In the meantime

I have had net troubles today. Couldn't get connection at all with laptop, and had to miss one meeting completely. Another was teams-meeting, and that I can use from my phone. I should be able to use skype from my phone, too, but it is just not working.

Well, co-worked had a chance to bragg about his catch (13,4kg salmon) and all other important but now seriously neglected information was finally shared. It's so good to gossip sometimes.

But because everything else was not working, I called it a day after 10am and used my time much more better way - gardening.

Than you Jo for your kind words.

Old man was awake in the mid morning when my mother called the ward, everything seems to be ok. Operation went smoothly, it was easier than surgeons had anticipated. So far so good. Now old man has to learn how to live as a type 1 diabetic, he has no pancreas to produce any insulin at all. Of course many other hormones and entzymes are also missing, and because part of his stomac was also removed, eating is so much more difficult and important from now on. He's lost too much weight already.

His operation was now, because there has been no new covid19-cases (in that university hospital area). The medical team thought it would be better to have the operation now, even if there migh have been some benefits with postponing it with medication old man was having. Later this year there might be new covid-cases again, so no better time than now.

Weather has been very summery, 'Suma the poor girl doesn't understand why she's feeling so hot. Poor puppy. I planted all sun flowers (14), and chards. Yesterday I planted all broad beans which have been growing in the polytunnel, they were way too big already, but... Better now than never, I guess.

Little cucumbers are in cold frame, and most of tomatoes and aubergines in glass greenhouse.

I have never grown aubergines, di I need to support them somehow, with canes or strings?

Tomorrow I'll have to go to my office (because of the connection problems), but in the evening I'll plant other beans I have and hopefully most of brassicas, too.

Then there's zucchinis and pumpkins left and when they are gone I can use that free space in the polytunnel to plan rest of tomatoes, aubergines and peppers...

And then the weeding starts.

Week 11?

I don't know anymore which week this is - the "new normal". I still can't do certain things that are part of my work, but I'm still overworked most of the time - I know I'm doing something wrong because some of my co-workers have had basically a long spring vacation and my hours keep adding.

But I don't actually care, I know I'm doing my part and when this is over no-one can tell me I didn't do enough.

Children are out of school, D has still one language course to attend (4h a day + homework for two weeks) but she didn't return to school in the first place like boys did, they had 12 days - but mostly they were biking, hiking, picnicking and studying outside the classroom and outside the school building.

But I'm relived school is over for now.

I've been in the veg plot, in polytunnel and all around. I try to work on my veg plot or polytunnel at least an hour a day, but it's not so easy in this househould.

Weather has been nice, too nice, if you ask me. We need rain - yes, we had snow during mother's day weekend, but it's not enough. And it's been several weeks since.

I still haven't planted everything on my plot or cold frames, Most seedlings are still waiting in the polytunnel. We usually cet frost in mid June (it was 10th June, but lately it's been near 15th - we do get the worst from climate change, no snow in winter but more snow in summer).

I have weeded strawberry boxes, I got 10 runners to plant (2 of them will go to my co-worker, they are from plants I got from our nice cleaner lady and I promised to give her any I can find). In another box there's plenty of runners left, but NOW it's raining so I'm not doing it. With rain come mosquitoes, and we have plenty of them in sunny dry days. I have seen several flowers already!

Glass greenhouse has all planted. Six tomatoes, two cape gooseberries, two spinach wines (I don't remember the name of that plant) and four aubergines. Plants are still very tiny, but if I'm lucky I'll get at least some harvest. There was a critters nest in the greenhouse, mole or mouse, I have no idea, but it was VERY productive during winter. I scooped droppings and used as a fertilizer in growing bags (I didn't change the mulch this year). So, time will tell how powerful those droppings are 😁

My corn is my biggest worry - os likes fresh corn cobs so I sowed over 40 seeds. I have six plants! All other seeds sown using same soil are doing well. Yestarday I saw few small green dots in pots - they might grow now, ut it's so late! I think I have to harvest them as mini cobs (like ones used in fry ups). i don't know what's wrong with corn, seeds were bought this spring and they were of expensive/hight quality brand.

Old man is finaly having an operation next week. It's a major operation, at least six hour in the theatre, a couple of days in ICU, few weeks in the university hospital and after that he'll be moved to local hospital to recover -if he makes it through the operation. First he was told the tumour was inoperable. Timing is always poor, of course, but at least he has done all firewood, all field work (potatoes are planted) and fixed his tractor.

I'm considering if I should ask my sister to live with mom for the summer with her family. Even with her partner working benefits overpower risks, I think.

We'll have a family meeting this weekend.

Preparing for colder months

Mid September. Somehow it feels like winter is going to be here right now, but in real life I know it'll take at least two months until we are really in to the winter.

I have a bunch of tasks to do before serious frosts and snow (and the darkness October and November brings).

