Author Archives: james

I’ll just leave this here…

Written as part of a discussion online this evening about cats not catching mice… Our cats are really quite good at catching mice. Then bringing them into the house and releasing them. Literally five minutes ago I heard a cat … Continue reading

Posted in Random | Tagged | Leave a comment

Memory Lane, 19th June 2022: Peas and broad beans

Straight out of the plot and ready for the pan, podded broad beans and sugar snap peas. Couldn’t get fresher 🙂

Posted in Smallholding, Veg plot | Tagged , | Leave a comment

PSB at last!

My winter brassicas have struggled this season and the PSB is no exception. It has been astonishingly late compared with last Winter when we were eating it in November. Today however there was enough for all five of us to … Continue reading

Posted in Smallholding, Veg plot | Tagged | Leave a comment

No dig diary, 18th February 2024

The main goal today was to get the strawberries planted out, which was a bit of a challenge given how much rain had fallen overnight. The ground is absolutely sodden, which was a real shame given that it has been … Continue reading

Posted in Smallholding, Veg plot | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Memory Lane, 12th June 2022: Compost — it’s hot stuff!

No, really. These are from two of my compost heaps, one of which had been sitting for a month with nothing added because it was full. As far as I recall the temperature in the second photo had peaked whilst … Continue reading

Posted in Smallholding, Veg plot | Tagged | Leave a comment

No dig diary, 17th February 2024

I got up early (for me) this morning and visited a friend who had offered me a load of waste cardboard when I mentioned last night that I’d run out whilst making some new beds in the veg plot. That … Continue reading

Posted in Smallholding, Veg plot | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Bee socks!

I shall certainly wear these whilst beekeeping as it’s generally only when I’m wearing boots that I wear socks at all, clogs or Croc-alikes (as slippers) being my usual choice of footwear.

Posted in Bee-keeping | Tagged | Leave a comment

Memory Lane, 12th June 2022: Another couple of bait hives

I set these two up in my home apiary, a little distance from the existing hives. One is a standard poly brood box. The other is a pair of poly supers with standard national brood frames inside. They have both … Continue reading

Posted in Bee-keeping, Smallholding | Tagged | Leave a comment

Early celandines

Mid-February feels very early for celandines to be flowering here, but they’re definitely giving it some serious thought. Even the daffodils aren’t out yet, though by the look of the buds they won’t be too long now.

Posted in Environment | Tagged | Leave a comment

No dig diary, 16th Feb 2024

We’ve had a lot of rain this week 🙁 Not long ago it felt as though the ground was finally drying out sufficiently that “stuff might usefully be achieved”, but now it’s like the Somme again. Possibly wetter. I need … Continue reading

Posted in Cutting Garden, Smallholding, Veg plot | Tagged , , | Leave a comment