The reason for all this frantic marmalade making (below), redcurrant jellying (right) and, as soon as I can get round to it, bramble jellying and pumpkin chutney making is that we are intending to move house.

We've accepted an offer on our house and started an inexorable process of clearing out 26 years worth of junk from the loft and goodness knows how many years worth of fruit from 2 freezers.



As we haven't yet found anywhere to move to it looks likely that most of our stuff will have to be packed up and put into storage. I'm far too frugal (mean) to let my stored fruit go to waste so I'm suddenly terribly busy in the kitchen.

...and the garden. We're carting the wonderful home-made compost up the hill to the allotment, where the quality of compost is pretty iffy at best. (You put grass cuttings and sticks in and they come out again several years later looking very similar but with an added ants nest)

We live in exciting times!
Happy gardening (if only I had time!)

Animal antics

I had an argument with this fox. He wanted to tear up the plastic sheeting on the next door allotment. I told him he was a naughty fox and he was to leave it alone. He grinned and lay down to wait for me to go home.

Earlier I had been digging over where the leeks had just been lifted. I dug, then raked the soil and a robin who had been watching me couldn't contain himself any longer and flew over, landed on the rake I was still holding and picked one of those ginger wiggly centipedey things from the tines of the rake!

Somehow I feel that these creatures have got the upper hand!

Happy gardening  

fat mouse

 If you leave a load of fat balls in the shed and forget to put them into an airtight tin you get a very happy and over-fed mouse!


Happy gardening

Sitting in the sun.....

I planted broadbean seeds today, straight into the soil.  I usually sow seeds at home and then bring them to the allotment as young plants but this year our garden is in mid transformation so there's nowhere at all to put seedtrays. They should be ok, the ground wasn't too soggy and forked over quite nicely.

The surprisingly warm February sun had brought out lots of people, oh, and frogs. Our pond was busy with seasonal froggy business, but no spawn yet. The pond next door, however was completely tapioca'd over. I wonder what makes them choose a particular place? Strange beasts, frogs.

Roo and girlfriend Helen came up to check out the view, and stayed for a while to sit and enjoy the sun.

Unfortunately they sat on the bench!!

Oops!!

I think I should put a sign on it in case anybody else fall through it and sues me

Happy gardening

Another year, another post

Rainbow with dark clouds a few weeks ago while I was
preparing beds for spring sowing.

Beautiful ice circles placed in the dead plum tree. Made me want to make fused glass pieces to hang here as a more permanent feature.



Happy new year and happy gardening