Last week was cold and frosty. At times the sun was dazzlingly bright and at other times it was wet and dull.
It really wasn’t gardening weather so we only made one quick visit to the allotment in order to harvest some leeks and parsnips.
At this time of year, the plot is a gloomy place, even on a sunny day.
A property adjacent to the site has a huge leylandii hedge. With the sun being low in the sky, the hedge casts a shadow across most of the site even on what is a pleasant sunny day. Once wet the ground doesn’t dry out over winter. On frosty days a covering of ice stays on the ground all day.
Fortunately, we managed to complete most of our winter preparations when the weather was kinder.
The photos below were taken at 14:00 when the only trace of brightness was at the side of the site opposite to the hedge.
I had a major disappointment in the garden. I planted lots of tubs of spring bulbs which I thought would produce a beautiful display in spring. One morning, Martyn spotted that all was not well – something had dug up all the bulbs and either eaten them or carried them away. This has never happened before so I’m not sure who is responsible but I am not happy.
As the daylight hours shorten our walks with Ruby often end as the sun is setting.
It’s not just us humans that need to dress up warmly when it’s cold. Many breeds of dogs have dense fur that will keep them warm but poodles don’t. They have hair which is less effective as insulation. Poodles also are slender dogs so have less body fat which would also provide insulation. As a result, they are susceptible to feeling cold. For this reason, Ruby needs extra protection in cold weather.
She has two styles of coat. The thicker one has a fleecy lining and covers more of her body.
The other is more lightweight and is used when the weather isn’t quite as cold.
Then once the heating goes off at night and Ruby doesn’t like a blanket she has a lightweight coat to sleep in.
She is happy wearing her coats and readily comes to have them popped on.
A couple of meals that I made last week were a sweet and sour turkey dish into which went some of our onion, red chilli, green pepper and carrot.
I used some Crown Prince squash and onion in a Thai style curry.
That’s all for this week so as always until next time stay safe and stay well.
Hasn’t it been chilly, it warmed up again this weekend but Archie’s like Ruby, he gets chilly during the night so he sleeps in a jumper.
Leylandii are a right pain, aren’t they?
Sorry to hear about your bulbs, I hope you repotted any left behind? My friend once planted hers in January and they still bloomed at the correct time.