Jingly Jangly Mornin

Haven't been clodhopping for a week now and expecting severe punishment....probably 40 lashes from the horsetail over a cold frame. Ouch!

I see no realistic chance of getting up there until next week either by which time I expect a jungle. That's just how life is sometimes. Herself has been up a few times to fly the flag and plant things out that desperately needed to get out. She also brought back some of the asparagus and psb which was unbelievably tender and delicious.


The Fete de la Mazurka at the weekend was great fun and we played two bals and various sessions for about 60 or so dancers. We tried out the lottery waltz set on them. It's a long set of waltz tunes starting in 3 time then respectively 5, 8, 11 and 18 time waltzes and the dancers have to change steps accordingly. The dancers did thin out a bit but a surprising number of them stayed the distance and one cheeky bugger even asked for the bonus waltz. I think we will have to write one in some totally stupid time sig which is impossible to dance.

Work has been complete bedlam this morning and I'm taking 5 to chill out for a bit. I took the pic of the aquilegia in our garden last week and I've put it on my workstation this morning to soothe the jangly nerves.

Show Me A Garden That's Bursting Into Life - (snow patrol)

it's my birthday today
i'm mumble something now (gulp)
this morning I had a dream
and it was like waking up
i'm glad i'm mumble something
coz when you're young
you can spread tears around
like a catherine wheel
spreads stars
and we have to grow up too
just like our seedlings do
happy birthday world

Ted's Bounty

Yesterdays rain was SO welcome it could only be regarded as liquid sunshine. The ground was looking so dry and parched. Today it is blowing fierce gale force winds and so far there are two casualties that I know of. One of those plastic covered greenhouse kits took flight from somewhere lower down the plots and, narrowly missing Jack and Tom's greenhouses, was arrested mid flight by Cathy and some other plot holders. The other casualty (sob) was my own cold frame whose top was flung back and the glass smashed. My own stupid fault really for leaving it propped open too much in such windy weather.

However, I missed all that fun as I was out collecting Ted's Bounty. Ted is in the process of downsizing his gardening operations and had lots of goodies to give away. We got three water barrels, two more compost bins, lots of trays and pots and propogaters and some bocking 14 comfrey plants yippee and loads of other useful bits and pieces. Our very grateful thanks to Ted and......if you're reading this tonight......one of the other plotholders is interested in the greenhouse frame and is going to ring you.

Everything seems to need doing at once now but we don't have a huge amount of time for as well as the usual work commitments we have to spend any spare time we can grab rehearsing to play at the Fete de la Mazurka on Friday & Saturday nights with a newish lineup that could really do with at least three more rehearsals but we have no chance of that. Oh well, I'm sure it'll be alright on the night. Herself is muttering meaningfully about needing a base flute now!

mothernessity

Hampered last week and this by a bad flare up of eczema on both hands which, frustratingly, limits how much I can do in the garden. We need to start clearing the greenhouse of seedlings so that we can establish the tomato plants but where to put all those pots & seed trays? So, (and it was probably silly given the state of my hands), on Sunday I turned one of good old Mildred's windows into the cold frame you see. That will help a lot, although spacewise, we could probably do with another one like that.

Ahhh, I see that camomile lawns (see last post) like acid conditions and hate clay. Maybe it's not such a good idea then. We would certainly have to throw in a lot of efficacious compound. Maybe it wouldn't take too well to the amount of traffic on it either? I don't know. Any ideas?

I notice on the path down to the poultry section of the allotments that there is lots of comfrey and nettle growing. I think it was a couple of weeks ago that Monty made a witches brew of liquid manure out of these by taping some pop bottles together and compressing the leaves in them to eventually release a concentrated liquid fertiliser. Never done it before & I bet it's a tad on the whiffy side. Still I have some old drainpipe left and my sinuses are stuffed anyway so...what the hell?