Mr William Morris might have designed the famous "Strawberry Thief" wallpaper, but here at GBT we have The Raspberry Thief and wallpaper, but not together!
Picking the raspberries [and eating a few ripe ones in the process] is one of those daily little rituals I really enjoy this time of year. Most are frozen and will be made into jam at the end of the season, but as they're the Autumn Bliss variety we've got a few weeks left yet. This year though it seems I am not the only fan of these little red delights. Somebody has been dining out in my absence and leaving tell tale bits behind. I wasn't quite sure who the culprit was, but Mr GBT caught a hen blackbird red feathered in the middle of the canes. Nonchalantly she flew out and sat on the fence looking the other way as if it was nowt to do with her....I think, had she been able, she'd have given a little whistle just to complete the scene! Unless she strips them then I've no plans to net them as there are plenty to go round.
Even though our plot is tiny the garden revamp and new raised beds Mr GBT built last year are beginning to pay dividends. Beyond the raspberries the little apple tree is laden with fruit and we have courgettes coming through thick and fast. I cooked up a batch of courgette pasta sauce for the freezer yesterday and have given some to our neighbours and my parents so far. We are intent on making the garden as wildlife friendly as possible. I have a head full of ideas, but they haven't got much beyond putting out a dish of water for any passing hedgehogs [or cats probably] and planting yellow and white osteospermums. I've identified a couple more bee friendly plants which I have yet to track down, but by then our borders will be full. Perhaps I shall investigate the world of pots. The bed shown is full of knock down priced marigolds from a local fete...these are replacing the onions you can see drying in the foreground. The leeks will sit there for a fair while longer.
As for the front, this crazy lady suggested to her husband that like WWII we should grow veg in it a couple of years ago as it's south facing. Said husband was not keen and I didn't mention it again. I was therefore quite surprised at the announcement this Spring that it was now his plan. Again it's producing well and I spotted my first butternut squash today. Am dead chuffed.
After seemingly endless weeks of decorating with breaks in between for other commitments we are getting dangerously close to the end. Perhaps I'm the only person in the world who loves being in command of a wallpaper stripper....it gives me the same buzz as when I used to get PVA glue on my hands and peel it off like skin! Mr GBT has put the new border up in the bedroom. I am a lover of all things American Folk Art so this came from across the pond.
Sometimes it feels like progress is painfully slow, but when I put it down in a blog post I can see that it's not really the case. I just have to be patient and accept that Rome wasn't built in a day! Or alternatively be prepared to sit on my hands some of the time. Not the easiest of things to do when anxiety can be your middle name at times!
Arilx
Picking the raspberries [and eating a few ripe ones in the process] is one of those daily little rituals I really enjoy this time of year. Most are frozen and will be made into jam at the end of the season, but as they're the Autumn Bliss variety we've got a few weeks left yet. This year though it seems I am not the only fan of these little red delights. Somebody has been dining out in my absence and leaving tell tale bits behind. I wasn't quite sure who the culprit was, but Mr GBT caught a hen blackbird red feathered in the middle of the canes. Nonchalantly she flew out and sat on the fence looking the other way as if it was nowt to do with her....I think, had she been able, she'd have given a little whistle just to complete the scene! Unless she strips them then I've no plans to net them as there are plenty to go round.
Even though our plot is tiny the garden revamp and new raised beds Mr GBT built last year are beginning to pay dividends. Beyond the raspberries the little apple tree is laden with fruit and we have courgettes coming through thick and fast. I cooked up a batch of courgette pasta sauce for the freezer yesterday and have given some to our neighbours and my parents so far. We are intent on making the garden as wildlife friendly as possible. I have a head full of ideas, but they haven't got much beyond putting out a dish of water for any passing hedgehogs [or cats probably] and planting yellow and white osteospermums. I've identified a couple more bee friendly plants which I have yet to track down, but by then our borders will be full. Perhaps I shall investigate the world of pots. The bed shown is full of knock down priced marigolds from a local fete...these are replacing the onions you can see drying in the foreground. The leeks will sit there for a fair while longer.
As for the front, this crazy lady suggested to her husband that like WWII we should grow veg in it a couple of years ago as it's south facing. Said husband was not keen and I didn't mention it again. I was therefore quite surprised at the announcement this Spring that it was now his plan. Again it's producing well and I spotted my first butternut squash today. Am dead chuffed.
After seemingly endless weeks of decorating with breaks in between for other commitments we are getting dangerously close to the end. Perhaps I'm the only person in the world who loves being in command of a wallpaper stripper....it gives me the same buzz as when I used to get PVA glue on my hands and peel it off like skin! Mr GBT has put the new border up in the bedroom. I am a lover of all things American Folk Art so this came from across the pond.
Sometimes it feels like progress is painfully slow, but when I put it down in a blog post I can see that it's not really the case. I just have to be patient and accept that Rome wasn't built in a day! Or alternatively be prepared to sit on my hands some of the time. Not the easiest of things to do when anxiety can be your middle name at times!
Arilx
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we have birds that help themselves too. A rather fat wood pigeon is partial to salad crops, the blackbirds are connoisseurs of raspberries, but the most galling is our hen swallowing gooseberries whole while we watched aghast - I've not really seen a hen smile as much as this one did before we set after her to stop the thievery!!
ReplyDeleteI love the little glimpses of others lives via blogging. Thanks for sharing about your hen!
DeleteArilx
Soon be time for blackout curtains in the evenings! x
ReplyDelete