Yesterday the kids were off out with Poppy and Evie for the day again. Ady was digging a ditch behind the static to help with drainage and I decided to do some outside stuff too. I had initially planned to plant out the asparagus and maybe the peas so started clearing the few weeds which had made it through the seaweed mulch on a couple of the raised beds. I got the asparagus planted and that bed netted over but got really fed up with slipping and sliding about in the mud between the beds as the whole area is really waterlogged and boggy, so I decided to dig a ditch down one side of the walled garden to help it drain. It was ridiculously muddy and I got filthy but I got it running, dug under the fence to join a naturally happening ditch below that area which eventually runs into the river and joined it up with the initial ditch we dug along the top of that area a couple of years ago. It now needs a few diagonal ditches to join up with that one but it should massively help. I mostly weeded another bed ready for planting out peas later in the week. I think I’ll have at least two beds for peas this year, maybe even three as they are by far our most favourite crop so well worth the space. Cabbage and broccoli is all nicely growing in the polytunnel so that will be ready to plant out next and the salad leaves are all sprouting in there too. As soon as I have got the first lot of stuff planted out I can do some more sowing. It’s pretty much time to do some outdoors sowing of various stuff too and I have some old emergency light fixtures which will be perfect mini propogators to sow stuff up with and leave outside too. I also baited the polytunnel as there is loads of rat poo in there which makes it a less than lovely place to hang out in. I’m not up for sharing that space with rodents thankyou!
Some tourists had been along and stood watching me and taking photos for ages, I was quite disappointed that they’d only bought one jar of jam!
Dinner of lasagne and an episode of warehouse 13 before bed. Both Ady and I feeling pretty worn out from all the digging.
Today – Raine Day! Poor Scarlett is suffering with a cold so she stayed home while Ady, Davies and I went down to the pier to meet the Raines who were visiting with an additional French Raine too. Utterly, utterly fabulous to see them all, although far too brief. Ben is staying on for a few nights so we are at least not entirely Raine bereft though. Scarlett, Davies and Ben stayed home this time while the rest of us walked down to the pier to see them off and then Ady and I drove back. Rather appropriately they brought mountains of hot cross buns with them (along with various other food supplies including boxes and boxes of cereal) – the challenge now is to eat them all before Ben goes! Pizza for dinner, and I suspect for Davies and Ben at least it will be a late night.