#and i planted some lettuce which seemed to be growing ok but I just went out and looks like a squirrel or some other animal got a hold of it

[neondiamond]

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[tinyshe]

Garden Report 20.06.26

I am having to re-assess my garden plans due to some health issues that are progressing. Moving forward in thought process with more permanents in the veg garden that require less work (and hopefully more food). Hoping this is just a temporary set back but when dealing with Lymes, cancer and insulin resistance, nobody knows and I need less stress (doesn’t everybody!). Most places are taking their 2021 orders late Autumn, some after Jan 01. That seems like a long way off but I am moving slower so maybe it will be just right!

One portion of the plan is definitely move the tays and raspberries! We did a hugel, high side grow box for each type which has been a constant pain in the derriere: wasp nest, rat nest, mice nest and all sorts of other problems. Every. Stinking. Year. Something. Hugels are a huge problem! I will be glad when they are ripped out! Just waiting on the end of the season then will implement that sector plan. Move them out toward the center of the garden. Put the tea camillas in their place WITHOUT the hugels. I want to try to get 3-4 nanking cherry still for the West Fence and Ukraine high bush cranberry (or two) that will go along the North fence with some elderberries that I propagated. Will be moving the alpine strawberries to interplant with the tays/raspberries or under the artichokes. I have the mache coming back under the artichokes so maybe spread them (alpine strawberries) thinner in both areas and let them fill in as time goes by or inter-plant small herbs or lettuces. Taking a more relaxed approach and hopefully the plants will adapt, be happy and produce well.

The monster squash is a summer squash/ crook neck. It has been holding its blooms closed tight for almost two weeks. I can now see tiny squashes developing and one blossom might relax a little. The elderberries are starting to form. Need to keep a drip on the quince so it doesn’t crack. Got the hazels topped and pulled back; still need to weave the side branches and trim. Trying to source some pavers for the front but scared they will walk away so maybe just a few that are low cost or of recycled stuff like chunks of cement that are too heavy to throw nor able to walk away.

I’m glad its not just me that is having gardening issues this year! Seems everyone in this area is suffering similar issues. Not so depressing when you can commiserate with other gardeners. Just thankful I don’t have to grow all my food or we would be doing some heavy fasting!

The chick girls are getting a wee bit too attached to their run. I have had them in the tub twice now where they decided they’ve had enough meal worms and want to ‘go home’. Yesterday both Alcott and Rossetti went from tub to edge of the counter and managed to flap their way back into the run on a whim. Bronte tried it the day before (twice) but she came up on the wrong side of the swing door. They will go into the aviary this weekend, bunny run and all, ready or not, here they come! Need to make their feeders since the galvanized ones aren’t coming in. Also need to see where the mice are coming in as that I recently went in after dusting with diatomaceous earth to do a sweep out and there was way too much mice droppings!

Battling the neighbor’s moonflowers! They are so annoyingly invasive and destructive. Think of a kiwi’s annoying cousin and you have moonflower. They grow very fast, over, under, choking destroying other plants; its like can you       p l e a s e   get your crap beat back; its invading my space and I don’t like it. But no, they want to share the ‘joy and beauty’. Really? OK ... don’t be sad when I rip it up and put it back on your side of the fence. Thanks but no thanks. You can have it all back.

[somecunttookmyurl]

Hi, so I was curious about the basis of lettuce jokes? Is it a history thing?

