Brassicas / Merlin / Sunken garden
Posted: Monday 29 May, 2023
Monday 22nd May
The week started well when I have the opportunity to save a bumblebee. It had fallen in the ponies’ water bucket; I thought it was dead but it’s legs were still moving, so I swept it up and gave it a saucer of sugar water. When I returned, half an hour later, it had gone, so I’m counting that as a save.
I registered the heifer calves; it’s a D year, so Baby’s calf is Rosedean Duibhe, which is Gaelic for black and Rora’s is Rosedean Dorcha, which is Gaelic for dark.
Our makeshift bird bath is seeing plenty action in this dry weather.
Water for drinking and bathing welcome in this dry spell.
Tuesday 23rd May
Dan cleared out a bit of the rhubarb bed that had some random strawberries – variety unknown – that had become thick with couch grass. Bless him, he’s replanted some of them.
.jpg)
New old strawberries.
Wednesday 24th May
There are three catmint plants in the bed along the West Range; the cats only nibble one. Diesel’s obsessed.
It’s been pretty blustery; washing out – BIG gust, and one of the poles snapped. Thankfully, the ground was dry and the washing was fine – and I’ll manage with three poles for now.
.jpg)
Too windy for washing.
Thomas and Bertie spat a lot – but they manage to get along when there’s a sunny spot.
.jpg)
Bertie and Thomas - compromising.
Thursday 25th May
Yesterday’s strong winds brought down some pinecones
Monster pine cones.
The good weather is holding, so I had a busy day in the vegetable garden. Dan came in for a while too, so I sowed salad, herbs and spring onions; he manured the beans, peas, courgettes and squashes. I finished weeding the epas; I did so well with the weeding over winter, but it's got away a bit in teh last month. Almost caught up now.
Vegetable garden.
Friday 26th May
String no longer required – Dan’s been doing some wee repairs about the place.
Just the string to come off now.
I visited Janet, for tea and cake; she showed me an App called Merlin, which records and identifies bird song. It’s fantastic. Over the course of today, here, we had House Sparrow (by the hundred), Blackbird, Starling, Wood Pigeon, Pied Wagtail, Collared Dove, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Wren, Oystercatcher, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch. Nothing unusual but lovely to be able to identify them.
Saturday 27th May
The herd, waiting to come in.
.jpg)
Cattle.
The vegetable garden is pretty much planted up now, with the leeks and brassicas going out today.
Netting the brassicas.
The greenhouse is now all but empty; the overhanging Lime tree means that it doesn’t get so much sun once the tree is in leaf. Dan’s doing one more batch of comfrey next Wednesday, then I’ll get it cleaned out.
Pizza for lunch courtesy of the wood fired oven; Dan also made rolls and bread. The rolls are fab, the bread not so much. Under proved apparently.
Wood fired oven rolls.
Midges out in force tonight.
Sunday 28th May
The cattle moved to a new paddock this morning – and very happy they were too. I’m trying to move them to fresh grass every Sunday, round the four paddocks we have. I don’t want them in the one where the meat chicks are because Grey is perfectly capable of lifting the entire pen off the ground. The two top paddocks will be topped next week to take the rushes down again,
Having caught up with most of the chores on his list, Dan was able to get back into the sunken garden. He’s hoping to finish clearing it this week, so we can get measured up and buy what we need for the raised beds. I think it’s going to be lovely, but the existing design is all a bit random. Still, quirky is good.
More progress.
I’d have sown swede today - last thing to go in – but I can’t find the seeds. It’s a mystery. Instead, I weeded one of the two beds at the front of the house, cleared a bit of this path down the side, and started on this wee corner.
Clearing a path.
.jpg)
And a corner to be refurbished.
