Adventures in the life of an English allotment
Today was the day that nonessential shops could open for the first time since December. Up early, I dashed into town before it got too busy and popped into my favourite shop. Armed with new sewing fabric, I began to wall home. Partway back, I spotted I had a missed call from Steve. I called... Continue Reading →
This morning I dashed down to take advantage of the clear, if very cold, day. My first job was to tilt the solar panel. It's so heavy that in the end, I gave up. The metal tilt props are too tall to use so whilst I was trying to work out how to shorten them... Continue Reading →
The cold and rain that greeted me this morning was rather depressing. Ever since I put up the solar panel, the weather has been either cold, windy but dry or wet and windy. Neither particularly helpful for growing plants or for working solar panels. I'm beginning to think that by putting up the solar panel,... Continue Reading →
Opening up the nest box this morning, we discovered Nimbus cuddled up with Cirrus and Stratus breathing normally and back to her usual self. as the best box door opened, Nimbus was the first one out and ran the length of the coop to get to the food bowl. There's no sign of strange breathing... Continue Reading →
After spending this morning working, I dashed down to the allotment to feed the chickens. My plan was to just pop down quickly. As it turned out, I spent a manic four hours running around the site trying to complete several jobs simultaneously! The British weather has decided to try to emulate the Mediterranean climate.... Continue Reading →
Today was a busy day! Cliff had found a gorgeous window to replace the ancient and rotting window frame and broken glass panels. I arrived before Cliff and headed up to Liz and Sarah's plot to say hello. I found them both having a chat in the shed and discussed with them their plans for... Continue Reading →
This morning I walked down to the allotment, planning on a quick visit as I needed to pop back home to be in for a delivery. I rushed down to the main coop, filled up their water and food bowls and threw out their treats. Scanning the coop, I realised I had forgotten to check... Continue Reading →
Over the past week, the Silkie chicks have been living in the coop on our lawn. The first morning, I had to lift out each chick and put her in the run because they wouldn't go outside themselves. Once out, they huddled together and seemed far too terrified of the outdoors to move a few... Continue Reading →
This morning after posting off a few odd and ends, I walked down to the allotment ready to continue to do battle with the shed. Yesterday's work needed some touching up with more white before I could begin the next phase. Tracy came by to see how it was going and Steve added his usual... Continue Reading →
Today I ran down to the allotment early. The sun was out and it was dry! A magic, and often elusive, combination! I stopped to say hello to Michael and Phil before heading off to the shed. Out came everything once more - it's amazing how much stuff can be fitted into a shed! The... Continue Reading →
Late this morning I ambled down to the allotment determined to make a start on clearing out the shed. It's a once yearly job which I feel signifies the start of the growing season. The glorious weather had tempted out lots of people from their winter hibernation and I spent an hour happily chatting to... Continue Reading →
Every year, I am determined that the plot, shed and greenhouse will remain tidy and rubbish free. And yet, year after year, we have to do a tip run. This year, whilst my husband ran some errands, I ran frantically around the plot, bagging up rubbish and making a heap of them on the patio.... Continue Reading →
So early this morning, I ran down to the allotment to help our friends Liz and Sarah clear the enormous pile of wood from the unsuccessful bonfire night mountain. The half plot has been covered by this stuff for months with no concrete plan to move it. Luckily, one of our friends owns his own... Continue Reading →
The wind has been really high over night and during the day which has dropped the air temperature significantly. It feels perishing if you have to be outside for more than a few minutes. Sarah messaged me to say our combined seed order had arrived at last. I dropped everything and ran across to meet... Continue Reading →
Yet more snow arrived overnight! I have never known so much snow since we moved here several years ago. There is nothing more exciting than opening up the curtains to find everything covered in a layer of pure white. Sometimes if the snow is thicker, the sounds of traffic and other noises of a busy... Continue Reading →
A string of messages last night and this morning found me down the allotment early having one last cuddle with Lucky. It turns out Lucky's concerned owner has been knocking on doors and posting online trying to find her. Somehow, one of the wonders of living in a small tight knit community, Andy knew the... Continue Reading →
I love days like today. Days when you go down not expecting anything exciting to happen, especially during winter when there is so much less work to be done. I arrived just as the kettle in Cliff's shed started to boil and sat down outside with Cliff and Geoff. After several minutes of chat, Cliff... Continue Reading →
And so as the January weather continues to make the third lockdown more miserable than the last, I escaped down to the allotment for some fresh air. Over the past couple of weeks, I have told myself that I must clean out the main coop. In winter, with the water supply off, the freezing temperatures... Continue Reading →
And just like that, it's a new year with new plans and opportunities. In the works are big plans to continue the shed upgrade, a new growing area, add raised beds to the greenhouse, finish the vertical garden and build a small terrarium area as well as finally getting some more quail (much to my... Continue Reading →
This morning, we braced ourselves for feeding the chickens in the freezing temperatures. It was one of those beautiful clear, sunny and crisp winter days. Upon our arrival, we discovered that every water feeder and water butt was completely frozen over! Welding a large screwdriver, my husband set to work smashing the thick layer of... Continue Reading →
Recent Comments