OH BOY I’m so glad you sent this message because I get to do a DRAMATIC retelling of the second-greatest Egyptian Myth*Strap in for… THE CONTENDINGS OF HORUS AND SETH, AS TOLD BY ME. Strap in because this one is reasonably long but I promise it is high-LARIOUS you’re gonna love it.Ok so backstory is the whole ‘Seth killed Osiris, cut him up, Isis stitched him back together, got pregnant from his dead body, had Horus and raised him in secret bit’. Y’all know that bit. Pretty famous story. This is what happens when Horus grows up and there’s a FIGHT about who gets to be KING except the fight is actually a series of competitions which are… increasingly weird. You ready? Let’s go.[Part 1]The Great Ennead (group of Gods) hold a meeting to decide whether Horus or Seth should hold the office of Osiris. Horus points out that Seth straight up murdered his dad and shouldn’t rule anything are you fucking kidding me. The gods all agree that this seems right, actually. Horus should definitely be King.Seth gets pissy about this and points out that every day he slays the enemies of the sun god, Ra, and since he’s been doing the job for some time he should keep doing it. The gods note that this, too is a fine point.Everything descends into chaos with everyone shouting at each other, especially Isis who is super pissed that anybody is even listening to Seth, until Ra gets mad enough to tell them to all shut the fuck up, we’re moving the court onto an island and Isis is not invited.Isis disguises herself as an old woman and gets into the new proceedings, whereby the dons a new disguise of a young pretty thing and pleads to Seth “oh Seth you’re so big and strong and mighty will you be my champion. My husband died, my son has been tending the cattle but a stranger appeared and has cast us out”Seth, wanting to be the Big Hero, repsonds “of course! How can a stranger take a man’s property when his son is alive! That’s wrong of COURSE I’ll defend you!”At which point Isis reveals her true form and yells “HA! YOU PLAYED YOURSELF! HOW CAN SOMEONE TAKE A MAN’S PROPERTY WHEN THE SON LIVES INDEED”The other gods murmer in agreement that Seth had, indeed, played himself and plans were made for the coronation of Horus. Seth was having none of it.[Part 2]Not about to let Horus be crowned, Seth sets forth a challenge. “Let’s turn ourselves into hippos and duke it out in the river!” he says. “Best god gets the lot, eh?”. Horus takes this on gladly, but Isis is afraid that Seth will kill him. The battle went on for many days, with the advantage going between the two until Isis could no longer bear to watch and made a harpoon. She threw it into the water… and hit Horus.“Mother! You fucking stabbed ME! Let go”Isis pulled out the harpoon and thew it again, actually stabbing Seth this time. Good job, Isis. Best mum award. It pierced Seth so hard that he emerged from the water, this losing the battle, and he pleaded with her to let him go. How could she do this to him? She is his sister? Why must she always fight him like this? Isis feels a bit bad about stabbing her own brother, and pulls out the harpoon.Horus is so mad about this, and also being stabbed, that he leapt out of the river and cut her head off in one stroke, before walking off in a sulk (she’s fine, don’t worry, they put it back on. Gods, y’know?)[Part 3]Seth found Horus sulking, and, catching him by surprise, plucked out both of his eyes. When Seth returned to the rest of the gods, he told them he couldn’t find Horus anywhere, and so the rest of them kept looking. Eventually Hathor found Horus, blinded, and performed healing magic to return his sight.

She went back to the encampment and grassed Seth up. “He’s been lying to you! He found Horus, all right, and took out his eyes! I just had to heal him myself!

Ra called both Seth and Horus to him and demanded that they stop fucking fighting, right now, I swear I will destroy both of you. Seth appears to agree that they should stop, and invites Horus to his house for a party. Bygones be bygones and all that, eh?[Part 4]As Horus and Seth lay resting, Seth climbed atop Horus and put his penis between his thighs. Apparently content that he had sufficiently asserted his dominance, he left, but unbeknownst to him Horus had collected the semen in his hands.The next day Horus went to Isis, holding the semen and said “Mum! Look what he did to me last night!”. Isis is so horrified that she shrieks and cuts off Horus’ hands (he’s fine, don’t worry. Gods, you know?-. She herself collects the semen and forms a plot.She goes to the gardener of Seth, and asks which of the plants he likes to eat. The gardener tells her he is especially fond of lettuce, and so she puts the semen on the lettuce that Seth was to eat later. He does so, apparently without noticing his own semen is being used as a salad dressing. Tasty.[Part 5]Seth and Horus return to the court of the gods, and Seth proclaims that he should hold the office of King for he has “done a man’s deed” to Horus and dominated him. Horus is obviously not fit to be King.Horus fuckin loses it laughing and says “oh yeah? wait til you see where THAT semen ended up, buddy” and asks Thoth to call forth Seth’s semen, to see where it comes from.Thoth does so, and the semen emerges from the top of Seth’s head to form a golden disk. Seth gets really really made about that, and hurriedly seizes the disk.“Okay look” he says, getting pretty desperate at this point. “Tell you what. We’ll have a race down the Nile in ships made of stone and whoever wins gets to be King, okay? Fair deal?”Horus laughs and agrees.[Part 6]Seth strikes down the top of a mountain and uses it to create his boat. He drags it down to the Nile and finds Horus there with his ship of stone. Except it isn’t. Horus had made a boat of pine trees and covered it in plaster to look like solid stone because Horus isn’t a fucking idiot.Seth’s boat obviously sinks at once, and in his rage he turns into a hippo once more and tries to attack Horus, but the court of gods do their damn job for once and hold him back.“Guys” says Horus “It’s been eighty four years [actually only 80 but I can’t resist sue me] I’ve been having these dumbass contests with my uncle and I’ve won every single time. At what point are you going to just make a ruling this is getting stupid also I’m tired”Anyway you’d think the court would just give the whole country to Horus at this point, but they do not. They give Southern (Upper) Egypt to Seth, and Northern (Lower) Egypt to Horus. Egypt is split in two.[Part 7]Word of all this has reached Osiris in the Underworld (they don’t have wifi, it takes a while) and he is real mad. He demands to know why Horus was stripped of any part of the crown. Osiris is god of the Underworld at this point, and reminds the rest of the gods that at some point even they will die and when they do they have to deal with him and are you REALLY going to make me mad.The other gods are afraid of what Osiris might do, and so Horus was granted rule over all Egypt, and the country was re-united.

