Chim Chim Cher-ee

We had two visits to the allotment this cold weekend and yesterday (Sunday) everything was looking beautiful encrusted in frost. 

The likelihood of pretty frost was mainly what dragged me outside. It's so easy to just remain indoors but of course, once out and surrounded by birdsong on the allotment I was glad I shifted myself.

The frost on this dandelion was just starting to thaw as the temperature edged above freezing when the Wintry sun emerged. The macro shots bring out the lovely ice features which I certainly couldn't see with the naked eye.

The temperature has been sub-zero for a few nights with day temperatures staying low. Some parts of the site haven’t had a chance to defrost at all as the low Sun doesn't reach all areas.

The ground and all the water collection points are frozen solid. I took the thick round slabs out of our buckets because I am rather fascinated by ice even though I hate, hate, HATE the cold.

You can see how thickly it's formed in this photo - I stood them up in the raised bed. I hope the pond ice isn't as thick as that smallest bucket. Male frogs apparently tend to stay in ponds, at the bottom, over Winter (females hibernate underground usually) but the ice can deprive them of oxygen if it stays for too long. I wonder why we found that dead frog last week - it was by the pond, but shouldn't have been out and about...

The houseleeks couldn’t avoid getting a frosting but they won’t mind. They're hardy little plants.

And I’m sure this moss won’t be adversely affected either. Look how sparkly it is, just starting to thaw.

The birds seemed to be enjoying the sunshine on Saturday. I think this was a flock (a charm) of goldfinches but it’s difficult to see from this angle. The robin was happy to see us with his mealworms and we saw (probably) a buzzard land in a nearby tree. So huge compared to the tiny blue tits, wrens and long-tailed tits that were flitting about.

The main reason we visited the plot on Saturday was because I need to saw some dehydrated coir compost block for making up a seed compost. Believe it or not, I had to remove my coat as I got so hot exerting myself - first time since about September 🤭

The coir block is rehydrated with warm water and then we add some vermiculite. It worked ok as a peat alternative last year, but I'm rather concerned about the sustainability of using coir. We’re not actually going to start most of our seeds yet, but it’s exciting as they’ve been arriving in the post all week. A few different flowers this year.

January has certainly provided some beautiful skies in the mornings and evenings - this was a morning photo. You can just about see the sprinkling of snow on the dormer windows from a thick, but quick, snow shower we had in the early hours.

The jackdaws have secured their spot for another year. They pair up and stick together with a lifespan of about 5 years. We look forward to watching these two rear their young on the chimneys opposite.

And these two photos are my excuse for sharing this song by Turin Brakes. I liked the original in Mary Poppins (well, Dick van Dyke was always a favourite, even with that accent) but this version is so beautiful and the video makes me think I should stop whinging about the cold as I sit in relative comfort.

The New Year

Two weeks in and Christmas feels long forgotten, what a shame. We had such a lovely break. Here's a post-Christmas snack I made, very tasty along with the home-made carrot and patty pan chutney.

"Sprout Surprise"! The sprouts were from our plot and these little puff pastry cheesy parcels were a very tasty snack.

This beanfeast was flavoured with Rose Harissa and smoked paprika - it covered a couple of easy meals. The leftover celery and olives were added to a can of shop-bought mixed beans (not as good as my home-dried, but did include green beans and sweetcorn) and a carton of passata.

Now it's back to work. Luckily the weather has been so foul - since November it seems! - that there is nothing tempting me out of doors. I have been out a few times this year and we did visit the plot a couple of times but it's just soggy and not very interesting. The rain has been incessant. All the tubs, ponds and rain gauges have been filled to over-flowing. We found a dead frog by our pond 😔

Jamie removed the bottle cloches from the broad beans but a week later the little plants had been blown sideways so we've put netted cloches over them now - normally we'd add them to protect from snow but any snow forecast for us seems to have moved on for the timebeing.

Eurgh, look how soggy it is. And it's been windy so the bench is blown over every time we've visited. The garlic and leeks need weeding but that's not possible until it dries out a bit. The leeks look rather sorry for themselves and the garlic is difficult to spot amongst the grass, but there is actually quite a lot there.

