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Weekend 5 August
On the plot

In the garden

The bed of mesembryanthemums looks spectacular in the sunshine. They are a throw back to my childhood when we always seemed to have some in the garden but the colours available now are much more varied.

In the green house

The grapevine continues to think that it is a triffid and the grapes continue to develop.

Out and About

Quite a few fields alongside the motorway have had their crops harvested and straw is baled up in large cylinder shapes enclosed is black plastic. A circus was once based in a field near our home and cylinders of hay were delivered. I watched from a bedroom window as the lorry driver discussed his load with one of the circus people. Maybe they wanted the traditional cuboid shapes for the big top, however the elephant wasn't as fussy and behind their backs proceeded to unload the lorry by rolling the bails down the tailgate of the lorry! I wish I had, possessed a video camera at that time.

We made it into the local newspaper, the Wakefield Express featured our appeal for a new fence!

There seems to be lots and lots of Himalayan balsam this year.

Weekend 12 August
On the plot

The courgettes continue to grow - some would be more accurately called marrettes (think about it). Anyone anything really exciting to do with them please leave a message on the blog - click here.

In the garden

The fish are causing havoc in the pond again, they are having a second go at spawning and making quite a song and dance of it.

A young robin visited our bird table. It was just starting to lose its spotted breast. It hadn't yet developed its characteristic red breast - more of a pink blush.

In the green house

We have moved most things out of the greenhouse now - the grapevine doesn't like to share!

Potted up a dipladenia (house plant) as it didn't seem to be doing too well - I think it may have been in too sunny a spot on a west facing window sill.

Out and about

The rowan trees now are in berry. Wonder how long the birds will leave them


Weekend 19 August

Out and about

 We spent this week in the Ardèche region of France. We stayed in a renovated olive mill that was built some time in the 18th century. There were no longer any olive trees on the land around the property as they had been killed off during a particular cold winter. According to the owner olive trees only produce olives after 20 years of growth and so it is quite a disaster when old trees are killed.

The mill was situated near to a small village called Saint Genest de Beauzon. Unfortunately the river which runs (or should run) alongside the mill was almost dry and was really no more than several small ponds. Unlike England, the region had had very little rain over the summer. The owner told us that the week before kingfishers and herons had been seen fishing in the puddles but the kingfisher decided to lie low whilst we were there. We did see a couple of herons fly overhead maybe on their way to England to investigate our pond whilst we were away. We saw buzzards flying and calling overhead and wagtails drinking from the puddles along with other birds usually found in most British gardens. We also saw and heard woodpeckers. In fact we heard quite a few unidentifiable birds. Well unidentifiable to us as we are not too good at recognising bird song.

The owner also told us that there were wild boar in the area but they were most likely to be seen in October when the sweet chestnuts drop to the ground. Unlike their Dordogne neighbours who have much more expensive taste and feed on truffles. We did see lots of damselflies and dragonflies as well as quite o few lizards and a couple of water snakes. The owner told us that he had come across a snake when cutting one of the hedges. He saved this piece of information until the time of our departure. He also told us that the red bugs that congregated under the lime trees were called gendarmes. Not sure if this is because they march around on patrol or that they are said to give off a bad smell when defending themselves.

We saw lots and lots of butterflies in all sorts of colours, (yellow, blue, orange, brown, speckled and streaked), including the large swallowtail butterfly and a white admiral.

All in all no work done on the plot, in the garden or the greenhouse although I did water the potted geraniums by the mill.

The fields of sunflowers were just about flowered out and setting seed.

Lovely weather all week but we came back to the cold and rain. The garden and plot seem to have survived our absence though and all my houseplants have survived too.

Weekend 26 August
On the plot

In the garden

The garden has survived our desertion although the fish soon came begging when they spotted us. Either we have unusually intelligent fish or the person who suggested that fish have a very short memory was ill informed.

The crab apple tree is literally weighed down with fruit, lots of crab apples have fallen around the tree too. This year we are having a go at crab apple jelly and it tastes good. Also tried crab apple and rosemary, and crab apple and mint but haven’t tasted that yet!

In the greenhouse

Everything except the grapevine was removed from the greenhouse whilst we were away and placed in trays on the patio. Everything seems to have survived OK.

The houseplants have thrived too – maybe it is the intensive care treatment they got before we went away that is paying dividends.

Out and About

Hawthorn now has berries. The one on out plot has developed into a sturdy little tree not after a few years of training a whip that must have grown from a seed deposited by a passing bird.

August 2007