-Fin-Anyway that’s where all the lettuce jokes and ‘angry Seth reacts’ comes from. Egyptian mythology is a fuckin’ RIOT my dudes.*Destruction of Mankind is the greatest don’t @ me

[Buy me a coffee if you liked this story I’m poor]

[theretirementstory]

Misty morning and a sunset. Bonjour a tous, welcome to a rather foggy day here in Aube, where the temperature has just managed to reach 2c. To be honest, I am not bothered what the weather is doing, as on this first day of Spring I am just so pleased to be able to look outside and see the forsythia with its beautiful yellow flowers, listen to the birds chattering in the shrubs, peeking in amongst the greenery of the tulips to see little flower buds starting to appear, and generally marvel at the gardens awakening from their winter sleep. OK so I don’t like to get too wet, which is what happened when I decided to take a stroll to the Post Office to send off a birthday card. Not too far from home, it began to rain, then it was hailstones, I was very wet but rather than turn around and go back home I decided to continue to town, the idea being that it would not continue so heavily for a long time……… well it certainly did continue, I was soaked to the skin and that is no exaggeration, I had to divest myself of my soaked clothes in the hallway!! What I didn’t realise until the following day was that my handbag had also taken in water – cheque book, note-books and other items were sopping wet! Fortunately, my passport, car documents and other important items were unscathed as they had been inside leather or plastic covers. I ventured into town again (with the car), as I didn’t want to run the risk of being caught in the rain, I plucked up courage to make an appointment with the hairdresser, my hair was last cut six months ago, so when I turned up for the appointment she commented on how long my hair was. I was adamant that I only wanted 3 cms cut off (so adamant I almost took the tape measure with me), anyway she cut my hair and I must admit it does look a lot better. She did compliment me on the colour (natural grey) and I came out of there feeling like a million dollars! When I had been to town in the rain!!! I had hoped that my usual pharmacy would be open, but it appears that Monday is his closing day. Anyway, I visited later in the week, I waited to speak to the pharmacist and my name is now down on a list for Covid-19 vaccination. No idea when it will be, as for my age group the earliest date (at one of the vaccination units) is May. Well at least I have done something about it and am not just sitting waiting. Regular readers will know that although I do not enjoy doing housework, I love to cook, bake, knit, sew, pretend I know what I am doing with regard to gardening and trying to grow something that I will eat. So this week I have started off some tomatoes from seed, potted rosemary and thyme seeds as well as a little bit more of the rocket and lettuce leaves, which although the previous planting looked promising I really do not think I will be “cutting” any leaves for some time yet! I made a batch of cheese scones, my “chocolate coconut slice” minus the chocolate plus five jars of mincemeat made and currently sitting in the garage (coolest place in the house). I made a lentil and vegetable casserole with little plain scones (this was not the best I must admit, seemed to be cooking for ages and yet the vegetables were still not cooked to my liking (I had taken the time to dice them smaller too). I currently have mince (well a 5% fat steak hache, which has been broken into small pieces) carrot, onion and mushroom cooking in the oven. I will add peas, sweetcorn and sliced green beans, to this very soon and then will enjoy the dish with mashed potato, cabbage, fennel and courgette. The knitting workshop went ahead again and this time I had five ladies, the maximum. One lady was new and had never done any knitting before, it is hard to show someone when you are adhering to social distancing but she seemed to have picked it up rather quickly. I took the items I am knitting at home just to show them, they were impressed! I picked up another two balls of wool, not sure what I will knit maybe a cardigan for a baby. I asked if anyone could sew, and one lady made the action of using a sewing machine, she hadn’t used one but said “oh bring one in I would like to have a go”. Well I don’t think I will be taking a sewing machine in but I am going to have a look at some ideas for hand sewing and may just take some pieces of fabric in with me next week. I knew that Marie-Therese was not coming to town on Thursday, as there was no French class, she was due to go to Paris on Monday to see a consultant about her hand. I messaged her on Thursday but haven’t had a reply. As it is her right hand, maybe she is unable to send a message, anyway, as they say “no