Wednesday 21 May 2014

Duality of the allotments

Over the past few days I have been taking Maggie for a walk right the way up the road and through the allotment gardens, out the bottom and along home again. It takes us about 25mins and has definitely been a huge step for me personally. It's funny how one's own fears and anxieties can be pushed to the side when you need to help another being - Maggie has developed arthritis in her back leg and needed a little more light exercise to ease the stiffness...she now has medication too, poor darling.

So on one hand the allotments are a great aid to us; somewhere quiet to walk and take our time, undisturbed and I think we'll be back tomorrow.
http://instagram.com/p/oLEIGnq8XA/
from my instagram account
However, no matter how much I try to enthuse about the place and remain optimistic our two the plots, only one is filling me with any joy these days. 14b is a weedy nightmare yet again with the damned plots around us casting all their blasted weed seeds into my lovely virgin soil yet again. It's enough to make a girl scream.

So permit me to just show you 24a; it's really maturing and we are loving it. This is by no means all that is happening there but just some highlights. In fact it's only the 2 beds on the right of 24a ('A' - for awesome!) Though of course Andrew only sees the things that aren't perfect and which he hasn't had time to do which puts a downer on things..
garlic, broad beans and beans - growourown.blogspot.com ~ an allotment blog
broad beans, garlic, mangetout

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The spuds doing good so far :)
potatoes doing well - growourown.blogspot.com ~ an allotment blog

Tomorrow I'll share with you all about our Celeriac seedlings :)

* Now * - the most happy news of all.....the bird box I made years ago now has it's 3rd family of bluetits. That's a family every year in a row :) I am so terribly impatient when it comes to taking photos of birds - sorry....

awesome 3rd year in a row for bluetits :) - growourown.blogspot.com ~ an allotment blog

I swear I made this by myself, with my dodgy vision and wonky handsaw skills, so basically anyone can do it. Here's the link to the RSPB website which shows you how to do boxes like this....nestboxes for small birds

Hugs and love
Carrie

7 comments:

  1. How awesome, you made a family home for some bluetits! Love it x

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  2. We made a couple of nest boxes back in the spring but, shame on me, I haven't managed to put them up in time. I'm not particularly handy, and I need to work out how to fix them to the wall. I do hope your sweet little doggie isn't in too much pain. I know exactly what you mean about a weedy nightmare - my plot is exactly that at the moment. I hope you enjoy the rest of your week Carrie. CJ xx

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  3. well proud of you for taking Maggie on long walks!
    And Maggie, what does she think of all these walks?

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  4. How nice to see some wonderful progress at least in one of your plots! Here in Southern California, any bare ground, no matter how dry and clay-packed, is doomed to weed seeds that blow in from everywhere. So our only solution is to mulch deeply. There are still weeds, but they are much easier to control (weak stems or roots). Hugs to Maggie and you both!

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  5. Well done on the walking front. I see your weevils haven't been as active as the ones on our plot.

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  6. I sympathise with Maggie as I also have arthritis. Lucky you with the blue tits, which as we've already agreed elsewhere are lovely little birds. Flighty xx

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  7. So sorry to hear that Maggie has arthritis - what medication is she on? I think Jilly may be suffering from it too.
    I love the action shot of the Blue Tit! :)

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