Adventures in the life of an English allotment
After carefully checking the forecast for today, I decided it would be a good use of a day off to spend it at the allotment. It's been ages since I have been able to spend a full day on site, partly due to the weather (first too hot, then too wet!) and partly due to... Continue Reading →
All this week I have been popping down to the allotment in the evening to feed the chickens. I am pleased to report that Gertie tends to eat considerably more in the evening feeds. Sometimes even polishing off another half bowl of food, leaving her crop so full that one more pellet or piece of... Continue Reading →
Before work this morning, I ran down to the allotment. Although I tend to grumble about having to be up much earlier on days I go into the office, I do enjoy blowing away the cobwebs and getting a blast of fresh air to start the day. When I got down to the plot, I... Continue Reading →
So over the past few days, both parts of the Topknot Gang have been spending the day out exploring the garden. Usually, they stay in two separate groups, only occasionally going near each other. Often there seems to be considerable confusion between Cumulus and Asperitas. This can lead to hilarious moments where Aurora, Arcus and... Continue Reading →
Yet again, I got beaten back by rain. The only difference this week is that it was accompanied by thunder and lightning. It was forecast to start at 4pm. As usual I took no notice of the forecast as I headed down. Seriously, how often is the forecast right? I thought to myself, looking up... Continue Reading →
This afternoon, I finally made it down to the plot. We've had some rain this week and I was dreading what I would find. I imagined the weeds would be several feet taller and the greenhouse would resemble an overgrown jungle. Much to my surprise, the plot wasn't as dreadful as I thought it would... Continue Reading →
Despite the humidity, I forced myself down to the allotment this morning. The heat was oppressive even though the sky was beginning to cloud over. My first job was to open up the shed and put up the sunshade. I checked on Maude and Mavis who were clucking loudly, demanding some treats. I headed across... Continue Reading →
Just as I was about to go to bed this evening, I wandered down to the bottom of the garden to call the cats inside. At this time of year, they have zero interest in coming inside at any time after 11pm. Despite trying for an early night, I ended up having to stay up... Continue Reading →
I didn't manage to get down to the allotment until after lunch today. I spent the morning trying to persuade my eyes that I hadn't spent half a day outdoors, so they needn't stream and itch anymore. Typically, they refused to cooperate! But knowing how much more work there was to do, I knew I... Continue Reading →
At the allotment today, just as I began to prune the willow screen, I spotted a very strange, very brightly coloured....thing. I call it a thing because it was like nothing I had ever seen before. Part of it looked like a caterpillar, but it had two retracting antennae that looked like they belonged to... Continue Reading →
After spending all week on the verge of melting into a puddle, we made it down the allotment to tackle what used to be a well-tended plot. As we arrived, I looked at the plot in despair. There were so many weeds and it was going to take hours to get it back under control.... Continue Reading →
The heatwave continues and so does the amount of pollen in the air. It's been many years since I last went down properly with hayfever. Naively, I thought I was free of it forever. Foolishness obviously, judging from my streaming nose and insanely itchy eyes. I had planned to spend most of today on the... Continue Reading →
After a couple of quieter days for Dora, I found she had passed away this morning. It's always sad when we lose one of our girls, especially when they are quite young. Dora was a very timid personality, who rarely came within touching range. She preferred to skirt around the edges of the group, occasionally... Continue Reading →
After finishing work, I headed down to the allotment. It's something I keep meaning to do after work - a couple of hours here and there during the week would lessen how much weeding needs to be done over the weekend! Somehow though, despite my best intentions, it doesn't happen. But today it did! I... Continue Reading →
So today I headed down to the allotment with the aim of redoing the pond by the shed. The pond base is a massive tree pot which our beautiful olive tree came in. However, over the past three years, the liner has degraded to such a point that it hardly retains water. Happily, I had... Continue Reading →
Mid-morning I ambled across to the allotment. The sun was out, the sky was blue and it was perfect weather to be outside. The only flaw in my plan to spend the day at the allotment, was the heat. Today was a scorcher! With a south facing plot, there was absolutely no break from the... Continue Reading →
After a wonderfully relaxing holiday, I trudged down to the allotment this morning dreading what I would find. In my mind's eye, the weeds were waist deep and would require days of hacking back to rediscover the plot below. Having seen the amount of sunshine Crewe has had over the past week, I knew the... Continue Reading →
I took advantage of the dry weather to make some progress on the plot today! It's been very damp and drizzly most of the week and with yet more rain forecast for tomorrow. I grabbed the weed bucket and slowly made my way down the path, weeding as I went. It seems almost impossible to... Continue Reading →
It's been a busy bank holiday filled with DIY and painting. But I did manage to escape the paint fumes for an hour this morning to feed the chickens. Fortunately, everyone was on their best behaviour and there were no missing chickens, escaping chickens or marauding eggs in the water bowl. For this, I am... Continue Reading →
I swear that our animals, despite being in two different locations, can communicate and conspire together. I don't know how they do it, but judging from today's adventures, I'm guessing telepathy. Our first sign that something was amiss was my cat, Vasili, coming in limping on his front paws. We had hoped he would walk... Continue Reading →
The Good Life Crewe 
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