Butterflies in London

Having just looked at major_clanger's wonderful butterfly photos, I am tempted to ask if anyone else would like to see the Natural History Museum  butterfly exhibition with me?

I'm not that fussy as to when, but the company of a friend or friends would make the experience far more worthwhile.

Will phosphorus be the next big shortage?

I was browsing a copy of the Times on the way back from Conrunner on Monday, and found this article on the rising demand for the world's limited supply of phosphorus.

In essence, it's essential for agriculture, and wasteful usage and limited supplies are pushing prices up dramatically.  In a few decades, we may be looking at 'peak phosphorus'.

One of the possible solutions involves recycling the phosphorus that we throw away every day - urine.

I recently read Liquid Gold, an entertaining (It's full of anecdotes on how urine has been used throughout history) and informative book on how to use urine in your garden.  Urine is sterile (as long as it isn't contaminated by faeces) and contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in almost the exact ratio needed by plants.  Dilute between three and eight times with water (the more woody material/mulch/compost you have in the soil, the stronger you can make the mixture) and you can feed your plants up to three times a week.

I tried this a couple of weeks ago on my courgette plants - the leaves were turning yellow and the plants were putting on very little growth.

Result?  Green leaves within a week and healthy new growth. 

Tried again with the sorry-looking French beans - they're now, finally, making decent growth up their poles.

I'm now encouraging the family to fill empty plastic milk bottles as fast as they can - there's a load more plants that I want to try this on!

Supersoakers in caves

It's coming up to that time of year again!

If you're reading this, then you're invited to the annual fannish supersoaker fight in Winspit quarry on the 9th of August.

This involves lots of water, a dry t-shirt to wear afterwards, a supersoaker, a towel (especially if you're a Hitchhikers fan), a picnic lunch, lots of laughs and running around in dark caves shooting at your friends.

The meeting starts at Wareham station in Dorset at 12 noon.  (This is so that those arriving by car can give lifts to those arriving by train)  We generally finish around 4pm, though that's a pretty rough guideline and depends entirely on how we all feel at the time and how wet people are!

Remember that sunny August weather leads to a long tail back of traffic in this part of the world.  Allow at least an extra half hour to what you think the journey will require by car, and also remember that trains don't get caught in the traffic jam...

Let me know you're coming so that you don't get left behind!  (last minute sign ups are fine, just so long as you let me know)

Bring a pack lunch, a supersoaker, a container(or two) to carry water, sensible shoes/boots (as the ground is uneven and rocky in the dark) and possibly a camera for the glorious scenery as you look out over the sea.

You're more than welcome to crash at our place afterwards, especially if you fancy some gaming.

Share and Enjoy! o