and inbetween snow falls...

I had a quick pop down to the plot...
a quick weed,
a quick look at the stream,
admired the snowdrops,
and the hens....

 My friend Bev gave me all these seeds... all we need now is some warm weather to sow them.

 

 I plan to edge the plot with lots of flowers to attract the bees and pollinating insects.

As it says on the box simply shake, rake and water, then we rock and roll!

Here is a sparrowhawk eating a wood pigeon

We have been away, and since our return the weather has been too yucky to go to the plot.

Yesterday through the window, I watched a Hawk eating a wood pigeon in our suburban garden. My camera was nearby, the photos weren't very good, but the bit of film was OK. Well, its a bit boring to be honest, but I thought I'd share it with you anyway, as the bird is beautiful. Nothing funny happens...   Just a hawk eating... It seems to eat a lot of feathers. Maybe they like feathers.

Yesterdays digging...

The sun was shining again, and as I knew I wouldn't be around this weekend to finish the digging, I took advantage of the clement weather and a free afternoon to finish the crop rotation beds. My friend and allotment inspiration Scarlett assures me photos of half dug beds are not boring so...here you are...

 

 Dah dah!!
I chatted to Ken Austin, the vintage lawnmower man today. - He keeps all the grass verges and paths trim and cut. Here he is with his wife Jean, who writes the news letter and who developed the wildlife part of the allotments. She is weeding the raised beds in the adjacent plot to mine, used by the Thomas Wolsey School. A school for disabled children.

Here is Ken with a couple of his beauties. The first is a ATCO (standard) made in 1925. Ken had  finished reconditioning it, when, he was at the dump, and spied a handful of transfers just chucked away seconds before. He quickly nabbed them and they just finished off the job nicely. What were the chances of that?- For him it was better than winning the lottery.

This is a Colwood Motor hoe with a Villers engine, circa 1949, with trolley. This machine can have all sorts of bits attached, its very versatile. Ken hasn't finished the painting yet, because he uses it all the time.  He has adapted the trolley, and he can put sides on it, to lug, gravel, sand, wood chip and of course, grass cuttings....

Today as the sun was shining...

I spent a few hours up at the plot continuing with that digging. I won't bore you with that, or put up any photos 'cus you can imagine what a half dug plot looks like well enough. I should have done a stop frame animation....Ah well.
 But I met some interesting people today.
one of which was Ivan who was driving a mobility scooter and has had three strokes. Oh what a nice chap. We swapped produce, I gave him some parsnips and he offered me some rhubarb to be picked in a couple of weeks time. -"and to tell Eric he said it was OK." Ivan can't actually eat, but a couple of years ago the wonderful team at Ipswich hospital put a tube in his neck that goes to a bag and he can eat pureed food just for the taste of it. He gets his nourishment some other way. This operation was only the second in the world and apparently they got the information of how to do it from an Internet link. Ivan still comes to the allotment, although he can't eat much that is not soup or smoothies. So there you see, don't just garden for food for the body, its food for the mind too.

Saturday digging

This morning, in bed with our coffee and the trusty old 'Readers Digest gardening manual';circa 1970, we planned our crop rotation and made copious lists of things to plant.
 I had popped to the plot in the week and made a tiny start on the digging and this afternoon H and I spent an hour or so methodically liberating the soil from the weeds. A couple of barrowfuls were dumped in the  'soon to be fruit cages' at the back. The dog munched on old carrots and helped by burying her ball. Lots more to be done, but slowly, slowly, does  it.