Full Throttle

Everything in the garden, allotment and home life has been absolutely non stop. My list(s) keep growing as quickly as the weeds on my plot. Mainly I have been pricking out seedlings and potting on everything from Calendula and Nasturtiums to Ornamental Gourds. It's the first time I have grown the latter & I have lots! The germination rate of this v v cheap packet of seeds puchased from Lidl has been amazing. I am going to grow them up wigwams and arches for interest as unfortunately you cannot eat them. It will be a surprise to see what weird and wonderful fruits appear in late summer.

We all had a day off from being busy and went to the annual event in my town, the Thundersprint. This is a motorcycle festival with racing, vintage bikes and entertainment where the whole town is descended upon by bikers from near and far for the entire weekend.

The town is buzzing and a highlight of the event is a three lap cavalcade around the streets with weird and wacky bikes and a few scooters thrown in for the Mods.....

.... but the Rockers ruled.

Perhaps I'm biased though as in my salad days I had a motorbike.

However, I prefer my new salad days of a more gentler nature.

Royal Wedding Fever

Have a lovely day xx

Easter

Easter was spent either gardening or out and about around Cheshire with the buggy and a picnic. The best day was at Tatton Park for their Alice in Wonderland event (an obsession of mine).

Since getting my allotment this is the first time that I had revisited the kitchen gardens at Tatton so with a head full of vegetables I whooped and skipped around marvelling and informing Daddy Bird of all my new found knowledge.

I'd love one of these even though I don't think I'd use it for fear of weakening the plant. My crowns of rhubarb at the plot have suffered after being moved in the reshuffle and are half the size they should be. This year I'm not harvesting any sticks and nurturing it. Grandad Bird has rhubarb on his plot that's absolutely massive so I'm relying on his generosity.

Obviously it's still early in the season so there was little to see but I loved the raised beds with their lovely rows of lettuce, radish, spring onions and beetroot.

I'm also growing turnips (Purple Top Milan) at my plot, part of the brassica family and as I've found out with my radishes are prone to Flea Beetle - even those at Tatton. However, up to now they have not affected the root, just the leaves. Apparently they prefer radish so if you chuck a line of them in alongside your other brassicas they should just munch circular holes in the radish. I am now trying this experiment.

For the last couple of years in my garden we have made a scarecrow for the pure fun of it and this year will be no exception. Tatton's kitchen garden had a few jolly ones dotted about and I particularly like this one with a plant pot for a head.

Hope you all had a great Easter.

My Allotment Plot

Last August I made my annual call to the local council to check on the status of my now 8 year wait for an allotment plot. I was told that the list had been handed over to the allotment society. After a few more conversations it transpires that for years my name has had 'OUT OF AREA' attached to it and I've been bypassed whenever a plot has become free. In my town the allotments are given to those people who live within the old town boundary (hundreds of years old) first which makes no sense anymore as the town has clearly expanded. Furthermore, I actually was within the town boundary and should have been offered a plot years ago! Days later I got my plot..... not ideal timing as I had a cranky colicky 9 month old baby in tow.

This is what we got. A heap of weeds such as Fat Hen, Shaggy Soldier & Couch grass;

a Crown Prince pumpkin - found after some clearing and duly eaten in honour of previous tennant

two rhubarb crowns, Chives, Oregano and Sage (see baby having a very rare quiet moment).

I won't bore you at once with where we are up to today and I'm giving myself chance to get to grips with blogging again whilst having a now 16 month toddler zipping around the house.

Snow Baby

In the last week my Little Bird is trying his hardest to crawl, now army crawling across the room so I'm sure by Christmas he'll be everywhere!

Fairy lights have been hung in all places and gradually all my old Christmas friends are appearing, namely Mr Nutcracker. Last year, me, Mr Bird and then bump went to see the Nutcracker ballet and I was spellbound.

The book pictured has gorgeous paper cut silhouettes and Little Bird will not be getting his mitts on this for a good few years.



Here in Mid Cheshire we do not get a lot of snow which is disheartening for a snow loon like me. How I long to be snowed in, for the shops to run out of bread and to have to rally round and help each other out. I'm the sort of person that gets a thrill from power cuts. However, it is boring here with a pityful amount of the gorgeous white stuff and I really wanted Little Bird to experience it properly. If it weren't for Mr Bird's work and grandparents then I would move somewhere far more exciting.

Instead, to cheer myself up I have been baking amongst my fairy lit kitchen and enjoying Advent calendar chocolate ( I have two calendars). One is lovely and traditional and the other is one of those cartoon horrible types but the chocolates ok. Tradition type was a bargain 86p from Lidl. I love European Christmas goods, I find it less commercial and tacky. Having said that, I do love a bit of gaudiness - pink flocked deers are just wonderful.

Christmas tree weekend is on it's way..........