news is good news”. I messaged Anie and asked her to come for tea and cake. She was going for her vaccination that afternoon but called down afterwards. We had such a lovely chat and she was asking me if I had heard from the Prefecture with an appointment date (no!) plus I was saying about how few trains are coming through our station for Paris. She said that if I was able to go to the UK later in the year she would be happy to take me to Troyes to pick up a train from there. We talked so much that when I looked at the clock it was 17:59 and the curfew was from 18:00!! Anyway, she got home without being stopped by the gendarmes (thank goodness). I saw Patrick, author and my one time French teacher, we had quite a good chat across a road, I hope my French was up to scratch. I don’t seem to be in touch with Monique so much at the moment, she seems to be at home all of the time and doesn’t really have a lot of conversation when she does contact me. We all know that life throws a “curved ball” sometimes and this has happened to “The Daddy” and “The Mummy” this week. They are currently living with “The Mummy’s” mum while their new home is being built. They had been told that expected completion of the house was the end of April, however, this has now been moved to the end of June. With baby number two due in July it is not the kind of news that they were wanting but fortunately they had been looking into “Plan B” and I for one am keeping my fingers crossed. “The Daddy” has been on holiday from work for just over a week, it will be back to it tomorrow but a break is just what was needed I think. My gorgeous granddaughter has had a little bit of a strange time at nursery, but I know that she enjoys her Friday’s with Daddy and the weekend with Mummy and Daddy. “The Paralegal” has been been in regular touch with me, we usually have our lunch together, but he has been so busy at work and unable to get the training he needs feels as if he is floundering. Anyway, he went into work yesterday to try and get his desk sorted so that he can start the week afresh. He had made himself a couple of dishes to take for lunch instead of sandwiches and he seemed to enjoy them very much. Apart from going for walks at the weekend he also has been taking the time to walk around the block on a lunchtime, this can only be good for him, it gets him out of the office environment, some fresh air and exercise. He has jobs to do today, but is factoring in a walk and cooking a couple of dishes for the week again. I think I taught him well. Fortunately, “The Paralegal” has seen Lucy and “the babies” Tilly and Chester. That has put him in a good mood and I hope that Lucy is feeling that way too. Of course, work (for the Paralegal) and continuing work on the dissertation for Lucy can take it’s toll, but it will be worth it in the end and once we start to have some sort of normality in our lives again it will be possible to enjoy more time together. The oven has just “pinged”, so the cooking time has finished, it is a bit early for lunch (even for me) as I am still feeling “full” from my breakfast burrito. There are a million things buzzing around in my head for me to do today, I had better commit them to paper and then I will be pleased when I have ticked them off. Have a great day, until the next time.....

[sussex-nature-lover]

Monday 22nd June 2020

In The Garden

Gosh the sun’s hot today but there is a fair breeze as well. The patio door is open and every now and then there’s a gentle waft of fragrance from the roses and the shrubs.  The majority of our top flower beds are filled with big shrubs and my they’ve grown over the years. The main two are

Philadelphus Sweet Mock Orange in the garden - smells divine

Mexican Orange Choisya which also has a lovely perfume.

Around the decking we have 

Elaeagnus x Ebbingei is also commonly known as Oleaster. This is a lovely, vigorous shrub with glossy dark green leaves and silvery colour on the underside of the leaf. Oleaster produces fragrant creamy white flowers which are then followed by orange speckled silver fruit. The flowers are attractive to bees and the fruit encourage birds into your garden. When used as hedging plants Eleagnus x Ebbingei is lovely and dense and birds will happily nest within it's branches. This variety of Oleaster will grow to a Maximum Height of 4 metres with a maximum spread of 2 metres. Is easily clipped to keep its shape so is excellent as hedging and screening plants. Wildlife Friendly - Eleagnus x Ebbingei flowers September to October with fruits in February - just the time of year when the birds need extra food. Prefers to be grown in full sun but will tolerate part shade, fully hardy in the UK and is useful for growing in windy or coastal areas - a good all rounder for hedging

This really does have a gorgeous scent as well when it’s blooming.

