Tatties!

Today I dug all the tatties / spuds / potatoes that were left in the ground. And there were about twice as many as I was expecting. The Pink Fir Apple potatoes that I grow are extraordinarily abundant: several kgs develop from each seed potato. 

Every year I end up with far more spuds than I can eat, but still I persist in growing 9 or 10 each year. And while I may successfully convince myself to cut back on other crops, it won't happen with this wonderful staple. 

One of tomorrow's jobs will be to sort and dry them out. I will select 10 good ones for next season's seed. Any which were damaged when I forked them out will go into a container to eat immediately. Any with lots of green on them will be thrown away (not composted, because they sprout heartily and turn any compost heap into a dense potato bed). 

And the rest will go into a box in the cool store for meals over the next couple of months. If that box is too full, or overflows, the excess will be bartered. There are always willing recipients of Pink Fir Apple potatoes because they taste like first earlies, even at this time of year.

The extra shows a Very Brave Dog at the vets' this morning, trying to relax in the waiting area. It was Bean's six-month heart check up with vet Emily. All is well. 
The heart murmur is no worse than it was six months ago, which means that the drugs are doing their work. I got another six month script. 

While we were there Emily looked in ears and at toenails, and gave her a couple of boosters. We discussed Bean's diet, weight ("perfect"), exercise (including hare-chases), and her need of more warmth as she ages.

It was lovely to leave with a clean bill of health.