Garden, veggie plot, geenhouse and polytunnel:

Things need to be done now (before we have first frosts at the end of this week):
- harvest everything that can be harvested (beets, chard, nz spinach, zucchinies, beans, corn, potatoes from bags)
- cover plants that need shelter (pumpkins, zucchinies, beans)
- get strawberry runners planted
- make sure greenhouse and polytunnel are kept ready for cold nights

Things need to be done ASAP:
- build a new additional cold frame for garlic
- build a new frame ready for next summer's cucumbers
- build a new additional frame for more strawberries
- empty compost bin to aforementioned frames
- harvest everything that will not be producing anymore from greenhouse and polytunnel (cucamelon, herbs, potatoes)
- mix old spoiled concrete mixes with sawdust and fill holes on the forest tractor tracks (so that tractor is no longer in danger to fall over or lose it's oil plug)
- forage more mushrooms (boletes are soon over)
- get chillies and peppers from polytunnel inside house (and buy a growing light for them)

Things need to be done before winter is here:
- harvest all pumpkins
- harvest all tomatoes
- harvest carrots and parsnips
- plant garlic to new frame
- empty all growing bags (excluding ones inside greenhouse) and pots into cold frames
- harvest everything else left in greenhouse and polytunnel
- empty greenhouse and polytunnel, rescue rosemary and ginger (they need growing light, too)
- harvest aronia berris from aunt's garden
- harvest rowan berries (from aunt's garden?)
- empty ash buckets to cold frames (this needs to be done several times to get all frames covered)
- take poly from polytunnel down and put it into greenhouse for winter
- try to figure out how to protect kale from hares during the winter....

And some additional stuff to be done:
- try to locate some free apples
- buy new winter shoes fro three kids
- check kids' winter coats if they neew new ones
- mix sawdust and (garden) peat for outhouse use
- get some heavy duty candles for outhouse
- grind ys's new room's outside wall ready for filler
- level out that wall with filler
- get one wall done with planks, treat planks before that
- fill, sand and fill again plaster walls to be painted
- figure out what colour ys wants for those plaster board walls (hopefully not wallpaper)
- make floor with vinyl planks
- move ys to that room!
- and then the toilet...

Miles of strawberries

So far I have managed to freeze about 10kg of strawberries, 2 kg went into jam. Os asked me to make some strawberry jam to taste (he doesn't eat shop bought jam anymore).

Boiling jars and lids.

And strawberries - I use jam sugar with some pectin. It'll keep at least a year, but I think this one will not see next summer...

I was away for three days driving along smallest of small country roads trying to find berry farms, and two days again this week. I have seen ostriches, lambs, the most huge orpington cockerel, bunnies and miles after miles of rows of strawberries (and Ukrainian berry pickers). Blueberries are not in season yet, and raspberries are ripe only in tunnels. lasti week I drove 500 miles, and in the end of day three I thought I wouldn't walk five hundred miles more... This week only 300miles.

And this wasn't the narrowest road I drove...

Next summer I really hope I don't have to do those tours, they are exhausting. (I do this as part of my work, not to get berries)

Kids have been eating handful of our own strawberries almost daily, they say they are far more better than bought ones.

Most of firewood is cut and split and stacked in storage for the winter. There is s small(ish) pile of cut and split wood in the field, it's still wet and have to be stacked somewhere to dry. There is also 8 stacks of dry and split wood which is still 1m long, so it needs to be cut. Kids hate me, because they have been stacking wood for three weeks now...

These 5 piles need to be cut, and we have three more piles like these to be cut as well. 'Suma found a new playground.

Veg path and polytunnel as well as greenhouse survived my being away. D had watered them just fine, not too much and not too little. Of course because we had very cold weather so there was no need to water anything much. There was even frosts at night a bit north from us, luckily we have had +5C or +6C nights. If I had basil, it would have suffered.
Well, now we have Saharan heat wave coming. Talk about u-turn.

I found first flowers in tomatoes -  I know, most people are already eating their tomatoes. I also have nice flowers in my melons, watermelon is a bit behind now. Cucamelon is also flowering.

This is  melon, do I really need to pollinate them by myself?

 We ate first potatoes a week ago, with pickled herring, chanterelles (from pur own forest), fried eggs and roasted vegetables. Kids were not impressed with violet potatoes, to me they were ok. We do have normal white/yellow potatoes, so kids will not be starving this summer. But those potatoes are really dark, deep purple.

Violet Queens and some unidentified white potatoes.

They are spuds even if they look like black beets. They even bleed blue.

Today I'm going to pick some more chanterelles, as well other mushrooms I'll find. Os will eat them happily, and I noticed last weekend all children eating them (fried in butter). Even ys, who has been refusing 'shrooms lately.

I weeded under my black currant bushes, they are not quite ripe yet, but soon. Noighbours white currants are ripe, asn well as reds. I might pick some tomorrow, I have room in freezer. Pity there's no lingon berries coming this year, I saw no flowers in spring and therefore no berries... Kids like them in smoothies.

Is this a hazelnut?

Carrots my ow (I have purple too, but they are tiny), saskatoon (serviceberry) I bought from a berry farm to taste. Ok.

I have two weeks off again, I have a list of tasks in my mind I'd like to complete:
-plant cherries (bought in early June?)
-weed veggie path
-feed kids carrots from cold frames
-start using beets from frames
-harvest Belgian garlic from both frames
-eat potatoes from bags (I still have 13 growing bags of potatoes)
-forage mushrooms
-find some more strawberries to make more jam (to say it was a succes is a bit understatement)
-take sys and ys to adventure park
-move cut and split wood from field to forest (there's pallets waiting them to be stacked)
-have a little day trip with my sister.

