It’s been a busy old week all round. Chicks are beginning to arrive at the rescue but there’s still no sign of the renovations completing so lots of rushing about and dashing around like a headless chicken there!
This little collared dove chick came in recently, they make excellent patients as they’re so placid, calm and trusting, but when it comes to hand feeding them I always feel that my fingers are far too big and clumsy when trying to open their tiny delicate beaks. You have to be really careful when hand feeding these chicks as the food must go over their tongues otherwise they can choke. I do love the chicks though so I always get the job of feeding them.
Amazingly we’ve had a few dry days with lovely blue skies this week, which immediately drove me into the garden. I tentatively approached the vegetable patch. Now, after three days of dig dig digging I’m typing with an aching back and throbbing shoulders. It’s surprising how out of condition you get after a diggingless winter….sighs….and rubs shoulders…
Lots of these about…and little brown looking ladybirds mating!
And….lot’s of creepy crawly scurrying creatures trying to avoid me!
And of course Curly cat loves it when I’m in the front garden, it’s hard to get anything done though as I spend so much time stroking her!!!
I harvested hundreds of spring onions and THREE beetroots, along with four tiny carrots and three even tinier parsnips. Not much to show for a years work eh???
So, the unexpected gift…..well, this week I got an email of Flighty at flightplot.wordpress.com asking me if I would like some of his favourite marigold seeds. “Of course” said I, then two days later they popped through my letterbox. They are now sitting snuggy and warm in seed trays. I find it amazing to think that someone I’ve never met can send me a gift, and now, flowers from his allotment will grow and seed in mine!!! Thanks Flighty, they’re in the best green fingered hands and I shall take good care of them.
And along with Flighty’s marigold’s, all these seeds have to be sown in March! I need a few more greenhouses methinks, or I have to buy less seeds!!!
I made a start on the seeds by sowing delphiniums, I always cover them with the bottoms of plastic bottles to keep the slugs out…..it helps a little but one or two slugs still get at them.
Here’s my weeded veggie patch, I’ve moved the fennel as I like to rotate the crops, and I’ve planted shallots and seeded carrots, spinach, broad beans and peas. Curly just loves the pea sticks and weaves in and out of them.!!! Tomorrow I hope to sow broccoli and cauliflower and leave the rest of the patch for my potatoes that are chitting beautifully in the greenhouse.
The very sight of that veggie patch does make everything ache and throb even worse though……
And finally…..all six fruit trees are now planted up in tubs to give their roots a chance to fill out. Apricots, apples and cherries in the summer……HOPEFULLY!!!!
Lol….sorry Kegs…. It is hard work but such fun! I hope you got veggies from last year and may your garden blossom this year!xxxxx
It was your fault that I rushed out and bought loads of veggie seeds last year. They kept me busy and keeping the slugs off them was a full time job. As if I haven’t learnt my lesson I saw your recent post and rushed out to buy more seeds – this time for some colourful plants. I have been planting them all today, so fingers crossed.
Looks like you have made a good start on the garden. Even the cat is admiring your handiwork ! :))
I have not started planting anything in the greenhouse as yet. I might go and have a potter in their today except currently it is snowing.
More snow???? oh you poor thing. It gets depressing doesn’t it. We have cold and yet MORE rain…….sighs….xxxxx
I’m in love with the little dove chick – ridiculously cute! And round of applause for the veggie patch…you’ll be ‘thankful’ (I say that in the broadest of terms) of the aching back and shoulders in a few months when everything looks so good 🙂 x
Thanks Toni. The chick is a little dream boat for sure. Every day I go out to find Curly digging the onions up! Cat’s eh!!!xxxxx
Hi Dina…….another wonderful post. I love the images, especially your lovely kitty kat:)xxxxx
Thanks Janet, she is such a sweetheart!xxxxx
A lovely cleared veg patch, you have been very busy at the weekend, the weather was perfect wasn’t it. Cats especially enjoyed the sunshine.
Lots and lots of seeds to sow, very exciting I can’t wait to get going with mine too.
Thanks Annie, it is wonderful to finally clear the veggie patch, it’s a shame it doesn’t stay cleared long though.
The weather was much better over the weekend and Curly soaks up the rays.
It is a lovely time isn’t it when we can get the seeds going. Winter seems to last so long and I think that’s why I keep buying seeds and then I realize that I have far too many!!!xxxxx
Well done, your digging efforts are very impressive and I’m very very jealous of those spring onions, for some reason I just cannot grow them!! xx
It’s strange what grows well for different people isn’t it. I find spring onions really easy to grow, I just sow the seeds and ignore them. I have problems with broccoli and cauliflower, they seem to take ages to grow and then the cabbage white gets at them but I can net them.xxxxx
What a sweet little dove. My, it is coming along nicely, sore back or not.
