Little Lotte is finally beginning to fill out. The potatoes are up and the broad beans, onions and garlic are romping away. Lettuce is potted up and beetroot and brassicas have been planted out.
The seeds have been painfully slow germinating this year, I can’t recall such a slow start to the growing season. I’d almost given up on the courgettes and was planning on buying some seedlings but noticed a tiny dash of green appearing today, so there is hope. I’ve planted out half of the tomatoes as I’m running out of space in the greenhouse, they’re only a few inches high, so I hope they survive. Normally they’d be about six inches tall at this time of the year.
The plants really seem to think It’s February!
The back garden is beginning to look like a forest now the beech trees have leafed out, it’s lovely looking out at them from the warmth of the greenhouse.
After a totally dry April, May has delivered torrential, endless rain and even thunder storms, no wonder the plants are confused.
Clematis Montana clambering up a cherry tree.
Given we can meet up outdoors these days, four of us decided to enjoy a home cooked Indian feast in my back garden. The weather forecast was good so we went ahead. One minute the sun was shining, the next horizontal, torrential rain was hammering down. I was blissfully unaware of this as I was intent upon stirring my lentil dahl and finishing off the rice.
Hubs, who was working from home came dashing into the kitchen to inform me that everyone was now sheltering in the dining room. We ended up staying in there, against the rules or not. Everyone except me had had their two vaccines, so hopefully all will be well. It was a week ago and touch wood, there have been no issues. We were all absolutely thrilled to be able to get together, how we’ve all missed that!
I’ve now had my second jab which means hubs and I will be good to go in two weeks or so, however our small town, Formby, now has a large outbreak of the Indian variant which is putting the mockers on things somewhat.
Beautiful, but very poisonous Laburnum.
The hostas are popping up and remaining hole free! We seem shy of slugs these last few years. Not that I’m complaining.
And Finally…
A dog walker discovered a lamb in a park being pestered by teenagers with dogs so picked it up and brought it to our rescue. He’s had to be bottle fed, even late in the evening, so I was happily added to the rota. Tell you what, you have to pity the mother sheep, that lamb tugged on that bottle with some strength!
Until next time, stay safe guys.xxx
Hello there you !
We haven’t had our second shot .. not for the wanting of it, Canada has not done well with the vaccine roll out and Ontario is even worse .. at least we had the first shot I guess I have to be grateful for that ? ..
It is so discouraging to know some people get some kind of enjoyment out of harming an animal, I just can’t wrap my head around what kind of humans they are ?
Your gardens are gorgeous ! That clematis is beautiful 😉 .. We are very dry here .. and it went up to 30 degrees today .. so I am going to have to hand water again .. our sprinkler system isn’t turned on yet .. have to contact the company and see what is happening.
Those cherry trees make me smile .. so amazing to see .. and then have beautiful, natural, confetti as a parting gift, how sweet can it get ? LOL
I do hope you get your second jab soon, as you say, at least you’ve had the first one.
Yes, I’ve given up trying to understand people who hurt animals, I’m sure they progress to hurting people. Hand watering is so time consuming, I always wish we had a sprinkler system, here’s to yours being turned on or to a little rain coming your way. You just can’t beat cherry trees, they are gorgeous for sure, and yes, the confetti is a lovely parting shot. Thanks Joy.xxx
And yet more rain to come, it makes entertaining tricky but the gardens look so lush. This wretched plague keeps throwing curve balls doesn’t it? Just when we thought we would all be free and safe this summer, then along comes the Indian variant to scupper our plans.
Your blossom carpet reminds me of my Liverpudlian mother in law who was definitely not a planty person. When invited to admire a glorious avenue of cherry blossom like yours in full beauty she said, ‘ Yes, but they make such a mess, don’t they?’
And still it rains….sighs, yes it sure makes it hard to entertain outdoors. It is a pain re the Indian variant, thankfully it’s under control here now, still, it was scary while it lasted. Hahaha, your Liverpudlian mother in law did make me laugh, she’s right though. Thanks Chloris.xxx
Everything is slower this year. I wonder if we will enjoy pleasant autumn weather sometime this year.
The lamb looked very healthy, fortunately. Mum must be wondering where her babe is. Perhaps the farmer will get in touch about the missing lamb. They certainly do tug to get at milk. It’s no wonder as lambs increase in size the ewe limits the time of their access to her teats.
