Friday

Good morning, everyone.  Welcome to Friday.  Dull, damp, a bit discouraging but, dear me, it was only last week that I was whinging about how dry and parched everything was looking.  Now, everything has perked up and is looking so, so green; it is lovely.

Yesterday started off quite pleasant.  Some sunshine and warmth made the allotment work a pleasure.  It didn't look as if we had done much but we had.  The strip for covering where the bins will go is now flat and raked (and looks too good to cover, but never mind, that can't be helped, and along one end, going right across, we have replaced the long plank - are they called 'sleepers' which took quite a while as we had to clear weeds from one section and there were so many roots to try and get out.  I also did a reccy of the front and dug up more elder that persists in trying to reconquer.  It won't win, I am determined.

The french beans are not showing any signs of emergence yet but the mange tout and sugar snaps have more than made up for that, popping up almost as you watch.  The rhubarb loves the wet weather and has stopped trying to go to seed and the potatoes are also popping up.  We're not hoeing at the moment because it's hard to tell what's little potato leaves and what's weed leaves.  They will get their come uppance in a few week's time, when we can tell the difference more clearly!

So, what's next.  Well, we have to cover and chip the side strip and move the bins onto it.  Then we have to sort out the wood into raised bed sides and not.  The 'not' is being snapped up by a friend of Beth's for her wood burner, which is great - no waste.  Then we need to fork up and weed the bigger middle area before creating an access path between that and the rhubarb and dividing what's left with another sleeper.  Then the heavy stuff is all done and it will be a case of nurturing, weeding, planting and so on.

Sadly, those late frosts have had an impact on our little fruit trees.  There doesn't seem to be a single baby plum left although the the pear is fine, as is one of the apple trees.  The redlove also seems to have suffered a bit.  We're considering fleece for next year but maybe they just have to take their chances.

Then it was home to do some housework, such as getting the washing out, etc, before having lunch.  I was sitting in the garden, lunch in lap and magazine in hand, when the first drops of rain started falling so I rushed to get the washing in.  And, basically, it was rain for the rest of the day and overnight too, by the looks of things.

It's very exciting - recently, through Facebook, contact was made with an old friend.  This is someone I was best buddies with at college (in the early 1970s so almost pre-history) although after some years we lost contact.  We're planning to meet up in late July and I am very much looking forward to it.  She works for World Vision and has travelled all round the world so will have some fascinating stories to tell.  We exchanged some emails yesterday so it should happen.

Today, Beth is coming round and we're doing some work with the seedlings, etc, before I pop off to Blake House Craft Centre for a nice nosey round.  It's going to be a good day.