Vineyard grapes

This is the first season any grapes from the vineyard can be picked, so it's a welcome sight to see the golden orbs appearing as shown in this image (click to enlarge). It'll make a change to have a proper wine brewing... there's two demijohns of rhubarb wine in the study at home, nestling beside the latest experiment of what I hope will be a cheeky little number... a banana wine, fermenting in the tub. Of course that assumes I can wrestle a few grapes from son in law to be Barry's grasp. They're his vines, but hopefully he won't be counting how many grapes he's got!

At last beginning to get the plot under control after a couple of weeks of despair. Seems as though I left the plot one evening reasonably tidy, to return the next evening with weeds on the ramage. Extra sessions in the form of early morning (and I mean early morning... 06:30) visits have helped me catch up. Beautiful weather over the bank holiday weekend have helped the early rise. Suppose it shouldn't be a surprise the weeds are growing so quickly this time of the year... all my seed sowings are going well too. Just have to remember to be extra vigilant at hoeing this time next year.

Started decorating the hall at home yesterday with a first coat of white emulsion on the ceiling. Actually, that wasn't the first decorating activity... decided a new bit of equipment was required to spur me on so went out and bought one of those contortionist ladders that's the answer to all your problems when looking up the local version of the north face of the Eiger in the form of our stairwell. Spent thirty minutes putting the bolts on the wrong way, another forty minutes to take bolts off and place back correctly. So decorating count so far is...

- Fiddling about to avoid starting the job, three hours

- Actually doing the job, four hours

That's about as much as I can get away with and avoid disapproving looks.

Princess Paige

Following the success of the grandsons' visit on Friday, went for bust and took granddaughter Paige (4 years old) to the allotment with brother Connor the following day. As seen here (click image to enlarge) Paige is always dressed in pink and normally has her Sleeping Beauty outfit on... she's going to have problems when she needs to dress up 'cause there's nowhere to go!

Connor continued building his castle, ending up with a boat complete with flag (no, neither do I know how a castle turns into a boat) which we stuffed into the car so he could continue playing with it at home. Sure Beth and Chris were grateful to me for that. Paige is much more high maintenance so there was lots of water can filling, door opening and general princess-attendant type duties for me. To download and listen to our discussion about princes and her feelings for cousin Sammy, click here.

They were late being returned to grateful parents since they decided to play statues when it was time to leave. They were both frozen and unresponsive to my encouragements to leave and we had several sessions of this down the path to the car. Little angels!

Sunday started with great hope that I'd at last be the holder of all three competition cups. Already having retained the tennis cup from Barry earlier in the week, playing both squash against son David and pub games against him and son John had me buzzing. It only took a 1-3 beating from David on the squash court to bring me back to earth.

The buzz was rekindled when David announced he was bringing his fan club to the Legion that evening... his girlfriend Honor. The family had only caught fleeting glimpses over recent months, even though they've apparently been going out together on and off for more than ten years! David would do well to work for MI5.

Spent a pleasant evening getting to know Honor a bit better and her support spurred David on to win the pub games cup. Had a very relaxing cycle home on the Pashley, maintaining a decently straight line in spite of the beer and the emotional impact of losing another cup. Retired early and was deep asleep when the mobile 'phone beside the bed rang me into sudden awakeness at midnight. David had lost his keys so could he borrow my crowbar to get in through a window same as last time? Only problem was he's had double glazing windows fitted since the previous episode, so he was back on the 'phone at 00:40 to ask if he and Honour could stay over. The following morning the pair of them were off like a shot without the proffered breakfast, cup of tea or anything else. Keys found at John's house, where they'd all retired to after I'd wobbled off on my bike.

Of course the interrogation from daughter Becky this afternoon, when we both spent a pleasant hour together on the plot, revealed I'd missed all the important questions to ask Honor. No doubt Becky and sister Beth will be giving me a list beforehand when the opportunity next arises.

Walked through Hemingford Grey and back along the water meadow with Linda this morning. Had asked at Norris Museum about boundary markers which apparently still show the ancient pre-Enclosure Acts boundaries. Sure enough they were there in white along both sides of the meadow and in the middle in some cases.

Gradually catching up on the tidying up of the raised beds and potting up the flower seedlings. Also started repotting the geraniums. About half of the vegetable seeds I planted in the greenhouse are now showing. Will have to see if this is the best method of propogating when I have to plant out about three hundred of them!

At last we've had some decent rain, although the ground remains hard and we need quite a bit more. Parts of East Anglia are designated as having a semi arid climate similar to Colorado or Montana in the USA, or The Outback in Australia. Suppose we should be grateful for what rain we get!