I had to come inside, because there's too hot for black dog like 'Suma. Now she's been sleeping an hour so we can go back outside, this time to pick mushrooms I found yesterday while at 'Sumawalk.

No heatwave no rain

We have had basically very boring weather all spring/summer. No great heatwaves (not Spanish bubble here), neither rain or floods. Some light shovers, only one thunder (can't call it storm) and some warm days.

Weeds love that.

I finally managed to tackle all weeds I wanted to get rid off, I left on purpose one patch in which I have sown calendula, but it never germinated. I'm going to cover it with plastic (empty mulch bags I have abundance of). I did found some swedes, but I think I'm not going to have a meal out of them. My magne touts/sugar snap peas have germinated very sparingly - I can't even blame pidgeons, haven't seen them or any traces of them at all in veg plot. Peas have made a bit better, but I will not dream of a huge harvest. I think I should sow some broad beans on empty spots, it'll look better (but it's too short time to autunm, so I'm not going to have any harvest on bbs either, unless I'm having them as greens). Few chards were still alive, some might even survive 'Suma who wasn't very amused to be at the veg plot day after day. Poor puppy.

Notice the strategic alignment along rows. Her head rests on empty spot at the end of a brassica row.

Potatoes in car tyres are thriving, there's plenty of blossoms. I don't remember last time my potatoes actually flowered!  On the veg plot they are not very pretty, but alive nevertheless.

This is what they usually get.

We (kids) have been eating our own strawberries on several evenings, I picked nine even sized ones a couple days ago, and yesterday I picked maybe twenty? I divided them between kids (didn't divide berries, like I usually do, to each get their fair share) and sys looked at them confused "You mean I can eat ALL of them, as WHOLE?" Poor kids, their childhood is miserable.

This was the very first fistful of strawberries.

(I did bought 5kg box of strawberries to freezer, and let kids eat as much as they wanted to. 2,5kg ended to freezer - but our own strawberries are tastier.)

There is not much to eat at the veg plot or polytunnel, some salad and herbs. Radishes have gone over, but I did read somewhere you can eat the seedpods, too. So I left them to flower and go to seed, I'll have a taste then.
Today I took first garlics off, they are that Dutch variety which is not doing well in our place. It's softneck variety, and two years of growing it has only managed to grow a bigger cloves, not bulbs.

That dark spot is actually just dirt. They're quite strong flavoured, I couldn't use all of those in my hummus.

My Russian variety (hardneck) is doing much better, it's growing scapes now (I really should harvest them), and I did plant last autunm about 80-90  tiny cloves from scapes and they are growing now, too. I think it takes at least two summers for them to get to the point of forming bulbs, but after that all my garlic is basically free (I will have enough cloves to plant every autunm and still eat all garlic I want). Last winter I bought about half adozen garlic bulbs, my own made it until March?

Hb and I met 30 years ago. Boy that makes me feel old! D said the other day she's only third of my age, and yes, she is. I'm feeling ancient.

What else... My brother got bees for the first time this summer, this week they harvested their first batch of honey, 35kg! And they need to harvest honey at least once if not twice this summer. Bet they'll be in sticky stuff up tp their necks in autunm. No, not really, I think there's a line behind their door asking for honey.

It's wonderful, golden, runny, clear. Even os wanted to taste and liked it. He's not fan of honey.

Very tasty with creamy Turkish yoghurt.

 I have also found some 'shrooms. Boletes.

I think this is a bitter bolete (tylopilus felleus)

Didn't pick it up for some reason...

Bitter boletes are not actually poisonous, but...

I have picked maybe the last batch of rhubarb (from neighborough's garden). I wanted to try rhubarb liqueur (equal amounts sugar, fruit and vodka). Maybe it's ready before Christmas? For hampers, perhaps.

And I'll end this with best picture of  'Suma I have managed for a long time.

Nearly there

Even if this summer has been wonderful weatherwise, I'm very late in my gardening. I haven't planted all plant intended to polytunnel or greenhouse, and just yesterday got last gourgettes/zucchinis planted in to the vegplot. My mother will bring me some tomato plants, and I'll give her four potatoes (planted on milk cartons), Violet Queen. I have no space left for them.

Veg plot is hiding under jungle of weeds. I think I have some peas and magne touts, but can't find them yet. Broad beans are doing well, a year ago I tried to precultivate them, and it didn't turn out well. They were leggy and got attacked by blackflies, they suffered much more than the ones I sowed right to the veg plot. So it's direct sow for now on.

In veg plot there is of course potatoes, two varieties (Violet Queen and something I can't remember, but it is not Annabelle, it didn't like my soil at all last summer), brassicas (mostly cabbages, some kale and few others). I sowed swedes, but I think they're gone, as well as chard directly sown to soil. Beets I planted as small plants are doing fine. Cucumbers, on the other hand, are dying. I have no idea why. If cabbages and pumpkins are doing fine, so why not cucumbers (pickling ones)? I have some sweet corn (leftovers from raised bed) and sunflowers. They(sf) too don't want to grow, and I have no idea why. One fennel plant. It suprised me by staying alive!

