Sunken garden / Winter Palace / Yellow bums - The Accidental Smallholder

Posted: Monday 22 September, 2025

by Rosemary at 8:50am in Smallholding No comments Add your own

W/e 21^st September 2025

It’s been a reasonable week weatherwise. VERY windy on Thursday; we had to cancel our Bridges4Indy event, for fear of activists resembling Mary Poppins.  Regularly 15C but much cooler overnight. We lit the stove one night, and then were roasting. Good forecast for the coming week too.

Pickles is now raddled and the CIDRs are being removed from the ewes. Three on Friday, two on Saturday and two on Sunday. There was one yellow bum on Saturday morning and three on Sunday, so he’s getting on with the job. God, he stinks though. I think Alistair will let the ewes have one return in 17 days, then take the tup out.

Tupping time.

Dottie helped Dan in the office.

The joy of sleep.

Wednesday, Lorna and i had our walk along the front at Arbroath. It was a bit  grey, but not cold.

Grey sea at Arbroath.

Murdo was here on Thursday; he cleared out the sunken garden. Now Dan will put DPC at the back of the sleepers to protect them and back fill with soil. I still favour slabbing the base. It’s 25 square meters though, so it won’t be cheap.

Sunken Garden cleared.

Murdo also manured Bed 2, or most of it, so we’ll get that covered in the next few days. It’s still quite warm, so the weeds are still growing. And so is the grass. Dan cut the back grass on Thursday but I fear it won’t be the last cut.

I made the first Christmas cakes – just a fruit cake, really. Mini ones using Delia’s Quick Mincemeat Cake. And apple and cinnamon muffins, but they were a bit disappointing. I’ll try them again, but add more cinnamon and put a dollop of stewed apple in the middle.

Andy and Dan have built a smashing extension to the hen’s Winter Palace, so that they have more room this year. I’ll get a coat or two of preservative on it this week. Maybe.

Winter Palace extension.

I treated us to brushed cotton bottom sheets for our bed. And new, heavier curtains for the two front bedrooms. They’re a red tartan, so will be replaced by the sage green gingham in the summer. Hark at me!! Banjo Beale look out. Once the garden is put to bed, I’ll give the house a bit of a deep clean. That’s the plan, anyway

Sunday morning, started mincemeat. Made a complete hash of measuring the dried fruit, so ended up making a batch and a half. Won’t go wrong though. Dan popped into Dundee to pick up wood to finish the Winter Palace, so also popped to the supermarket for chopped mixed peel and suet. £2.72 for a packet of suet. Help ma boab!

Lorna was here for tea, so we had Balgove pork chops. And the last Christmas pudding from 2024. Delicious.

The last 2024 Christmas pudding.