Thanks Dessie. The dove is a little darling for sure.xxxxx
A great harvest and a delightfully snuggly chick as well. 🙂
Lol….Yes….a very snuggly chick!!! xxxxx
You’ve certainly made the most of the weekend, you’ve been so busy. Your veg patch is all ready to go, and what a bonus having things still to harvest at this time of year. It sounds like there’s going to be Fighty’s Favourites marigolds all over the country this year as I got sent some too, they’ll be brightening up lots of gardens and allotments. The little collared dove is so cute, but such a shame that it needs to be helped. Thank goodness for shelters and rescue centres, and the people who run them, that’s what I say.
Ah thanks Jo….it is great to be able to still grab a little food from the veggie patch. It’s wonderful when it’s all dug over and planted, but, no rest for the wicked eh….as then the dreaded weeds start to sprout!
Yes, it’s a shame that any wild animal has to come into the rescue, they hate to be handled and hate captivity so we do try to release as soon as possible. xxxxx
Lovely to see the little dove so well cared for; I imagine you are coming in to a busy time of year with chicks coming into the rescue. Your sowing sounds well underway; I haven’t really got started yet. Like you, I have plenty of seed packets, but now I’m also wondering if I have enough room for the pots and trays, or if there are enough hours in the day to sow them all.
Thanks Wendy……yes, around now the youngsters start coming in and everything gets really crazy and busy and we have to take turns caring for the chicks at home as they need feeding day and night.
Lol….I totally understand your concerns re having too many seeds and trays…..I’m almost out of space in the greenhouse already.xxxxx
Wow, that’s a lot of seeds! Your garden must look beautiful come summer x
Lol….I always buy FAR too many seeds, I’m like a kid in a sweet shop!!! xxxxx
God that collared dove chick is just gorgeous! It must be lovely when you see these birds nursed back to heath and able to be released into the wild xx
Doves are such beautiful little birds….no wonder they are the chosen to represent peace.
It’s always the very best bit to see the animals go back into the wild.xxxxx
Ohh I love how Curly creeps around the garden after you – she must be made up that the weather is looking brighter now! Looking forward to seeing the garden in bloom! x
Thanks Scarlett…..y’know Curly visibly cheers up as the weather gets better. I hope we get less rain this year and more blooms….xxxxx
What beautiful shots of the garden. Of course, watching the cat inspect the property, reminds me of my own days on this earth…
Thanks Shimon…..lol….a most MYSTERIOUS comment! xxxxx
Your work is really paying off! You are certainly helping spring along with all of your tender care. The dove chick is so sweet ~ and glad to hear it is coming along well. Curly is appreciating your company too by the sounds of things. Look after yourself too 🙂
Thanks Glo, I’m sitting here typing away to avoid getting the spade out….it’s great when a job gets done but tough on the aging back!!!
Yes, it makes Curly’s day to have a little company, poor thing!xxxxx
Your gardening is coming along famously! You are the perfect one to feed the dove; so glad you’re there and willing, Snow Bird! Treat yourself to a grand massage! We’re receiving 10″ of snow again over the next few days, so our tulips and etc. will rest a while longer…I have to find a good greenhouse to set up!
Thanks for a wonderful post! Peace to your week, your dove, your garden and your back…and peppy, fast, excellent–and accurate–work at the rescue!
Thanks Catherine. It’s always an up hill struggle to sort the garden after a long cold winter isn’t it. I am amazed at how much snow you’ve had, and are still getting. I hope your tulips survive it! I was worried that my daffs would suffer after our snow but they seem fine, very adaptable bulbs!
Oh you have to treat yourself to a greenhouse, it allows you to potter in the worst weather. I sit in mine while the dogs have their daily run. xxxxx
That dove chick is sooooo precious 🙂
Better busy than bored, I say. (Although bored is good every once in a while!)
The doves are so gorgeous ….yes!
Lol….bored is certainly good for an achy back!xxxxx
So nice to have a bit of colour coming up in your garden world. Those crocuses are so lovely. I like that Curly cat hangs out with you as you take care of chores. I wish we could teach our cats to weed — wouldn’t that be such a great help?!
