Abbey meets her new friends...

Abbey was moved to a new yard on Saturday, this is her first meeting up with her new field mates, they are a fairly nice bunch, no nasty kickers or bully's among them. She is being pursued at the end by my friends pony, Roo, she also owns nice old Merlin and he was meant to be coming over to this yard at the same time as Abbey but he has gone down with the dreaded laminitis for the first time in his life aged 24..... bless him, his owner is very upset. I am hoping for a good recovery for him and he can come and join us soon. He is snuggled up safe in Abbey's old stable at least till the end of the month. We don't have a stable here which is a bit of a worry, she will winter out fine I am sure but its more just having somewhere safe to put her if needed.

There is a donkey though.... a terrifying creature!! And we come in through a field with some terrifying highland cows and a terrifying sheep. She'll settle soon hopefully......

sunshine and showers

the sycamore leaves are bright in the sun and there have been heavy showers of rain today. I wasn't planning much gardening but have been out and planted out most of the onion seedlings from the greenhouse, and sowed Carrot Flakke and Carrot Autumn King 2 straight into the soil. I haven't got any fleece to cover them so must get some as the cats will be in there as soon as they can!

a vision of future salad! onions, tomatoes and lettuce!! the onions and the beetroot need planting out, perhaps I should brave the showers and get this done today. I drew out a rough plan from memory of what was where last year so hopefully this years plan will move things on and not plant in the same place. my garden is actually so small that I wonder if rotation really does any good? sometimes it means things are only three feet away from where they were last year.

I think Daisy is watching a wee bird up in the holly, she sat there for quite a while. Abbey was moved to a new farm yesterday a friend very kindly used her big jeep and horse trailer to move her. All the horses there are nice and there wasn't too much of a to-do when she was introduced. I went over to see her today and she is super-spooky, difficult to get in the gate and not able to stand still to have her feet done. I just put her back out again and hope she will calm down as time goes on.

its a nice day

another great pic from LOL CATS

summer days?? in April??

Lovely weather! I have been eating baby salad leaves, sowed another tray today in the last of my seed compost so I must get some more. my own compost is too full of beasties for seedlings... I also sowed some courgettes. there is only one veggy bed still to dig over, and the grass got cut again this weekend, still need to find some enthusiam for weeding....

Abbey is shedding her winter coat at a furious rate, still a lot to come out.

spring

how nice it is to see emeging buds, leaves, flowers, a bitof warmth in the sun, some heavy rain making it gloomy but no snow and no frost.

here are the beetroot in their module tray, and three trays of onions, all old seeds so sprinkled liberally, some very well germinating and some not. a tray of White Lisbon onions did not germinate at all so I have sat it outside, it might or might or might nor germinate in time. in the house the tomatos, peppers and aubergines have all germinated, hopefully get them to maturity sucessfully.

and a couple trays for salad leaves, they've germinated very well. I've had some already in a cheese sandwich, I've no patience!!

one little daffodill

one little daffodill out today, this is about 6" high. I love daffodills so hopefully all its relatives will be flowering soon.

and in the background a Chinodoxa Forbessi, glory of the snow. very pretty and lots to flower in this clump too.

more seeds into trays today...in the house I've done the following tomatoes..Rutgers, Royal Chico, Yellow Brandywine, Black Brandywine, Oregon Cherry and Gardeners Delight. also in the house are Aubergine Tres Hative de Barbentane and Sweet Nardello Pepper.

into the greenhouse a tray each of Delphinium Galahad and Agastache Blue Spike, I think they might look very nice planted with each other. if they get that far, I often plant seed trays of flowers which get neglected in favour of the veggies needing done.......

finally got started

Started on the 15th with planting one seed tray each of Onion Red Baron, Onion Dorata di Parma, Shallot Ambition and Spring Onion White Lisbon. Then on the 16th I did a tray each of mix salad leaves, Beetroot Detroit 2 and a bucket for early carrots in the greenhouse. I note from my blog this time last years seeds were started on the 4th of March.

I have not tried starting beetroot in trays before and saw this on Gardeners World with Monty Don.

These are all 'old seeds', some from last year and some older. I am trying to work on the principle spending as little money as possible and of using up all these seed I keep collecting. The germination rates do go down with age but some seeds are viable for many years. I have used up the packets and have planted far too many for my wee garden(who could eat four trays worth of onions?), if they all germinate anyway, hopefuly there will be some to give away and that someone will have good use for them.