On friday we had our annual Midsummer party at communal beach. I was hoping we wouldn't organize it, but no such luck. I have been working there about 17 times in last 20 years, and full decade in a row now! I haven't spent Midsummer with my kids at all, ever. I have been pouring coffee, cashing people, picking litter, taking care of roulette for children etc. This year we had few new volunteers, but not enough for me to stay away.
Then we celebrated the second birthday of my nephew and since that I have been stacking firewood for the winter. Loading a wheelbarrow to the brim, pushing that wheelbarrow up hill to wood shed and unloading it, and then stacking. All that while horseflies and mosquitos are trying to eat me.

Oh yeah, I sew pants to my sister one evening, she needed something else than jeans or leggins to wear while they were spending time by the lake (sister's bf's relatives has a hut there). I had some pale blue fabrick with pink flowers (thick cotton jersey (?) you could sew a hoodie) and matching pink ribbing. I had to find a pattern, copy pattern pieces to parchment paper, cut the pieces and sew... Haha. All in less than an hour. I just love me when I have those wonderful ideas. But, pants fitted her perfectly and protected her from mosquitos.
And I have one piece of fabric less to store here.

Since all that, I have been weeding veg plot. It's miserable. It is curious that some potatoes are doing fine while others are dying or just sprouted! Some spuds suffering have ant nest right in their roots, but others don't. I have no idea why some are doing fine and some not - it would be logical if most plants would be suffering? I weeded broad beans and beets, I have two more rows of potatoes to weed and then I have to tackle pea rows. There's so much thistle I'd like to cry, but most times I just make not so pretty faces when they prick me.
D cut all lupins from our yard, only one wheenbarrow, full. Most lupins I can see are in someone else's grounds, and I can't kill them without permission. Our neighbour will like me to tackle them too, I'm not sure if I want to. But needs must.

In the autunm I need to build at least one more raised bed, because I need one for brassicas, too. Now I have one for corn (doing fine), one for beans (doing more than fine) one for garlic (seeing scapes already) and one for carrots (and parsnips, I'm testing if my family wants to eat them), and two for strawberries. I could do with one shallow and narrow (like I have for strawberries) for pickling cucumbers, that's the last solution I can come up. If they don't grow in box, I don't have a clue what to do to get them growing.
And because strawberries are doing it so nicely in their boxes, I might need to build another just for strawberries... They are already forming runners, I have to remember make sure I'll get them at some point.
How lucky I have seemingly endless supply of used wood.

Suddenly June

It's suddenly mid June. Oh dear.
What has happened...

I finally got my new specks, I bought two pairs because 'Suma might eat these, too. I'm not sure about frames, they might be too bulky, but I decided it's better that way, they might better chance to survive one more attack of 'Suma? But I can see clearly now.
Much hasn't happen on polytunnel, greenhouse or veg plot. I've been waiting 'til this mid June to plant tender plants (beans, corn, brassicas, pumpkins and zuccinis and cucumbers etc) outside, and until that they occupy polytunnel and prevent planting in there.
I was supposed to do some (most of it) planting today, but farmer decided today is fine day to do some spraying. So it's a no-go at the moment. But I do have plans, everything will be done.

Our another car got through MOT, it needed some serious welding, but it was rather cheap work, 300€. Kids got out of school and are enjoying summer holiday. D left high school and is accepted to nearest college, she needs a new laptop for school, but according to school they can be rented! She has a decent laptop at home, she needs it because she draws a lot (not only computer, mind you, she is excellent artist in paper, too), but it's too good (expensive) for school! If she has to drag that laptop to school every day, it must be something easily replaceable. She also realized that she might have some use for drivers license, which she didn't want last year. So I'll need to look that, too.
Money makes the world go round...

We went to a consert with hb, and in the end it was complete disaster. There was funfair and of course he went with his (younger) cousin. And got his back hurt, so we ended up on ER in the middle of the night ( and didn't see the band) and I was going to work trip the very next day. I know I'm not as young I used to be, it was really difficult to keep sharp after one hour sleep... But I made it and maybe hb understands now why I told him not to go to that sling or whatever it was. At least he didn't go bungee jumping...
And of course hb had that week off, he was supposed to cut wood for the winter. No such luck.
We took a short relaxation trip with my colleague, she is a mother to two teenagers and two toddlers and really can use some time to rest. So, we had dinner at nine o'clock and went to sleep at half past ten. We slept 'til 8 o'clock in the morning, we had a massive breakfast at hotel and took nice slow paced walk around town center. And then we came back home. It was wonderful.

And in the meantime 'Suma ate antoher pair of cheap crock imitations and a plate full of chicken wings. It's been several days and she seems to be ok, so I think no harm done. Wonder what happens when I go for a two day trip on July (working trip, no long summer holidays for me).

We have had some not so pleasant visitors at our yard/forest. We have racoon dogs, and not only they smell dreadfull, they make unpleasant noise (they scream like cats fighting). They are considered as invasive alien species and I could hunt (trap) them, but atm I'm not able to do that. I just can't hunt, not for food, not for fun and apparently not to protect my surroundings. Not yet.

