An Hour On

British Summer Time officially started this morning. Who forgot to move the little clock hand an hour on then?  I set the alarm to go off at 6.00 am which would have been 5.00am if it had still been Saturday if you get my drift. Everywhere was blanketed in thick fog here.
It was a brilliant day yesterday and I spent nearly all day in the garden. I forked and dug and barrowed and pruned, mad woman that I am.  Today, I woke up with every bone aching and a tearing pain in my stomach, made a cup of tea and went back to bed until 11-o-clock Sensible ha!

The Garden from Hell

This is what I started with and I've still got another two and a half to do.

But it' starting to improve a bit. I quite like when you can see where you've been.

Hispi Cabbage

Little Gem Lettuce

All Year Round Cauli

Beetroot in plug trays

Got  a few bits growing in the poly tunnel too. The new potatoes have just come through. Cabbage and caulies almost ready. Lettuce planted out. Sweet corn germinated. Tomatoes potted up. Beetroot in plug plants ready to go out. Parsnips and carrots through. Onions with green shoots. Strawberries just starting to come into flower.
Has your weekend been wild as well?

Guess Who?

What's this?

The Luck o' the Irish

Irish Joke
Paddy and Michael were drifting on the open sea in a lifeboat. They'd just made a lucky escape from a burning freighter. While Paddy was rummaging about under the seats, he found an old lamp beneath some tarpaulin. Secretly hoping that a genie might appear Paddy rubbed the lamp vigorously. To be sure, a genie materialised in front of his eyes and told him that he would grant him one wish and one wish only. Paddy thought long and hard, 'Ah!' and then requested, 'Make this entire ocean into Guinness beer'.

Bing Bang, Pdang, the genie clapped his hands and the entire foaming sea turned into the best brew, the two had ever sampled.

Just as they eyed their good fortune, Michael's delight turned to a look of disgust at Paddy who'd just had his wish granted.

After a long tension filled silence, he spoke.

'Nice one Patrick! Now we're going to have to pee in the boat!'

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon your fields

and until we meet again

May God hold you in the palm of His Hand

Happy St Patrick's Day

Is Anybody There?

Driving home the other night, there was a fabulous view of a huge full moon and a splay of light almost like a triangle coming from it. I would have stopped in the middle of the road right there and photographed it - Murphy's Law - didn't have my camera with me. By the time I reached home, the light had gone.
Typical - d'you ever have moments like that?

Butterfly

Red Admiral

Been having a pot clearing day today, when I noticed this little beauty in the bottom of one of them. It was a bit sleepy still in semi hibernation. A few minutes in the sunshine and then I put it back to finish the winter. Aren't the colours an amazing work of art?

Three Little Words

I was listening to Radio Shropshire this morning. " Phone in and tell us in three words what you're going to be doing this Saturday," he said.
Somebody rang in and said, "Washing the curtains." Apparently they lived on a house boat.
Somebody else said," Waiting for tomorrow." - when the BIG match is on.
How would you describe what you did with your Saturday in just three words?
Me? What have I been doing?
"Looking for mole-hills." (Mad as a box of frogs)

Potting up my wild flower seeds

It started with a packet of wild flower seeds I bought  last September - the ones you don't see so much of  any more.  They survived the winter and I wanted to move the biggest of them into pots to grow them on. Moles do such a good job of throwing the soil up into fine mounds and I wanted soil that had been neither sprayed nor fertilized.

Blue Speedwell and Yellow Bird's Foot Trefoil

We're lucky that we've still got quite a few varieties but intensive grazing, sprays and fertilisers are not doing them any favours. And how many will there be around for much longer?
The diversity and the richness of the colours are fantastic.

Red Campion

Wild Garlic

I found this video on You Tube and I love it. Just think - you're never going to be as young as you are today.

Crown Vetch

City Trippin'

Curley and Captain

Curley, as it happened, was best man for his cousin Tommy Hiyab. A few months later Tommy and Mrs Tommy invited  him over to Ayelsbury to spend a few days. It was 1954 and by sheer co-incidence or not - the same time as the Motor Show was on over at Earl's Court. The one thing that Curley delighted in above all else was wheels  and more than that - new wheels. Curley as you might or might not have guessed was my Other Half's favourite uncle (here) and O/H spent  whenever he could on Curley's  Mid Wales farm during  school holidays. To his sheer delight, Uncle Curley invited him to go along on the pending trip.
Suit cases loaded and dressed up to the nines in his peaked cap, wide calico striped braces, new trousers and shiny town boots, Curley hauled himself into the driving seat of his Wolsey 444 with the walnut dash and leaned across on the passenger side handle for 'Corporal' to get in on the other side. He often called O/H 'Corporal'. Curley had a bit of a leaning towards the military, World War II and all that.
Earl's Court was mind blowing.  Never seen such sights - Rollers with fully equipped bars in the back,
''Well I go to sea!''
Aston Martins, shiny black Jags and Lister Bristols in racing green,
"Well. I go to sea!"
Being as they were in London, may as well make the most of it and go 'n have a bit of a look at Buckingham Palace, and educate young Corporal so to speak.
It was a bit of a maze around Hyde Park Corner and Curley'd lost his bearings a bit. Like they say - when in doubt - Ask a Policeman.  A copper across the road was on point duty in his white police sentry box. White leather gauntlets directing five lanes of traffic.  Curley halted the Wolsey 444, his new trousers barely brushing the tops of his shiny town boots and beavered across. Hooting, screeching chaos and mayhem all around him. He almost reached the sentry box and was just about to yell, 'Scuse me ....'  The leather gauntlets gesticulated wildly, a string of obscenities and cursing reverberated like steam off the sides of the box, the like of which he'd never heard in his life. Somewhat subdued, he weaved back to the Wolsey triple 4 and got in. Corporal looked at him expectantly. Turning the ignition on, and all Curley could say was
"Well I go to sea!"