The tunnel is going to be a bean tunnel, rather than a squash tunnel, this year. We figure maybe the ground would appreciate a different type of crop. The squashes didn't survive the freezing December temperature drop and sadly I had to discard most of them. I'll try to eat them quicker this year. Planning and seed buying has begun. There are a couple of new things I've ordered which I'm looking forward to growing - more on them in later posts, I hope.

We just picked some veg this weekend on a quick visit. I was pleased to see that the parsnips don't have canker and the carrots may be small but most aren't slug/fly damaged. The cavolo nero is good, but still covered in whitefly that come back to life when they warm up.

And then we went home and I turned it into a chunky soup with added tomato paste, rosemary, thyme and smoked paprika. Delish!

As I tuck into the last of that soup it's a cold and frosty day which highlights some good things about working from home: no windscreen scraping required, no icy drive on the A34 and no need to go outside (unless I want to).
The song is provided by Death Cab for Cutie. Enjoy and Happy New Year!

You’re Wondering Now

Another year gone, passing quickly aren’t they! Looking back I can see that it was a pretty good one. Here’s my summary of 2022, including my book list, for me and for you if you like 😊

January

A cold, wet start to the year but we did start some plot clearance and enjoyed a bit of wildlife watching. There was even a bit of snow, but too wet to properly settle.

First harvests of the year were Purple sprouting broccoli, carrots and leeks.

	This was a great little story, quirky and fun. I was drawn in by the cover.
	This thriller was hard to put down, although none of the characters were likeable, even the ‘good’ ones who weren’t really that good.
	I would have enjoyed at least another 100 pages of this book! A fascinating look into the lives of the characters and of the generally less good side of South Korea.

February

Storm Eunice caused a lot of damage at the end of the month, with several trees down in the area and the usual debris gathered at the corner of the allotment site - including Ivan’s whole polytunnel!

There were also some lovely blue sky days to enjoy and the Wildlife plot got a bit of a makeover with signs and stepping stones.

The wildlife camera showed us who had been sharing the pumpkin which we left out. Mostly mice and this squirrel plus a very interested cat. I had my 4th Covid jab and though I hoped for a good reaction, I was happy to remain working from home.

	I really enjoyed this book though I struggled a bit initially (I usually read fiction). Living in the area covered in the book enhanced the passion of returning to old haunts and stirred up forgotten memories. It’s certainly heartfelt and encourages the reader to get back out there and make the most of the natural world, while we still can.
	The characters were interesting, I was glad of the Principle Characters list so I could keep checking it. Although I enjoyed the breakout of each character I was surprised that we didn’t return to them a bit more and some of them were more standalone than I’d expected. The Russian setting added another layer of interest

March

British Summer Time brought some lovely warm temperatures but there were cold nights and a chilling breeze at times. We found frogspawn in a puddle so added a tiny pond to the wildlife plot. Within the month we had fully fledged tadpoles!

We re-located our bench to the back of our plot near our little pond. Hoping to be surrounded by flowers later in the year.

A usual March with lots of weed clearing and time spent showing new plotholders around.

	I usually enjoy a du Maurier tale. The setting was lovely and some of the characters were interesting but I was disappointed with the ending in particular.
	A beautiful setting, nice characters, lots of tasty sounding food and wine and the story was okay.

April

Aah, April! Sowing began in earnest, hot days but cold nights. Very few showers reached Marsh Lane, although clouds regularly threatened.

And a frog moved in to the new pond on the Wildlife plot - give them water and they will come 🐸

Jamie bought a small tumbler composter, but it wasn’t as successful as it claimed it would be…

I wasn’t sure I wanted to read this, but I’m glad I did. It’s weird feeling so sorry for Chrissie, who was so evil. I think a chapter by her mother would have been interesting as she is even worse than the murdering daughter. Or perhaps the father should have a chapter too - how awful was he?! With so many horrible characters it’s a surprisingly good read.

