Tea from the allotment

It really has been rather warm the last couple of days. The sun has been shining, there are more dandelions out than Christopher Nibble and all of his guinea pig friends could ever eat and everything is growing. I 've had my deckchair out and watered the garden. It is glorious.

I hadn't been to the allotment for a while so it was with a mixture of fear and excitement that I ventured up there on my bike this afternoon. The patch I dug ready for the onion sets needed weeding and digging.There were of course weeds galore and plenty of work to do, but all was not doom and gloom. The leeks are practically prize winners by my standards, there are flowers on the broad beans and there was plenty of purple sprouting despite the pigeons living off it throughout the winter. The highlight of my visit however was the asparagus. Weeding the asparagus bed is one of the more exciting of allotment jobs. As I careful dug out the grass and dandelions, I saw the whitish purple shoots just below the ground and above the ground there were enough spears for tea. So along with the leeks, purple sprouting broccoli, chard, kale and baby spinach (self sewn from allow spinach to go to seed at the end of each season), I was able to make a stir fry spring vegetable dish for tea with new season stewed rhubarb for pudding. A whole meal from my allotment at the beginning of April. I think I might be getting the hang of growing your own.

Comments

The Pink Ladies

As we sat in our classroom inspired horseshoe, designed to encourage conversation, there was a slightly uneasy silence. Those of us who knew each other, stole furtive glances, others returned our smiles politely although they were not privy to the planning and discussion that had occurred in preparation for the evening. The time had slowed, 8pm seemed an age away. The silence was intermittently interspersed with brief attemps at small talk and the rants of a drunk outside on the city streets. The commanding presence of our WI advisor Dorothy, had the air of an experienced headmistress or well respected senior relative which in the event of such formalities made me feel foolish in my .....excitement. Some of us stifled giggles as advice was provided on the process, as we had already made the majority of our formal decisions but it was with noticeable nerves, that I raised my hand to the question of who wished to be President. So that's it, another new chapter has open

Ridgeway Cottage Anyhow - How to add social media buttons to your blog

I know not everyone is excited by learning code and techie stuff but in my quest for website geekiness, this post is just one step closer. For all my lovely friends and family who do not care one hoot about what goes on behind the scenes of Ridgeway Cottage, here are some lovely photos of October life. (Those who do want to know about the buttons, social media and coding, please read on.) Social Media Buttons Anyhow You will need. Your blog open in layout The URL of your social media places you want to link to Some lovely pictures of social media icons that you would like to use as your buttons A photobucket account which you can easily open here A small understanding of how the coding works A rather large smattering of patience unless you are super clever at all techie stuff What social media icons are you going to use? You can find some very lovely ones by searching on the internet or there are some here, here , or here . I liked these one because I do r

Granny square Christmas

When I was younger I fell in love with the granny square blanket my Nan had made. It was in her tiny little Welsh cottage near the mountains and was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. So many colours and combinations of colours, it was just truly amazing. I'm not sure if it's the happy childhood memories or my ever increasing passion for crocheting, but granny squares (and doilies) are something I could fill me life with. Even more delightful are the variations on granny squares. Star burst blanket, which used to be my favourite, but I have recently had a go at African flowers. They are quick and easy to make and so very pretty. Thanks to the brilliant free pattern that I found here , I have managed to make a little crochet Christmas stocking made out of 16 1/2 motifs. I am happy with the how the little Christmas stocking turned out and am now rather fond of African flowers, star burst and granny squares, well actually, all

Ridgeway Cottage anyhow

Search This Blog