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!

Happy Hallow'een

We carved these pumpkins, OS did the skull by himself, though we did use a transfer, I think it looks rather good. YS's is a spider, mainly done by me, which is less sucessful - there is a moral there somewhere!  So what has this to do with the allotment? Absolutely nothing, the squash we grew this year were too small for carving and tasted divine so I couldn't waste them. Something to aim for next year maybe - a squash of our own to carve?

Hope you have fun and are not bothered if you don't want to be. I know it isn't everyones cup of tea. The law as issued at OS's school is visit people you know, stay with an adult and only visit houses that have a pumpkin lit outside. We are going to a party with the boys cousin and have apple bobbing, sweets in flour and doughnuts on strings to look forward to. We have made witches fingers and spider cakes this evening,and have been practicing our party pieces in readiness. Even OH has promised to dress up...

A Winter's Tale

The old boys up at the allotment usually know a thing or two. When they are not shaking their heads at my untidy plot and odd plants that I grow (flowers and "foreign muck"), they are usually happy to give advice, seeds and the odd cabbage.
I couldn't help but notice on Sunday afternoon that lots of their plots are now totally empty, dug over, manured or limed and looking expectant. Now I know the caterpillars did a lot of damage to the brassicas but even so, my plot still seems to be full of stuff to the extent that I haven't got room to plant out my garlic and have only managed to get three rows of onions in (see exciting picture above).
So am I behind or in front of the curve?
I'm hoping to be dug over by Jan uary/February but until then it just keeps growing.