Ready, steady,sow!

I always get into trouble at this time of year as I'm desparate to get on with things (not sure why as the digging / clearing up / pruning has not been done yet) so YS and I dusted off the toilet rolls and planted peas and broad beans to try and get an early start after the over wintered ones didn't.

We get pleasure from small things in this house so when YS went to the toilet this morning he was very excited to find...

a pea!

So he had one, and that created another toilet roll and so the cycle continues...

January Blues

The snow put paid to any early broad beans

The pigeons ate the brassicas (as predicted so why didn't I NET THEM?)

But we loved the snow!

It hasn't been the best start to a new decade hence my lack of posts but this week we planted some seeds (broad bean, peas, sweet peas) to replace those that got a bit too hardened off and bought our seed potatoes and shallots so the season is a go (and I just got a post in before the end of January).

Onion seeds and leeks are next on the agenda.

Here comes Summer!

So that was the shortest day.
Here's to longer ones. And warmer ones.
Allotment news: I have some sprouts for Christmas. Just got to get my fingers cold and go and pick them.
We are making allotment truffles for presents (raspberries, carefully frozen in summer, will be lovingly encased in a white chocolte truffle and dipped in white or dark chocolate) I will post a picture if any make it past the testers to the waiting boxes.
Hope you are all having a happy Christmastide.
Must dash  ho ho ho and all that.
- and soon we will be (hoeing that is).

Christmas lights

The next few weeks seem to be a whirl of parties here, discos there, concerts both here and there, and of course none of them are for me.
I was hoping to get to the plot this weekend but the weather has been so wet I thought I'd do more harm than good.
Yesterday I went to the garden centre to buy some prepared hyacinths for planting, and it was fully Christmassed up ( they even had a lifesized animated camel) so we came home and put up our tree. This morning football was cancelled so I just nipped up to the plot to pick some kale, parsnips, sprouts and chard (bright lights - get it?) and then took OS to the Beaver Chrismas party whilst YS and I went and put Grandma's tree up for her.  On the way home I had a brilliant idea, so we nipped into Leicester and looked at the Christmas lights there and had a lovely time. I really should have taken a camera.
It was nearly a no spend day but there was a little fair in the middle of town so the boys needed - apparently - to go on the spinning teacups. Ah well!
I feel all warm and Christmassy now.

All the fun of the fair

There is a street fair in the local town, the boys went on the train, we all went in the hall of mirrors and OS and I went on the ghost train and on the wild mouse. YS opted to blow bubbles at Daddy.

Talking of the wild mouse, he seems to be nibbling my broad beans at the allotment. I hearby declare war.

The curious incident of the lost boot in the nightime

We didn't go to the allotment until after school today as the weather has been so foul. So by the time we got there it was a case of harvest as much as you can carry and get home again. Some of the parsnips were holding on for dear life it seems so it all took rather longer than I thought.

Which leads me to the question: if OS runs quickly down the path in the twilight and his boot flies off - how long does it take to locate it and retrieve it fronm a patch of nettles?
The answer was quite a long time. We had to visit Grandma for a fish and chip supper to get over the excitement. No washing up. Result!

Remember the plot

Remember, remember the 5th of November,

Gunpowder, Treason and plot...

Ah yes the plot. Well what with three bonfire parties and the village Rememberence Day parade we didn't have a lot of time this weekend.  I did think about posting more photos of digging parsnips, or me putting the rhubarb to bed under a layer of well rotted horse manure, or a shot of my pumpkin on the compost heap, all of which we did do. Be thankful that you got OS having a lovely time on Saturday just before he got soaking wet and covered in sugar (again). Normal service might be resumed soon - but frankly we are having allot of fun!