{"id":40840,"date":"2026-01-03T14:41:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T14:41:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ossettweather.com\/gardening2022\/?page_id=40840"},"modified":"2026-02-02T19:03:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T19:03:58","slug":"january-2026-video","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ossettweather.com\/gardening2022\/january-2026-video\/","title":{"rendered":"January 2026 Video"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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January 2026\n Video Diary<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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10 January 2026<\/h3>

Ruby\u2019s sixth birthday. Growing up: six years of memories<\/h3>

It was Ruby\u2019s 6th birthday on 08 January. It only seems like 2 minutes ago that we brought her from Bristol. Ruby arrived a few weeks before lockdown due to COVID-19. However, despite all the restrictions, we found places to go and made the most of the things we could do during lockdown. I\u2019ve put together some video clips of Ruby growing up over the last 6 years. I hope you enjoy them.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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10 January 2026<\/h3>

Ruby\u2019s sixth birthday. Growing up: six years of memories<\/h3>

A little test to see what happens when a tiny piece of kibble is dropped into Ruby’s dish out of her sight<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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10 January 2026<\/h3>

Out and about with Ruby shopping<\/h3>

Ruby needed a new bed, so we thought we\u2019d pop over to the garden centre and see what they had. It was quite funny really, because as soon as we arrived she seemed to remember she\u2019d been there before. Once inside, we headed straight for the dog section in the pet area. Ruby absolutely loved sniffing all the different dog treats, although she was very well-behaved and didn\u2019t try to pinch any. She did have a quick look at a few of the beds, but clearly none of them met her standards, so we ended up leaving empty-handed. Before we left, Ruby made sure to fit in a bit more sniffing and exploring, just in case she\u2019d missed anything.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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18 January 2026<\/h3>

A quick visit to the plot – move manure – prune buddleia- forget to harvest leeks<\/h3>

We managed a short visit to the allotment this week after getting a message to say we\u2019d had another delivery of horse manure. So we headed down mainly to move it from the edge of the plot to a better spot where it can be stored and left to break down properly. Fingers crossed we\u2019ll be able to use some of it for this coming season\u2019s crops \ud83e\udd1e While I was busy shifting manure, Susan got stuck into cutting back a few more of our buddleia bushes. I think there\u2019s just one left to do now. We\u2019ve also got one of our hazel trees that needs coppicing, which will definitely take a decent afternoon to tackle. We probably should have harvested a few leeks while we were there. It was a really nice afternoon, and at the time the weekend forecast looked pretty good, so we thought we\u2019d come back over the weekend, grab some leeks, and get the hazel coppiced then. Well\u2026 the forecast didn\u2019t quite live up to expectations. The weekend\u2019s turned out dull and misty with plenty of showers instead. Typical! Hopefully, we\u2019ll get a half-decent day next week so we can head back down, coppice the hazel, and finally lift some of those leeks.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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24 January 2026<\/h3>

Snowdrops and puddles are the order of the day at Benningborough & Fountains Abbey<\/h3>

Our aim is to visit 12 different National Trust properties by the end of February, collecting 12 passport stamps for Ruby along the way. With a damp and thoroughly soggy week behind us, Saturday\u2019s forecast of a drier day felt like an opportunity not to be wasted. So we set off early for North Yorkshire with an ambitious plan: two National Trust properties in one day \u2014 Benningbrough Hall in the morning, followed by Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Gardens in the afternoon.<\/p>

Benningbrough Hall was our first stop, a place we\u2019d visited before but not for a good number of years. It felt familiar and unfamiliar all at once, one of those places that quietly changes while still feeling reassuringly the same. The first task on arrival was, of course, to get Ruby\u2019s passport stamped. With that important business taken care of, we were free to explore. At reception we learned that the snowdrops and aconites were just beginning to flower. These were planted back in 2016 to mark the hall\u2019s 300th birthday \u2014 an impressive 300,000 bulbs in total. Armed with that knowledge, we set off in search of them.<\/p>

