This is a war I WILL win!

I have fought this war for a very long time. For years - it could be almost a decade, because first I was fighting it with my loyal Blackie on my side. Then they were kittens, too, I had to take care they wouldn't get caught in the middle of battle.

I have no evidence on the first battle. It was too hard for me to even think what I was against at. I couldn't see the end of it. But now! the end is nigh!
 
These ones are easy to spot:

There might have been only about 20 bigger plants, maybe even down to a dozen. Sounds much, but if you think there used to be hundreds of them!

But these - they do not look like they are the same plant at all.
 

Look how innocent they are! So hard to see among all other stuff.

But if you closely, you'll see them. And I don't mean ground elder (bishop's weed).

Giant hogweed. Something I don't want to ever again see in flower. Those little seedlings are from flowers over seven years ago. They have been dormant on the soil, and if something disturbes the soil (like few years ago digger when all electric went underground) they will sprout. The seed banks seems to be endless - but in reality, I have finally got upper hand. It may take me three-four more years until I have permanently killed ALL of them, but now it takes me maybe 15 minutes to go around my neighbour's yard and spray (or brush now) all individual plants. In the beginning I just sprayed everything green, because everything was giant hogweed. I use glyphosate, as instructed by local enviromental authorities. It is nasty stuff, but I use it as sparingly as possible. Maybe this is the last year I have to use it at all!

I.Will.Win.This.War!

But on the other side of our yard...

A lovely sight

No giant hogweed, no lupins. I don't walk this way very often this time a year, because all birds that are nesting there. With 'Suma it's too much trouble. There's enought trouble without us:

Pictured through blinds - I think she's a she and has a litter under neighbour's barn.

 And then nature decided it's not summer yet.

I'm NOT swimming

I've been wondering who's been digging small holes on the ground on the forest. Now I know! those tiny footprints are adorable!

Two youngest are back at school. Ys gets there by taxi, but sys's route to schools is a bit more complicated (first walk to taxi stop, then taxi leaves him at the bus stop, then it's 30min trip to school by bus, and then more walking) and I don't want him to sit in a bus along 30-50 other pupils. So I drive him to school every morning. It's a good thing this will only last few weeks, and then we will have a long summer vacation. Phew.
D is still studying at home, her school will be closed all spring term.

I watched Eurovision Europe Shine a Light-show - well, it wasn't much of a show, if Molitva was the funniest performance. I also watched every 41 songs for this year (? lost count and hope at some point, maybe after Bulgaria and Serbia). Well. No wonder I have a massive migraine/headache now Uactually it's been at least a week now).
Because I don't usually watch much tv commercials, it was funny to notice how much those commercials were made around this corona situation. Even WWF's add was about keeping social distance!

But snow is gone, again. I made rhubarb crumble (from stalks from neighbours yard - I have permission for this) AND vanilla custard! I picked some fire weed shoots for a stir fry, and right now there's nettles soaking (to get bugs off), I'll put them in to the dehydrator to dry. I've already run out of last summers nettles.

We have a bank holiday coming, so I hope hb will get our tiller running. It's ancient (from 70's). but I really don't want to spend money to buy a new one. But my vegetable plot is heavy clay, and it needs to be tilled every spring. It was field for 50 years, and I've been growinf vegetables only for few years. If he will not get it running, I'll just have to make with shovel and fork.

Week 7, Prawn casserole

Week 7 went by as fast as the wind that was blowing whole week. I have no idea how this is possible; days had just as many hours as ever.

We managed to put planks on the wall of ys's room. I also treated plastered walls with dust binding substance. There's 2 drywall walls, and ys wants them to be metallic. Fiiiiine.

Thin lines are strings we put to line up screws

Wood (spruce) was treated first with strong tea, and then with iron soaked vinegar (I put rebar bars into vinegar and let them soak for few days - the longer they stay, the darker the shade). If wood has tannin itself (like oak), tea treatment is not needed.

 Many people has been telling how they have been eating rhubarb for weeks now.

My rhubarb is finally growing

 At least I got something from my veggie patch (actually from one of the cold frames):
 

These are the very last parsnips!

 Because we can't (or want not) go to fast food places, I'm trying to get fun food for kids. Last week I made home made hamburgers (I found few bags of hamburger buns from freezer) and kids thought they were great, not like McDonalds but good.

I also made doughnuts (os can't eat store bought because they have cardamon)

I'm still trying to make meals from pantry and freezer. I found handful or frozen prawns and after toying with several ideas I settled on prawn casserole - kids don't like it but I do. I didn't have any tinned tomatoes (turns out i do have, but couldn't find at that moment), but had passata. I had some aubergine left, and instead of garlic I used garlic scapes from freezer. Last bag of spinach from the freezer was aslo used - and I have to say concotion was delicious!  A mighty great achievement considering I had no idea what to make when I took the bag of prawns from freezer.

Nature is aiming towards summer no matter what. We don't have here bluebells or wild garlic, instead we have all kind of poisonous plants:

Mezereon

False morel (Gyromitra esculenta)

Liverwort (anemone hepatica) trying to be a wood anemone.

 Of course there's other signs of warmer season. Somehow we still have a pair of swans, they usually leave after two weeks, now they have been here for five-six weeks? I don't think they are building a nest, maybe next year?
And then we have a pack of leverets of european hare. We have both mountain hares and european ones here, but I think mountain hare leverets stay more in the woods, and those european hare leverets stay on fields. I think mountain heres are pretty, european hares are a bit... I don't know, bony? This monday I counted 8 leverets in one group! They are not fully grown yet, maybe they find big numbers more safe? Because..
We have a fox visiting our yard - not very nice because our three cats. But hopefully it has enough food without trying to hunt out pets.  She will no doubt eat some of the leverets.

In two weeks kids will be back at school (or two youngest will be), but my orders to work from home might continue all throught the summer.

Today I might try to feed kids carrot and parsnip soup with toast. We shall see.