Bank Holiday Weekend

Very pleased to capture Juno running along a path through the bluebells with her ears flapping. The woods are at their best right now with bluebells, wood anemones and wild garlic in flower. Lots of pleasant walks and the mud is drying out!

I got to West Moors allotment again yesterday and have planted out more seedlings which have been getting on so well in the conservatory and I was in Wimborne today, this time with more runner beans, dwarf French beans, carrots, beetroot and tomato plants. We have still got over 25 tomato plants waiting to go ut and I have just been out potting them on in the conservatory whilst Alison has been tneding to the flower seeds. 

The lawns in Verwood got another cut yesterday whilst I waited for the roofer coming to sort out a small area where some water has been getting into the roof. When I opened the garage door to get the lawnmower out, a baby robin flew past, successfully fledged from the nest that seems to be built every year. They get in and out through the small gap under the garage door.

West Moors allotment

 

Taking advantage of the calm conditions and lovely sunshine, I took  myself to West Moors with Joy for company and whilst she waited in the car doing crosswords, I planted out the seedlings which were intended for Wimborne last week but it was too cold and blowy. They will do better here and they join the broad beans from the autumn which ar flowering, as well as onions, garlic and spinach. 

I got more broad beans in, peas and spinach and a little lettuce too. All well watered and needing a bit of care for a few days to ensure they bed in well.

Wimborne allotment April 25th

The early potatoes are showing through well now, a month after planting out, and the sunshine gave me a good day to get the main crop in. I think there are 3 rows of each type, 6 rows in total with about 10 seed potatoes in each row, so plenty of spuds to pick later in the year. The garlic and onions are fine after their winter out in the elements and clear of weeds now. I have also finished preparing all of the beds which leaves me to focus on planting now.

 

Sunshine!

On the day a hosepipe ban has been announced for people living in the south west, the sun has appeared once more and it promises to be a lovely day. After weeks of rain and then cold, windy weather which has been unsettled, could spring finally have arrived? Could we have a warm day at last? I am not quite sure how it is possible for the south west to ever have insufficient rainfall but imagine that being in private hands has just made it worse.

I was out for a couple of miles with Juno first thing and we watched the sun coming up through the trees at Remedy Oak golf course and were out for a few miles again just after 9 whilst Gill was here with Joy. Next stop Wimborne to collect Maria for a dental appointment before which I am going to pop into the allotment. There are potatoes to plant and strimming required, along with weeding and that's before I head to West Moors later to plant out more seedlings there.

Birthday weekend

I managed an hour at West Moors allotment on Friday evening on my way to collect Maria from dance and saw the broad beans are coming on from the autumn planting and that the onions and garlic too are holding their own. I managed to get some spinach seedlings in and am looking forward to plenty of productive beds this year after feeding the soil last autumn and having more seedlings to plant out.

Saturday was Alison's birthday and I had prepared most of the food for our visitors in advance which meant I could look after the children and allow Alison a bit of a rest, especially welcome after some chest pains in the middle of the week.

Maria was still in bed when I took Evie, Amelia and Joseph to the woods with a length of rope for a rope swing which they loved, as did Juno who got a lengthy run around the woods and the bluebells. After a pasta lunch, everyone set off for the Pavilion to watch a dance performance of Strictly Ballroom starring Kevin Clifton, except myself and the htree youngsters. We headed for Wimborne Town and their game against Bideford which ended 1 - 1 in front of their biggest ever crowd of 1040. With two players sent off near the end, Wimborne did well to hold on. 

We were off to the village green for Sunday morning after the girls and Joe and I walked Juno. Plenty of fun in the goals which Joseph loved, and then leftovers for a big lunch and a mass exodus so we could get a bit of a rest before the new week.

Allotment update

I've been trying to get to the allotments without much success of late, partly due to the weather being unsuitable for getting much done and partly due to circumstances where we are so busy. However, I did manage a bit of time in Wimborne to strim the grass, weed and to do some planting, in addition to having the onions and garlic already in place from the autumn planting. The beds are now ready and the first early potatoes are already up.

The wind meant I was not able to plant out more of the seeds that have been doing so well in the conservatory.

Into the Spotlight

The day was lovely and sunny early on which prompted the photo of Remedy Oak golf course in the sunshine but it was largely a day about Maria and her dance troupe finally performing their latest show. There were two performances and I attended in the evening event having first dropped a macaroni cheese off for her between matinee and evening shows. I enjoyed a walk from Bournemouth pier to Boscombe pier as I had had to arrive early which was refreshing, especially with the prospect of several hours in the theatre.

The show started at 7.30 and ended at 10.30 with a break for around 20 minutes which made for a very late arrival back home. It was great though. Not being a fan of musicals in general, having to sit through a medley of songs from shows such as Hairspray, Cats and Wicked was not necessarily going to make for a fun night but the actual quality of dance, the choreography, level of expertise and costumes made up for it. Maria was wonderful to watch too and she loved it. There were four or five boys involved this year, so some slow progress being made from that point of view but it really was lovely to see the obvious enjoyment of the performers. 