Grinning grandsons

Well, they're trying their best at grinning... but when you're two front teeth short of a mouthful (Connor on right,), and trying to look scarily funny (Sammy on left) it doesn't always work out right. Here we are having a picnic in the greenhouse while a rain cloud passes by (click image to enlarge).

Spent a couple of hours this afternoon on the allotment. They amused themselves castle building, which involved carrying most of what had been constructed at the back of the plot last time they were there through to the front to start again. My only involvement was keeping an eye on them, particularly when they raided the shed looking for inspiration... out came the stool. Gave them a 'no' when Connor came struggling past the chicken barrier pulling thirty feet of tubing, threatening to lay everything flat if he dragged it over the raised beds. Sure it took me more effort than he'd used to get it all back!

So while they amused themselves I did the usual daily chicken maintenance and then at last got down to pulling up the the grass sprouting around the edges of some raised beds. Wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it might be... and boy, did it look much better when I'd finished!

I've included below the maximum/minimum temperatures I've been recording, this graph shows the April results (click to enlarge). My readings for overnight temperatures look spot on, but the daytime figures are way out. Yes, we did have a month with much higher temperatures than normal, but not that high. Still struggling to get the outside sensor in the right environment. My Heath Robinson attempt at a Stevenson screen just isn't up to the job... although it protects the sensor from wind and reflects the sun there's not enough air passing through to keep it cool when the sun's shining. So another project gets the green light... I'm going to attempt a more professional version as per the plans here. The usual rules apply... more than thirty minutes to build and there's a risk of boredom setting in, get away with as little cost as possible. So I've bought the pot trays and hope to get away with using some wooden dowels I've already got plus a bit of glue. I'll let you know how it turns out provided it's not too humiliating!

Bird box success

Having already had great success with the robins and their new nesting box back home, the new blue tit box (click image to enlarge) has also attracted parents. So that's a great success for the bird box plans I used.

Caught a glimpse of a blue tit popping in and out. Was it just investigating or really feeding chicks? The latter was confirmed shortly afterwards as, hiding round the corner of the greenhouse, I saw a parent visit with a big green caterpillar in its beak, leaving a few moments later carrying out some white poo. So my camera's going to be at the ready to try and snap a visit over the next few days.

Had a really productive morning while Linda was at playschool... moved the rhubarb wine into demijohns, bottled up the latest home brewed beer and even managed an hour on the allotment before lunch. As I lifted the carpeting on top of the current compost bin to add some more kitchen waste I came face to face with Mr Ratty. Since that bin was ready for turning, returned in the afternoon and moved it into the next bin. Also mixed up the oldest pile with the horse manure that had been sitting for six months to give me a big pile of potting compost... no more buying the stuff!

The next episode in the saga of son John's cars continues tomorrow... he's taking possession of a Ford Escort for £600. We're meeting him in town to exchange a brown envelope with the cash. Hope this one stays on the road for a while.

Had been intending to have another camp fire on the allotment with the grandchildren, but realised I'll have to think of an alternative to the torch lit tramp through the woods since it's now light up to 21:00 (the oldest is only six). While the fire drops down to glowing embers for sausage sizzling maybe we can play hide and seek.

Early bird

I'm always up about 06:00 in Summer and generally mess around on my PC, but I've started having an early morning visit to the plot. So postings are likely to change over the next few months... shorter but hopefully more regular as I post on work days and rainy days.

Only had a couple of dawn raids but they've made all the difference... was getting a bit despondent (well, as much as a half pint full person ever does) that things were going backwards. Soooooo many seedlings to pot up, sooooo much grass growing where it shouldn't. No time to plant any more seeds and yet I've got empty raised beds. The ninety minute visits I was managing were eaten up by chicken maintenance, watering and fiddling about with the maximum minimum temperature readings (that reminds me, must post the results for April).

Feeling much more positive about the plot now... even got time to take some close up shots of the strawberries fast developing in the greenhouse, the best of which is above (click to enlarge).

Potted up loads of seedlings... unfortunately they're all flowers (pansies, stocks and snapdragons) and still got loads to do. At least I've got more vegetable seeds in pots so the potential is there to still have a better year, though I fear I'm going for too much variety again. Now where's that vegetable planting calendar I knocked up and should be following?

Evidence of the local rat getting into my shed resulted in some crawling under the staging and much huffing and puffing as more bricks were placed around the inside edge where it looked like he was getting in. Managed to bang my head a few times in the process as usual.

It really is allotment heaven!

Yes, it’s true. With a golden glow shining from my plot as I left for the evening, this image (click to enlarge) proves that heaven is at my allotment. The end of another glorious evening pottering around (though the time is an hour out… must fiddle with the time on the camera).