I have tried to use up all rhubarb I have (from my plants and from our neighbours'). I have made (so far)  pie, mead, cordial, cake, jam, pudding. Then I have dehydrated some, and there's quite a lot in the freezer. If I can catch up my tasks in the garden/veg plot/polytunnel etc, I might be able to pick some more.
I have foraged nettles and spruce tips (made seasoning salt) and I have a bunch of oregano drying at kitchen.
I have picked huge bunches of lupins (they are also invasive species) and some lilacs (because my cousin felled some huge lilac bushes and I decided to rescue some flowers).

I have bought two pairs of glasses, a pair of fake crocks and two black tank tops. I bought shirts and jeans for ys and sys and a summer dress for d. I bought new blender but haven't used it yet, old one makes horrible sounds but mixes berries and bananas, and smells of electricity, so it's better to have replacement on hand when needed. I lost my kettle, it doesn't boil water any more, but I haven't found a new one I like yet. I don't want any plastic in it.
Gave our sand toys to my nephew, repaired a zipper for his dad (actually I changed it, old one was plastic, I found a new metallic one from my stash). I'm worming cats and dog, I think I have enough pills for all of them for three days (they need to be given three days in a row).

So after all, it's been a pretty good few weeks.

Can't be summer yet!

Last year spring was 1 week, from the first of May on. Then came summer. And no, I'm not only one who remembers it that way, most farmers confirm that.

This morning when I put shutters closed (because sun rises from east and our big dining/family room windows are facing east) I noticed all snow is gone! Even from the furthest corner of the field. There's usually snow even later on May, and now it's all gone.

But what is more important and much more worrying is that there has been no rain since March. Evereything is bone dry, ready to combust. Ten years ago garden magazines were bursting of advices to take benefit of spring moisture in ground to plant trees and bushes. Now they say "Keep an eye if moisture evaporates on the spring winds and start watering your plants sooner than later". Because now we have spring winds.

It was very warm spring 33 years ago. We (at boarding school) took showers under a gutter - that was the rain from Chernobyl. I haven't had my radiation levels measured, but I know people no more than 50 miles away have very high levels (if I remember right it's cesium they are monitoring). Now HBO has made mini series about that. because Chernobyl i don't let my children eat as much mushrooms they want, because radioactive materials are high amounts in some mushrooms my children love (in this area, so it is around the Scandinavia).
And we were able to shower in rain because of Stanislav Petrov, a man who didn't blindly follow his orders three years earlier.

Uuups, a bit far from my garden now. Have slept 3 hours last night, 5 hours prev. Not very bright eyed.

Anyway. I sowed carrots and parsnips yesterday, as well as beets. Carrots and parsnips are in one of cold frames, but beets I sowed in a tray in polytunnel. I have been told beets will bolt if seedlings get cold. I have brassica seedlings in polytunnel, and today I might sow some sunflowers. I have had very pool succes with sunflowers lately, but I'm not the one to give up. I didn't give up runner beans, and last summer I had the best harves ever.
I have some chili seedlings, but they will stay inside at least one more week, as well as melons and halloween pumpkins and giant pumpkins. I might need to sow zucchinis soon, hb promised me a heater to the polytunnel. Oh,  I have sweetcorn in trays, not sprouted yet.
Glass greenhouse is empty atm, but I will fill it later with seedlings, beans did really well last spring there. maybe I'll sow some salads and peas in there, to make it look more lived in.
It will take six more weeks before I can plant most of my plants to the veg plot. Last frost day is 10th June, but I usually wait until 15th, i have witnessed -15C frost on 10th June. Our cherry tree froze to death.
Well, I guess I'll better get going, listing my works doesn't do them.

Bunspiration

Easter break - can't say days off, because I'm working here at home. All the normal spring stuff: firewood, veggie path, greenhouse, polytunnel.
I finally got all branches off the trunks and managed to burn them on bonfire, just on time. Now there is danger of bush fires and I'm not taking risks with that. Our field has still a lot of snow, but as soon as it melts, exposed ground and dead grass starts to dry and in few days it'll be crisp and ready to combust.

This is the beginning. Now they are all gone - most of snow also.

Nearby pond is still frozen, but I do hope it'll be free after this weekend.

 Snow is finally gone around the polytunnel frame, so I pulled up the poly-part of it, I managed to do it on my own, last spring I needed OS's help. Experience I'll say, now I know how to do it so it's relatively easy to pull up. I stacked mulch bags around tunnel's hem, last summer it was a good strategy and prevented wind blowing it away. I do need buy several bags of mulch for raised beds and also for the polytunnel and glass greenhouse.
There's some herbs alive, thyme, sage and perhaps tarragon. Also oregano and majoram, but I can't tell them apart (not even by taste). Parsley seems to be gone, and rosemary is bone dry. No hope there.

Sage is already producing usable leaves, I'm really happily suprised!

