Monday Feast Day

Our work clearing around the edge of the lake continues so please forgive the repetitive nature of the blog. I also apologise for yet another photograph of our lunch, but yesterdays was the best yet. It's no mean feat to cook for six people round an open fire, Sausage sandwiches with fried onions and mustard followed by baked bananas with cinnamon and plenty of tea! The next project might have to be a shelter of some kind but that will probably have to wait until next year. I'll leave you with a rather good fungus that Paul spotted, it's called the scarlet pixie cap and is edible believe it or not, however no one fancied any with their lunch!

"Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate. So practice happy thinking every day. Cultivate the merry heart, develop the happiness habit, and life will become a continual feast"
Norman Vincent Peale

Bacon Sandwich Blues

A bit of a catch up blog from the last few days is all I can offer for this latest post. Thursday at Harlow Carr offered no new delights to share with you apart from some of the class walking down through the pine woods into town to check out a turf conference, it turned out to be of little interest to us gardeners being of more appeal to green keepers and the like, but all of us were drooling over the shiny state of the art lawnmowers. Sausage Saturday didn't happen of course due to the snow bomb dropped on us on Friday night, so another enforced day off saw Dave and I walking Chum in the valley gardens where we had great fun throwing snowballs at his head. Chum was off the lead for once to allow for maximum enjoyment but it wasn't long before he disgraced himself with his usual elan, catching a whiff of bacon sandwiches from the Magnolia Cafe and ignoring increasingly desperate cries of "biscuit" from us, he was soon jumping all over a poor family trying to enjoy their breakfast. Luckily for us no one lost any food and they seemed to find it all amusing, but it was a very close call! Back to work Monday with a bit of luck, if we're not all washed away by snow-melt.

"Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelt as good as bacon"
Doug Larson

That's about as sexy as a lawnmower gets!

Comfort Is Key

Seating fit for the butt cheeks of a queen!

I managed to fit a mid week visit to Norton Conyers in today and to be honest I leapt at the chance after being confined to barracks for five days. Yes it was still cold and we are still roughing it in the woods but the company and exercise make up for that. Each time we camp out we manage to raise our comfort levels by a few degrees and to be fair our seating arrangements have not been up to much so far, amounting to a couple of logs (One for each cheek is best!), but today Giles excelled himself and made benches-much better. Shandy seemed unimpressed however preferring the cushioning of a bed of sawdust. It's sausage Saturday again next working shift but this time I'm determined to have onions and mustard too, watch this space......

"Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as adversity has"
Billy Graham

The Snow Gift

One of the few days of the year with not a gardener in sight down at the local allotments

If it is going to snow at all it might as well do it properly like today, no dithering about whether to go to work or school or not. I just wish someone would make a definitive decision about closing the night before now we have such good forecasts, then I wouldn't have to get up at six o' clock to listen to Stray FM's snow watch and the teenagers could have a lie in. Still they are delighted to have a legitimate day off for once and are perfectly capable of making it in to town, whereas making it to school was simply impossible! I have managed to fill my morning by walking Chum, not easy in skiddy conditions as he pulls, visiting the local builders merchants to buy a snow shovel, clearing our drive in double quick time only to watch the snow quickly accumulate again and making it down to the bottom of the garden to feed and water the birds. All that remains to be done is to lay the fire in and make a chili for tea, the world is still, quiet and serene, a gift to those of us with busy schedules.

"Life is the first gift, love is the second and understanding the third"
Marge Piercy

The bird table cafe is always open whatever the weather

Snowbound

No work for me today for obvious reasons, I don't think anyone else will have turned in either, except for Giles, he'll work through anything! Instead I took Chum for a long walk, much preferable to staying inside with two miserable teenagers, both have colds and one is studying for important exams next week, my service on demand button was wearing out fast! So out into the snowy solitude we went, I could tell from watching the snow fall last night that it was going to be crisp, each flake sparkled as it drifted down caught in the warm gleam of the street lamp. I love the sound good snow makes when you walk upon the virgin sward, a crunch and then a squeak, with Chum pushing his nose through the drifts beside me like a mini snowplough. He always was a snow dog, the very first time he was allowed out as a puppy the weather was like today so it always makes him playful. There is more to come the forecasters predict which means my pay check could be as light as the snowflakes by the end of the month, roll on spring!

"Snow and adolescence are the only problems that disappear if you ignore them long enough"
Earl Wilson

Border Terrier Bugbear

Gosh it's cold, Harlow Carr today has descended into a crystalline state of stasis, much too cold to tempt the class outside despite it's beauty. We shall continue to huddle within learning to identify pests  whilst dreaming of spring. I for one welcome the action of this hard frost on my poor soil, it will force cracks and air spaces into what has become saturated and compacted which will hopefully improve growing prospects later on. Something which I fear is beyond improvement now is my onion crop, the blame cannot be laid upon the weather or even my own ineptitude but must rest firmly on a certain Chumdog, who upon encountering the first snow fall of winter entered his customary state of craziness (which is referred to as zoomies in our house), and proceeded to race around the garden with no thought to raised beds and vegetable crops thus scattering onion sets asunder. I must remember to add pet border terriers to that RHS list of pests that I mentioned earlier!

