Outside

Day 1 of lockdown - I've started again because yesterday we went for a walk (yay!) - at 4:00 in the morning to see the sunrise and listen to the birds.

It was wonderful! Walking through the dewy grass. Mist was rising from the canal and over Freeman's Marsh.

The birds were singing their dawn chorus - Jamie recorded this outside the allotment gates. I can recognise a crow and a pigeon(!). Can you recognise other singers in there?

We saw a muntjac deer, lots of rabbits and didn't have to practice any social distancing as there was no-one else out.

I got to see the measures in place to restrict the spread of covid-19:

the 2metre line markings on the pavements, sanitisation stations in the Co-Op and lots of warning signs.

So that was a lovely start to a 5-day break from work.

Jamie visited the allotment last week to bring some compost home to pot on the tomato and peppers. He enjoyed catching up with so many of our friends on the site and he took a few photos.
Look how dry the earth is! We really need a bit of rain!

Clearly this is Plot3 which Neal hasn't dug - thank goodness his kind work means that Plot7 doesn't look like this too. The photo shows the lovely netted cage that we put up last year - now protecting thistles and dandelions!

Our pond is certainly a haven for wildlife this year - there is a pond with a frog in there, honest!

I used some of the compost Jamie brought home to sow some micro-greens. They're under our red/blue grow-light. We've not tried them before, so quite interesting and they've sprouted in about 24hours. And Jamie's sown a couple of Tosca courgettes.

We're seeing the occasional plane fly over, but nothing like before, no wonder the air is so much clearer.

So now I have a few days to relax and it's so warm and sunny. The song is provided by George Michael.