Another week has flashed by in a blur, but a good blur, with NO drama, and yet, there is always a little drama…fledglings are everywhere, so I’m keeping Buddy out of the back garden, yet still he hunts rodents in the courtyard. He’ll eventually dig his way through to the garden next door.
Loud. Dramatic. Sighs.
THAT DOG!
My veggie patch is almost full; I’ve left a little room for the courgettes but once they’re planted, it will be full to overflowing.
All my brassicas are now in cages that I had built years ago.These two are filled with savoy cabbage and kale. Once the cabbage white butterfly season is over they can go into the veggie patch.
The third cage is holding the broccoli and cauliflower, there’s also a little room for other crops as well.
Strawberries and fruit bushes are setting fruit, it looks like it’ll be a bumper crop this year…fingers crossed!
Potatoes in a tub…I’ve planted them everywhere, a gal has to have an eye out for Armeggedden, especially as a grandbabe will also need feeding!
Taters in the veggie patch.
I managed to clear the front of the veggie patch. I lost most of the lavender there, during the freeze a while ago, so have added new ones. I also have lots of lavender growing, from seed, in the greenhouse.
Loving this clematis, it’s been here forever!
This male blackbird is suffering from feather mite infestation, yet he’s still doing a grand job helping raise his second brood of chicks. The front of his chest is bright red, but that’s just his skin. It looks awful, but doesn’t seem to affect him. He’s had this problem for years, eventually, the feathers grow back.
My besties, and I, played out again, in Liverpool. We ate at The Art School, a terribly posh venue, to celebrate Anne’s birthday. The food was delicious and the service couldn’t be faulted. I had a warm fig salad as a starter…
and a tofu with spaghetti veggies as a main. It was utterly delicious, but, oh, my portion was tiny.
Afterwards, the three of us checked out a Georgian house that had featured in a recent television programme….A House in time, then, as Anne left to sort her dog, Trish and I played out some more.
We visited St Lukes, the old bombed out church and enjoyed a few more drinks at various establishments. A group hug was shared with a totally intoxicated homeless guy, before we ended up heading for the chippy, as I was still really hungry.
There was a homeless guy sitting outside the chippy, so we asked him if he’d like anything to eat. He said he could squeeze in a cheese and onion pie and a diet coke as he’d been well fed all day.
Note to self….if I’m ever homeless I’ll sit outside a chippy!
And Finally….
Hallie and Buddy eyeballing each other.
It’s slowly, slowly, catch your monkey with Buddy and Hallie. So far, he seems fine around her, he’s not reacting to her as he does to wildlife, so all good, although I’ll never take my eye off him. Sam and Annie are fine with her. They’ll just knock us all over!
This is the second pic of Hallie and I, the first was our fingers.
That was far more flattering than this. Here’s me with tatty hair and my roots showing, and Hallie with her bald patch!
But..hey ho…you just can’t beat a bit of reality!
Lovely post, Dina – so good to catch up with your news! You certainly won’t go short of spuds this year and the rest of the veg is looking good. It’s at this time of year I wish for an allotment so there’s space for everything I want to grow – choosing can be tricky! Love the last photo of you with Hallie and Buddy! xxx
It’s raining as I type and I’m so grateful for it! It’s so difficult to water plants in the front garden. I’m hoping we don’t get another drought this summer, the one last year was awful!
I really feel for you with your lack of rain, although it’s seems better for you all this year. I am hopeful re Buddy, he isn’t reacting to Hallie as he does to wildlife…thankfully! Time will sort it all out for sure!
Oh…I would have been happy with ten portions, they had that on the menu for £100… far too decadent for me. Thanks Anne.xxx
Nothing like decent rain to make everything GROW! Here’s to a great season for strawberries and taters and everything in between. Love seeing how lush your garden has gotten. And of course the lovely Hallie. Buddy is the wildcard, but perhaps with exposure and time, he’ll be a bit calmer around her.
I’ve been to a dinner like that — itty bitty portions, but there were 10 courses so it turned out to be really filling…unlike your artistic but scanty dinner.
Wow, your vegetable garden is so impressive! And I bet all those really fresh vegetables are just delicious when they are on your plate.
