Hello there ....
Well .... a spot of sunshine!
I must say it got me all excited and raring to go ...
we got all togged up (still a tad cold) ... and ready for a day playing outdoors .... an outside jobs kinda day.
Its nice to see the garden stirring after all those damp dreary weeks.
This little flower ... Coltsfoot .. reminds me of 'home' ...
Springtime ...when I was a child walking the lanes to school .. or running home ... these little flowers starred the sides of the lane.
They are a wild flower ... found on poor stony ground .. it took me ages to establish them in my garden.
This strange little plant sends up scaly little flower stalks .. and blooms long before any leaves ... and the leaves are a 'colts foot' ...bit horse shoe shaped.
Lovely bright and sunshiny coloured....
Little sprigs of Tansy .. an old herb ... bitter tasting .. used in the old days to add to dishes as a tonic .. to 'stir the blood'...
I think that might be a step to far for Hubby P ... he says 'his blood don't need no stirring'...
Hubby P set about fitting what he calls 'French doors' .. to the chicken shed. I just asked for a wire/mesh door so they could look out .. and get some fresh air in there. Hubby P found an old folding screen and a roll of wire and made a rather fancy folding door ... the chickens said they were most impressed!
Next up he set about making them some nesting boxes from an old wooden box.
This was much clucked over and tried for size ... we will see tomorrow if they have deemed it suitable to actually lay in.
The next project .. when I have found some chicken wire .. is a covered run at the side of the chicken shed ... its all coming along... its a case of Make Do and Mend here ..
everything that's needed comes along ... eventually!
Whilst Hubby P was doing the nesting boxes ... and he didn't need me to hold wood/nails/wire or whatever .. I pulled the very last of the scraggy leeks.
Mind you there was enough for a good pan of soup ... so that's tonight's tea then.
I weeded and dug over where the leeks had been .. and scattered a trug full of bedding/litter ... from the chicken shed (all nicely enriched with chicken ... you know what).
A bit 'fresh' really .. but I thought .. well its got a good few weeks to all rot down before its planted up again.
I covered the area with an old mat ... help the rotting down and suppress the weeds a bit.
Just need that sunshine to up its game a bit ... the days a bit longer .. and it will be planting time.
This years leeks are up and will soon be raring to go.
So .. thinking of teatime ... a big pot of leek and potato soup ... and digging deep in the freezer I found the last bag (of last Spring's) nettles.
So they were added to the soup .. give it a bit of a zip.
That reminds me .. the bagging up and freezing of tender young nettles worked so well last Spring .. I will have to get out there and replenish the freezer .. free .. super nutrient rich greens.
Just make sure you pick away from roadsides to avoid any nasty fuel/smoke pollution ... and of course anywhere where dogs may have ... well you know.. all common sense.
So for tea ... on our laps in front of the fire ....
nice warm soup with fresh from the oven bread rolls (AF bread mix ) and rustic cheese scones.
Ohhh.. it has been so nice to sit out in the sunshine ...
I do hope its been sun shining for you?
xx bye for now xx
