Lyme Regis trip

Alison's birthday celebrations continued with a weekend away at a cottage near Lyme Regis where we spent a couple of nights with Julie and Andy. The children stayed in Woodlands with Bridie who did a great job while we were away. 

Having driven down to the cottage, we were soon out on a walk down to the town and a quick pint before heading back for chilli and a few drinks. Our long walk came the next day when we did a good old trek out to Uplyme where we came across the church fete and people all telling us about their 1000 year old yew tree and the stained glass windows. It was a very traditional sight in a lovely village where there was also an incredibly well reviewed cafe, famed for its old fashioned approach with a menu to complement it. I had a very tasty roast pepper soup with amazing bread. 

The next part of the walk took us down to the coast where we walked along the seafront at Lyme Regis before going along the famous cobb, the weather proving unexpectedly sunny. Andy and I spent the afternoon in the pub whilst Alison and Julie visited some gardens and we all had thai food which was very tasty for our tea. We'd done close to ten miles by the time we walked back and watched 22 Jump Street.

Plenty of time in the woods with all the bluebells and lots of great views along the way. A real weekend treat.

 

Digging for the harvesting

I was completely wiped out after yesterday's exertions with a run, dog walks and then a few hours at W allotment digging over beds ready for sowing on Thursday, collecting Maria, making the tea and then heading off to dance with Maria where I dropped her before going to the WM allotment to do some more sowing and weeding. Somewhere over 25000 steps and aching by the end of it!

Lovely having the robin for company, searching for an easy meal during nesting season. I sowed chard, spinach, carrots, broad beans, cabbage, swede and lettuce, as well as watering the seedlings put in last week. Lots starting to come now and it is starting to become a little warmer at night, although still chilly first thing. 

Birthday weekend

Alison had a wonderful time with Plymouth family over the weekend, thanks to a surprise stay at the Hotel Collingwood, alongside food, drinks and fun in the town centre. The surprise element worked a treat and she had no idea what was being planned for her. Bridie had made a stunning hobbit cake which tasted as good as it looked.

Joy spent some time at the care home on Saturday but did not enjoy it at all. However, I was able to pop along to the allotment on the way to collect her where the seedlings are starting to take. Hopefully they will establish themselves and be productive. At home we are starting to enjoy the rocket which is doing well, and there are plenty of herbs to pot on, coriander, parsley and basil at the forefront of the season so far.

Juno and I have walked an average of 6 miles a day over the last week and the sunshine has been a real boon. Plenty of sand martins about, lots of bluebells and birds feeding in the garden as they enter the breeding season.

Springtime at last

It must be three days since it last rained and I have finally managed to get moving more quickly with the allotments. I got to both sites yesterday with collecting Maria from school and then dropping her at dance in the evening, so working at the WM allotment until she had finished.

That means I have got in plenty of seedlings, peas, broad beans, beetroot, carrots, spinach, leeks, as well as sowing lettuce, parsnips and more leeks. Both sites are pretty tidy now with the rubbish collected and dumped plus the weeding almost complete. I have digging to do in W still but that is fine given I have a few weeks until everything goes in.

Juno and I had a lovely time in the bluebell woods and the flowers are at their best right now.

Contrasts

I did a big Sunday dinner and had lots of the family over and we saw the sun again. The garden looks in good shape there are plenty of flowers to brighten things up, a lovely stting for the various swings and hammocks which the children enjoyed. Bridie and Joseph stayed for the three nights with their kitchen being redone and the work meaning it was easier to move out for the time being. Luckily they were house-sitting all Easter and were just down the road, so nice to do some dog walks and meet ups, especially amongst the bluebells.

In contrast, the evening dog walk saw me soaked again with a huge black cloud passing over in the midst of sunshine.Nice rainbow though. 

Similarly yesterday when at the W allotment, I was planting some peas when there was a crack of thunder and another downpour. At least I could retreat to the shed. Poor Maria got very wet leaving school as I waited for her in the car park. Another sudden and fierce downpour. 

Here it is!

The sun appeared and coincided with having to take Maria into Bournemouth to meet a friend which gave us the opportunity to enjoy a bit of time by the beach. I went for a 5km run and was amazed at the number of people in the water but not so much by the many visitors walking along the seafront given the warmth of the sun after so many weeks of hoping for spring but it never arriving.

Cycling and allotment(ing)

There are photos from W allotment sandwiched between those from Potterne Lake which I took during a short break in my ride down to Moors Valley and back this morning. The lake is largely empty of birds now with them having departed largely to their breeding grounds but there were plenty of brids singing in the bushes and trees surrounding the water. Nice to see greenfinch about, perhaps an indication of their population beginning to bounce back a little after the virus which killed so many in recent years.

Follwoing Juno's long walk, I drove to the allotment and spent a good few hours getting to grips with things. I mowed the paths and did a bit of strimming before digging over one of the beds which has been neglected and is covered with strawberry plants and couch grass, the latter being a real pain. I'm going to use that one for potatoes, main crop, in a few weeks when I can have a go at weeding again.

The larger bed I tackled is now nice and ready for turning over and I have so many seedlings waiting to go in, it can't come soon enough. I also made a start to clearing the rubbish from the plot with a trip to the dump booked for tomorrow. There was also a bit of time to edge the beds making maintenance easier and reducing the little overhangs which pests hide in before tucking into the seedlings.

You will see the autumn broad beans well in flower now and the garlic is also doing well. 

Birds and mammals

I spend a lot of time feeding the birds which has resulted in our colony of house sparrows, must be over 30 in the hedges and they make use of the nestboxes, starlings, dunnocks, robin, great tit, blue tit, coal tit, woodpigeon, collared dove, blackbird, siskin, goldfinches, greenfinches, nuthatch, great spotted woodpecker, wren, jackdaw and others. The downside to that is the food does attract rats and Juno has caught two recently. 

As a result I have got a humane trap and used it for the first time yesterday and it has already caught several visitors but no rats. The nice thing is that last night I checked before going to bed and there was a hedgehog inside. Given their steep decline in numbers, we were so pleased to have one in the garden. I have also had to release two robins and a dunnock so far. It does work but whether the rat falls for it, we will see. Juno is on standby.

Bluebells

As you will see, the bluebells are becoming ever more numerous in Boys Wood and Juno and I enjoyed an evening walk there. We've done quite a lot today with an additional 4 mile run for me from Morrisons towards Moors Valley and back which was lovely.

The power has been on and off this afternoon thanks to the blustery wind but it is up again now thankfully.