Friday January 30th
We have been dogged by rain this week so have been waiting for a couple of dry days so the ground can dry out a bit. Today was perfect - clear and sunny, not too cold. The dirt road leading round to our plot was very muddy today and the river was very high. Peter got the fire going first with the help of some paraffin. The fire was soon blazing, despite the recent wet weather. Next up was putting in the galvanised wire for the peach tree to be trained along. I unrolled some old chain link fencing which I used to fence off an area of hedging at the front where there are big gaps. Rose came along to ask if I'd like some manure delivered for £10 a load. Yes please!! She was working in her greenhouse today, and I asked her about vandalism. She said they do get a few panes of glass broken now and again. She told me about the time when some youngsters came and daubed graffiti over her grand-daughter's little shed, and then smoked pot in it! She was so angry she went straight to the police station to report it. They caught the criminals very soon after, as they had left their beer bottles nearby. The police had used DNA evidence to secure a conviction. The youngsters were given community service and made to repaint the shed! God job too. I borrowed Rose's large rake to move some of the compost from the front of my plot, so there would be some room for the manure, when it arrives. I was amazed at the depth of lovely fine compost. It must have been about 6 inches deep and has probably been quietly rotting down for a number of years. I managed to break the post on the Rose's rake, so Peter's going to take it home to mend.
Peter made me another large cloche to protect my next lot of crops. I have some red cabbage at home waiting to go in, but didn't want to plant them out for the rabbits to eat. I used the rest of the fencing to put along the hedge down the side. There's still a lot more hedge to cover, so I'll have to keep an eye out for some more fencing at the tip, or maybe even buy some.
Peter wants to make a gate at home so he measured the opening before we left. He'd been down to the plot yesterday with some huge logs from trees which were being cut down near our local park. We moved them out of sight, as we don't want them stolen this time. Rose stopped by on her way home to give me a bag of her White Lady runner beans to plant. Thanks Rose. It was 5 o'clock and almost dark when we left, but a very satisfying afternoon's work.