The Haul

I was shocked this morning to wake to the news of the Christchurch Earthquake. My thoughts went straight to my blip community pals who I know live there or thereabouts. I do hope they and theirs are safe and well.

It didn't rain much yesterday and this morning it still wasn't raining. That cold frame needs painting. I have been fretting like an old mother hen about the wood warping and damaging the frame. The wood is outdoor treated timber so I needed have worried, but I did. I was also being nagged at by those blueberry scones I had the other day. I haven't found dried blueberries yet but I had some fresh. My poor children were barely waved at the door before I was in the kitchen, baking. This is a sentence I never thought I would say - baking was so alien to me not that long ago. As delicious as they are, they definately need dried blueberries.

Off to the allotment, paint in hand. One coat on and then I set to digging up what was still in the ground. It needs to come out so that I can manure the ground and prepare it before I cover it, to warm the soil, ready for planting.

Between this and applying the second coat, I had an idea to try some wildlife shots. There are plenty bird feeders around. I perched on the end of a raised bed and awaited, and waited, and waited. Fiddling with my camera whilst at the allotment isn't ideal - everything is so dirty. I decided to try automatic focus. I got one good shot, which had the feeder, a blue tit, the scarecrow and some nice newly turned over beds, oh an an iron perimeter pole. What did the camera focus on? The pole.

So today we have the haul. At this late stage I'm not complaining. Leeks big and small, spring onions, parsnips, a few potatoes which have been left from the autumn, cabbage and that knobbly thing at the front is celeriac. This was the only celeriac which grew to any size. It's still small, but if I've grown it, I have to at least try it, even if it's one mouthful.

So now I can safely say I can grow two things fairly well. Vegetables and Children. Not bad really.