So all in all it’s a very fragrant area and thriving - which is more than can be said for my attempts at growing lettuce. I think there’ll be a Covid-19 vaccine before I have a home grown green leaf salad.

The strange thing about some of these seedlings is that I used an old pot of compost that I’d tried to grow parsley in. Nothing had come up at all but if you look very carefully two or three of these seedlings look like hybrid, especially in the left hand pot.  I’ve moved them to the dining room which is really warm and sunny and have some clear perspex lids to act as mini greenhouses.

The damaged tree still hasn’t been attended to apart from sawing the broken part off. It’s far too heavy for the two of us to move. The tree itself seems, so far, to be doing ok.

Liquid Amber Styracifula - Sweet Gum Tree

The leaves are starting to turn at the very top and the top of the part nearest the camera.

I hope it does continue to live OK as it’s such a sizeable tree and gives lovely Autumn colour.  So far the rose I mended with tape is doing well too, so I may be doubly lucky.

Elsewhere in the front garden the weeds go from strength to strength on the lawn

Common Birds Foot Trefoil - a member of the pea family, very pretty and an important foodplant for the caterpillars of the Common Blue, Silver-studded Blue and Wood White butterflies.

The latter two species are both classified as Priority Species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework. Its flowers are also a good nectar source for bees.

I think the birds have been dropping seeds again as when we went out in the car I noticed that the driveway (which needs some attention) is now sporting a couple of little Cotoneaster and if you’re eagle eyed you can spot evidence that other garden visitors have left behind.

The apples are growing but so too are the acorns, they’re tiny, but they are there.

The juvenile Great Spotted Woodpeckers are still lots of fun, squeaking and demanding attention, although one is trying to feed itself. In our garden they all seem to be attended by Dad rather than Mum.

Juvenile being fed

From our walk yesterday here is today’s Mystery Bird...

Any ideas?

It was flying high in the brilliant blue sky and unusually silent

Someone who reads my Blog every day is going to be pretty surprised by these I can tell you because the one I shared on Twitter yesterday was one of my blink and we missed it shots!

We’d gone for a late on short walk and only just got back in the door in time for the 7pm kick off at Goodison. Another point in the bag and on we go Reds.

Outside links in bold type are not affiliated to this blog

E & OE

[ourlittledinosaur]

Patio Gardening: A Farmer in the Making

New Post has been published on http://ourlittledinosaur.azurewebsites.net/patio-gardening-a-farmer-in-the-making/

Patio Gardening: A Farmer in the Making

Moss Sphere Salad Planter

For a few months now I have wanted to do the moss ball salad greens thing. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s all the rage. Check out this video!

A Visit to the Nursery

A couple weeks ago we went to our local nursery to see if they had the moss spheres in stock. What we discovered was even better.

As we walked around looking at all the plants, I noticed an event flyer and gave it a once over. Lo and behold they were going to have a class on edible gardens the following week! My husband and I got really excited and decided we would attend the class.

So a week went by and we went to the class. We learned so much! The gardening expert talked about fertilizing and watering, and all sorts of tips and tricks to aid us in our gardening adventure. After the lesson, we got started. We picked out our plants, and followed along as the leader walked us through what to do.

Hanging Basket Edible Garden

Between the two of us, we ended up making three hanging baskets. Here in South Texas we have two growing seasons, so one of our baskets we filled with Strawberry plants that we will harvest in the Springtime. The other two we filled with salad greens and common herbs we use in the kitchen. Once they fill out, we can just snip off the bit of salad we need, and set it on the dinner table. Pretty cool, huh? I really want to cut down on our groceries in this respect, not to mention waste. Oftentimes, I will buy a bag of salad greens and won’t be able to get through it before it spoils (usually because I am the only one eating them). When we lived in our house, we were able to plant some different greens and lots of herbs, but we had to say goodbye to many of the things we planted when we moved into our apartment.

Headed Home – Never a Dull Moment

So we finished our baskets, paid for them, then headed home to set them up on our patio. My husband and I were chatting about this and that, very excited to get to garden again.

