Harvest!

The not-dwarf brand did themselves proud in the end.
From the mountains of pods. Even after eating them for nearly two weeks, I dried the rest for storage and look what I've got!

My last bean storage attempt was pickling, which we didn't end up using even though they kept well, so I'm hoping dried will get more use.

End of August

My compost is ready!



After sieving and sorting I've been able to fill up a new bed.



The not-dwarf beans are still going strong. So strong they've pulled down their supports. Heaps of them still to grow big enough, and several cucumbers still on the plant too

Dinner time

I think the fact that I'm very happily dancing away to the best of the Back Street Boys in my kitchen while cooking this tells you something about my age as well as my outlook on life and values (no need to spend too long trying to work out either though).

Everything vegetable in tonight's tea is home grown. Everything. Only the pasta and pork is bought, as I have neither a pig farm nor a pasta tree!

Courgettes - my allotment
Basil - my window ledge
Tomatoes - hubsters greenhouse
Swiss chard - my mum's garden
Onions - a friend's allotment
Garlic - another friend's allotment

Now there's just making my own wine to figure out in future.

Summertime!

A week away has given everything chance to really unfurl and expand.






Running total between the plot and the greenhouse (at home) is 38 cucumbers - this week! (We weren't counting before then) . Courgettes I haven't counted or weighed at all, but I think the courgette to marrow ratio has been about 1:2 so far. I need to pick them sooner.
Currants were all ready too, and super sweet from the sunshine.






Next steps are to tame the wilder patches a bit, and to squeeze in some more early mornings. Cool. Quiet. Secret. Stolen time to savour.

Gratitude

A long time ago I was lonely. At the time I didn't know that was was what it was. I lived in a small town because it was well placed for work. I got to, went to that work, worked hard at it, then came home again. The rest of my week was filled with the usual keeping life going things, cleaning shopping, watching TV, exercise class. Apart from my husband I felt unseen in my day to day life. I was sustained by my amazing long distance friendships, people who knew me, who understood me, kindred spirits held back by geography (and the infuriating,unfortunate fact of Crewe making the M6 so long)
And now things are different. I've been through all sorts to get to this point and learnt so many things about life and myself(as Maya Angelou said 'i wouldn't give nothing for my journey now' but that's a while other post... Series of posts!).
Today I met a friend from church for an awesome, soul charging time, bumped into three (!) other friends on the way home from food shopping (who knew that the local supermarket was the social center of the modern world), and I'm scranning a quick lunch (including eggs from *another* friendsf chickens) because yet another great lady has invited me round to hang out with her and her son before I pick super kid up from school. All this, and I am immensely lucky enough to still have my kindred spirit long distance friendships as well.
I have these 5 hours each week. The housework can wait, life's calling.

June update

Here's June!

Possibly the best breakfast ever. Fresh eggs from my friend's chickens, scrambled with just picked peas and courgette, then served with peace, quiet and a light fresh breeze (With strawberries for pudding!)

Lottie update

April's worked out well, as we tipped into May I had a full day down there and I'm really pleased with the results.

The courgettes will move tho, because I've realised that bed gets the best sun so I've decided to save it for the sweetcorn.

Crochet

Lovely gift for a lovely friend, and I'm so pleased how it turned out.

First harvest 2018

Is rubarb, and over a month earlier than last year's (which was tiny strawberries; which explains the timings. Strawbs do have flowers already tho)
Ten months on, and after a gloriously sunny day's work, the plot looks like this...

It's looking so tidy! (Shame I've planted *nothing* - time to steal seedlings from my husband)