Peace and quiet

Sammy and I dropped Lou at school and went straight to the allotment as it is in need of a bit of love. It has been raining quite a lot this week and so I haven't been able to do much but today the sun was struggling through the clouds and it felt brighter. My main aim was weeding today and the next thing I knew it was 10.30 am. I managed to weed around the carrots and onions and corn. So many weeds!!! Whilst I did this Sammy found worms to re-house and each worm had to be a member of our family. He found a Daddy worm and a Nanny worm just so as they wouldn't be lonely he said. Sammy said he missed Grandma who lived in Norfolk and found her a worm too!

The pumpkins and courgettes are looking really healthy. We pick the carrots each time we go, just a couple for supper each time. We tried the gourd or squash and it was a bit like a cooked cucumber, quite nice flavour but watery. Not sure the boys will go for that.

The best bit today was that we had time to take it all in. The bees were hopping about from poppy to courgette flower and Sammy watched the planes and trains. He is interested in the prickly sharp thistles that then turn to soft flowers eventually which he can touch. He goes 'craning' where he uses a bamboo pole to bash things and pretends to collect necklaces on the pole! Great imagination!

A back-aching, working visit but lovely nonetheless and we had some veg to take home and eat. Yum.

Sun and more courgettes

It has been hot this week and I have been in bed for most of it with tonsilitus, boo......... but Neil has been holding the allotment fort and watering with Sammy. Everyday we have more courgettes and their enormous leaves are hiding more and more flowers, it's great! The boys aren't too keen but I have been whizzing courgettes into pasta sauces for them and Neil has been thinking about courgette recipes all the time, so far he has created Courgette Linguine, Courgette tarte, used them in salads and is going to sun dry some this week, if the rain stays away.
We have eaten brocolli, potatoes and some reddish/purple spring onion which smell fabulous even before you eat them. We have had some more round carrots, the boys will touch them if mashed into potato and radishes of course -the easiest thing to grow! Alongside that the pumpkins are sending out long trailing feelers, they seem to love the sun so much. The corn are trying and are getting a little stronger and we also have a weird courgette/gourd thing coming on which looks like a courgette has stopped and got stuck, so ends up as a ball and the flower dies off. Will have to try those out soon.......

Sammy's favourite pass time in the heat is dropping stones into the watering trough and then I pick them out again and we go on and on whilst I water and return to fill my can up. Whatever keeps him happy! My last week of school so who knows what I'll manage when both monkeys are around. For now some relative peace, watering and picking stuff to eat. Love it!

Bounty!

Up to the allotment and you'd think we hadn't been for ages -it's been a couple of days. The rain has been heavy lately and then hot sun then repeat, so everything seems to be coming on fast especially those courgettes. We have even grown broccoli for the first time which is one of the few veg both boys love so that is very exciting.We collected a bounty of yummy stuff today and didn't feel the need to do much hard work, most of that has paid off for now anyway.....we picked courgettes, carrots, radishes and when we returned home, some mighty potatoes from the garden. A chicken roast with stuff we've loved and grown, delicious! Neil roasted the carrots and man did they taste good. The boys even tried it all and quite liked it! Sammy can't get enough of potatoes of course which is good as we've had over 100 now and more in the ground. All we have to do now is save Squarecrow Jack from an untimely end as he is sinking further and further into a midget with all the rain. He certainly is a bit of a state. The scarecow competition is being judged in August by the MAYOR (!) and if you win you not only get money but also an invitation to a local evening. So the pressure is on. Bring it on.