Such a moving story. Too sad that it’s happening in the real world of today. The story left me wondering so much about the other people left behind whether in Athens, Syria or going through the UK immigration process. And now, thinking how these broken people could now go through this hellish journey only to arrive here and be flown off to Rwanda for processing… It's appalling that so much depends on the luck of where we happen to be born.

May

It was a mainly dry month and we had some lovely hot days to enjoy around the bank holidays - perfect, we even had a barbecue and on that day we watched a nest of great tits fledge - such a delight to see! We also saw a swarm of bees resting in a blackcurrant bush - that caused a stir on site!

Ivan’s irises produced a stunning display and new growth is making the site look very appealing to more new plotholders.

And HAHA joined in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations by decorating a tree in the High Street.

I discovered how tasty bean burgers are using home-dried bean stocks as well as the usual bean stews. And finally a few beet thinnings to harvest as the PSB was over.

	I quite enjoyed this time-travelling book, but I think the story telling wasn’t to my liking. Although there was a lot of sadness it didn’t touch me as much as I feel it should have and, for that, I blame the writing style.
	I read another review which hated the final line and I fully understand why; it just didn't seem necessary. It had interesting, though mostly sad characters and I enjoyed picking up on the 3 generations but I need something a bit more cheerful to read next. If you want to read a book about a child-killing-child(!) then I found The First Day of Spring to be more thought-provoking.

June

It was a great growing month with plenty of sunshine and warm temperatures (even reaching 30°). There were some good showers but mostly watering provided by us during glorious early morning visits. June was also the month when proper harvests started to arrive with broad bean salads with mangetout, radish and tiny beets. Chinese Dragon radish are my go-to for radish after this year’s excellent results.

And we had lots of froglets in the Wildlife plot pond! And the wild flowers are really putting on a lovely show with the teasels providing interest at every visit - discovered they are carnivorous with little ponds in their leaf joints.

I enjoyed two social events - the first proper socials sine COVID arrived: HAHA stall at the Jubilee event and a HAHA Work Day.

I really thought this was a good read. Such a terrible journey from Acapulco to America and such great characters. I particularly loved the little characteristics of Luca and would read another Jeanine Cummins book.

July

Phew, what a hot, dry month. So much watering required, but the early morning plot visits really were a joy.

And, with temperatures reaching 37°, you need to keep on watering!

And the amazing news - England won the Euros! The women’s team achieved it, such great scenes of a fantastic team!

It was so hot and dry people were tending to have early mornings or evening visits. It was beautiful and Colin did an updated drone video for us which shows the lovely growing plots compared to the dried paths.

Courgettes began to play a major role in our meals along with potatoes, lettuce, patty pan, runner beans, carrots and garlic.

	Definitely gripping and thrilling. Had a few issues with the ability and confidence of Mirabelle given her upbringing, but it didn’t spoil the need to keep reading.
	I loved this book set in Nazi Germany. Death’s narration was entertaining and added interest. The characters were beautiful.
	An easy read. Zipping back and forth between the 80s and today kept it interesting. A bit twee for my taste but ok for a holiday-type read.

August

August came with a Met Office extreme heat warning and it didn’t disappoint - it reached 38° on the plot and plants were flagging or bolting as the ground dried up so quickly. 

The pumpkin matured far quicker than it should have and the beans had a short life this year though the borlotti were prolific.

HAHA had a lovely picnic where prizes were given out to Jenny and Zoe for best plot and the tallest sunflower (3.51m).

What an amazing month and what relief when we had a torrential downpour and the site sighed.

French beans, cucumbers and tomatoes joined the other veg in the trugs.

	Zimbabwe and London this was an interesting book based on the sadness and trauma of domestic abuse. The trial demonstrated how domestic abuse is considered in different countries. The characters were well defined and any irritation with Diara, and Sophia, was forgiven by their back stories.
	Phew. That was a harder read than I expected. The characters were interesting but Heathcliff was so awful. I didn’t expect that. And young Linton, ugh. I know he was abused horribly but what a wimp, he really got on my nerves! Even Catherine (the elder) wasn’t a nice character.

