On Saturday we had to take Miss L to look at another uni. Anglia Ruskin this time. It was a easy journey if a little boring. We listened to what they had to say, visited the accommodation and had a look round town and lunch. Miss L was very impressed with the town. Miss L noted that everyone had nice shoes. The drive home was a little less boring. One hundred miles in the dark, pouring rain and howling gale. We made it without incident but I was cream crackered.
Sunday dawn with clear skies and bright sunshine although the wind was still blowing quite hard. I had a few jobs to do before S&J came down from Chapel-en-le-Firth for dinner. First job, collect the muck trailer. The real first job was to load up Degsy and start him up. I should not have worried. Choke out, turn the key with a slight dab on the gas pedal and he sprung into life. Thereafter he never missed a beat. When I got back the lottie and checked around for storm damage but found none. The trailer contents were tipped. I took a look round the plot. The chickweed has gone mad. You may recall I bought a scythe handle and built up a full scythe. Since I had it in Degsy I thought I would give it a go on the Chickweed. It did a fantastic job. In a very few minutes I had cleared away a great portion of the weed. Some areas are better than others as I learned now to get the best action. The most effective action came to me quite quickly. It must be something in the genes. With this triumph under my belt I checked the ground. It is too wet for digging but if the wind keeping blowing and it does not rain too much the soil should be in good order for digging next weekend.
I had a look round the crops that were still in. I was under instruction from H to get Leeks, which I did. I can vouch for the planting scheme that says plant the Leeks seedling six inches deep and plant them close together. My Leeks, although they got a touch of rust, have long white shafts. I bagged a few Beetroot and a couple of Turnips. I was happy to find that a Cauli had flowered as well a some side shoots of previously harvested Calabrese and Broccoli. There was enough for a side order at dinner. They made a nice winter posy. See below.
To paraphrase Uncle Monty, in the film Withnail and I, "Flowers are simply tarts; prostitutes for the bee, you should never underestimate the decorative potential of vegetables". I also noticed that the over wintering onions were making a start. I packed up Degsy and set off back to the stables. When I got there I found the Angie was back from walking out her new horse, Zara. I dropped the trailer in it's usual spot and we had a chat about Zara who was very interested in what was being said. With Zara installed at the stables the trailer duty will go back to a weekly ritual.
Next a went round to have a look at the bees. To be precise to see the hive. For some reason I have not been worried about the hive in the high winds. When I got to the apiary I found that I was right not to worry. The hive was in one piece and where I left it. The hedges had died back and the trees had lost their leaves back but the hive location was still sheltered. I shone the torch through the bottom of the hive and saw that the bees were still moving about. The weather is not bothering them too much. As I finished my inspection the rain came on. Cold, wet and driven by a stiff breeze. I did not mind since I had been cooped up in my office all week. I like being out in wild weather. After the bees Degsy and I sauntered home just in time to get washed and changed to meet S&J. We had a nice relaxing dinner. In the end S&J had to go home but it was nice whilst it lasted.
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