Mayday

 Yesterday was sunny after a week of dull days and cold wind.  Plants are growing steadily, but need watering as there's been no rain for about 3 weeks.  I'm also topping up the pond as it's drying up quickly.

The cuckoo pint along the hedge have started flowering.  There are lots of forget me nots and speedwell across the garden.  Campions are on the way but the deer are nipping off the buds of some.  My seeds outdoors have at last started to appear.  I planted out mangetout & sweet peas with the drainage rods as a tripod.

Euphorbia Ascot Rainbow

 Euphorbia Ascot Rainbow has settled in nicely alongside 2 other euphorbias.  The Berberis Darwinii has flowered this year, don't think that happened last year.

The verbena bonariensis I planted last year is sprouting some shoots.  I pruned the clover from a pot with birdsfoot trefoil which is for bees.  Not sure whether it'll survive.  I transplanted some next to the pond.

 The weather has been beautiful over the last week, and I've been doing lots in the garden.  So I'm going to try keeping a weekly record of what I've done, and what changes I notice.

There are approx 4 areas to the garden, which slopes upwards.  At the bottom is a patio with a rockery, which catches the early morning sun.  There is a slope with a pond, a beautiful cotoneaster, a camellia, and a rhododendron, which leads to a flat area of grass below a scots pine and beech tree, where wild flowers grow in summer.  The last part of the garden is a grassy slope again.  There are a few beds around this, which are a work in progress, and a side vegetable patch that's a bit shady.  Right at the end is the compost heap, a silver birch, and a shady area with a raised bed that looks like a sarcophagus!

Muntjac deer, squirrels and pigeons mean that plant buds are vulnerable to nibbles.  I've planted a number of perennials during the autumn/winter, and I'm using hanging baskets to protect them.  I'm not sure what will happen when they outgrow the baskets.  I might have to make some chicken wire protectors.  

Last autumn I planted a number of bulbs.  The snakeshead fritillary have been nibbled in some spots, but are good in a couple of places.  Erythroniums came through this week after being nibbled.  There are lots of euphorbias around the garden, and I've added another, Euphorbia Ascot Rainbow.  I'll take a photo and add that to another post.

Vegan continued

Been making a salad for lunch from grated carrot & beetroot, with basil, sesame oil & brown rice vinegar, a couple of rice dolmas, pumpkin & hemp seeds, sultanas, tomatoes, cucumber

Vegan meal

Tried this tonight, inspired by meal at Terre a Terre:
 -  Nasu dengaku
With coriander potato cakes from Celia Brown's World Vegetarian, steamed rice mixed with Cauldron marinated tofu, mushrooms. mangetout, onion, pepper, ginger. 

And a variation of this celeriac salad: Had some red cabbage & grated carrot instead of cavolo nero, and added toasted walnut, pumpkin, hemp seeds.

Wonderful writing from Jeanette Winterson

"The more I read, the more I felt connected across time to other lives and deeper sympathies. I felt less isolated. I wasn't floating on my little raft in the present; there were bridges that led over to solid ground. Yes, the past is another country, but one that we can visit, and once there we can bring back the things we need.

Literature is common ground. It is ground not managed wholly by commercial interests, nor can it be strip-mined like popular culture - exploit the new thing then move on.

There's a lot of talk about the tame world versus the wild world. It is not only a wild nature that we need as human beings; it is the untamed open space of our imaginations.

Reading is where the wild things are."


After Jeanette Winterson has voted for Margaret Thatcher:

"I did not realise that when money becomes the core value, then education drives towards utility or that the life of the mind will not be counted as a good unless it produces measurable results. That public services will no longer be important. That an alternative life to getting and spending will become very difficult as cheap housing disappears. That when communities are destroyed only misery and intolerance are left.

I did not know that Thatcherism would fund its economic miracle by selling off all our nationalised assets and industries.

I did not realise the consequences of privatising society."

