At the moment, there never seems to be a happy medium where our weather is concerned. June saw us lugging watering cans in the level of heat not ideal for that type of work. Now in July, which should be the height of summer, it doesn’t seem to want to stop raining and the temperatures have dropped considerably. No heatwaves in our corner of Europe! Some evenings our heating has even come on. I am sitting writing this with a thick cardigan over the tee shirt which, without the cardigan, is my more usual summer wear.
Our only trips to the allotment have been to harvest and then it has been a case of dodging the rain.
The punnet of blueberries came at a price. To pick them I had to lift the netting and duck under it. There must have been some ants on the netting and they fell off onto my neck. The first I knew about it was a nipping sensation and I ended up with two bites. As I swatted the ants they felt really tiny which was probably why I didn’t spot them. I had to duck back under the netting after picking the berries so I shouted, Martyn to help and hold the netting high enough so I didn’t brush against it again.
We picked our first batch of Pongo dwarf beans which we grew from seed saved last year. These have been frozen.
Saturday we made a flying visit just so we could harvest the cauliflowers that we knew were ready and didn’t want to leave to spoil. These too have been frozen.
When we visited the allotment earlier in the week, I took a few photos.
The annual flower bed is now providing a splash of colour.
Buddleias are beginning to flower which should provide the many bees that have been browsing the lavender with a food supply as the lavender flowers begin to fade. Hopefully, the butterflies will home in on the flowers too.
In the garden, the agapanthus buds are opening. The flowers are a beautiful blue which I hope will not be spoiled by the rain.
We managed to squeeze in some afternoon walks. They were squeezed in literally between showers immediately before and after each walk.
The cygnets and, what I assume was, the female swan were busy preening. The male tends to spend time apart from his family now.
The cygnets look ungainly as they waddle around. Their wings are still very small so flying lessons will have to wait awhile.
One afternoon, we visited Wentworth Castle. Our visit was cut short as it began to pour but we managed a walk around the formal garden and up to the castle.
Extended leads were not allowed so we were provided with a lead for Ruby,
Ruby had a visit from the groomer last week and is sporting her summer cut. She’s not a fan of grooming but enjoys the treats that the groomer gives her once the ‘ordeal’ is over.
Despite the weather courgettes keep on coming. They featured in many of last week’s meals.
I make a batch of coleslaw every week. Last week was a bit different, as I added courgette, cooked broad beans and peas to the mix.
I made a Moroccan chicken dish that used our courgette, onion and garlic. Other ingredients were chickpeas, yellow and red peppers. It was loosely based on this recipe but I cut the chicken into bite sized piecesc and cooked in one pan on the hob. I used ras el hanout instead of harissa paste.
We had a turkey and vegetable stroganoff using more of our courgette, onion and garlic. Added to these were, red and yellow pepper, mushrooms and soured cream.
Finally, courgettes were used in a curry along with some of our potatoes. It was based on this recipe.
Not much gardening last week, maybe this week will be more productive. Until then as always stay safe and well.
Once again, I am linking to Dave’s Harvest Monday post at his Our Happy Acres blog.
Rain seems to be forecast for the foreseeable future. The cygnets are growing.
It’s miserable isn’t it Jo. Our weather is all or nothing
Your cauliflower looks great, I love making it with sour cream.
Lovely flowers, Sue. Sure, sweet peas smell wonderful.
I really like cauliflower Nadezda. Trouble is our latre sowing failed.
Those beans look perfect, nice and clean and full. I grew only climbing types this year, so we’re still waiting for our first taste.
Climbing beans are easier to keep clean and slug free, Dave
Your flower patches are very pretty. like you. I have been wearing winter weight clothing. and often sitting with a quilt over my knees in the evening. Occasionally taking a hot water bottle to hug. I refused to put the heating on just yet. I think our summer was about two weeks ago. There was one day where it peaked for about 3 or 4 hours. Blink and you’d miss it. That was summer. My sarcasm aside, I am grateful for what we’ve got rather than have what’s happening in Europe.
Wouldnb’t it be good if weather arrived ib moderation not extremes, Debbie?