Lol….that is a great thought! If only eh? Curly likes to dig things out as I plant them, yesterday she was obsessing about digging the onions out as fast as I planted them.xxxxx
You really have been busy. still to cold to even start here but will soon xx
Thanks Free, yes we all have to start gradually and there is so much to do isn’t there, hopefully we’ll all have a good spring and summer!xxxxx
Splendid! Really gives one the ‘feel’ of Spring…this. I suspect ‘Her Ladyship’ here at home will be out in the garden regularly…pretty soon. Already spent a few hours ‘cleaning up’ in our smaall garden….;)
Postaage stamp in comparison to yours….:))
You sure have much to do…by the sound of this post…..Hugs! :)xx
Thanks Ell, it really does seem like spring is almost here now, especially when a blue sky appears!
I’m glad you and Her Ladyship are clearing and sorting your garden out….I like the saying “There’s good stuff in little parcels” yes!!!
The more I do the more seems to need doing….sighs….xxxxx
My, you have been a busy lady and with such a delightful helper as well. Love your little dove hope he does well for you. I have been busy outdoors too a shame to miss the good weather but I soon seem to get pooped these days and have to keep coming indoors for a lie down. Hey ho!
Thanks Elaine, Curly is SUCH good company, she’s more dog like with me than my dogs.
The little dove is doing really well so hopefully will be released when it becomes an adult bird.
I’m glad to hear that you too are out and about in your garden, it’s SO cheering to see a blue sky isn’t it?
I’m with you on the lie down……especially after a long indulgent winter!xxxxx
The flowers that bloom in the spring TRA LA!!! another fabulous post, full of love for living things – may all the things you grow bloom and flourish and defeat the Evil Slug! I used to plant marigolds round the back door in Nigeria, they are supposed to deter mosquitoes …
Awwwww, thanks for taking the time to comment, you with your poor sore thumb and all. I hope it’s feeling a little better now and you don’t have to hold it up.
Lol, the EVIL slugs take far to many of my seeds, it’s so annoying, I watch them uncurl and grow their first set of leaves then one day all the tops have been chewed off….and we have a frog living in the greenhouse!!!
How interesting about the mozzies!! They do have a strong scent and many gardeners plant them in between tender veg to deter insect attacks.xxxxx
Oh beautiful dove chick!
You are putting me to shame.. but tomorrow is forecast to be a bit warmer so I am going to make a start. Yes. March seed sowing and clearing out some beds I didn’t get a chance to do in the deluge that was autumn.
I hope you managed to get out and about in the garden today….it’s hard work but so rewarding once things start to pop up and sprout. Autumn…..what a washout. I hope it’s dryer this year!xxxxx
I see that you’ve been busy, and with all those seeds you’re going to be busy in weeks to come as well.
I think that we all ache at this time of year after too much armchair gardening over the past few months.
Being distracted by Curly made me smile, and I’m just the same with the robin on the plot.
Thanks for the mention, and link and I hope that you enjoy the flowers when they bloom.
Happy gardening. xx
Oh Flighty…..I’m STILL aching as I’ve done another few hours today, and the more you do the more you see what needs doing…..
Curly is MOST demanding of me when I’m outdoors, she sees it as her time!!!
I’ll keep you posted re your marilgolds, thanks again!xxxxx
I have had the opportunity to hand-feed a dove before, and no other bird. Thanks for the memories. They are very sweet birds. Of course you’ll get lots of opportunities to tend to orphaned and broken birds if your cat gets to go outdoors…ack! Nesting season coming up, maybe she can get to know the wonders of being Queen of the House.
They are such gentle creatures, they melt my heart, I can’t believe how trusting and docile they are.
Sadly, Curly cat is a stray who lives in our shed, we’ve had her for four years. She hates our dogs and refuses to come in, I’m happy to have her indoors it would be so much better for our birds. What get’s me is why she kills when she’s so well fed!!! But that’s cats!
Thanks for dropping by.xxx
Yup, they’re wired for it, all right–they can’t help it. I guess the problem comes from them being an invasive species, and when we support them and let them out (not that you LET yours out), we’re kind of picking which species we’re going to be kind to. Hey! Maybe you could hang a nice, loud, jingly anvil on her collar! 🙂
Ah! Cat collars! Therein lies a tale. I put a collar on Curly a few years ago and when I went out to feed her she was yowling outside the front door. Somehow she had got the collar around her stomach and it was horribly tight causing her flesh to hang over the sides horribly. Of course, in situations like these there is never any one around to help so I had to cut the thing off the irate cat myself. It ended in tears for me…..but I did get it off! So I dare not try the collar again!xxxxx
So jealous of all you’ve accomplished so far in the veggie patch. I can’t even look at my garden space without aching – and I haven’t even gotten started!
Lol…..I’m afraid we’re all going to be aching soon and the aches get worse as the spring wears on!xxxxx