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.

We get digging

Yesterday, between the snow flurries I popped to the plot with some tools. I cut down the raspberry canes until the cold bit through my gloves and I had to concede to the elements.
Today the sun shone weakly for a moment so we dashed there and made a start. For some reason we seemed to be wearing our 19th century Russian peasant outfits. - Always a good look when gardening.

H moved the compost bin...

 ... whilst I made a start on the weeding. Soon, soon, we too will have that dark, crumbly soil that crops will love and grow in with abundance. Monet's Garden is my inspiration, nasturtiums and marigolds amongst the lettuces. But some simple rows of carrots, beans and potatoes will be fine for now.. plus some courgette and squash plants in the old compost patch. I'm planing where the asparagus bed will be. Yum yum.

Bye bye plot 83... hello plot 31a

We weeded and tided up the old plot as best we could, laid down plastic tarps to suppress the weeds and left it for the winter. It was a long treck to get there, and my enthusiasm wained... I tried to love it, but it was an out of the way plot,  no charm, no zing. I longed for a closer spot, one nearer to our gate, nearer to the hub and buzz of the allotment centre. I asked the secretary to put us on the waiting list for another place.... one month passed, two, three, four... Then  last week I thought a cheeky phone call might be in order... Eric said he had me on the list... he was sure something would come up when the payment requests were sent out...

Yesterday he rang me. A plot had come up and this morning I went to see it.

Dah dah! Hey Presto and Alacazam!!! Its perfect. Right in the centre of everything. It has an old chicken coupe at the back; which we can grow a vine up and shut the dog in when she is with us so she doesn't disturb every one. A lovely shed, an old apple tree, lots of current bushes, raspberry bushes, a strawberry patch, and rows of leeks to pull now. Theres not too much weeding to do as the careful gardeners before us have just moved along a few rows to be next to their dad to help him with his plot. I met them too, great people, they even offered to rotivate the soil for me.

Behind the plot is a stream, to one side is the path to the wildlife area with a copse of fruit trees and a hazel wigloo hideaway for children to play in.. I can't wait to start. I am looking forward to drawing and painting there as the year develops... as well as the wonderful fruit and veg we are going to grow, hooray!