The other allotment

 Having cut the grass at the village hall and done my jobs, I headed to the allotment to get a look at how it is before going on to collect Maria. Harvested the first potatoes of the year, chard, spinach and a few dwarf French beans. All coming on although slightly behind WM allotment. I also got some weeding, watering and grass cutting done. 

Allotment update

 After the manic weekend at Ragcity, it was back to the peace and calm of the allotment at West Moors today with the clear up more or less complete e.g. the motorhome needing a blitz. I didn't need to do a lot due to the heavy rain on Tuesday morning but got some weeding out of the way and then picked spinach, chard, garlic, broad beans and the first peas of the year. It is looking good.

The tomatoes, leeks, carrots, beetroot and climbing beans are making good progress whilst the peas and spinach are promising good crops. I am most pleased, aesthetically at least, by the lettuces which are in the foreground of the first photo. They look like shop bought lettuces with no damage from snails and slugs which is a first for me. I am so pleased with them. The other thing worth commenting on is the fact that there is no rush to see things taking off with a vengeance. The platning of seedlings grown at home has boosted success but they don't go into the beds and start to tear away. It takes a few weeks to establish themselves and then they go. 

Ragcity 3

Just a selection of photos from the festival at the weekend which has left me pretty much wiped out! It was great, so much fun with a party atmosphere throughout and no trouble at all. The number of tickets sold was up something like 50% on the previous year and the turnover up by a similar amount which means the band aren't out of pocket at the end of the weekend, as has been the case previously. 

Phew! It’s hot but lovely.

 

It was another warm night but I managed some sleep before heading off to the golf course with Juno for our morning walk which was quickly followed by another at 9 in an attempt to beat the heat which isn't really good for Juno. She seems to pay no attention to it being hot as her instincts kick in and she tears about until she begins the walk home and starts to pant frantically.

With all the jobs done, Joy and I headed to Bournemouth for a bit of time at the beach. It was a surprise to me to hear that she had never, not once, even had a paddle in the sea. She's 89 and I know there was a war on when she was between 5 and 11 and her psoriasis, but even so. What about with her children? I guess it explains why Alison had such a morbid fear of water. Anyhow, I managed to get her paddling! Off came the shoes and socks and, holding on to me, she traversed the hot sand to the edge of the water. Imagine experiencing that for the first time at 89. She found it cold! I wasn't able to let go of her, as she was pretty scared, especially of falling, and her dress was lifted up in case of a rogue tidal wave appearing and making it wet. Despite her fear and caution, she did it and enjoyed it too. Having got her first pair of sunglasses last week, paddling this week, look out for skydiving next.

I was straight off to the allotment at Wimborne next, mowing the paths before Maria finished school and then watering the seedlings as best I could. There are plenty of flowers on the runner beans now, the broad beans look ready for picking and the tomatoes are in flower. The garlic is just about ready for harvesting with the foliage dying back which is also true of the early potatoes which could be up in a fortnight. Plenty to come over the next months.

The new awning was easy enough to put up in practice yesterday and I am going to pack tonight before getting groceries ahead of driving the motorhome to the festival tomorrow. 

Summer time

 It's a busy time and there are a few photos of our recent adventures starting with the allotment at West Moors where the forst picture captures the lovely veg bed of tomatoes, leeks, beetroot, carrots, more beetroot and the various beans, runners, dwarf French and Climbing French beans. Then there is peas, lettuce, spinach and broad beans followed by our peas and redcurrants. We have been enjoying strawberries and the redcurrants at home for a few days now, along with lots of autumn sown broad beans, lettuce and spinach. We are very fortunate to have such a lovely plot with more at Wimborne too.

In addition, I have grown lots of herbs this year, for the first time. There are pots and pots of basil, parsel, chives, coriander and also lettuce leaves. These are a constant accompaniment to our food ans taste so good.

This morning I was at a farm near Chettle to enjoy a training session on identifying pollinators and the sunshine made all the difference with butterflies, bees, wasps, hoverflies, beetles and so on all showing up. I've also been stopping out on the bike to enjoy the views locally and walking between 6 and 7 miles a day, so I am getting my fill of nature and vitamin D.

The next bog thing is the festival over the weekend with Ragcity 3 the biggest one yet. The tickets have sold out but there is space for more people so it is going to be interesting to see just how far sales can go. Glen is so excited!

Frantic Monday

 It was another busy day in the sunshine with a 2 mile walk before breakfast followed by the usual chores of feeding the birds, emptying the bins, watering the seedlings and plants and cleaning the downstairs rooms. Jill was back and spent an hour with Joy which meant I was able to head off to the shop early and get the weekly groceries whilst the chickpeas and kidney beans I'd soaked overnight had the chance to simmer for an hour.

Juno and I went out for another 2 miles at 10 and on my return I got ready for the allotment at Wimborne, the batteries for the cordless strimmer and mower, some coffee and snacks and the rest of the seeds. It is looking pretty good after all the care on the grass pathways and there are the first flowers on the beans. I got lots more seeds in so that the beds are almost all in use, just some space left for the courgettes to come. It was a solid three hours before I went up to Maria's school to collect her and then got straight into making the tea, a vegetable curry which ended up needing to feed Bridie and Joseph who were bonus visitors. 

It was then time for another dog walk, 2.5 miles this time before home and collecting Joy for a trip down the road to the village hall for a concert by Verwood Brass Band which was lovely. Joy was almost in tears throughout. She loved it. Home by 8.15 meant I could finally stop after a very busy day but it was a prodcutive one.

Wildlife weekend

Having spent a good deal of the end of the week at the allotments, the weekend has given me a break, although we having been enjoying broad beans and lettuce from the plots. On Saturday I helped out at the village hall Wild Woodlands event leading on the bug hunt and the scavenger hunt. Sadly, there were few people in attendance but the weather and it being half term means we were never going to see the numbers for other recent dates.

We found a number of mini beasts including spiders, flies, caterpillars, woodlice and red spider mites. There was also art work inspired by what we had found, making nest boxes and bug hotels, as well as a ploughman's for lunch. The large new bug hotel was built near the hedges and didn't take too long at all. 

Once home, having taken Joy with me for the morning, we settled to watch the cup finals in England and Scotland. Maria was out with friends in Bournemouth which was lovely for her, especially with school on the horizon again.

Whilst on a dog walk today, we came across the lizard shown above, a common lizard I think, but it was great to see it so close up as it obligingly stopped for some time in the dust of the path throughRemedy Oak. 

Sandford birthday and anniversary trip

We took a trip to Sandford last weekend to meet up with family from Plymouth and had a brilliant time. It was great to get together in beautiful weather which meant we could go the beach at Swanage too, and to find everyone enjoying each other's company. It really was lovely and there are so many youngsters coming up too which makes it even more fun, seeing that next generation growing up at ease with one another.