hear about.
An active compost heap is one of the best small habitats you can put in a backyard. The decomposing material attracts decomposer insects (beetles, millipedes, springtails, worms, woodlice) in numbers that nothing else in the yard can match. The insects attract predators: garter snakes, toads, salamanders, ground beetles, and the songbirds that eat them.
The warmth generated by decomposition (the center of an active heap can hit 140°F) creates a winter refuge that small mammals, snakes, and amphibians use to overwinter. Bumblebees sometimes nest in the loose material to start their spring colonies.
You don't need a sealed plastic bin, an open pile in a back corner, ideally partial shade, in direct contact with the soil, will do just fine. A wooden slatted bin works too. Sealed plastic tumblers and "compost machines" are effective at making soil, but they shut out the wildlife and trap the heat instead of letting larger animals access the warm edges.
What goes in: kitchen scraps (no meat or dairy), yard clippings, dead leaves, shredded paper, coffee grounds, eggshells.
What doesn't: anything sprayed with herbicide, dog or cat waste, anything you want to keep away from wildlife.
The compost heap is the rare yard project where doing it imperfectly actually works better than doing it "right."
@gomichild I make almost everything “from scratch”, usually just slinging in whatever’s to hand. My daughter recently admitted that as a child she thought “from scratch” meant “without a recipe”. 😂😂😂 Mum’s cooking.