Then I heard a gagging sound and turned in horror to see my son vomit up a mixture of milk and…you guessed it! Dirt. Once I ascertained that he was ok and we didn’t need to pull the car over, I had to laugh. He was still reaching out to grab at the planter we had set next to him on the seat. He still had a fist-full of dirt and was trying to shovel it into his mouth. He had completely uprooted a strawberry plant, so while turned awkwardly in my seat, I replanted it as best as I could, then played referee between my son and the planter, as he kept finding gaps to grab at the dirt.

Gardening on the Patio

Naturally when we got home, we had a certain amount of cleaning up to do, but our joy was not quashed by my son’s little mishap. We were all three in good spirits and still very much looking forward to replanting some of the plants we had salvaged from our home and care for our new edible garden.

My Son’s First Gardening Adventure

We stuck a pair of sweatpants on my son, so that his knees wouldn’t get scraped up on the concrete from the patio, then let him loose. He had a blast! Forgive the juvenile adage, but…it was the best day ever! We had several pots that just had dirt with nothing planted in them. We decided to dump all this soil into our largest pot and start with fresh soil and replant a few of the edibles we’d had for a while.

As we did this, my son stood over a pot and proceeded to take dirt by the handful and simply throw it on the ground. Every now and again he would pause to “taste” something he had found. At one point I had to fish around in his mouth, where I recovered two small rocks he was storing in his little cheeks like a chipmunk! He was a crack up!

A Farmer in the Making

He even grabbed a spade we had left near him and dug around in the dirt with it. I wish I could relate the joy both my husband and I experienced watching our son enjoying the outdoors and quite literally playing in the dirt! He even chased a little spider around for a while.

For us, it was a glimpse of what’s to come. We are really working towards the goal of owning some property and having a small farm one day. We really want that for our son, as we both experienced our grandparents’ farms as children. It truly was such an awesome day!

But for now, my husband and I make plans (read our story here on my husband’s blog), while my son and I go out every morning after breakfast and care for our little patio garden and do the watering. He absolutely loves it and it’s such a pleasant time to spend together.

Our Hanging Baskets

I know, I know, they aren’t hanging. Turns out the arch of our apartment patio is concrete, so we are still brainstorming how to make these hang. In the meantime, they are still lovely to look at on plant stands.

Also keep in mind they will fill in A LOT, so look for a future post about how they turn out!

This planter contains two types of lettuce, as well as two types of Basil. We are especially excited about the Cinnamon Basil, which we intend to test out in drinks, such as tea and maybe even as a flavoring in water. The Basil will die off this winter, so we’ll harvest what we can and dry the leaves and store.

    This basket contains Kale and what I like to call, savory herbs, such as Oregano, Parsley, Sage, and Thyme. Hmm…seems like we’re missing one… Don’t worry, the Rosemary is in it’s own pot. It’s a little too aggressive to plant in with the others.

      I can’t wait to harvest these strawberries in the spring and can our all-fruit jam! Did you know that the strawberry leaves can be used to help with stomach ache? 

Genesis 1:12

“And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”

What about you?

What hobbies do you enjoy? What experiences do you really want your children to have? We really want to know!

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[theretirementstory]

