Seeds

Yesterday my seeds arrived.

Today!

Today it is sunny, with left over snow on the ground.

These are OH 's  chillies which are still going and we are still enjoying them! This year we are going to grow twice as many and he will look after them.

This is the semi tidy back door step

 These are our newish hens Goldie and Pitch, Black Rocks,had them since the summer? The others went to my sister and have very recently been devoured by a fox! I wasn't that upset as they were   3 pretty silly marans that wanted to sit in next doors hedge and never come out. And I would have had them for my lunch if they had not gone to my sister's field.

Always wanting what the other has!

Standing on the food!

Enjoying the worms I have given them,  I like to trick them!

 I thought it was warmer than this when I went out but still very cold 0o C.on the car thermometre.

The green house after my clean up and prune of the grape last week. Very proud as looking at last year's photos I did this in late April  last year !

My wasabi plants in the greenhouse, glad I moved them in they are not looking good. The one plant has had it's leaves completely nibbled whereas the other two fine. ? Slug or a very discerning mouse. 

 This is my flower bed area of the garden where last year I left it to do it's own thing. Not good. I need to tame it this year and get it looking good.

The hen coop with pitch 

The veg patch and orchard in which I grew only a few french beans and of course only got a handful. I have the black plastic on and trying to rid it of weeds for my assault on it this year. Potatoes and broad beans! I think.

 This is looking at the lawn and rockery with my dear hen Pitch. Today has been very cold and it is midday and still 0 Degrees!

New view - looking up towards the house from compost heap. A Bit of a frost trap down here.

Looking the other way.

Raspberry canes. We had some lovely rasps in 2014 , but I tend to eat as I go along so not many get back to the house.

 Clever hen! Not sure which one is laying,think it is Pitch.

October 2014

The green house looking autumnal. Oct 2014

My beetroot which have grown really well will plant lots for 2015 as I love it and it is good for you! Oct 2014

 A beautiful spider in the green house quite a big one. When I went in it was like a horror movie, lots of spider webs across the eaves.  It was abit disappointed with myself as it showed I hadn't spent much time caring for my garden as I would have hoped for....  I do know that a spider can weave a web in half an hour. But they way I was tangled up that was a bit more than an hour's worth! Oct 2014.

The garden 2015

Yes, I need to record that too, as this year and it is only January I have already cleared the greenhouse and pruned the grape. The hens are pottering about.

And yes the fence at the back has blown down, next doors well the house over the back! Will prop it up later and the patio has a smothering of snow left from yesterday as it was the coldest night last night supposedly - I didn't notice, did not need the extra blanket on!

 I am going to add my garden photos here so I can see how well things grew this year.

January 2015 messy patio and lone hen!

This is actually april 2014, which is when I finally ventured into the garden. This year I have been inspired by Sarah Raven' s video on how to grow sweet peas and thus I went off to the green house and tidied and then ordered all my seeds just waiting for them to arrive!

Around the back door April 2014

My three raised beds alittle tidier. April 2014

The patio looking tidy and spruced up April 2014

Seeds all sown. April 2014

Yeh, my wasabi plant which I then spit off the babies, will need to show how they have faired over the last 9 months in a mo.

View from my deck chair in the green house. April 2014.

 

And below Sarah Raven's inspiring sweet peas. Today  -well from her web site.

May 2014

May 2014

May 2014

May 2014. The hen coop  looking tidy and non muddy as it is today with all this rain and snow! 

 May 2014 The lawn looking good when I bother to mow it. The rockery ha you can't tell, too much couch grass in there!

May 2014  the tidy back door.

Some pesky little mouse likes to collect the gravel stones and use them  as what?  Protection for front door ? Stopping intruders? Don't know but I do like the idea this mouse has got some brains? Saying that I don't like it when they, the mice sit and eat my grapes in an evening!

My 2014 the tidy patio.

 And below the beautiful sage and Rosemary in the herb  bed.

2015 an annual blog!

I have decided to try and write weekly and thought if I tried a new tack it would keep me going.
 I like trying new recipes, I like Nigel Slater's cooking. So what if I try to cook one new recipe of his a week and then  record it here as to whether I liked it etc.
 Well famous last words!

 The idea is I follow Nigel Slater's ' the kitchen diaries ' and try to record what I have actually done, then I can look back at the photos of what I have done!
 Because I need a catch up I am  looking at the recipes from January 1st to now January 19th. I have just seen the lamb stew  with pearl barley. So will try that in the week. But already I am faltering because I need to make a shopping list for Lamb etc. And cannot figure when to go to shops this week!
Mon - day out walk with OH need the exercise!
Tues - work
Wed- no work But alittle prep for Guides also got to go to my leaving party from Brownies a bit anxious about that!
Thurs - work and then off to the Midlands to see Sister until Monday!

 Don't think this is a good week to start.