Allotments

The second photo is from my visit to the allotment at West Moors where the broad beans planted in the autumn are over-wintering. I have no idea how they will turn out and have decided to buy some more broad bean seeds in case they don't push on. Having said that, they were pretty successful last year at Wimborne. I hadn't been to this site since well before Christmas but everything looks pretty up together, just a little weeding needed and general tidying up.

The other photos come from Wimborne which I have been to but without doing anything due to either waterlogged ground or hard frost. Again, things are pretty much on track but I did spend some time preparing the beds and they are looking ready for action, which is still some weeks away of course. The patch next to the wooden compost bin is new and was overrun with nettles last year. We will see how productive an area it can be and how well I can keep the weeds down.

The soil seems in good order but there is a pile of rubbish waiting for disposal and I'll need to get on with that fairly soon. It's stuff left over from the previous occupants and from the past few years where you try something and it doesn't work or isn't needed any longer, or simply is the worse for wear and no longer fit for purpose e.g. some of the wire netting. It looks untidy and I want shot of it soon, especially as it can harbour pests.

It was good to get out and I felt the benefit very much. Having Joy has been perfectly fine but it is a tie and this was some space to lose myself in physical activity. I popped into Wimborne and got some plums, fennel, mushrooms and an aubergine before stopping for a pot of tea in the square. Very civilised and restful.

Back home, having collected Maria from school, I walked Juno again and then cracked on with the tea before an evening of crosswords with Joy and Youtube videos of some of her old haunts which were a great distraction for her.