A Grand Life Sez They!

A fortnight back I thought I was having a regular trip to the doc and it turned into fullscale Heckety warfare. 'Just think of it as an MOT,' said the nurse; well cars have feelings too, thought I....but she was only doing her job, and being really nice too, so I managed to catch that one behind my teeth before it popped out.

For all the poking and prodding and having pins and needles and winkle pickers and button hooks jabbed at me, all they managed to come up with was that I've anaemia.Whoop-di-doo! Watch out for your gates folks, I'll be gnawing my way along the neighbours' railings presently...or I would if we had any...neighbours, that is!

Somebody hasn't been eating their greens, sez you! Well if you came in from work every day as tired and cold as I, and collapsed onto the sofa while you ate they quickest, easiest thing you could find...a banana usually, then crawled into bed, you wouldn't be eating your greens either. Greens take energy to prepare. Youngest cooks for herself and the Hub, which is very long-suffering of her, but I since can't eat pasta, bread, rice, or anything out of a bottle, tin, packet, or whatever, I'm not able to share their meals. (allergies)

Its a bummer. And now I'm really sick, serves me right, though it seems to be settling into the usual bout of sinusitis. Blaaahhhh. Which is where the Experimental Year's experiments would come in if I had the energy...

As long as you've your health, they say. Mental or physical, sez I, and they don't know what to answer to that.

Sure aren't ye the young healthy one? they say, and never known a sick day in yer life! Well, you be making the most of yer youth, sez they, for it won't last.

Sure it won't, mine departed when I was about twenty four and I'm sick searching for it ever since.

Its a grand life when ye have it, sez they.

Sure it is...Let's swap!

Garden News

Since there was a break in the rain this morning, I decided to sort out some jobs, instead of the endless monotonous weeding. I repotted the four Woad plants which survived the Winter (or my neglect, depending on your opinion?) To separate their intertwined roots I had to tip them out and tease them apart ever so carefully, so I hope they do alright.

So much for the Salad Bed- its been over-run by parsley and strawberries, and the single montbretia which arrived last year has somehow multiplied into about ten plants at least. The Chard (red stems) are pretty much done for, and the parsley needs a severe talking to. If I just cut all the parsley back I'm wondering if it will behave itself for another year- does anyone know? Or once it has gone to seed as spectacularly as this do I need to start anew?

Back in May we had 'The Brown Wind' which burnt all the leaves which were out. No raspberry flowers, or apple blossom or anything else which fruits, as a result. At the time it was horrible, days of gale force winds, but as you can see from this acer, which is in the same state as my apple trees and fruiting canes, its going to take more than one season for plants to recover.

The Hub has been rescuing plastic sheeting from his Work skip, so this morning we laid it all out to see was their enough to put together a bit of a polytunnel. He reckons we have enough for the roof, and we'll use pallets along the sides for the present. He's going to get a few poles from the Sawmill down the road, and a coil of rope, so I'll keep you updated!

And here we have the salad I picked earlier for lunch- ssssh, don't tell them, its dandelion leaves! And some other greens too- of course!!

So that's the state of the Nation as we go to press today!!