Fairweather Fallen

Without so much as a bat of an eyelid, the last few months seem to have flown by. To my disgrace, it has been nearly three months since I last went out to the plot, and also since my last post on this blog.

With the nights (and mornings) drawn in, and schedules busier than a potting shed in March, I found it increasingly difficult to find a good batch of time in reasonable weather to get over to the plot to check on progress.

Flooding in Kenilworth at the beginning of December

Of course, the weather has been horrendous - flooding and more flooding; the second wettest year on record... it was a genuine shock recently to have a day when it didn't rain and you could enjoy being out in the fresh air.

I have to thank Maggie and Anne that the plot has been maintained in my absence. As I write, I remember all those plants that I had laboured over last summer - the beetroot and the cabbages - which have stood outside in the wind, rain and hail, with no assistance from the grower who put them there.

I have absolutely no idea how these have got on - all I know is that the last radish that was left in the ground apparently is now the size of a large turnip(!). I'll probably go over there at some point soon with my tail between my legs, and confess my carelessness to the small remnant of neglected veg.

I guess in the next few months I will begin to heed my own advice from my posts last year, and start planning in advance for the forthcoming growing season. I was kindly given a grower's handbook for my birthday last week, from which no doubt I shall garner some more nuggets of wisdom...

Frankie hen and dandelion

In the meantime, it is a pleasure to announce that Em, my wife, has embarked on a blog of her own about domestic chicken keeping - called Happy Garden Hens. She has a great eye for a photo, and you can find out a lot more about the smallholder trials and tribulations we have faced with our brood.