It’s been a showery week, but again there hasn’t been sufficient water deposited to penetrate the ground. The few millimetres of wetness dried up quickly when the sun came out or the wind blew. What we really need is a few hours of constant, steady rain.
Work on the allotment has mainly been preparing the remaining beds for planting and weeding. Nothing very interesting to write about or photograph.
The last batch of sweetcorn has been planted.
Crown Prince squash have also been planted. The bed may look too big for them but usually they have no problem filling it.
The potatoes that were knocked back by frosts have recovered and all the potatoes are now growing well. Of course there is no guarantee that they will produce a plentiful supply of tubers. Most were earthed up at the weekend.
We haven’t grown many lettuce recently as they always end up being slug hotels which means that they are not very appetising.
We’ve grown a few in the greenhouse, then Martyn came accross some slug collars which are supposed to prevent slugs and snails from accessing plants. We are trying these out, initially in tubs.
We continued to gather a small harvest.
From the allotment we pulled more rhubarb, picked more strawberries, dug some small turnips and a sample of garlic.
I wanted to test whether the garlic was ready before I lifted any more. The bulb was a decent size but what about the cloves? When I removed the outer skin the cloves were OK so I will lift more and dry them off.
From the garden we gathered some salad leaves, mint and radishes for lunch.
We had a couple of afternoons at Nostell and hoped to catch sight of the cygnets. At first, the swan family was at the far side of the lake and even with a telephoto lens I couldn’t get a clear view. We managed to count five cygnets. Sadly one had not survived. In the years that we have watched broods being produced the swans have never managed to raise all their young to maturity.
After taking one or two long distance shots we set off on our usual walk around the parkland.
When we arrived at one of the spots where Ruby has a game of chase, she was ready and impatient for the fun to start.
She just can’t get enough of chasing her ball.
We did have one scary moment during a second game at the end of our walk. Martyn threw the ball but it slipped out of his hand and went in the opposite direction to the one intended. It rolled under the electric fence that has been erected to enclose the cows. Ruby spotted it and, to our horror hurtled towards the fence. All we could do was yell at the top of our voices for her to stop. Thankfully, she did and turned to look at us, as if to say, “What’s wrong?” We called her back to us and she left the ball. I’m not sure whether she would have realised and stopped before heading into the virtually invisible wires but we were so relieved that she reacted to our voices even when she was fully focussed on retrieving the ball. No more ball games anywhere near electric fences from now on.
When we were passing the lake at the end of our walk we were treated to a close-up of the cygnets being watched over by two attentive parents.
The swan family was not our only feathered encounter. On our evening walk in a local park, we were surprised to spot a heron standing in the beck (small stream) that flows through the park.
..
Ruby underwent a transformation. After we showered her – one of her least favourite things – the groomer paid her a visit to trim her hair – another least favourite thing.
She looks like a different dog.
Finally just a few photos that I took when wandering around our garden.
That’s all for another week so as always stay safe and stay well.
I am again joining Dave’s Harvest Monday over on his Our Happy Acres blog.
The plot is looking great , everything is taking off now , at last ! Loving the pictures if a very energetic Ruby ! Also the lovely flower slide show at the end . Wishing you a great week 💐
Interesting slug collars, Sue. I’ll have to check them here. I only plant lettuce in the greenhouse. Beautiful and tasty strawberries! Good thing Ruby’s ball game ended well.
We use an organic control called SLuggo that does a good job for us controlling the slugs. The peas and potatoes do look like they are growing well.
have you ever tried Wool Cool as a slug repellant? I get deliveries wrapped in this insulation and recycle it in the garden as a natural, biodegradable weed and slug suppressant. Works brilliantly.
Love seeing everything and I am SO glad that Ruby stopped to avoid the fence! I’m sure she sensed the fear in your voices. What a precious girl. Hoping you get some rain soon for your beautiful gardens.
Ruby looks very smart after her trim. Thank goodness she reacted to your voices, how awful if she’d run into the electric wires.
Ruby looks very smart after her trim. Thank goodness she reacted to your voices, how awful if she’d run into the electric wire.