Your greenery and annuals all seem to be doing well. Slower growing plants are usually strong, and when it comes to food, more flavoursome, particularly soft fruits. xxxxx
Everything is slow this year, apparently it’s been the coldest spring for 60 years. It’s all very odd about the lamb, it was in a park unmarked, I suspect the kids took it from the field. All’s well now, it’s settled in beautifully. It makes sense that the mothers start limiting milk, it must hurt like hell. I do hope the plants remain strong, I’ve never known a spring like this one. Thanks Menhir.xxxx
Gosh, what kind of person would bully a lamb? In any case, so glad you got your second shot. Your garden looks good, I’m really impressed with the Laburnum. Everything here has been slow as it has been mostly very cool, but very dry as well.
There are some nasty folk in this world for sure. It’s a great relief to have had both jabs, in another week we should be good to go. Here’s to some good weather for us all. Thanks Jason.xxx
I don’t worry overly about inside dining or even the variants, for all that. A variety of studies makes pretty clear that the vaccines (at least Moderna and Pfizer) will protect against the variants, and the same general caution is all that’s needed.
I also hope your garden begins to thrive in earnest. Everything here seems to be in overdrive: blueberries are ripe for picking, yellow squash, zucchini, and pattypan are producing, and blackberries will be available soon. The garden where I get my tomatoes has had three ripen, and the lady farmer says the first two dozen are for her!
Those are interesting studies.. I hope the AstraZeneca works as well as that’s what we’ve had, reports suggest it will. Oh, everything sounds glorious in your part of the world. here’s to your first tomatoes. Thanks Linda.xxx
Dear Dina, good work with the lovely lamb (I keep my thoughts for myself about what I would have done to these bastards teenagers…) Incredible what a so called sentient being can do against a poor little creature indefended.
Hope the man rescuing the lamb was able to inform the police… even if I think there is little to be done, what kind of moral and teaching gave their parents to them?
The Clematis is really precious, but as well the Laburnum and its yellow flowers is lovely, I didn’t know that is venemous.
Little by little, the good weather and the sun will make a better work of the little seedlings and sprouts, will see.
Hugs and kisses
:-)c
Thanks Claudine.I suspect those teenagers took that lamb from a field, lambs don’t turn up in parks. At least it’s safe now and with other sheep. I do hope it warms up soon, the plants and seedlings will be grateful and it would be nice to see a little sun for a change, it does make such a huge difference. Love and hugs to you all.xxx
Your garden looks amazing! You have been very busy. I’m glad you could rescue the lamb, imagine how confused and frightened it must have been. Are you still helping to rescue local animals and wildlife?
Sorry to hear you have a new strain detected in Formby, it is such an unpredictable time. Best wishes, and keep safe.
Thanks Gerrie, yes, that poor lamb must have been terrified surrounded by dogs. I’m surprised how quickly it adjusted to being reared by people. Only paid staff are going into the rescue at the moment, I just go in to help with the lamb and other things when everyone has gone home. Thankfully the numbers have dropped here now which is a relief.xxx
They mentioned Formby in the news tonight and I thought of you.
Things certainly are progressing very slowly gardening wise this year. What a year!
Thankfully the numbers of the Indian variant have dropped radically now which is a relief. Indeedy, what a year! Thanks Sue.xxx
Every time I go out I marvel at how long and how late the spring is. When we do get some warm sunshine I reckon the plants will party!
I read somewhere that this spring is the coldest for 60 years, no wonder nothing will germinate! Tell you what, I’ll be partying along with the plants when we get a little warm weather. Thanks Gill.xxx
Lambs ain’t subtle! They’re pretty darn ram head butting ruthless. I’m with the plants, it’s February not June in two weeks 😳
Yes, nothing subtle about lambs!!! How I wish it would warm up, we still have the heating on. Thanks AnneMarie.xxx
So glad to hear that you have had your second jab, we all still need to be careful though. I was sorry to hear that Formby has an outbreak of the Indian variety, I have quite a few friends there so must contact them. My garden is flooded and lots of areas are under water, Ireally wish the rain would stop! Your garden is looking lovely and green and your veg look fantastic!
Thanks Pauline, yes we still have to avoid taking risks. Thankfully the number of cases has dropped radically here, which is a relief. Sorry to hear you’re garden is swamped, here’s to a little more balanced weather, sunshine during the day and rain at night would be nice. xxx
Oh, what a rich post! The images are all so lush and full of promise! I so envy all the rain everyone’s talking about. I sure wish you could direct some here. Your plants all look wonderful to me. Good luck with the late risers.
Sweet little lamb, I’m so glad it found its way to you! Blessings on its continued peace.
An Indian meal with your friends gathered: what a wonderful treat, wet or dry!
Very sorry to hear that, just as you’ve received your second vaccine, the Indian variant has arrived. Please be safe; this one scares me terrifically. I think we kind of rushed into “no masks for the vaxed” here, without considering this variant’s presence as well.
