A bit of a rest today

After the physio, I called into the pet and garden little shop in town and got myself some bags of grass seed - in order to create more paths up the allotment, some mixed ground grit for the bantams because that oyster grit seem a bit too big for them, and was tempted into buying some more broad beans to interplant where I lost the overwintering ones, some more peas - I only had three that overwintered, and some Enorma climbing runner beans as they were such a success last year.

Pat did the trip to get a few essential bits like bread flour etc then off we went to the village where friends of ours live, to drop off my little rotorvator for R to fix - a stiff cord, so I can't pull it to start it.

I just love their garden and home which is built on ex farmland that her parents once owned, so S had been there all her life, first in the farm house and then when they married here.

There is not much that she doesn't know about gardening as I spend many happy hours there marvelling at her seedlings, and vegetable patch.

Here are just a few pictures that I took today - it looks wonderful even at this tme of year. Everywhere is crammed with flowers.

A view up a part of the garden - wait until summer - it is amazing



If ever I win the lottery I will buy one of these. It is crammed full of seedlings and plants and is so warm. Inside amongst other things, S was keen to show me the Jostaberry that I gave her early this year. I have grown these from tiny cuttings and she had never heard of them so I dug one up now that they are a good size.

Because it is in a pot and in the tunnel, not only is it in full leaf, but it has tiny pink flowers on it - yippee, which means that this year they will at last bear fruit. You have to be patient if you garden on a small budget.

In front and to the left of the tunnel are a row of delphiniums and in front are the rows of chrysanthemums I gave her - so we will be comparing notes! S's garden is sheltered and not exposed like my allotment so I think that hers will fare better, especially as hers will get watered and mine need to fend for themselves.

Oh dear it is that time of day again when the photos will not load, so you will have to wait a few hours for the others.

The men were indoors so after our tour of the garden and my 'inspection' of all things growing, we went inside for a coffee.

S&R have a jackdaw that is 27 years old. It is a lovely old bird and very entertaining. He would not have lived that long in the wild, and they joke that he will outlive them.

He was found as a fledgling that had fallen out of a nest and with hardly a feather on him, but their then young son. They nursed him and somehow kept him alive and he thrived. They think that he might be blind now as he 'knows' when S feeds him and where to find his food, but the other day he was most upset and pecking at the feeder which he had knocked over and upside down - but hadn't pecked at the spilt food.

They also have another one in another room - again rescued.

Weather permitting, R is going to come and rotorvate the bits of my allotment that I can't manage with his big powerful machine and said that he will make the rows with it for me to plant my potatoes, as I need to get them in as soon as possible now.

The photos will still not load so I will post this and come back to it later.