Garden Cat

 Beans in todays garden, a wet windy day. She wasn't out for very long. 

I'm not as comfortable using the camera as I used to be, so easy just to snap away on your phone. This isn't quite in focus, using the display rather than the viewfinder, think I need to lean it on my head to get it steady... lol...  or is it the age of the camera not working quite properly. 

Age, another thing, mine... it hurts my eyes to use the viewfinder, giving me  a headache. I don't wear glasses for normal day to day things, but do for reading now. 

greenhouse update

 

the tomatoes are just starting to show a slight blush, maybe there will be one to eat at the weekend. 

Beans has been here for a year now, the greenhouse is not her favourite place, 

not comfortable enough she says. 

she is a nce wee cat, not much into cuddles but will keep you company. 

time to start seeds

Beans exhausted after supervising my splitting clumps of snowdrops to share some with a friend. they were dug up this morning, bulbs washed and put into damp paper. then transplanted into their new garden in the afternoon. hopefully they will put on a good show next spring

very mild temperatures and a mostly dry day, later in the week its to get back to freezing, and its to be wet most day, hopefully not too windy. 

time to start seeds , a tray of Onion Tosca

and a tray of Leek Blue Solaise

in the greenhouse with plastic propagator lids over the top. these veggies can cope with the cold

I've had seeds from MoreVeg before, they always do well, they are in smaller packets which are perfect for the home garden grower, and very economical to buy. 

the light was fading and those last photos have a funny tint to them. the streetlamps weren't on yet but it was starting to get dark. the days are noticably longer which pleased me very much. I use a SAD lamp in the mornings to try and combat the winter blues. 
 

Beans

 Beans has been here two weeks and I've started to let her out, off she goes confidently as I sit and worry till she comes back... she's had four little trips out so I feel she is finding her way, and knows she lives here. She is very clean in the house and likes her toys. Not so much into being picked up but she will come for a cuddle now and again. She's 10, and a little chubby... her owner died suddenly and she's been very well cared for. 

Google photos came up with the collage... so I'll keep it. 

Casper

 Casper crossed the rainbow bridge on 30th July 2023.

Goodbye wee man, its been a blast. 

in the garden

garden greens... a brussels sprouts stalk is still throwing up leaves and trying to flower... I keep eating them... lol... and there is a handful of american hedge garlic... which has been self seeding in the garden for years. lovely fresh eggs from a freind, I used the two big brown eggs and made a fry up with french bread and greens for my lunch. 

 sitting in my pyjamas, with the cat, a coffee and reading a gardening book... Alan Titchmarsh's Kitchen Gardener. I went out to sit in the greenhouse but it was so warm we ended up just chilling outside.

aquired a coffee table to use as a low bench in the greenhouse, its got a metal frame so should be strong enough to have a few plants on it... the chair will come out soon so I can start planting up. 

one bed is ready to be seeded... plans for this one is to use the pallet collar with a shower door over it and direct sow carrots, turnips and beetroot. I could have done that today.. but chose to chill with the cat instead.
in the house I am eating lettuce leaves, sown about a month ago, and have cherry tomatoes about an inch high on the window sill, and fat tomatoes in the boiler cupboard waiting to sprout. not organised at all with buying seeds... I might be having a pot luck year with whatever I have left over... which is  a lot because I over buy when I am full of enthusiasm.... 
 

cat on a seat

 

this is from october, don't know why it didn't post on the blog at the time, a new to me garden chair/table, gets Casper apporoval. Its now under a good tarpaulin to protect it from the winter weather

todays vegetable garden and greenhouse

a small harvest, some peas, beets, parsnips, turnip,  tiny courgettes and flower, cucumbers, kale, chard, spinach, greens, 

I'm always grateful for what grows. I'll eat them, with some bought potatoes, for dinner.

cat feets

 

midsummer garden

 

every video , I think that little pile of plastic bags needs to be moved... 

misummers morning.