I don’t think you can beat fresh, homegrown veggies! I do hope the weather remains moderate to see them to fruition! Thanks Jason.xxx
I’m not enough of a foodie to appreciate those elegant but tiny plates of food. I would have been happy to start with the fish and chips. I can accept a pair of strawberries with a bit of meringue and a chocolate swirl for dessert, but an appetizer or main course needs to be a little more substantial.
Your veggies just knock me out. It seems like just yesterday that everything was looking so barren and brown — and look at it now! Before long, you’ll not only have a crop, you’ll have some tiny hands to help you gather it. But not this year! No need to rush. The growing up will happen soon enough.
You and me both re those tiny portions, I would have eaten before I went if I’d have known!
Veggie wise all is thriving, I just hope the summer is kind to us, last year everything was fried with that drought. Oh…the thought of tiny hands helping in the garden is lovely! Thanks Linda.xxx
Awww … baby grand and the dog … just gorgeous! Hub and I watched that House Through Time and thought it was RIVETING. xx
Thanks Gill, I really will have to watch that programme now, especially after seeing the house in Liverpool.xxx
Oh my you have a wonderful amount of vegetables 🙂
Always nice to go out with ‘besties’ and the food does look delicious.
Love the photograph of Buddy looking through the window at you and Hallie, that’s special indeed.
Enjoy the weekend and happy wishes for June.
All the best Jan
I do hope all those veggies come too fruition! Glad you like that photo, Hallie and Buddy do a lot of staring at each other. Thanks Jan.xxx
Great post and images…and dog.
Thanks Peter. Hope all is well with you.xxx
Hallie with her bald patch!!!! Aw she’s allowed to have baby down, which I bet gets stroked and kissed ad infinitum. She’s a real cutie.
Buddy looks puzzled, or might it simply be confusion.
Your starter really appealed to me…forget the main course, I reckon I could have happily eaten the starter X two.
Your cages are a neat and good idea. I think we will have potatoes sufficient to last for months, eventually.
Your outing was certainly varied. Xxxxx
Lol….yes, Hallie’s bald patch is stroked and kissed ad infinitum!!! Buddy is interested in Hallie, but not showing any sign of being aggressive which is good. The starter was delicious, I just wished there had been more of it! Good to hear your potatoes will last you months, a gal can never have too many potatoes. Thanks Menhir.xxx
Sounds as if Buddy is having a great time chasing anything moving and doing a bit of tunneling! Great pictures of you and Hallie with Buddy. The outing in Liverpool must have been fun. I enjoyed the interesting history series A House in Time so glad that you checked out the one in Liverpool. So much to see and the bombed out church is on my list for another time in the city. Plenty of home grown produce to look forward to in your veg plot and the seedlings are coming on a treat.
Buddy is hard work but also adorable, Jack’s are such high-wired breeds, they are so intelligent. I haven’t seen the programme but my friends have told me about it, it was lovely seeing that old Georgian house. You would love the bombed out church, the tour guy is so charismatic and it has such an amazing history. I think it has a website called the bombed out church, you can book tours online. I hope the weather remains good for the veg, it was so hard keeping everything watered last year during the drought. Thanks Linda.xxx
Always good fun catching up with your besties… the homeless guy was lucky to meet up with you. Lovely to see Hallie looking out at Buddy… he’ll be surprised when he sees her walking one day!
Thanks Gerrie, yes, hanging out with besties is always so regenerating! It’s awful to see the growing number of homeless people in Liverpool. How true, the way Hallie is growing she will be walking soon!!! xxx
Oh, Dina! What a wonderful post!
I love all your veggies and can already imagine the harvest. You’ll have sooooo many potatoes…food of the gods! And the strawberries and brassicas look great, too: Yum!
So lovely to celebrate with friends! Sounds like a terrific day of fun food, adventures, and caring for others. Perfect!
As for you and Hallie, well, two peas in a pod. Beautiful girls hanging out together, looking mighty merry.
Buddy is a special guy, that’s for sure. He has a special place in my heart, the rascal.
