It was really foggy when I woke up yesterday morning, but the sun came through and I ended up gardening in shorts and a strappy top with sunoil smeared over the exposed bits. K, my builder and handyman, came to help me today. He dug over and weeded the old potato patch, covered it in weed suppressing membrane and planted raspberry canes through it. Then the runner bean patch was dug through and a quarter of one of the compost bin contents dug in, before tackling some of the raised beds and mending holes in the fence round the hen field. We had thought the chickens were flying over the fence, but we found that there were several escape holes which have now been wired over. After the afternoon teabreak, under a clear blue sky, K planted two new azalea plants in the large border in the garden and last of all, the strawberry beds in the polytunnel were dug, composted and some strawberries planted and watered. I put in some shallots and red onions and did some of the watering, not more, as I'm still hampered by my ankle. It's lovely to come in with dirt under my fingernails for the first time this year and a very slight red tinge from the wonderful sunrays.
Yesterday the sunset was so gorgeous, making truth of "red sky at night, shepherds' delight". For some reason, I can't get my photo to post the right way up, so here's a previous one I took from the far end of my garden.
I have a eucalyptus in the garden which was caught by the sunset and the usually silvery trunk and limbs turned rusty red.
I planted more strawberries today in the polytunnel and carrot seeds outside. I can't find the runner beans seeds I saved from last year, I've obviously put them somewhere safe! A good friend is coming over from England next week, so I'm hoping I can get her to bring me some as we don't really have a selection of runner beans here, and they're grown for the beans inside, not for eating the whole thing like in the UK.
A friend, B, has put a nestbox up for me today which has a colour camera inside, so when I can work out how to connect it to the television, if birds nest in it, I shall have a great view.
Three Beautiful Things:
1. Earth from the veggie plot under my fingernails for the first time this year.2. A cloudless blue sky and the first touch of sun on my skin as I wore shorts and a strappy t-shirt.
3. My bedlinen hanging out in the sunny air, and smelling so fresh and lovely when I brought it in to fold.
What a gorgeous sunset! You have some beautiful pictures on your blog. I enjoyed this visit looking around. The fresh smell of sheets dried on the clothes line is always wonderful. ;-)
ReplyDeleteLona
This post made me feel happy as I could imagine the days ahead (still a month or so away here) when I will be able to get out and work in the garden and start hanging my laundry outside to dry again. (I don't remember noticing the photo of Daisy on your sidebar before; she is a beautiful cat.) -Jean
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind comments, Hocking Hills Gardener. I don't think there will be any laundry dried outside much more this week as rain is forecast I'm afraid. I'll have a look on your site when I have a moment this evening.
ReplyDeleteOh, to have dirt under my fingernails again! The dirt is frozen solid under two or more feet of snow. I will just have to be content to dig vicariously through the blogs of others, like you. The bed linens drying in the sun was delightful imagery (does my wistfulness come through?).
ReplyDeleteChristine in cold Alaska
Hello Jean, thanks for visiting again. The photo of Daisy was taken yesterday evening at sunset time. She was keeping an eye on a neighbour's dog in the lane. I'm hoping to get a gander tomorrow to go with Grace my goose but I'm still waiting for the full address to be able to collect. I'll post a photo as soon as he arrives.
ReplyDeleteHello Christine, thanks for dropping into Livingin22. Yes, there's nothing like garden dried washing is there - it just smells completely different. The only way I can ever get the soil out of my fingernails is when I wash my hair in the shower in the mornings, somehow nailbrushes never seem to do the job properly. I'm so glad our snow has gone, I can't imagine what it must be like to have a long season of snow. Roll on Spring!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful images here - There is nothing nicer than bedlinnen fresh from the line.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for having my blog in your links - much appreciated.
Warm regards
K
Wonderful photos! I've very much enjoyed looking around! A feast for my eyes, really. That sunset is spectacular! It just glows...
ReplyDeleteFrance must be a lovely place to live. : )
Hello Karen AAG Thank for your comments. This morning I've been sowing seeds for carrots, spinach, chard, radish, courgettes, cucumbers, pole beans and butternut squash - one of my favourites. I'm very fat, it's hard to bend, my back aches and I'm dying for a bath so those vegetables better taste brilliant when they're ready to harvest!
ReplyDeleteHallo Karen WFS. Thanks for visiting my blogs. The sunsets can be lovely here and I just love the way they change the colour of everything around. Brittany is lovely, and I can't imagine living anywhere else now. I am here on my own so I feel quite brave leaving the family and starting again as it were, but I wouldn't change anything now.
ReplyDelete