 

todays garden

 

Casper is very happy with his wee blanket in the greenhouse. video taken with my 'new to me' fancy phone ...lol.... as up till now I've used a flip phone that texts and phones.. nothing else... lol... still have to upload it to laptop to put it on here... see if that works ok. 

last week was very nice almost summery weather... because I'm off work this week its snowing in flurries, my usual luck with the weather. I've put my laundry out anyway because it'll get mostly dry and smell nice. as a holiday present to myself I've bought four more seed trays, and two clear lids. and three small ones to start stuff in the house.  

in the greenhouse the leeks are doing great, some onions came from last years seed and two trays of marigolds seeded so hopefully have lots for in amongst the vegetables. you can see in the video there is new wood for a veggy plot beside the clothes pole, there did used to be one there but its grown over. it might not get used this year as i'm short on time to get it going, also it'll get filled with fresh manure and it'll be okay for  next year. 

autumn garden

 lots of leaves off the tree, it hadn't been windy so they were landing on the grass... I cut the grass after this so they were gathered up by the mower, as you can see in the video

Casper always has to star. 💖😻

this mornings garden.

 Casper prefers to go back inside.

a couple of pics from Saturday

in the greenhouse with the sun on his back.

 filling up the shelves with seed trays.

dreich

driech is a scottish description of a dismal, drizzley rain, foggy, cold day. todays temperatures are Max 6.7c (44f), Min 0.9c (33.6f) and current also 6.7c. Yesterday I recorded ( probably for the week as I hadn't been able to open the door for a few days... frozen shut!) Max 8.1c (46.5f), Min -8.4c (16.8f) and current of 1.3c (34f). So it's a  milder day , but preferred the cold with the sunshine....

leeks and onions , a flimsy plastic cover

and then the hard plastic domes over the top of that.  there's a post somewhere with the trays covered with garden fleece, must have been before I discovered the high dome tops and I have photo evidence of them in 2007,,,, they have some age to them and are cracking, discolouring and disintegrating.. I have purchased some new ones that are still in the house and will come out to be used when needed. I hope they last as long !!

Casper joined me in the greenhouse.. on the wicker footstool which is in there with the wooden garden chair to be protected from the weather .

little clumps of snowdrops coming up through the leaf litter beside the hedge

nearly nearly  but not quite open yet

and again , himself , quite the gardening cat today, lol

I received some amazon tokens for christmas, along with the max/min themometer, so I've just spent about an hour online choosing a garden journal , and also a plant journal to record the plants in the garden. I have attempted to keep a diary on my laptop but would prefer to write the notes , also the journals are 'prompted' so you just have to fill in info. I'm nearly finished typing up a current seed list, too many - too exciting....
 

garden update

 

I forget if I've posted this photo ...  must really make a seed list. And I really can't keep garden notes on the lap top, I never update it.

there are some snowdrops showing,  but not in flower yet, and can see some cyclamen green leaves in a couple of places.

 can still  pick some broccoli, some leeks and some spinach, so those are things that need 'more of' for this year. 

in the greenhouse today – using seed trays and old high dome propagators.....

Onions sown.... Walla Walla and Cipolla Rossa Di Tropea

Leeks sown..... Blue Solaise and Large American Flag

the best christmas present, a digital Maximum Minimum thermometer.... todays readings are...  max  9.9c (49.8f), min -3.9c (25f), temperature as I was planting about 2.30pm was  5.2c dropping to 3.9c by the time I was done. Casper kept running between the house and the greenhouse telling me that he's not a gardening cat at the best of times, and it was too cold!!

in the greenhouse

 lettuce, just before picking off leaves to have a nice plateful with my pizza and chips. and have started another tray off to keep the 'cut and come again' lettuce going... though thats all those seeds used up, I'll have to try to get some more. the plastic lids on these are years old, they've scrubbed up quite well but they are so brittle they are cracking and breaking bits off as you move them.

 various things, possibly beetroot and broccoli that can be planted out in a week or so, some herbs that will need potting on, the two little white pots are the tomatoes from Wildside, and I think there might be one or two more from the second planting of seeds that are just germinating.

just visible... Casper being Mr Grumpy of the Greenhouse, its warm, its out of the wind.... but not comfortable enough for his liking.

hellebores

 hellebores. always hang their flowers down, and this is what they hide, just beautiful

 and the dark  purple one, still so pretty underneath

Casper looking out of the window, he does not enjoy going out into the wintery weather, so if he's out I need to keep an eye on whats happening outside so I can let him back in, he's never very far away when you call him in.

Casper clip

cute

garden gate

friend made a new gate with  ''cat access'', so he can run in and out and not always have to jump.. he can jump, but he is old and stiff so I think this is a good idea for him.