Morning walk

Woke up at 4.30 so decided to get up to see what moths were in trap.  Disappointingly low count - no more than 10 individuals, though a couple of hawk moths.

So having woken up I thought I should take advantage & go for a walk without the dogs.

Overcast, but mild, and the air was full of birdsong.  Highlights were:  cuckoo, grasshopper warbler reeling, cranes in distance,sedge warbler, wren, marsh harrier overhead.

Also saw a number of deer which then barked very loudly, and a couple of foxes. 

Veg box

We've started getting a veg box from Kitchen Gardens - the small box every 2 weeks.  I've enjoyed the anticipation of finding out what's in it & then trying out some new recipes.

So far we've had pak choi - made egg stir fried rice
Swiss chard - had it with a bit of oil & garlic. Made a curry- didn't use nuts & potatoes were old not new, & just stirred in the yogurt at the end.  Put some cubes of halloumi in.  Very nice.
Butternut squash - made a risotto

Had kale & romanesque just as side dish.

Made a beetroot relish: cooking apples, onion, cooked beetroot all grated.  Then simmered with ginger, white wine vinegar & sugar.

Made the mistake of roasting pink fir potatoes - they were crunchy but completely dehydrated.

Used onion & carrots to make a savoury rice to have with curry - added some toasted sesame seeds & desiccated coconut which gave alovely flavour.

Broccoli, leek, cheese & egg.  Sauté onion & leek, steam chopped broccoli. Put into greased dish. Beat 4 eggs & some milk, plus grated cheese & pour over. Bake in oven for 15 mins.

Swiss chard, feta & pine nuts. Sauté clove garlic, add chopped chard or greens, chopped tomatoes & sultanas.  Add some water & simmer with lid on until cooked.  Add some lemon zest & at end cubed feta & toasted pine nuts.

Dog diaries

My clever dogs have been keeping a diary.  I found this week's entries hidden down the back of the sofa.

Logan's diary:
Monday: Had cut & blow dry.  Smelt disgusting.  Must go through some ditches to put that right.
Tuesday: Slept all day.  Ran through the marshes later.
Wednesday: Slept all day.  Ran through the marshes later.
Thursday:  Slept all day. Ran through the marshes later.

Stats:
Pheasants flushed:  about 10
Toys destroyed: 0 Maybe the therapy is working
Balls lost: 3 Must try harder next week

Chance's diary:
Monday:  L had obviously been very naughty as he had to go to that torture place and have a bath & get all his mud flaps cut off. I was good & went to the pub & the man gave me a biscuit because I look so sweet.
Tuesday: Slept all day.  Barked at postman.
Wednesday: Slept all day.  Barked at postman
Thursday: Slept all day.  Barked at postman
Friday:  Slept all day.  Barked at postman.  Energy renewed for a weekend of sitting on laps, licking faces, following humans around.  I'm not as young as I used to be.

Stats:
People barked at:  Lots.  Still aiming to get some bites in some time though.
Food eaten: Chicken, pastry, biscuits, pasta, rice.  Bit too healthy this week.  Hope for higher sausage count over weekend.

Signs of autumn

Not wishing to suggest summer is over yet, as it's high 20s outside today, & ate my lunch in the garden,  but there are autumn colours in the garden & the days are getting shorter.   I like autumn - previous post celebrated things I like about it and after such a glorious summer, I think we're in for a perfect autumn.

In the garden are hips of rosa glauca, spindle berries, beautiful crocosmia Emilya Mackenzie, some delicate pink fuschia flowers, & a spider

Butterflies & moths

After a very slow start to the year, July & August have produced a bundle of butterflies.  I've been planting & encouraging nectar plants for butterflies for a while.  Just got hemp agrimony which is a bee & butterfly magnet. I've also got nettle patches around the garden for peacock & others to lay eggs.  Recently realised that it's good to cut them down so that there's new growth as they prefer this for laying.