I cannot find my gardening notebook or last years plan of what went where. Hopefully they're in a safe place which I will discover sometime soon.

my poor garden

I spent a lot of time at the weekend just trying to weed and clear up in the border. For most of last year the garden was not tended to and there was only a small amount of weeding done, well I found where the line was drawn....the bit that was weeded last year has been weeded and cleared without too much major drama........and then there is a clear cut line that is populated with couch grass, buttercups, flowers that like to take over, tree seedlings....and on and on.

oh my goodness. Its almost so bad that I am considering digging up what I know to be plants and putting them in pots and then having to clear and re-start the flower bed again.

too wet outside...

Smokey Tiptoes says no to going outside...too wet!!

this little pot of Scilia Siberica has bloomed year after year on the doorstep. they are still in a plastic pot...think its time to upgrade them to something nicer.

turning up the snowdrops revealing how pretty they are...note the raindrops, I had to run back inside as the rain came on so heavily.

the last standing vegetable!! the leeks survived! I had left some purple brocolli as I have done this before and had a nice wee crop in the early spring, however this winter the very cold temperatures turned the plants to mush...

one veggy plot is tidied, the rest are waiting on some drier days. I must get out into the greenhouse and plant some onion and leek seeds. these will be 'leftovers' that are not yet out of date. perhaps germination is not as good with older seeds but its worth using them up.

I am an Urban Homesteader

my little homestead veggy plot

I am an Urban Homesteader. I grow vegetables organically, I have reduced my living style, I recycle all the waste I am able to. Unfortunatly I cannot do without a car so I cannot claim to be saving the planet as much as I would like to.

apparently this phrase 'urban homesteader' has been trademarked by a homegrowing veggy 'business' run by the Dervaes family.

I would have to ask them 'really? why?' and ask why they are having blogs using this term closed down?

the world needs everybody to grow their own food, even a little helps. Even the knowlege of how to grow vegetables is an essential thing to have.

This blogger puts it across very well, so I link to her..
http://livingthefrugallife.blogspot.com/2011/02/i-am-urban-homesteader.html

all is well, phew!

I have a very sweet tooth. I have been a vegetarian a long time and I've been increasingly worried about the contents of the average, easily available sweetie.

I had a 'list' of things I thought it was okay to eat, and I read labels. I don't know if the recipies have changed or is there a new 'legal directive' on what they have to declare?

A lot of sweeties now seem to have 'Beef Gelatine' or 'Bovine Gelatine' in them.

I did a bit of label reading today and found these lovely sweeties from Sainsbury's, American Hard Gums.

I can eat them. I am building myself a revised list.....

started spring cleanup

the snow drops are just begining to show themselves. I have some time off work so hope to get the garden tidied and readly to 'go'. also time to put pencil to paper and get the veg beds planned.
last year lacked colour in the flower beds, a combination of bad weather and being busy so I would like to deal with that a bit better this year.

blown out?

I returned home from work today to find four plastic panels out of my greenhouse, and one of the roof spars hanging. is this wind? vandals? an earthquake? I can't work out how its happened.
a panel from the door and two panels from the side were inside the greenhouse, a panel from the roof was against the hedge and one panel very squint as one of the supporting roof spars had come away from its bolt...
some clips inside, and some out, some missing.......
well, not very nice weather to be bolting and clipping and standing on buckets to reach. but its done. hope it stays secure!!
just need somebody tall to do the final clips on the outside of the roof

charity does not cost you money

I recieved this today from my friend Bonnie in New York...perhaps we could give a bit of help it does not cost anything for you to vote. perhaps we could all help out with this?

"Claire, can I ask you for a favor?

I have a friend who lost his wife to a riding accident last year. I think it would've been understandable if he'd never wanted to see another horse again, but on the contrary, he's had the far more beautiful response of committing himself, in her memory, to the care and well being of her sweet Haeflinger (did I spell that right?), Charm, and right now, to trying to win a grant for a handicapped riding program that she was involved in.
That's where I'm hoping you can help! The grants are awarded based on votes, with the top 10 programs being awarded money. The riding program keeps being stuck at 11!
Unfortunately there is a registration involved (usually I won't vote if I have to give info but I made an exception for this one) - but I was wondering if you would mind voting, and even better if you had a circle of horsy friends to whom you could pass the word? Thanks for whatever you can do. I would LOVE to see these guys make the jump to #10! http://www.refresheverything.com/lirhalongislandridingforthehandicappedassociation "

as my thoughts turn to seeds..

lovely..throught the post comes the Organic Gardening catalogue, prompting dreams of spring and planting seeds. I am positive last year that I took good stock of what I had, what I needed and what I wanted......hmmm....
so there is the catalogue, at the back of a rather overful box, used and unused seeds......
so before any ordening is done this must be sorted!
I am trying to 'de-clutter' the house in general, there is 'too much stuff'. there are several blogs out on ideas for minimising, de-cluttering, donating, giving away, throwing out....such as 365 days and miss minimalist

I have managed to fill three bags to take to the second hand store, but due to my second hand car still being out of action they are still cluttering up my bedroom.....I really find it hard not having a car, can't get to the pony(annoying everybody for lifts), can't get to work(either early or late but never on time---and having several five mile walks due to consistent breakdown of buses), can't get for a big shop(too heavy to carry home).