"Nature has undoubtedly mastered the art of winter gardening and even the most experienced gardener can learn from the unrestrained beauty around them"
Vincent A Simeone

A Snowy Morning

The snow didn't seem too bad first thing on Monday morning so I made the decision to go to Norton Conyers, I didn't want any accusations of townie softness! It's a good job I made the effort because Nikki was snowed in at Bagby, Wortek was on holiday in Tenerife (a smart move that) and Paul deserted at lunchtime in order to get back to the east coast before the worst of the snow set in, leaving just Giles, Alyson and myself working away down by the lake. It was a long wet dirty day and I was glad to squelch onto the bus at the end of it. I did get some good atmospheric pictures though and reckon I can call myself a proper outdoor lass if I can work seven hours in those weather conditions!

"There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow. It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig is clad with radiance"
William Sharp

A Tempting Aroma

Another day working in the woods doesn't give much new material to talk about, other than it was just us three girls tidying the logs into piles ready for collection and generally trying to clear away the debris. We managed to build a decent fire first thing, so by lunchtime had a pan of sausages sizzling merrily over the embers, Alysons home made tomato chutney putting the finishing touch to another splendid outside meal. No sooner had we finished eating than the local shoot trooped past eyeing our camp with envious glances, I think the aroma must have lured the dogs from the fields, it's a good job Shandy or my own dear Chumdog were not present either or I don't think there would have been quite so much sausage to go round! We will be back down by the lake on Monday, weather permitting, but if there is too much snow I shall stay at home, it would be stupid to risk being stranded, although I would dearly love to be able to photograph the garden dressed in its winter finery.

"There is pleasure in the pathless woods"

Lord Byron

A Lightening Of Mood

The sun has finally reappeared in the sky and my mood has risen with it, I'm not sure if plants and flowers can look relieved but I swear the ones that reside in my garden do. All but the lonicera hedge that is, it had grown to a hulking six foot monster whilst my back was turned and as next door have thoughtfully erected a sturdy fence it knew its days were numbered. Dad and I cut it down yesterday and already the garden looks lighter and I have more space to play with. My plans at the moment consist of planting a climbing rose to cover the fence, and then to plant out every single thing currently lurking in a pot and if I can't find space for anything I will be ruthless and get rid of it, that should help solve the bitty appearance somewhat. My lightness of mood continued today when I managed to remember all fifteen Latin names for the weed identification test and then we spent the rest of the lesson walking around the gardens in the winter sunshine. Things seem to looking up.


"Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know"
Ernest Hemingway

Lake Make-Over

Despite my feelings of glumness at returning to work yesterday, (which must be psychosomatic because I love my job!), I actually had a marvellous time, the injection of some much needed fresh air and exercise soon roused me from that post Christmas catatonic state and loosened muscles stiff from inactivity. It has reached that time of year at Norton Conyers when we retreat into the woods to continue clearing unwanted trees and build insect habitats out of dead branches, but this year we have moved down to the lakeside and must therefore remove rotting branches from the waters edge, hopefully opening up what will once again be a beautiful vista. Dirty, smelly, muscle wrenching work but great fun nonetheless especially when our campfire cooking skills are put to the test with potatoes baked in the embers, Giles even brought some grated cheese, delicious! So as you can see there is nothing like a meal taken in the great outdoors using cut logs for stools and hunger as the best sauce, we enjoyed it so much we've decided to cook sausages on Saturday!

"Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical exercise save it and preserve it"
Plato

Blue Monday

They sat that the first working Monday of January is the most depressing day of the year and I'm sure most of us would agree. I've been suffering from the blues for at least a week now and when I gaze upon my garden the only words I can muster up begin with D, lets start with dullness and dissatisfaction, quickly followed by disgust and doubt. Nothing appears to be thriving and I don't have the money to rip it all out and start from scratch. This is the moment in a gardeners yearly calender when we must call on that most noble of resources, Patience. I may not be the most accomplished plants-woman or original designer but with natures help and a good dollop of patience I know I will eventually transform my shabby back garden into a thing of beauty, if only in my own eyes! It may take another ten years, especially if I grow most of it from seed, but it will happen. So to all you fellow SAD sufferers out there hang on, spring will surely follow winter!

"All human wisdom is summed up in two words-wait and hope"
Alexander Dumas Pere

A Reverse Manicure

Happy New Year everyone, I thought it was about time I stuck my head above the parapet at last! I've been taking a long break and am not yet back at work, but due to the chronically wet conditions I don't think I've missed much action. My gardening activities over the past couple of weeks have consisted of flicking through the new seed catalogues, learning how to wield my new plant labelling machine and opening the lid of my cold frame on the pitifully few dry days we've been blessed with. However I detect a slight tingling in the old green digits again so it's definitely time to take off the Christmas nail polish and feel the earth collect under my fingernails once more.

"Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life"
Rachel Carson