What will Allotment Lady get up to next? - was the comment - and now your know!

So having been very very good, and staying indoors all day, and having three showers to keep me cool, it was decided that I would be allowed out and up my allotment to let my girlies have a run or stroll around in big wide world for a couple of hours, whilst we used the last little bit of water on a few chosen tomatoes. I also needed to add more ties to them as they had grown so much and needed more than one per plant (I just kept shifting the one up each time the tomato grew).

We watched the news at 6pm and waited until the end to see the forecasts. Absolutely no chance of rain, higher humidity and temperatures the highest for 100 years in these parts. Might have a chance of rain Saturday night coming in from France along the East coast – yippee, but it might be storms and a bit hit and miss – booo.

So off we went, food and apple cores for the girls, and lots of filled up bottles of water. The food was to top up their big feeder. And although I always have plenty of bottles of water for them, I like to take up extra. Their water containers didn’t need refilling but I do it anyway.

So chickens let out to roam – and I would fill up their food hopper and water containers last thing when I shut them in for the night.

Pat was in shorts and I had pink jogging bottoms on in case the mozzies fancied a bite of my legs! I always wear a baggy long sleeved shirt to protect me a bit too.

So picture the scene.

I am in the netted area on my knees putting more string ties onto my 71 tomato plants. It is hot and humid and I can feel trickles down my back. Pat is back and forth with more canes, and is cutting up the lengths of string to help me.

After half and hour there was a distant rumble (so Pat told me) but we do get lots of planes over. Then Pat saw lightening in the distance – so he said, but I didn’t and it was nice and bright.

Next thing I knew – ka – boom – and someone threw a bucket of water all over me. Nope, it wasn’t Pat it came from the sky – a full blown storm over my head! I soldiered on for a few minutes as Pat said it wouldn’t last long. But I then decided that I wanted to be in a safer place. I ran hell for leather – (well I would have if I was still the school runner, high jumper, low jumper, hurdler), but it was as fast as I could anyway. Climbed over the metal corrugated ‘gates’ thinking, please don’t strike right now on this metal between my legs (I had to say it three times as there were three to get over). The chooks came running towards me in a panic, so we all run together and I locked them safely in their run. I then had to fill up the water containers (well they are all under cover) and hoist up their food hopper to fill it up in case they have a binge feed before I get up there tomorrow. I was getting soaked, as you can imagine. Another climb over a metal gate then a jog along the whole 330 feet to the shed. I kicked the metal wheel barrow over on its side – now way was I pushing that back and tempting fate. I just legged it to the shed where my knight in wet armour was cowering! Brave man. He peeled of my wet shirt, and pulled off my welly boots, and I stood there like a drowned rat. I really was soaked through to the skin. The rain never let off, so we made a dash to the car, and headed off down the track.

Muggins here, gets the job of opening and closing the farm gates, so I told Pat to put his foot down when he went through.

Home we get, and I of course get the job of going through the garage and around the back. Then I had to go back to get food out of the freezer for tomorrow. And to add insult to injury I had to do an interpretation of an old Levi advert in our conservatory, but with Pat yanking off my sodden and now muddy clothes and throwing them in the washing machine.

So I think today is a record for me. Three showers during the day to keep cool. The soaking from the storm – several times – and yet another shower when I get home.

I am jolly glad that I made a lot of my special cream. We had been indoors 10 minutes and the rain had stopped. There was localised flooding of the lanes coming home as it was such a downpour.

We got out of watering the tomatoes though! And I hope that we get more rain tomorrow night.

But for now I am off to bed. Once again it is hot and humid and I need yet another shower – but that will have to wait.

So – what will Allotment Lady get up to next huh?

Well now you know.

Off to toss and turn the night away!!!

I hope that it is better where you are.

Night night all