Is this a holiday?

I have been on holiday from work this week. I made two lists, one for home and one for the lottie. The main task for this week was to complete the path along side bed 2. This I have done. It was heavy work. I managed it two four hour stints, one Monday morning and the other on Tuesday morning. The closer I got the top end of bed 2, the harder the work. This area has never seen a spade or a fork since I got the lottie. It also contained a lot of stones to say nothing of the weeds. The ground rises slight to the top end so the volume of soil to shifted increased. The soil was in good shape. I thought it would be really poor. I was pleasantly surprised. I was able to throw the extra soil onto the bed which helped fill it out. I reserved a barrow and a half to fill up my new gooseberry bed. I fitted the last plank which finished off the borders. That was pretty much Monday and Tuesday dealt with.

At home on Monday afternoon I fitted the lights and power to the shed. The shed has had a supply for a while but it was not hooked up in the proper manner. That is to say the supply just ran to a box in the shed. I put all the wiring in trunking which looks really smart and put the a bulk head light on the ceiling. It even has a pull cord switch by the door.

Tuesday afternoon had me fitting two new sets of shelves in the shed. One to hold all the empty demi-johns and a set to hold all the jars of preserves. This makes the shed a lot more tidy and it uses up some of the timber that was stood about the shed. I gave the shed a disinfect whilst I was about it so now it smells sweetly too!

The weather turned on Tuesday evening. We were treated to thunder storms with great flashes of lightening and crashes of thunder which eventually petered out to persistent rain. So no digging on Wednesday morning. Instead I went to the next town to collect wood for the mini-veg plots. I got some to finish my last edge [top side to bed 3]. Having dropped the wood off I came back home and did some things for the Society as Secretary. We have a new chap starting on Friday. H had to go to work in the afternoon for an hour. The wind had been blowing and the sun is hot when it is not obscured by cloud. The cloud cover had broken up giving the occasional shower. I popped back to the lottie on the off chance the soli might have dried a little. The wind and sun had dried the pile of soil on the unfinished path. I was able to throw that around the bed. Bed 4 was a bit soggy but I planted out a couple of trays of brasiccas [Hispi Cabbage, Snowball Cauli & Monet Spinach]. Note to self - I must sow Sprouts.

Wednesday afternoon was spent pottering in the garden at home. I have finished weeding and feeding the beds. Planted up a few Foxgloves I had in a box since last year. I hope they will flower. I confess I have not looked after them very well. The Gladioli are sprouting in the greenhouse as is the Fig. I am waiting for the all clear on the frost front before putting the Fig out into the bed I have prepared. The minaret fruit trees are coming into flower as is the step-over Apple.

Spending some time in the garden I have noticed all the bird life. A couple of Robins have moved into the box we put up last year. The Blackbirds are nesting in the Ivy. House Sparrow mob into the garden and just as quick are gone. The Blue and Great tits seem to like the Willow at the end of the garden. The Wren is not happy at all these intruders seems to throw his/her tiny weight about to mark its territory. The Black birds make a nice job of turning over the bark paths. We get some Long Tailed Tits a visiting and some Gold Finches. The Starlings, Wood Pigeon, Jackdaws and Seagulls do not bother with our garden. It might be because it is too enclosed. I saw a Bat the other evening which was nice.

The Frogs & Toads have moved into the pond for the annual love in. H spotted a Crested Newt in the pond. She nearly fell in she was so excited. The Goldfish continue to survive. I never feed them but seem to be thriving even though the biggest one used to live in a fish tank in doors. We put him in the pond two years ago and is making a living out there. I have even given the grass the once over.