Rhubarb is also alive, I was a bit worried because I moved it last spring and summer was so hot and dry, I feared I might had not watered it enough it to survive. Lovage hasn't sprouted yet, but it lost snow only three days ago, so there's still hope. As well as horse radish (which is in same bed as lovage).
Cold frames are also free from snow. I have found some garlic sprouts, but I should take off the leaves I put over them to protect from frost. There was some kale left, but after few really really cold night they are gone (or somebody ate them).

My cousing had her second daughter few weeks ago, and invited us to name revelation party. I was a bit loss what to give as a gift (not required actually), but sister told me to sew a book. But I thought a book is so small gift, so I wanted to make something more. And finally I got bunspiration - because I wanted to make something for the little big sister (she's 2,5), too.

These bunnies are something I have made several over the years, all my kids have their own (they were a bit smaller, because I have become bolder during the years, I don't follow instructions so carefully anymore). I can't find the original pattern anymore, link is broken.

All washed and dried.

I didn't do a big shopping for the easter, I'm trying to get food eaten from freezer, and been quite successful so far. Tomorrow I'll smoke a ham I bought after christmas, it's been in the fridge for three days now. Our smoker is way too big to be practical, we usually eat only one salmon or one leg of lamb smoked, and inside smoker I can fit six big hams! It was there when we bought the place, and I can't see reason to tear it apart just because I think we could do with smaller one.

Last big expenditure this year?

I just called the vets and made an appointment for 'Suma. 700€.
That's the price I'm willing to pay for not to have puppies in this house - it would be much cheaper with male dog.
I might have had the procedure done cheaper some other place, but I trust this place. We have been using them since 90's when we had Ace, the first Giant Shnautzer. Then it was important that the vet wasn't afraid of him (one vet was so nervous around him he vaccinated me by accident!), we did visit several vets.

But this money has been reserved since January - when we got 'Suma. We knew this coming so no suprices.
The IPCC report on climate change has made me thinking about having pets. I might not be able to justify keeping big dogs just because I like big dogs. I should get smaller dog after 'Suma (well, she is smaller than Blackie was) but I don't actually like small dogs. First world problems at its worst...
Cats I can justify because they eat mice and voles, and in Pretty Boy's case he just decided to live here.
(nobody is questioning about my choices but me)

Need to change winter tyres soon, should be ok with ones we have already, no need to buy new. Or maybe two tyres to hb's car, because it's heavy and eats tyres more than I eat doghnuts.
Polytunnel is nearly empty, only herbs staying. need to take down the poly-part (covering) so last years disaster could be avoided. Need to build frame for garlics (have few days off next week). Need to empty compost bin. No need to buy anything fot the veg plot or polytunnel or greenhouse.

Found wintercoat, paid only 11€. It doesn't have a hood, so i have to knit one myself, if my old scarves won't do. Haven't found wellies yet. Bikers calfs don't fit narrow boots (I had this problem when I was a underweight kid, 10km a day minimum with old bike did it, never had weak legs).

No idea of dinner once again. SYS will bake buns today, a school task. Omelette?

Luckily not a disaster

Yesterday we had our first thunder storm. It stroke only once.

Thunderstrike hit  one of our big spruces behind the garage (and outhouse). It was cut off at about 6m and top fell down breaking my rug rack. BUT it could have hit our garace, hb's car, es's car or outhouse, or even the well, but it missed all of them! Rug rack is twisted around the trunk and is beyond hope, but it is no great loss, nowadays I use our balcony railings to hang out rugs, covers, mattrasses etc.

The very best thing is we had decent amount of rain - not enough to get rid of forest fire warnings but I don't have to water veg plot today.

Polytunnel and greenhouse need watering, but it takes only few minutes. Oh, the polytunnel is ready!

 Doesn't it look neat... Also 'Sumas rear is in the pic.
Sorry,  I had to. It takes only half an hour to tidy all the wood and cardboard and pots and stuff, but I haven't had  time to do it. Well, I had, but it was so hot and I didn't want to get overheated. I was lazy.
It'll be all fine and dandy soon, I'll have some time off from work and weather is going to cool down significantly.

My garlics, raddishes, beets on the front and beans on the further cold frame. Finally got also the third one ready planted - by the way those peas germinated after all, and survived 'Suma.

Summer surprise

℃Surprise! Summer is here.
First there was neverending winter, then there were few days of spring and BAM! Summer is here.
In three weeks we have gone from wintery spring to complete mid summer, and nature hasn't coped very well. Birches have large leaves and they are blossoming at the same time. Liverworts, wood anemones and coltsfoot bursted simultaneously and now we have fields full of dandelions. Bird cherries are blossoming. Air is heavy with scent of birch leaves (I love it).
Only thin missing is lily of the valleys, they usually bloom early june so maybe next week we'll have them as well.

Birds are practically screaming! On strange thing though, they have been quiet in the mornings. It is very odd to wake up in silence.

'Suma has been busy. Three four pair of slippers/sandals. Two pairs of heavy duty working boots. Two pairs of sneakers. A watering can. A toy car. Countless numbers of odds and ends like pencils, sharpeners, rulers, boot socks, big comes of sewing threads... Once she had a lighter in her mouth, but fortunately it was empty!