Happy Mothering Sunday to my friends and family in the UK. I have had the sweetest message from one of my sons this morning, you could not get that message in a card as it was straight from the heart. What a wonderful way to start my day. Lots of ups and downs this week, “The Mummy” had a birthday which was dampened by the fact that her Grandmother had had a fall the previous day and was in hospital. However, said Grandmother is now home and needs to just take it steady. My rota for tackling jobs in the house is coming to the fore again, as I anticipate the day when the table and chairs are in the garden and I can sit outside with a cup of coffee and a book. Some days it seems as if those days are not too far away then you wake up to a day like today where there has been hail or snow overnight (a lambing storm) and you remember that Spring has not officially sprung yet. One of the highlights of the week was using my new steam mop (what a sad person)! It was so easy it just glided across the tiles, I ended up washing the whole of the ground floor. The downside was that I had pulled all of the furniture out and then had to put it all back, so while washing the floor was not backbreaking moving furniture certainly was. This new mop was far superior to the one I had had in the UK, I guess things have just moved on. I was “knitting with refugees” this week, which was both happy and sad, as one of our number is moving to Troyes in the next couple of weeks and she was rather emotional. It will be sad to see her go and I will be doing the workshop for just two ladies but it is a real opportunity for them to laugh and enjoy the company of other women. We did quite a lot of our talking in French (maybe really badly but we understood), I had taken all of the towels and bath mats that I no longer need now, following the change of colour scheme. I had also sent four cushions and although it was just one lady who was keen to have a lot of the stuff it was good to know that it was appreciated. For the ladies in the office, I had taken some teabags and cappuccino mix so we were all offered a drink and then the Turkish lady brought in some gorgeous little “bites” which went down well with the cappuccino. Marie-Therese called for coffee (our usual rendezvous) and I had baked fruit scones. My problem is that I don’t just like to get eight scones out of the mixture I always want a few more so they are never great big tall scones, however, they taste just as delicious. She brought me four strawberry plants and I was just so pleased, more to plant but it will be fun and keep me busy. I haven’t seen Monique for months and we occasionally message one another, I don’t think that she ventures far from her home and has been that way since the first lock-down. I know that we all deal with these strange times differently, but even other friends who are perhaps ���shielding” have still welcomed me into their homes even though I would have been content to stand at the gate. Just in case people in the UK think that this “going into someone’s home” is strange, we are allowed to have up to 6 people in total in our homes at any one time. I haven’t heard from Anie, this week, I should really give her a call. The cyclamen that I put into the garden look to be perking up and I hope that they will “bed in” and grow beautifully. I went to my composter yesterday and was a bit concerned to see that there were fungi growing at the base of the exterior. I hope that the compost inside is ok, otherwise my work has been in vain. Joy of joy, the rocket and lettuce seed I planted in home-made propagators have started to grow, I have not been successful with these seeds previously so I am really really pleased. I am hoping to get them into a bowl shaped planter so that I can cut them as needed. I have asked a friend, if she hears of anyone who has a wheelbarrow that is past it’s best and no longer needed would she let me know. I am considering arranging my planters in a wheelbarrow so that they do not have to be on the ground which would make it easier for me to harvest. I was on the lookout for a strawberry planter, I am sure you know the type, a cylinder shape with “cups” at the side, couldn’t get one anywhere in town. A friend had bought one for me years ago and I in turn had bought one for my sister, however, I was unable to bring these things with me when I moved to France simply because when I left the UK I had no fixed abode and my furniture etc was all put into storage for a couple of months, until I rented the apartment in town. All of that seems just like a lifetime ago, looking back I do understand why people think that I was “brave” but to me, at the time, it was just my way of getting to where I wanted to be. I enjoy my video calls with “The Paralegal”, we usually “have lunch together” which is great. Three weeks have gone by and he is enjoying his work and settling into working life. I think we see more of each other now I am away than when I lived in the UK. Yesterday, he went out for a long walk, something he has started doing on a week-end. This is very good for him after being cooped up in an office all week. Today he is shopping to make some lunches that are a bit healthier than sandwiches, I hope he finds vegetables and fruit! This new working life has a produced a changed man! Lucy is still busy with the work for the final months at University. Tilly and Chester have not seen as much of “The Paralegal” and I think that they will all have missed each other. “The Daddy” and “The Mummy” are still “living in” and they are so looking forward to being able to move into their own home. Obviously, “The Mummy” is wanting to be moved in before the arrival of my second grandchild. I had a wonderful conversation with them both last evening as we discussed (fingers crossed) me visiting them late summer. I had a lovely video call with “my gorgeous granddaughter” and she finally managing to say “Grand-mere”, she comes out with some wonderful phrases, the other day it was “Daddy I have an idea”, and “The Mummy” told me that at the moment her favourite animal is a hyena, when she finds the card with the picture of the hyena she hugs it. All this from someone who is not three yet! Just as a final note, I would like to say how sad I was to hear of the death of Murray Walker, okay he was 97 years old, but to me he was “Mr Formula One”. Memories of watching “Mika” and listening to Murray’s commentary, come flooding back. Now I really must get my act together, so I will say goodbye until the next time.

[ourlittledinosaur]

Patio Gardening: A Farmer in the Making

New Post has been published on http://ourlittledinosaur.com/patio-gardening-a-farmer-in-the-making/

Patio Gardening: A Farmer in the Making

Moss Sphere Salad Planter

For a few months now I have wanted to do the moss ball salad greens thing. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s all the rage. Check out this video!

A Visit to the Nursery

A couple weeks ago we went to our local nursery to see if they had the moss spheres in stock. What we discovered was even better.

