I’ve been a little lax with this of late. A conjunction of events, some of the “dear boy” variety. In many ways the most significant cause is the most mundane – our 15 year old fridge freezer has become unreliable. It has not lain down and died, like the good and faithful workhorse it is.Continue reading “In praise of fields”
Tag Archives: grow your own
Witchy woman
Urgh, this has been sitting in my unfinished drafts for a fortnight. I had high hopes that I would be super efficient on my trip to London and dash off a few blogs on the train. Well it was a trip of two halves. On the way down everything went according to plan. On theContinue reading “Witchy woman”
5 Days to go….
The last couple of weeks have been a blur. My step count is tremendous, largely achieved by barrowing weeds to the wood and compost to the borders (combining both weightlifting, an aerobic work out and stimulation of the epidermis with nettle stings – somewhere out there, people are being charged a fortune for this…). IContinue reading “5 Days to go….”
Death by a thousand cuts
I now have less than three weeks before our annual open day and the weeding of the deep interior has commenced…The process is fraught. It has been blisteringly hot recently so I’ve been resplendent in the gardening shorts, an outfit which pairs badly with the nettles and thistles which escaped the first round of springContinue reading “Death by a thousand cuts”
Zing!
The garden is suddenly a blaze of colour. Most of the daffodils have gone now (save for the pipit in the rockery and the hot garden and baby duck in the nuttery, both lovely smaller varieties) and tulips have taken centre stage. The ones planted out in the garden have been marvellous this year. TheyContinue reading “Zing!”
First flush
At last we’ve had some proper gardening weather. The soil has dried a little and the rain has largely held off. It’s still pretty mucky, so to keep the washing down I am resplendent in my boiler suit, but the game is definitely now afoot. I have been out weeding and “reshuffling” like a positiveContinue reading “First flush”
The Christmas Remix
Yesterday was fairly full on! I think I sat down for the first time around 6.30 – and then got up again as there was weary sighing and tutting from the cranberry sauce team about the fire not being lit and the table not being set yet. As I looked around the just wiped downContinue reading “The Christmas Remix”
Snippety Seven
It is with some relief that I can report that the commencement of today’s record of Christmastide merriment began with the cheerful whoop of a cork being removed. Abstinence has been narrowly averted. In a move of particular specialness, Keith threw out the corkscrew yesterday on the grounds that it, and most certainly not he,Continue reading “Snippety Seven”
Here we go again, brace yourselves..
‘Tis the first of December and in three weeks and threeAll needs to be readyfor our yuletide jamboreeBut the cake is still just batterthe presents are not boughtthe wreath is still a-growingbut is she overwrought? No reader she is not. In the Seasonal Steeplechase we are barely out of the traces and (to mix myContinue reading “Here we go again, brace yourselves..”
A conflagration of leaves
My tale commences on a wet and windy trip to Norham a couple of weeks ago for essential bacon supplies. Lyra expressed the view that she was happy just to stay in the car and listen to the radio whilst I stocked up, with a view to heading straight back to the fire and theContinue reading “A conflagration of leaves”