Autumn planting

I don't need to plant any more daffodils, they did fine. I don't need to plant hyacinths, they did fine. The croci though...I  bought some more, even though we have a new rabbit. 

According to the internet, it is difficult to grow snowdrops from bulbs and it is better to dig them up after they flower and relocate some.

Whatever this is, it isn't in my garden, it was in the garden nursery.

I look forward to seeing what the garden is like next spring. 

The mysterious (not) explosions tat damaged Russia's Nord Stream pipelines didn't lead to a supply crises in Europe because Europe had already cut its reliance on Russian gas and just that week was celebrating a new pipeline from Norway to Poland. 

After Russia invaded in 2014, Ukaine's army had to be rebuilt from scratch. It had been underfunded, damaged by corruption, and then deliberately diminished by the pro-Russian president. In 2015 it had only 6,000 comba ready troops. Some of the defense ministers he had appointed have since been prosecuted, including one for treason in the interests of the Russian Federation. 

The reform of Ukraine's military included pushing decision-making down to the lowest possible level. This is the exact opposite of the "reform" that took place in Russia, where decision-making became increasingly autocratic. NATO training and the creation of non-commissioned officers and eight years of experience fighting in the Donbas, and Ukraine's military was better able to handle combat that the much feared and respected Russian. 

The EU has agreed to train another 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers, beginning in Germany and Poland.