Freedom

Brrrrrr. It remains cold out there so there’s not a lot of change to see in the garden. However, the days are certainly getting lighter and the Spring flowers are starting to put on a show. The wind has damaged quite a few plants and the covers keep blowing off but it has simply taught me to choose hardier plants this year.

March Garden

The kittens are now 6 months old and this weekend they went outside for the first time. They have bells on their collars to give the birds fair warning that they’re around and after much encouragement they slowly made their way to the Kitchen Garden. Milo may be the bigger cat but he’s a scaredy cat! I haven’t got any clear photos of him as he kept close to the hedge line and darted everywhere – the best I could manage was the wet paw prints he left behind. He loved playing on the walls and was particularly interested in the hessian covering the asparagus. Bella who is not so reserved, happily climbed, sniffed and explored. The fur on her side is growing back now – they’ve both recovered really well (in fact it was me who was traumatised!).

Bella outside

We’ve not introduced them to the cat flap yet as I want them to get used to being outside first. We have four days off work at Easter in so it will probably happen then when we can give them lots of time and attention.

Tired Cats

I’ve sown the first seeds at last – carrots, beetroot, chard, kale, broad beans and spinach all directly in the beds. Others such as tomatoes, aubergine, squash, sweetcorn and chillies have been brought indoors where they can get a cosier start. The only problem is where to keep the plant pots as the cats love soil and plants and the utility room is now their bedroom. I decided to put them on top of the oak beams in the garden room… I just hope they don’t fall on anyone’s head!

February Blahs

February is my least favourite month. It has the fewest days compared to other months but somehow seems to drag on and on. Even when February seems to be trotting along quite nicely… bam! an extra pesky day sneaks in. Admittedly, this extra day only occurs once every four years but (come on!!!) couldn’t it happen during Summer when an extra day would be nice?!!
Maybe my aversion to February is because I hate having to wait for Spring… I have a whole list of things I can do in March but February delights in taking it’s sweet time :-). Am I the only one to have an unexplained aversion to a month? Surely not, but I confess that I also dislike Tuesdays (but that is less logical than the February saga)!

Feb View
The snow has finally gone, and although we’re expecting more during the week, it was lovely to be able to enjoy the green fields through the Garden Room windows again. It’s great to watch the storms roll over and try and guess what time the rain will arrive.
In the Garden Room, high up in the rafters, is a little carved wooden snail called Brian who looks down on us as we pass by. He moves extremely slowly so he’s usually not a problem to catch and dust.

Brian

Whilst I was wobbling on tiptoes with a duster in hand, I happened to glance across at the windows. The sun was shining through the glass and shaming me into wanting to clean the windows but for once I wasn’t too concerned because there was, quite obviously, a leftover Christmas sign!!
Eek! The question is – do I leave it up for the rest of the year (it has taken me until February to notice it!) or take it down and hide it in the rubbish drawer?

The One That Got Away

Looking Forward to April Showers

What a busy month March has been – where has it gone?!? It has been unseasonably warm and the pyjamas were swapped for shorts last week. Unfortunately, the down side of this is that the reservoirs are low and there are many parts of the country that already have water restrictions and hose pipe bans! Thankfully we’re unaffected at the moment but it’s only a matter of time I suppose.

The seed trays and plants were making it difficult to get into the utility room so we bought a cheap plastic greenhouse which has been invaluable! It doesn’t look very pretty, and once we have saved some money, we’ll be getting a wooden framed greenhouse but unfortunately this isn’t near the top of our essential list yet!

The good news is that our rabbit friends have stopped getting into the kitchen garden… the “Keep Out” sign obviously worked wonders (…the perimeter fencing may have helped a little too!).

This month I’m looking forward to April showers, Easter and fetching some new chickens… I’m loving the new garden and catch myself smiling for no other reason apart from being outside with the plants and seeds 🙂

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