It's prompted me to look into other plants for caterpillars.  I don't grow cabbages, but sometimes have had nasturtiums.  None germinated this year, but must think about some for next year.

Another one to try is birdsfoot trefoil which is a wild plant but looks attractive.  Will just need to find the best bit of the garden to grow it in.
 
I have been letting some of the grass grow to seed,  but need to be a bit more systematic with this I think as I don't know what varieties we've got & whether I'm managing them correctly.

I'd also like to get some more buddleia bushes - the orange bobbly one for example.  Recently discovered that moths like to visit the buddleia at night - had lots of migrant silver Y about this year. 

We had a swallowtail in the garden on my birthday a couple of years ago I think it was, be good to get one of them again, as well as a hummingbird hawk moth which I've never seen.

Hope the sun continues well into September so the butterflies & moths can continue to thrive!

Family & friends

Just coming to the end of a few days staying in mid-Wales with a cousin & her family.  Had a lovely time, been out with cousins & aunty, caught up with friends & heard family stories.  It's really nice to have such a network of good people, and affirms my belief that most people are thoroughly decent.  Really looking forward to getting home to beloved husband and dogs but I'm pleased to have ended the Easter break with such good times.

Chelsea bun report 3

March - Sultana & marmalade

Very nice filling.  Tried the dough from the January recipe, but it was not quite right.  Didn't rise very well, and a bit chewy rather than bready.  Might try again with a less rich dough.

Chelsea Bun Report 2

February - Bakewell Cherry

I'm not overly keen on Bakewell tarts, but I do like almonds & this was almondy - amaretto & almond essence & ground almonds in the filling.

A richer dough - eggs, butter & sugar - & extravagance in soaking the sour cherries in raspberry liqueur.

I added a raspberry jam glaze to make it even more Bakewellish.

Very nice. 

Chelsea bun report

January - white chocolate & cardamom

Nice soft texture
Cardamom gave lovely flavour, & white choc chunks nice to chomp.
Milk syrup topping seemed a bit strange, but worked well with them.

Put some in freezer, and they defrosted nicely.
Definitely one to repeat.

Janus - looking backwards & forwards

Haven't written for ages, but it's good to review and preview the years.  So 2012 was a good year.  It was the year of the dogs. 'nuff said.  Weather was pretty bad, but I managed to have 2 weeks off at home when it was dry & fairly warm.  However gardening was pretty bad.  Most of the annual flowers I planted didn't come up, or were very feeble.  I did have ipomoea & blackeyed susan in pots, and was pleased with those.

At work I became union vice-president.  Good to challenge yourself.  And 2012 was a good year for Open Access, my work obsession.

We got our act together on home improvements - builders now here till Easter adding a new bedroom, converting another into an upstairs bathroom, & creating a 'vestibule'  or dumping room as I mustn't let it become.

And I started a couple of hours weekly doing admin at Norfolk wildlife Trust HQ, which has been interesting.

So the year to come.

I'm going to do a chelsea bun variation a month!
Hoping that the new dumping room will help me be more tidy in the rest of the house
Want to contribute to the 38 degrees NHS campaign group
Now we're settled into dog walking routine, I hope I'll get some time for birdwatching
Will try planting annuals again.
Spend less time faffing about on the web?  Hmm.  That's the biggest challenge I think.

Wrapping up the blogpost can be tricky, but as they're not meant to be literary works of art, I should just write stuff & stop when I've finished.  There. Done it.