Easter weekend

We had a lovely family day on Saturday with a trip to Fordingbridge where we visited a few shops and spent some time watching the ducks on the river which is in full flow, not surprisingly. It was a lovely venue for a pub lunch which we enjoyed in The George. We were right next to the water but inside keeping nice and warm. Bridie and Joseph had the vegan burger, Maria, chips and the house salad, Alison, the vegan curry and for me, the vegan pasta. All very nice indeed.

Bridie took the youngsters to the cinema to watch Dungeons and Dragons and I got an early night ahead of the trip to Liverpool the next day. 

I was up at 5am and ready to go by 6am having had a coffee and toast, given Juno a short walk and packed a few things for the trip. I ended up driving up without stopping and listened to a lot of the audiobook of The Grapes of Wrath and a bit of the Classic FM Hall of Fame. It meant I was in Liverpool by 10.45 and ahead of Paul who was flying up from Newquay to Manchester with the remainder of the journey by train.

We met up in The Captain Alexander and had a bit of food and a few drinks before checking into the hotel over the road, just for a bag drop. We took a taxi to Anfield and had a couple of hours warming up for the game in the bar area and taking photos. 

The game was amazing and even more so given the awful half hour played by Liverpool who were down 2 - 0 and looking hopeless. There is an argument to suggest they ought to have won in the end but it was a memorable game with Bobby Firmino scoring with a few minutes left. 

As we walked back toward town, we were able to hop on a bus without having to pay and it dropped us off almost alongside the famous Cavern Club where we had a drink and listened to the musician who focused on Beatles covers, unsurprisingly. We weren't up late though, given the early start and drinks but were both feeling the benefit in our early start to the return journey. Paul was out by 5.30, so I slept on till 7.30 and was home before 1.00pm having driven it right off but having to take a little more time with the rain pouring for most of the 260 miles.

What a game though, amazing atmosphere and a great match to be able to look back on.

WM allotment on a sunny day

I have been able to spend a good deal of time planting seeds in the conservatory with the weather having been so poor and am pleased with how these are all coming along. On the other hand, getting to the allotments has been a real pain but I managed West Moors today. The broad beans from the autumn are in flower and the spinach, onions and garlic are doing well. 

I got broad beans, peas, spinach and shallots in today and enjoyed being able to get the beds raked over and weeded in the sunshine. It was equally nice to be able to cycle over whilst listening to I Conquer the Castle on Audible. More of this for the next few months please.

Juno got plenty of walks and Joseph had a sleepover which gave he and I the chance to light the woodburner, alongside Maria. Lovely and warm after an enjoyable day.

Easter Thursday

 

Joseph was with us early with Bridie off to work before breaking up for Easter. We had a nice morning whilst Maria was still at her friend's house after the sleepover the night before, and Alison was off to Sandra's for a day in the garden. Joseph and I played a game of chess, draughts and then dominoes, him winning both games of dominoes. We got into the woods with Juno and explored the older part of the wooods where the huge yew tree stands.

It was time to collect Maria for 11.45 and we all got into the motorhome and drove over to Canford Arena to pick her up before heading back to the Horton Inn. Joy took a tumble after getting off the van and I was worried she could have hurt herself but she was quickly up again and none the worse for wear. It just shows how vulnerable she is, as she had got down fine and was just on the gravel before tottering back a few steps and going down backwards.

Inside we had a good feed and spent a couple of hours having a chat and watching Joseph eat lots, ending with him being the only taker for pudding, a sticky toffee pudding with ice cream.

Andy picked Joseph up for the remainder of the afternoon whilst Maria got ready for dance which finished at 7.30. Juno and I got a three mile walk in and then a bit of telly time.

Easter sunshine

The sunshine of spring has arrived at last, although the last two mornings have seen a frost, so we are not quite out of the woods yet. The children have broken up for two weeks and for some reason we seem to have offered our services in spite of the busy shcedule we are having to follow. That means we have had Evie and Amelia stay over for a couple of days with mum and dad working, Joseph stay over as mum is working, and we have him for the week, although not always sleeping here, as well as Maria who is getting ready for the big dance show next week and is required at dance every day, sometimes twice a day. Add to that the building work going on with Colin in and out putting together the bathroom and caring for Joy, we are flat out. It's enjoyable but madness too. We fed Glen and Colin today as well!

I'm still getting runs in and the dog is out for 5 miles a day and we are managing to get lots done. Working from the last picture upwards, I took the children to the village green for a kickabout this afternoon and Joseph managed to find the one muddy bit and go right over on his back as kicked the ball. Muddy as.

Amelia and I enjoyed a game of dominoes and ended up with no result as then had to search for Glen's dog Rag who had run off some miles away but when he did it before he ran to our house. He was located safely before getting here this time.

There's a few photos from dog walks with morning and evening sun, as well as some mushrooms poppoing up on a log which seems a strange time for them. We've also been out in a big group the last two days in the motorhome and today tok us to Hobbycraft where Joy bought lots of wool and the children activity kits and crafts instead of Easter Eggs, as they get plenty of those already.

The top photo is from the conservatory where our seeds are coming to life and will provide a real boost for the allotments plots, having germinated in the first place and gained strength before planting out.