As we walked around looking at all the plants, I noticed an event flyer and gave it a once over. Lo and behold they were going to have a class on edible gardens the following week! My husband and I got really excited and decided we would attend the class.

So a week went by and we went to the class. We learned so much! The gardening expert talked about fertilizing and watering, and all sorts of tips and tricks to aid us in our gardening adventure. After the lesson, we got started. We picked out our plants, and followed along as the leader walked us through what to do.

Hanging Basket Edible Garden

Between the two of us, we ended up making three hanging baskets. Here in South Texas we have two growing seasons, so one of our baskets we filled with Strawberry plants that we will harvest in the Springtime. The other two we filled with salad greens and common herbs we use in the kitchen. Once they fill out, we can just snip off the bit of salad we need, and set it on the dinner table. Pretty cool, huh? I really want to cut down on our groceries in this respect, not to mention waste. Oftentimes, I will buy a bag of salad greens and won’t be able to get through it before it spoils (usually because I am the only one eating them). When we lived in our house, we were able to plant some different greens and lots of herbs, but we had to say goodbye to many of the things we planted when we moved into our apartment.

Headed Home – Never a Dull Moment

So we finished our baskets, paid for them, then headed home to set them up on our patio. My husband and I were chatting about this and that, very excited to get to garden again.

Then I heard a gagging sound and turned in horror to see my son vomit up a mixture of milk and…you guessed it! Dirt. Once I ascertained that he was ok and we didn’t need to pull the car over, I had to laugh. He was still reaching out to grab at the planter we had set next to him on the seat. He still had a fist-full of dirt and was trying to shovel it into his mouth. He had completely uprooted a strawberry plant, so while turned awkwardly in my seat, I replanted it as best as I could, then played referee between my son and the planter, as he kept finding gaps to grab at the dirt.

Gardening on the Patio

Naturally when we got home, we had a certain amount of cleaning up to do, but our joy was not quashed by my son’s little mishap. We were all three in good spirits and still very much looking forward to replanting some of the plants we had salvaged from our home and care for our new edible garden.

My Son’s First Gardening Adventure

We stuck a pair of sweatpants on my son, so that his knees wouldn’t get scraped up on the concrete from the patio, then let him loose. He had a blast! Forgive the juvenile adage, but…it was the best day ever! We had several pots that just had dirt with nothing planted in them. We decided to dump all this soil into our largest pot and start with fresh soil and replant a few of the edibles we’d had for a while.

As we did this, my son stood over a pot and proceeded to take dirt by the handful and simply throw it on the ground. Every now and again he would pause to “taste” something he had found. At one point I had to fish around in his mouth, where I recovered two small rocks he was storing in his little cheeks like a chipmunk! He was a crack up!

A Farmer in the Making

He even grabbed a spade we had left near him and dug around in the dirt with it. I wish I could relate the joy both my husband and I experienced watching our son enjoying the outdoors and quite literally playing in the dirt! He even chased a little spider around for a while.

For us, it was a glimpse of what’s to come. We are really working towards the goal of owning some property and having a small farm one day. We really want that for our son, as we both experienced our grandparents’ farms as children. It truly was such an awesome day!

But for now, my husband and I make plans (read our story here on my husband’s blog), while my son and I go out every morning after breakfast and care for our little patio garden and do the watering. He absolutely loves it and it’s such a pleasant time to spend together.

Our Hanging Baskets

I know, I know, they aren’t hanging. Turns out the arch of our apartment patio is concrete, so we are still brainstorming how to make these hang. In the meantime, they are still lovely to look at on plant stands.

Also keep in mind they will fill in A LOT, so look for a future post about how they turn out!

This planter contains two types of lettuce, as well as two types of Basil. We are especially excited about the Cinnamon Basil, which we intend to test out in drinks, such as tea and maybe even as a flavoring in water. The Basil will die off this winter, so we’ll harvest what we can and dry the leaves and store.

    This basket contains Kale and what I like to call, savory herbs, such as Oregano, Parsley, Sage, and Thyme. Hmm…seems like we’re missing one… Don’t worry, the Rosemary is in it’s own pot. It’s a little too aggressive to plant in with the others.

      I can’t wait to harvest these strawberries in the spring and can our all-fruit jam! Did you know that the strawberry leaves can be used to help with stomach ache? 

Genesis 1:12

“And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”

What about you?

What hobbies do you enjoy? What experiences do you really want your children to have? We really want to know!

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