I hope things will dry out for you and all your garden miracles will grow merrily.
Thank you for this wonderful post. ♥️
Thanks so much Kitty. I wish I could send some rain, it does get everything growing lush and green. The lamb is happily settled in with the other sheep now, at least it’s safe and won’t be slaughtered. It’s just marvellous getting together again after such a long time, we all had a blast. Yes, the Indian variant is scary isn’t it, how I feel for those affected by it in India, it seems that oxygen is the new currency there. Thankfully it’s dying out here. I agree re the masks, jabbed or not we still have to wear them everywhere, even when moving around in the pubs and restaurants. Love and hugs to you all.xxxx
I haven’t commented for a while, but do read all of your posts. I look forward to them on a Friday.
Your veggies are looking good. My tomato plants are still quite small. So I have had to bring them indoors when the rain has been heavy in case the stems get broken.
Fancy finding a lamb in the park. I do hope you don’t have to give it back if the farmer finds out where it is.
Sorry to hear that your town has had an outbreak of the new variant. It’s good that you were all vaccinated prior to the outdoor/indoor meal though.
Let’s hope the warm weather is on the way.
Thanks Keggy, always good to hear from you, I hope all is well with you and yours. My tomatoes are small too, I suspect a lot of the veg will be months behind this year, hopefully we’ll get a decent summer and the veggies will catch up.
It was odd re the lamb, I think it must have been taken from a field. It also has no markings on it so no farmer will be able to claim it. All very strange. At least he’s settled in with our other sheep now and growing up fast. Thankfully the Indian variant is disappearing here now. Yes, good we were all jabbed, we wouldn’t have taken the chance if we hadn’t been. It’s just lovely getting together in person, how we’ve all missed that.xxx
Lovely post and pictures. Warm and wet weather has certainly made a difference over the past couple of weeks after such a slow start.
Thanks, and you too. xx
Thanks Flighty. It’s still pretty cold here, even the greenhouse is pretty cold. Here’s to a better summer.xxx
Oh, that poor little lamb, thank goodness there are some good people out there who care about animals. I haven’t grown many things from seed this year but even so, it took me two attempts to get one variety of tomatoes to germinate, though everything outdoors seems to be growing at a rate of knots with all the rain we’ve had just lately. The grass is in desperate need of a cut but it’s just been too wet to do it, I’m hoping it’s a job we can cross off the list this week. Glad you were able to spend some time with loved ones, all change again tomorrow, though for how long I don’t know with this Indian variant threatening to throw everything off course. Fingers crossed we’ve seen the end of lockdowns now.
Yes, it was lucky that the dog walker intervened, god knows what would have become of the poor little thing. I have all sorts that haven’t germinated, for love nor money I can’t get a courgette to germinate, normally they fly up. I thought one had but it died back. I think most of the veg will be late and small this year. Oh yes, fingers and toes crossed that life returns to normal soon and we get to see the back of covid. Thanks Jo.xxx
I’m glad that it’s not just me who has had late germination this year. Lots of rain here too but, sadly, no thunderstorms – I love me a bit of thunder! A homemade Indian feast sounds excellent and I don’t blame you at all for decamping to the dining room. The weather has been so bad that I imagine lots of people have been doing the same. Shame we couldn’t have been supporting our restaurants during this wet period. The lamb is adorable. xx
I love a good old thunderstorm too, I also enjoy heavy rain as long as I’m not out in it. We really enjoyed the Indian feast, but just being together was absolutely fantastic, you don’t realise how much you miss company. I feel for all the pubs and restaurants, they must have lost so much business due to the rain this month. I did enjoy feeding that lamb, he’s adorable. Thanks Veggiemummy.xxxx
Oh! I have missed the last post or two and look at your garden! So green and flourishing — even those very late seedlings. Here’s to a great season despite the May torrential rains.
Such a sweet photo of you feeding the little wooly.
I do wish it would warm up a little but at least the rain has everything lush and growing. It was a pleasure getting that close to a lamb, he’s acting all grown up now he’s with the older sheep. Thanks Anne.xxxx
Yes, May has been a bit of a wash out hasn’t it.
I have managed to get out an about for some local walks and avoided the downpours, but I pity those who have been caught out in it.
I can remember going on a farm visit with the grandchildren a few years back and we all had the opportunity to bottle feed some lambs … yes they do tug hard on the bottle don’t they 🙂
Have a good week.
All the best Jan
Yes, it seems to have rained most of May and it always buckets down when not expected. Glad to hear you’ve managed a few walks. I’ve never fed a lamb before so was surprised how strong they are. It’s fun watching them bouncing about when running. Thanks Jan.xxx