Sending love to all.🌹💖🌷
I think, of all the veggies, it always good to have a shed loads of taters, they will certainly hold the fort in the event of any disaster….lol. It’s always wonderful hanging out with my besties, we never fail to have a fantastic day. So true re Buddy, he is a total nightmare, but he is also beloved and adored, he’s just too intelligent, more so than some people I come across. Thanks as always for such a lovely comment, love and hugs to one and all. Thanks Kitty. xxxx
Your garden is looking a treat!! I love the bombed out church. Plus I always knew where I was when I passed it on the bus on our many bus trips in and out of Liverpool last year. Have fun with little Hallie xx
The bombed out church is lovely isn’t it, it’s good to see it having so many uses, weddings are held there, and concerts, along with tours. They even have film nights and a bunch of community gardeners….such a hub of the community. Where do you live? Hope all is well in your world, always good to hear from you.Thanks Judy.xxx
Well done on your productive veg garden. Nothing like going out for a meal with your chums. But you don’t expect to wind up at the chippy after a meal out. Just like you to buy chips for the homeless, I’m surprised you didn’t take them all home with you and tuck them up in your spare bed. I’m very envious of your precious baby, such a cutie.
I am pleased with the veg so far this year, fingers crossed the weather stays good! I have to agree with you, you don’t expect to end up in a chippy after forking out a fortune for a fancy meal! I think if I brought the homeless home John would leave me!!! He just about copes with the animals! Here’s to you getting a grandbabe too. I must say I didn’t mind either way re grandchildren, but now I’ve got one I can’t imagine being without. The older Hallie get’s the more fun it is! Thanks Chloris.xxx
Love your Clematis, how I hope I could grow one like it!
So many kindhearted people around I think I would want to sit outside a chippy too so I won’t starve…
That picture of Hallie and Buddy eyeballing each other makes me smile, so very cute, both of them!
As always, I enjoyed reading all the news and stories in this post. Thank you!
Thanks Jade. Yes, a spot outside the chippy is certainly a wise choice! Buddy is behaving well around Hallie which is really good news.xxx
It’s all looking and sounding good in the garden, especially the potatoes.
Those tiny meal portions made me smile, and thankful that I’m not a foodie as it seems that you pay a lot more for a lot less! xx
The veg is doing great, fingers crossed! Couldn’t agree more re the smaller the portion the more you pay! Thanks Flighty.xxx
Strangely I was going to ask if you had fish and Chios after that tiny meal. I once went out for a similar meal with a friend. After we were served she sat waiting. When I asked what she was waiting for she said the vegetables. She wasn’t happy when I told her that was all she was getting.
It’s ridiculous how small some of the portions are in these fancy restaurants, my eyes popped when I saw the size of that tofu! Thanks Sue.xxx
Your veggies are coming on a treat, you’ll be well fed this year. I think it’s going to be a good year for fruit too, the blossom was fantastic this year and there’s lots of little fruitlets on all the trees and bushes. The food looks delicious but I agree, such a small portion, I’d have been heading to the chippy too. Awww, Hallie’s grown already, they don’t stay babes in arms for long, do they?
Thanks Jo, I am pleased with the veg so far, it’s coming on in leaps and bounds with all the mild weather and rain. I agree about the fruit too, looks like we’re all in for a bumper year! I still can’t get over the size of those food portions and the speed Hallie is growing. They certainly don’t stay little for long. xxx
So many veggies! You’re very well prepared for Armageddon! I’ve planted my kale in the veggie patch but with a strange Heath Robinson net construction to protect them – fingers crossed. That food looks absolutely delicious but I’m not surprised you needed chips later. I love the photo of Buddy looking through the window at you and Hallie, and growing lavender from seed is very impressive, I noticed yesterday that mine is covered in cuckoo spit – I think I’m supposed to report it. xx
Thanks Veggiemummy, the recent rain has the veggies utterly romping away. Glad you managed to cover your kale, any cover does the trick, the cabbage white is so rampant! Hope your grow well. Lavender seed is very hit and miss isn’t it, one packet of seeds all germinated while only one seed germinated in a different packet. It does grow quickly once it’s up. Oh….I didn’t know you had to report cuckoo spit. You live and learn eh?xxx