I just can't turn my back to her for a second! I have been chasing her because she has had a large knife in her mouth, some aluminium piping, electrical wires, bras, socks.
Heat makes her restless. It's too hot for a black dog to go for a walk (+29℃!!! In MAY!!! Last summer there weren't that hot not once during the whole summer and now we have had six days of heat). Even in the woods there is too hot, so she can get to walkies only in the morning and in the evening, and that is so not enough for a puppy. The first week of may was lovely, mild and nice and I was able to take 'Suma for long walks and she was so nice little puppy. But now she's a toothmonster!
She might have been bored duirng the cold spell in february, but it was nothing.

I got a new polytunnel, it's not up yet (read above why). I thought it was identicalt to the remains I already had, but they had altered the desing. So I had to dismantle the whole old frame, and it took two days (Where's my wrench? No, don't take the screwdriver! Let go of my cloves!!!)
Then I chased her around to get all the new nuts and bolts back.
Then it took a day to find enough of solid wood for foundations ( had to cut it to measure). So how did I spent my Mother's Day???

Then I had to go to work.

At least veg plot has been tilled. Hb did it a week ago, but I haven't had a chance to sow anything. Potatoes are still chitting inside, but at least I have them chitting.
Glass greenhouse is once more inhabited bu small seedlings. For the first time I have precultivated broad beans, I hope I'll get some harvester earlier.
I haven't sown any other beans, I should I know, but... There is sweet corn (just germinated), pumpkins and courgettes, chilies and a pepper, sunflowers, marigolds and nasturtiums.
Some salady stuff like arugula, chard and spinach.

And my garlics! I planted all cloves of six bulbs I had, and most of them seem to survived the winter. Some of them however didn't survive 'Suma.
My strawberries are ok, there was even a flower. I'm not expecting any berries this summer, I just got them planted in autunm. Anyway, nine plants won't produce much.

Then there is the never-ending fight against giant hogweed in our neighbours garden. He is in his 90's, widowed and had a heart attack some time ago, so he can't do it himself. So in exchange on currants and rhubarb I'll fight this fight for him.
I use glyphosate, as instructed by local enviromental authorities. There is far too many plants for me to dig them up. First two years I tried just to cutting flowering heads, but because these plants are perennials, it didn't do much damage to the growth. So I started to cut off flowering heads and then spraying the rest of leaves with weedkiller. It did help, but not enough - aim is to have it all gone, not just under control.
So now I'm spraying all plants with glyphosate at least twice every summer.
Unfortunately we had our electrical wires digged underground two years ago, so now there is hundreds of seedlings because of the endless seedbank in the soil. Individual big plants are easy to spot, but these little seedlings are horrible - the don't even resemble hogweed, they have leaves like maple, a bit rounder. Seed remain viable at least 8 years, so I guess if I play safe, there is no longer viable seeds after ten years...
I had a giant hogweed plant- but because my unbelieveable gardening skills (green thumb? never seen one) it died. Lucky me😎

Preparing for the winter

On friday evening old man told us he'll come at eleven am to fell our last remaining silver willow. We had five or six of them here, but they grow so fast to huge monsters which produce tremendous amounts of dried branches and sticks and even pieces of bark, and of course there is the impenetrable layer of dead leaves every autunm. Others were felled when we started to build the extension.

This one was planted as a twig about 40 years ago, it's diameter was now over 50cm. Annual rings were over 1cm thick - not very usual aroud here. It is not the most valuable fire wood, it produces masses of ashes, but it will provide us warmth on next winter.

So, old man came driving his tractor at 9:30, first he took down one big branch (which narrowly missed my precious damson bush). Then the whole tree (which also didn't hit my damson). After that it was only matter of chopping off branches and cutting the trunk... Yeah.
Now we have sunlight in downstairs much earlier in spring. So much light!

By noon we had dragged and lugged all the logs and thicker branches to the pile. Most of rest of branches were dragged to two huge heaps, and most of dry sticks and branches were burning. And when there is fire burning, there are wieners to roast...

I'm an office worker, so I was exhausted by three o'clock. I cleaned my glass greenhouse to be ready for plants (not much needed, because I had made most of it in autunm when I was hoping i could start my growing season in the polytunnel). I had heated the sauna already, so we just took 'Suma for a walk (which she really didn't need because she had been running around the whole day) and then we took the most rewarding sauna bath, ate some cheese on toast and coleslaw, tried to play few rounds of Scrabble and went to bed.
A nice productive day.

Today I was so sick (not because of yesterday) I hardly could make the first 'Sumawalk. By the afternoon I had found the right pills, but it was too late to do anything outside. So instead I observed four cranes right next to our field (they are really big birds). Oh yes, my ankle is sore because I hit it with a small log i was dragging with log tongs - I was wearing my boots but momentum was too much... But if I wear right kind of footwear it doesn't hurt. I can't currently wear my safety boots, but I hopefully don't need them until friday.

I'm thinking I need to plant another silver willow somewhere in our plot, haven't found the right place yet. Silver willows have been growing here more than a century, there is still left some of the originals around the old fish ponds. I have ten acres of land and can't find a place for a one lousy tree.

