Sunday 23 October 2016

Oh Bless those little critters.

Okay so that wasn't exactly the phrase I was saying to myself a few weeks ago when I wanted to harvest the rest of my corn!!

We had already eaten some so I can't say we didn't get any but we didn't get much...I had such a wonderful crop but when I approached this is what I found....


As you can see...the corn has been stripped. As I was approaching a scurry of birds flew out of the crop so I knew who the culprits were...or so I thought!


It was a couple of weeks later whilst I was on the plot burning some rubbish and minding my own business when I heard rustling a couple of plots over....looking up I saw a neighbours corn rustling and moving and yet there was no wind....


 I stealthily crept over to the plot where I could see the movement...I had a hunch what I would find and I was right....


Rats!! The above one was a little shy but as you can see the one in the photo below was quite bold and proudly posed for it's picture!!


I don't mind rats...In fact I used to have them as pets when I was younger and into my adult years but I think now they probably helped the birds eat my corn so I would like to now make a public apology to the birds for giving them sole blame on the corn eating!!

The last few years there have been many problems with rats over by the chicken pens but it doesn't bother me too much...after all it is kind of my fault for not harvesting early enough and also there is a reason in this world for everything though I know many are complaining about the rats and poison has been placed to try and get rid of them. Not sure they will ever get rid of them but I guess they may slow them down a little. These two were both males. Very healthy, one adult and one juvenile. 
I can really see the beauty in these creatures.
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Thursday 20 October 2016

Sadness

Very short today, I wrote my posts up to publish automatically this week but the reason I haven't checked out your blogs or replied to comments is because we haven't had the best week.

Our Trojan had to be put to sleep on Monday after his spleen ruptured, it was very sudden and we were heartbroken. Tro wasn't in any pain though and Hubby and I were with him to the end.

We only got to spend a few short years with Trojan but he brought us so much joy, warmth, friendship and laughter and he will be sorely missed. He has left us a little bit empty but with a tremendous amount of happy memories.

I would Like to thank Bray House Vets for their incredibly quick diagnosis, help and support that they gave us at this really difficult time and for the wonderful card that we received from them through the post today. their compassion really means alot to us.

I promise to catch up with you all soon but for now please say a little prayer for Trojan.

R.I.P. Trojan, you shall be missed by many and never forgotten.
You brightened our lives and our home and we are better for
having had you as part of our lives.
Xxx



Wednesday 19 October 2016

Beautiful Butterfly.




Does anyone know what type of butterfly it is??
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Monday 17 October 2016

Taking it easy.

So thought I'd have a little potter yesterday on the plot and take things a little easier. For me that meant a little time off digging.

So I thought I'd tackle this.....


My very out of control Gooseberry bush. It had started attacking from every angle and it was kind of hard to get to the shed. I had read about the correct way to tackle one of these from sue over at Green Lane allotments and I really wanted to give this a go. Believe me I tried....but I think I got s little carried away...because by the time I had finished I ended up with this....


Not exactly what I was aiming for but I'm sure it will come back with a vengeance next year so I'm not worried!!

Also managed to trim up a few other bits too..

So a few brambles got tamed and a few nettles cut back too and I can now get to the shed without a fight and without getting ripped to pieces!!

It's not finished by a long shot but it's nice to know I am making headway with things...slow and steady wins the race!!

Saturday 15 October 2016

A whole lot of nothing!!

I have done absolutely nothing on the allotment this last week which is a shame as I still have a lot to get sorted before the really cold weather sets in.

Having said that some of these things are just what I want to personally do and not necessity so I will just see how things go.

So why have I done nothing?? Just because really....I had no room in the green bins so that didn't help but they are now empty and waiting for me to start again so I don't think it will take me long to get a load more done....when I do I will post some pictures.....for now I'll show you what I have to contend with!



I suppose it actually looks quite bad but I'm confident it would clean up rather quick. To the right of the picture you can see a path.....running alongside that gis year I am going to put the strawberries and then I will be able to get all the stray raspberry canes dug out of the ground....Hopefully I won't find it to hard to locate the strawberries next year then!!
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Saturday 1 October 2016

All in a days work...

Well it was more like two half days really but it still adds up to the same!!

So we started with this...


As you can see it's rather unruly, there are a few crops in there somewhere...honest!

After a good few hours hard labour we are finishing with this.....


There is still a lot to be done but I feel like I have made a good start. Along my great weeding journey I did come across carrots, beetroot and shallots which I was very happy to find although the yield wasn't great and I know this is totally due to my neglect this year. There should have been swede, turnips and onions (both red and white) in there two and although there was a little evidence certainly nothing harvestable.

To be honest I was hoping this year would be back to normal but I have struggled to get my head round things...the way I figure it, it will get easier each year but I think I am going to keep things a little more basic next year whilst I get on top of everything again and get back into the swing of it.

Right now it's raining heavily outside otherwise I may have got a bit more done though to be honest after filling a wheelie bin with weeds my back and thighs are protesting just a little!!

I also emptied out the compost bin and spread it and this will be dug in when weather permits...for now the rain will do it's job of getting it into the soil. It was lovely stuff that came out so I am quite pleased with that. Also towards the back f the picture you can see a couple of slabs...when  I have fetched the rest from my Dad's this will be a path all the way to the gravel area splitting the allotment into four. I am hoping that with the smaller areas it will give me more incentive to stay on top of things next year.

Still plenty to be done but I am beginning to feel that I am at least on the right track!!
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