Thoughts of fiddling about remind me the Pashley is one year old this month. Almost had another gear moment when the mechanism started to come loose, but rather than taking it apart as I did last time (click here to read what happened, with bits flying all over the place) I tightened it up and it did the trick. Been riding really smoothly and I now use it almost all the time to go up to my plot.

Only got a few leeks remaining now (sob!) so I dug up the rest of the bed, stuck the new canes in and moved my peas out of the greenhouse. Surrounded the whole affair with bird netting and all seems well so far. First time I’ve tried peas.

Split up the lettuce and tidied up the early March salad bed. Really therapeutic and satisfying. Wish I could remember what type of lettuce it is… it shot up like a bridegroom mounting stairs to the marital chamber and is a really attractive green. In between potting up more flower seedlings (stocks this time) I managed to sow more lettuce and spring onions in the greenhouse rather than outside to see if I can get a better hit rate.

It’s a real struggle to keep the plot tidy at present. I’m strimming for about fifteen minutes on most visits to keep the grass under control. Thank goodness the tons of wood chips I laid down (click here to see the original effect) have slowed growth on the paths. But while I’ve been hard at it more grass has crept up on me around the edges of some raised beds. I’ll have a good session on my knees this weekend getting it under control.

The nettle fertiliser will be ready to use this week. It’s got to be diluted at a rate of ten to one… since I’ve got an undiluted dustbin’s worth of it that’s an awful lot I’ll end up with when diluted. Think I’ll have to water down bit by bit. Should keep me going all summer! The chicken poo fertiliser looks powerful stuff, bubbling away like a witches brew. Think that might need diluting at something like one hundred to one!

Well, it’s true. The mysterious activity on the spare ground is all about extending the cemetery… happening with some haste following the spread of swine flu. Good news is the work will include putting new paths & a parking area for the allotments. They’re aiming to finish the work by the end of June. So my belief that it was a grand strategy to stop me accessing my plot through the peace and quiet of the cemetery proved unfounded. I’ll be tucked up in there anyway one day, keeping a ghostly eye on how my successors are doing.

On the verge of being the proud holder of all three competition cups this week… the only time I’ve held all three is when I bought them. Particularly pleased about Monday’s pub games competition, which had an even more exciting finish than normal… I won! I’ve been particularly poor at darts over the last few weeks, ending up the first hour of the match down something like 6-6-0 to sons David and John. This week I tried a more manlier wrist action… still lost to them but managed to scrape two wins to carry into the second hour of the competition on the pool table.

It’s here that I’ve recovered each week, only to narrowly fail to take the evening because of the lack of darts wins. Was nervous in my first game against David, and thought I’d blown it when I gave him a foul stroke. Blown it in more ways than one… just as he was lining up for an important shot I employed a small but tactical timed trouser trumpet (how’s that for alliteration!... apologies to the faint hearted, but it’s a bloke thing) that destroyed his concentration. Minutes later I was on my way! Have often thought about using the same tactics at squash, but the consequences in an enclosed space could be pretty serious.

The Glums flew the nest on Monday morning. Woke up to find only one (of four survivors) on the edge of the box... here he is looking all hesitant. By the end of breakfast he'd flopped as well. Cue much rushing around by parents to various bits of the garden to feed the fledglings. I’d read up that robin babies move well away from the nest as soon as they can, presumably since it attracts predators such as cats. How could they do that when ours is so safe? Cats stay well away from our garden, being wary of the screaming banshee (me you understand, not the wife) that erupts from the house whenever they try to enter. Well they certainly do move out… within days they were in all the surrounding gardens, no doubt under the gaze if not the paws of neighbouring felines.

Talking of moving out… son John’s car failed its MOT and needs £900 of work. So he was around our house on Tuesday and we’re now into looking for a replacement car again. I’m not going as far and wide to search for one this time… previous expeditions have taken us to Biggleswade (thirty miles) and Peterborough (twenty miles). This time it’ll be local, cheap and simple (I’m sure I’ve said that before).

The District Council advertised that they were giving away bags of compost generated by their green waste collections. Got the brood to ‘phone for a bag each to be delivered to the allotment. When John called the lady said ‘You’re the third McKinnie that’s phoned in as many minutes!’ Bags were delivered today.

Treated myself to a new watch last week. Love Swatch watches and this one caught my eye. Love it to bits.

Been listening to a lot of music on Last.fm, particularly Thomas Feiner. To listen to my favourite track of the moment (well, for some time actually) turn up the volume on your speakers and click here.

Thanks for reading my blog. John

	Happy birthday Pashley! (Click images to enlarge)
	Plot status... a bit messy at present.
	Chicken poo fertiliser bubbling away.
	Progress on the cemetery extension.