Wednesday 11 January 2012

The Sylvanian Massacre

Not much was achieved at the lottie last week as we were busy with children's birthdays. As you can imagine, coming straight after Christmas the house was awash with all of their presents. No matter how many times I told them that the dog would get anything they left lying around, they consistently ignored me. That's what parents are for, I understand - being ignored.
I fear the little darlings got their come-uppance as on Sunday afternoon our mutley got hold of, and ate, a bus-full of little Sylvanian Family characters. We are not quite sure of the total body-count as no one seems to know how many of them were in the bus (No passenger log. Tut tut). But we do know that we are short of a head, an arm and a leg.
The girls are distraught. The dog is uncomforable. Him Indoors and I are thanking our lucky stars that we have pet insurance and hoping that the above items work their way through by natural means!

Saturday 7 January 2012

Land Grab

There is a land grab underway at the lottie.

I don't have a mower that I can take down to the allotment and I have never had time to worry about keeping the edges of the plot neat and tidy, but I have realised that I need to be a bit sharper.

There is an incredibly robust weed which spreads really quickly, and is well established along the grass paths. Surveying my plot compared to the very neat one next door I realised that the combined effect of the week and the rapidly encroaching grass down either side is costing me about a foot of planting space at the end of each row.

Thus, one of my Winter jobs has been to tidy things up and attempt to achieve something broadly resembling a neat edge, to reclaim the space which would otherwise be lost. The edge is properly marked with posts and line. I am roughly turning the soil over and I hope that some hard winter frosts will do the rest for me. With little to do over the winter in the growing department, I may even get it looking like a proper allotment!

Tuesday 3 January 2012

In the Bleak Mid-Winter

Just in case anyone is suffering from the Winter Blues, here is a high-summer photo. Poppies against a pale blue sky. Just to cheer you up. Why not?

I stopped on my way to work one morning in the summer to take this photo. The poppies had been taking my breath away each morning as I passed. This photo does not do justice to the vastness of the field and the huge expanse of colour. But in the depths of January it has to be good for the soul.

Lincolnshire Sky

Lincolnshire Sky