The recent rain had left its mark. Puddles were everywhere, and it quickly became clear that avoiding them was going to be a theme for the day. Ruby, to be fair, makes a genuine effort to dodge as many as she can, carefully picking her way around the worst of them. Occasionally, though, a puddle was unavoidable and had to be endured with quiet dignity.<\/p>

The snowdrops were well worth the effort. Drifts of white were beginning to spread through the woodland, delicate but surprisingly resilient, with splashes of yellow from the aconites adding warmth to the scene. It felt like winter loosening its grip, just slightly. After a gentle wander around the grounds and a final check that Ruby was still relatively mud-free, we headed back to the car and set off for our second destination of the day.<\/p>

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Gardens always feels like a change of pace. Where Benningbrough is calm and contained, Fountains feels grand and expansive, with long views, wide paths, and the dramatic remains of the abbey itself dominating the landscape. Once again, the passport came out for its next stamp \u2014 Ruby was clearly pleased with her progress so far. The paths here were just as wet, if not wetter, and once again puddle-avoidance became a careful dance. The wider paths helped, though, and there was plenty to distract us: the sweeping water gardens, the reflections on the still water, and the slow reveal of the abbey as we walked further into the site.<\/p>

Fountains Abbey never fails to impress. Even on a grey winter\u2019s day, there\u2019s something about the scale and atmosphere of the ruins that makes you slow down and take it all in. Ruby, meanwhile, seemed more interested in the smells than the history, but she enjoyed the walk all the same. By the time we made our way back towards the car, legs were feeling tired, boots were muddy, and Ruby had clearly had enough adventuring for one day.<\/p>

Two properties, two passport stamps, and a proper sense of having made the most of a dry window in an otherwise wet week. It felt like a small victory \u2014 another step closer to twelve stamps, and another good day out shared together.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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31 January 2026<\/h3>

Will Ruby miss the puddles at Nostell Priory?<\/h3>

On our walk at Nostell Priory, there were plenty of puddles. Left on her own devices, would Ruby miss the puddles on the wettest part of the walk?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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31 January 2026<\/h3>

Potato day. Have we overdone it?<\/h3>

Every year our local garden centre has a potato weekend on the last weekend in January, and it\u2019s something we always look forward to. They have so many different varieties of seed potatoes that choosing what to buy is half the fun\u2026 and half the problem! We always go in with good intentions, but it\u2019s very easy to get carried away. We do stick with a few tried-and-tested favourites that usually give us a decent crop, but we also like to pick up a couple of new varieties each year just to see how they do. Every now and again one of these newcomers turns out to be a real success and ends up replacing one of our regulars. For now, the seed potatoes will be staying in potato sacks in the garage through February. Then in March we\u2019ll move them into the greenhouse so they can start sprouting and getting ready for planting. I\u2019ve also had a look at what we\u2019ve still got in store from last year\u2019s growing season. We\u2019re doing pretty well really \u2014 there\u2019s still squash, onions, carrots and potatoes left. I completely forgot to include the parsnips, and we\u2019ve also got a few leeks still in the ground at the allotment, which is always handy as we can just lift them when we need them.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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January 2026 Video Diary 10 January 2026 Ruby\u2019s sixth birthday. Growing up: six years of memories It was Ruby\u2019s 6th birthday on 08 January. It only seems like 2 minutes ago that we brought her from Bristol. Ruby arrived a few weeks before lockdown due to COVID-19. However, despite all the restrictions, we found places […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_eb_attr":"","ocean_post_layout":"right-sidebar","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"ocs-susans-post-sidebar","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-40840","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ossettweather.com\/gardening2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ossettweather.com\/gardening2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ossettweather.com\/gardening2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ossettweather.com\/gardening2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ossettweather.com\/gardening2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40840"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ossettweather.com\/gardening2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41591,"href":"https:\/\/ossettweather.com\/gardening2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40840\/revisions\/41591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ossettweather.com\/gardening2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}