What I've been eating

OK, inspired by Veggiedyke I thought I'd  record my evening meals for a week.
Sunday:  Pasta with roasted vegetables.  Sweet potato & garlic, red pepper, red onion, chestnut mushrooms, courgette & aubergine.  Bit of olive oil, bit of basil.  Boil pasta, roast veggies, mix together & add a few cubes of cheese (used Parlick Fell)
Monday:  Rest of pasta with some Thai curried vegetables from freezer
Tuesday: Mushroom lasagne made on Saturday, & frozen.  Lots of mushrooms, onion, garlic, tin of tomatoes, tomato purée, italian dried herbs.  Simmered till formed thick sauce then layered with ricotta & lasagne sheets, grated cheddar on the top.  Yum.  Ricotta was well past its best before, but was fine.
Wednesday: Baked potato & a lentil concoction from freezer.  Over Easter I bought too many mushrooms, so had some mushroom-based dishes over last week or so.  The lentil concoction was made to go with some 'rustic' potato chips which were very dull & needed enlivening.  The idea had been to make a kind of mushroom chilli sauce, & then I add puy lentils for protein.  It was nice with the chips, and even nicer tonight with baked potato & some grated cheese.
tbc...

I'll round off the week now.
Thursday:  Had egg fried rice. Boiled some brown rice while I stir fried in sesame oil some onion, garlic, cashew nuts, courgette, mushrooms, aubergine, carrot. stirred in a couple of eggs when the veggies were done then mixed in the rice.  Served with soya sauce.
Friday:  Did some of the rustic oven chips with a bit extra oil & some cumin to spice them up.  Made a chilli tomato sauce, and fried some halloumi then served it with pita bread, stuffed vine leaves & houmous. 
 

Photographing wildlife

Been on a course today about photographing wildlife.  There is so much to learn.  Just going to make some notes to remind myself in future.  So...

• Plan the day beforehand.  Have an identified species to focus on
• Think about the light - all the time - which places are best morning or afternoon, which direction to walk around a reserve, where to stop when you see a subject - often better to keep walking slowly to get to where you want to take the photo from - if you stop then walk on likely to startle it
• Generally use ISO400 - doesn't need to vary too much
• Be ready, lens cap off, camera switched on
• Can use aperture priority on DSLR - you set aperture & camera adjusts the shutter speed
• Thirds rule doesn't necessarily apply.  If bird in tree, try to get all sky or all tree, not combination. If 3rd horizontally, have bird looking into photo
• Use depth of field - may want bird to be sharp against blurred background
• Treat it like sports photography, so fast shutter speed
• Don't need to worry about camera shake
• Practise on bigger birds.  And in the garden.  Set up sticks near feeder so birds will perch there

So now I'm going to practise, & practise & try to get the hang of the aperture vs shutter dynamic.  And will need a bigger lens. 

Living life

I've been to a memorial service today.  A friend died too early from a brain tumour, and this was a service at Colney Woodland Burial Park.  It is a beautiful place, and today the sun shone and the birds sang, making it a very poignant way to say goodbye to somebody.  Death always makes us assess where we are in life, are we making the most of it when we only have one? 

I've been feeling overwhelmed for the last few weeks.  I despise the policies the coalition government is putting in place, they are demolishing so much.  And it creates a pressure at work, many people are stressed, and I don't think this brings out the best in people.

However I've met some lovely people today, and said goodbye to someone for whom the politics of fairness and equality were so important.  I owe it to her to keep fighting and keep my spirits up.  "Life only kills when you choose not to live it."

Things I like about dogs

The dogs have settled in very well.  They are very relaxed, and we're getting into a routine though we haven't settled on what food to have quite yet.

There are so many pleasures that I want to record:

• Logan wags his tail so hard that when it's wet it slaps his sides
• Chance stretches out his back legs along the floor in the morning & pulls them along & looks very sweet
• They keep my feet warm on the sofa
• Logan likes to greet you with a teddy in his mouth.  He holds it very gently, doesn't chew it
• Chance gets up on his back legs to see over hedges if he thinks there's something interesting
• They hardly bark, and they're friendly to other people & dogs
• Logan enjoys being brushed & blowdried.  He positively wants a towel thrown over him after a walk
• Chance likes to give a little nose lick - he's very affectionate

I'm sure all the health benefits are true, they just make me feel very calm and happy, they are a lovely pair and I'm so pleased to have found them.