I am a Dragon. In the Chinese horoscope that is. And what’s more I’m a Dragon in the Rain “the perfect embodiment of yin and yang” or so my Chinese Horoscope book says. It also says that in a Dragon year: Continue reading
The arrival of the new seeds prompted me to spend something like three hours trying to sort out what to grow where this year. It’s a complicated issue, trying to get all the things I want to grow into five beds, a patio full of pots, a couple of beds next to walls, and all with complications caused by shading during the day. Vegetables mostly like to have sun to grow well, and three out of five of my vegetable beds have shading through half the day. And with an element of crop rotation and companion planting, it gets to be quite a headache. In the end I just decided to fit them in where they could go. Continue reading
Yesterday was our bird society’s annual bird count, where teams of people from the club have an enjoyable day out noting all the bird species they see between dawn and dusk, and ending up at a pub to compare notes, see who saw most, and have a nice meal. Continue reading
My new season’s seeds arrived today – from the Real Seed Catalogue. This is a small business that grows veg to produce seed and so keep good stock for gardeners going strong. They have a limited number of varieties but a huge range of unusual ones. All are tested under regular growing conditions for enthusiasts who want to eat them, not as a commercial crop. They also encourage you to save your own seed – and give instructions!
I had an oil delivery today, heating oil that is. It was 900 litres and got the tank nearly full, but not quite. That’s the problem with my oil tank, you don’t ever really know how much is in it, and only if you fill it full (according to the delivery man’s pump) do you know how much is in there. Continue reading
Happy New Year everybody. I hope 2012 brings you tears of joy rather than tears of sorrow, sunshine and showers not storms and floods, and friends not foes.
Love from all of us here.
I lost my dear guinea pig Fred on 18th November, which left Victor on his own again. It’s not good for a pig to be alone, although he does have Hector and Humphrey living next door. But I heard of a lady who had a piggy that had given birth to a sow and two boars, and I’d rather got myself lined up to take them when they were ready to leave mum.
So they came home yesterday and were named Dylan and Dougall today. And Vic seems to be quite happy in his new role of Uncle!
Two letters were published at the top of today’s letters page in the FT, from the Heads of policy area at WWF-UK, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace (actng together) and from Andrew Warren, Director of ACE. Continue reading
The moon rose 30% eclipsed this afternoon (or should that be evening at 16.00?). It was quite difficult to find since it is very far north in its wanderings (I forget the technical term for it) and rose well north of east from where I am, But I had seen it rising over there the other day so I was lying in wait for it. Or standing in front of my neighbour’s house to get a view through the trees, as the case may be. Continue reading
It’s just over a week since the shocking loss of my beautiful Fred. Continue reading