September

A month that felt like Autumn had arrived in the early morning visits but then Summer returned for enjoyable plot days. No blight this year nor many slugs.

Always a great harvesting month including our very own delicious home-grown outdoor Mangomel melons and plenty of squashes.

The time came for my 5th COVID jab. Boris Johnson eventually resigned as Prime Minister and incredibly (not in a good way) Liz Truss took over…

The zinnias continued to put on a fabulous display and I got some decent photos of a Hummingbird hawk moth on the Wildlife plot. It was a very good year for spotting these amazing moths.

Sweetcorn, pak choi, peppers, Honeyboat squash and melon were new goodies to be taking home from the plot.

I was drawn to this because of the Tenerife link, though there was less Tenerife than I’d expected. It was a good read with excitement, intrigue and a bit of romance. There was a bit too much detail at times but overall I enjoyed it.

October

Our first proper frost arrived on 11th October! What a shock when the rest of the month was quite reasonable with plenty of Autumn sunshine. The zinnias and various other plants couldn’t recover from the -2.8° temperature. 

Less of a shock was that we got another Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, after the embarrassingly short and appallingly costly few weeks of Liz Truss.

The final courgettes were harvested before the frost came and tomatoes and peppers were taken home to ripen. I created my first ‘mini planet’ of the site.

And my first ever batch of rosehip jelly - note to self, use bigger rosehips if possible.

The frost stopped the courgette production line but Cavolo Nero appeared along with masses of tomatoes and butternut squash.

	This was such an emotional read through the generations. I did get a bit confused with the characters and should have kept a closer eye on the family tree, but I really enjoyed each chapter covering a different individual and their joys and, too many, troubles. It made me sad, but the end of the book made me happy
	I couldn’t put this down. All through I was wanting people to tell the things that were left untold. Beautiful and so sad. I really like the way Celeste Ng tells a tale and her characters are perfect.

November

Two pieces of bad news hit the site - idiot vandals and a greedy housing developer.

We tried not to let it get to us and we’ll continue with site as we have for the last 13 years. And some good news - I actually grew some quite decent parsnips! Not many, but enough to enjoy.

 And we had a HAHA Autumn Work Party with a welcome bonfire.

It was an extremely wet month, we weren’t used to it this year. Our first parsnips went home.

I wouldn’t call it Science fiction because their isn’t enough of the science in it. It’s more of a social commentary on people who happen to live in a sort-of alternative universe. I would have enjoyed a bit more from the characters, but maybe that’s the point… maybe they couldn’t achieve ‘more’. It left me thinking, which always makes me consider it a well-written story and it also left me a bit sad, though I did enjoy reading it.

Twisty turny. It’s him! No, it’s her! No, it’s her! No, him … on and on till ohhhh

December

After that very wet November, the Arctic blast arrived! Wow, what beauty in that rime ice which formed due to the freezing fog.

The temperature dropped below -10.2° on a couple of nights but no snow for us and it was mostly rainy/grey and mild for the rest of the month.

And then Christmas came and went with some lovely pressies, including these interesting books which I’ll be delving into in 2023.

Brussels sprouts appeared on our Christmas harvest list.

And here are the last books I’ve read this year, though I’ve just started another Kevin Wilson one, so it seems he’ll be first on my reading list for 2023 as well.

	**spoiler alert** Great location in the Kentucky mountains, interesting characters and an unexpected courtroom drama. Maybe it was rather ‘and they all lived happily after’ but I’m glad!
	Wow, the lead character made a lot of poor choices in this story. Clearly used to being on the outside he didn’t fit in and it seemed like he didn’t want to, though I think he just couldn’t. Even when offered decent things, he couldn’t appreciate it and didn’t respond as expected which caused upset. Definitely a story to leave you thinking…
	A tiny little Christmas story filled with kindness and extreme sadness, especially as it's based on fact

Song title provided by The Specials as in 2022 we said goodbye to so many, including the great Terry Hall. Now we’re ready for 2023 and I wonder what is has in store for us…. HAPPY NEW YEAR!