I have still a big mess to clean on the yard, maybe we might even have a decent lawn now. I wanted to sow some seed today, but it must wait another day.
Logs must be cut and split, but it cannot be done before yard is clean of snow and dried a little bit.

Polytunnel on its way

My polytunnel arrived (via postman, I have no idea how she managed to fit it into her little van). It took a while before HB was able to mow the "lawn" - the field I was intending to set up my newest pride and joy.

This is my field, youngest is pointing the area my polytunnel is about to be. Believe or not, there is a veg plot behind all of that weed.

First went the ground cover (as the field has been an actual field before) and then we spent a couple of hours to set up the frame. Which was suprisingly easy task, if you forget horseflies and torching heat of the sun (a rarity these days). On the background is my old greenhouse, on the front is a pile of horse manure.

 My cold frames. This picture was taken in the early July, peas are blossoming and pumpkin/courgette is just started it's growth spurt (and I still haven't found time to put wood chips around the frames... shame on me).

 Site managers.

Now the frame has been anchored to the ground with bended rebar bars. Once the rain stops we'll be putting the membrane over the frame (it will be August by then I guess, according to wheather forecast). I'm not hoping to get anything growing in there this summer, I just want it to be ready before winter so I can build beds in there to be ready before spring.

I thought I wouldn't have to cover my veg plot against frost until mid august. I was wrong, week ago my pumpkins got frost bite, because I didn't bother to go and cover them with fleece. So the next couple of night I bothered, so damage was fortunately limited to those few leaves. And again two nights ago I had to cover everything again! It is JULY and I have to worry about frost!

So far I have been collecting spinach, herbs and some swiss chard. All radishes have been eaten, some of them bolted. I sowed some more radishes, but they bolted right away, which is shame, because they were nice in salad. All the frowers in my pumpkins (pumpkins and courgette) have been male this far. A week ago I digged my potato bags and managed to get enough spuds for a supper. Yesterday I did it again. I'm not pulling potato plants up, I just dig around in the bag trying to find big enough potatoes. I hope they will continue to grow so I can harvest them again later. Never tried growing potatoes in bags before so I don't know if this works.

All set in the garden

I have outdone myself this year! The greenhouse is already fully planted, raised beds are full, and only missing items from my plot are pickling cucumbers - first seeds didn't germinate so now it's round two.

The greenhouse got some new polycarbonate panels last summer to replace some broken glass panels. It makes all the difference when there isn't a football sized holes in the roof...
In April I stripped off every last remnants of previous summer's plants. I got the suprise pile of horse manure in September, so I put a nice thick layer of it to the bottom of the benches. As a top soil I used compost (cheapest one available but I have used it several years with good results).
In the first week of May I managed to sow some seeds, radishes, salad, peas, marigolds and chards.

All through May my greenhouse was acting as a nursery. I kept my sweet corn plants there, as well as courgettes, pumpkins, peas, New Zealand spinach and beans. Runner beans didn't germinate this year, I have no idea why they hate me. Last time I was lucky with runner beans was propably 15 years ago when my oldest had grown some in the kindergarden! Next year will be a new spring again...

When weather permitted planting to the plot i got more room in the greenhouse and finally was able to plant those plants inteded in there. 5 watermelons (I don't except to get any melons, but I 'll keep trying occasionally with them), 3 tomatoes, 7 peppers (I think they are sweet peppers, not chillis because the leaves are quite wide, those 10 plants were from my mother's leftovers). A couple of "jungle cucumbers" - I have no idea what they really are because the seed package was in German, I had three plants last summer. Even thought I had them planted really late, I got few mini cucumbers, the were very mild but still nice tasting, hint of melon ot kiwi or gooseberry? and some Caucasian spinach (if only I had known the same plant is also available as Scandinavian spinach which is very hardy and might even be perennial here). Greenhouse looks nice and neat, I even put some woodchips on the middle to greate mud-free path.

Ha! Made some googling, those mini cucumbers are cucamelons.

HB tilled my plot in the mid May - ground is clay so it was way too wet before that, and to be honest, snow falling from the sky didn't encourage any gardening. But it got tilled, and because I knew I couldn't fix it right away, I covered it with thick ground cover membrane to prevent weeds growing (which they did anyway, but not so much as usually - hey, I'm learning!). But now there is a few rows of potato, 50 spuds maybe? and those 15 in bags I planted earlier.
Beets, carrots, peas, bull beans, sweet corn, beans, courgettes and pumpkins. That's it. Oh I forgot sunflowers! Almost 50 plants of red and yellow sunflowers, I really hope I can get some flower this summer, at least the plants are looking good at the moment. And cucumbers, if they finally decide to sprout...

And finally there is my cold frames, or raised beds. I build two frames with our dog before he died, and it was a bit bittersweet moment to start planting vegetables to them, he wasn't by my side anymore. A couple of courgettes (or pumpkins, I lost some of the labels when kittens tried to destroy my seedlings), brassicas, peas, radishes. Some herbs (parsley, thyme and coriander) and carrots. At first i was going to plant mint there too, but I thought everything starts to smell and taste like spearmint so I planted that next to my two other mint plants, which survived winter.

So everything was ready on sunday evening, and then on monday afternoon it started to rain. Perfect timing!