JANUARY 2017;; EDIT TO ADD ;;
'''''I am reaching out to certain website and blog owners that publish content in line with our mission to make all the world’s art accessible to anyone. We hope to continue promoting arts education and accessibility with your help.
Our Minimalism page provides access to an informative description, to key related artworks, as well as to related categories, art-terms, and artists. By promoting Minimalism, we hope visitors can learn more about the movement in its context, and explore beyond it as well.
We would love to be included as a resource for Minimalism for your visitors via a link on your page. We believe that by spreading access we can provide a new, empowering way for approaching art. If you are able to add a link to our Minimalism page, please let me know. Thanks in advance for your consideration!
Best,
Alonzo''''

Parelli Principle number 3

my world has had a few prickles in it recently.

I just read this intersting post on Parelli Central by Neil Pye, its about electronic communication and how easily misunderstandings can happen by the pressing of a send button. the readers comments are worth reading as well.

Parelli Principle #3 – Communication is two or more individuals sharing and understanding an idea…well that’s the theory anyway!

Ellie Smith writes....

my old greenhouse is frozen closed!

here we have a guest post from Ellie Smith.....

"Remember a greenhouse/ glasshouse is not just a storage place,
With a long stretch of a mighty cold winter this year, gardening has not been at the front of everyone’s mind. As winter begins to bite in December, the darkest month – plant growth slows accordingly and a little patience is called for until the days slowly begin to lengthen again. However this does not mean we cannot look forward to preparing for greenhouse growing in the spring. It may seem far too early but spring is only three months away and as we know, time sure does fly.
Most greenhouses will be neglected during the frosty- wintery months and can fall into a dangerous trap of being used as storage hubs. Excess clutter and garden furniture is usually thrown into the greenhouse to be kept out of view. The danger of doing so is not being troubled to clear it at a later date.
Try not to fall into this habit- remember it won’t be long until the greenhouse will act as a beautiful feature in the garden and the perfect home for blooming flowers and tasty vegetables. Setting the heaters to a temperature that keeps your greenhouse ticking over and running smoothly makes sure you are ready to go.
Spring arrives in the greenhouse long before it makes its presence felt in the rest of the garden. By March many plants will be busily putting on new growth but, at the same time, these increasing temperatures also bring the transformed threat of pests, as they too begin to warm up again. Warm days and cold nights are typical of spring, which makes keeping the temperature in the greenhouse a challenge. The spring greenhouse is a hive of commotion in more ways than one – and a few regular tasks now should set things up for the rest of the year.
Give your greenhouse a good clean but make sure you just use Soap and water as you do not want to remove the UV stabilising coating. Some cleaning products contain harmful chemicals that can destroy the polycarbonate covering.
Staging should be disinfected along with the pots and seed trays ready for new growth. Once you have done so, you are ready for new growing stages. Automatic vent openers and automatic door openers come in handy.
Pouring freezing water over seedlings can shock them so remember to fill up a watering can and leave it in the greenhouse to warm up. "
Author: Ellie Smith, on behalf of Hartley Botanic.



thankyou for the lovely post Ellie!!


and you can click on the link to look at the fabulous greehouses from Hartley Botanic...put one on your Christmas Wish List!

bleh

photo taken last Monday, Scotland ground to a halt and I had to walk five miles home. the weather report for today has not been good, cold and wet rain this morning and snow is meant to come in after it and then freeze......just for the moment the sun is out and its very pretty.
I am very fed up with it now, and continue to have no car as it now needs fixing as the power steering has failed.
many blessings to everybody who keep giving me lifts up to the stables and back.
the greenhouse was frozen shut for over a week, I opened it this morning and the minimum shows -12C and the maximum 11c. brrrrr fed up!!!!

Abbey in the snow

trying out the video upload...cool!!

Abbey likes snow

Abbey likes the snow, she gets very excited and gallops off when put out in the field.

its much deeper than this now, but she is still careering round in it and has to be persuaded to come in at night time, as long as she is dry she is happy!