Bloomin' Monday/ Bloomin' Malvern!

After a mixed bag of a weekend, here I find myself back at another Monday - where is the time going? It's nearly April but I'm having trouble believing we are out of Feburary yet. The weather was gloriously spring-like on Saturday and today we're being warned about snow again, possibly for the whole week ahead I feel very mixed up. Really I ought to migrate every year, just follow the sun; birds may have small brains but I think they've got to be the most savvy little creatures out there.

Here are my most beautiful 'Bloomin Monday' flowers yet (in my opinion). A deep firey red Tulip with a cream/yellow, slighty ruffled edge and the darkest purple stamens - Fab. This photo doesn't do them justice, I'll maybe change it later...

Plus......

Check me out - Guest post on Meet at Malvern today! *blushes with pride* I did tell you I'm going to the Malvern Spring Show didn't I!??? I can't wait, you can check it all out at above site, beautifully run by VP and The Patient Gardener.

And thank you for all the comments on the last bloggette, I'll get back to you later on xxx (and I went to the Zoo - yippeee)

I think I may explode...

..only I'd have to squealsh myself back together and clean up the mess so what's the point in that???

First off I am so full of tablets I swear, if you shook  me, I would rattle! I have my usual anti-depressants, blood pressure tabs, Valium AND now cold & flu tablets oh, and a throat lozenge too. Arrggghh! The weather is horrible and because of my temperature I can't get myself comfortable - either roasting or freezing. Looking out the Velux window all I can see is white sky and it's giving me a migraine but I haven't anyone to shake my fist at for this (it would make me feel better to have someone to blame you see), so I'm having to store my anger up in my body until the evening news were I shall shake my fist liberally at the weather girl and may even curse!! (It's ok, she won't hear me).

So my dears what are we going to do about it al?l.....well I propse sticking my fingers in my ears, humming a song and looking at happy photos until the dark times pass. Please, do join me.....

Maggie is back to herself after that nasty tummy virus, horrah!

Rhubarb is growing well this year (licks lips) yummm

Promise of loads more lovely bulbs, exciting cause we can't remember what we put in here ;)

We had our 1st lollypop day of the year last Saturday! Summer is on it's way.

Andrew picked me one of our tete-a-tete's last night - they are such happy flowers and smell delicious.

Hugs to you all, may you have a lovely weekend! I'm hoping to go to the zoo if the weather is okay, yippppeeee!

Hello, my name is Andrew and, well,...

"...erm, I'm addicted to seeds..."

*********

We have pretty much a 100% seed germination going on here, it is truly fabulous. In fact I worry, Andy has become a self confessed seed-aholic though I think acceptance is the first step towards recovery :) Look at his collection - and that's not all of it!!

You can't see the full depth of the 'problem' here but this is a pretty big box, deep too and it has been further bulked out since this photo was taken.There are 2 packets sitting beside me as I write and I dared to touch them last night -"I have a system!", eek. You see, Andy likes the odd gardening magazine (evil*) and they speak to him of such wonderful things to grow, they give free seeds often too and maybe the odd recipe - which looks fab. Then there is the gauntlet he must run from his office in Belfast to the sandwhich place - Pound shops and second hand books jump out at him showing off their wares (and at such good prices, oh my). How is a boy to resist???

On top of that, he is just plain in love with growing stuff, especially stuff you can eat. He loves to cook (and is darn good at it too, unlike me...), so these seeds = lovely, interesting dinners. I love him for loving gardening so much. Yes it can be annoying when we have 3 types of beetroot sprouting at the same time, but they are all different.

Well I decided at the start of this post that it was an intervention - saving himself from himself but really, now I think about it; it makes him happy and I do like baking and we did get lovely new books at christmas about perserving and pickling so.... :)

Here he is in his element, outdoors and in. Honey, you are a seed-aholic and I love you xx

*(the evilness of gardening magazines is still to be confirmed)

The Exorcist

Extract from 'The Exorcist' by William Peter Blatty

'The sun sinks to rise again; the day is swallowed up in the gloom of night, to be born out of it, as fresh as if it had never been quenched. Spring passes into summer, and through summer and autumn into winter, only the more surlely, by its own ultimate return, to triumph over that grave towards which it resolutely hastened from its first hour. We morn the blossoms of May because they are to wither; but we know that May is one day to have its revenge upon November, by the revolution of that solemn circle which never stops - which teaches us in our height of hope, ever to be sober, and in our depth of desolation, never to despair.'

This quote gets me through some tough times and boy am I going through them at the moment. I feel I am taking a tentative step forward and then staggering back 10 and landing on my arse. Yet, still I fight, still I get up with a new day and tickle Maggie, write my blog and work on my photographs and crafts (useless though it may be in grand scale of life). Everyday I fight, everyday I am that seedling struggling for the light, the forgotten plant in the corner that might just look after itself, the tatty one with the discoloured leaves that sometimes surprises you with a flush of shy, humble, petite flowers.

I want to be excited, I want the joy of Spring to enter into my life but it isn't happening as much as I will it. Look at this utterly adorable little face and what do you see??? I see the world mocking me, getting on with life as I stagnate.

Sorry to be a grump, but I need to write this out as well as ride it out. Tomorrow I shall speak of Andy and his little problem ;) that may cheer you up.... x

A great big bear hug of a thank you

I am feeling a good bit better today, lost the rest of Saturday, all Sunday and yesterday (bar a period between 7pm-1am where I was wide awake).  I have had little rest bites in which I read your comments and I must say - kindness heals, so many lovely people and some that I have never heard of before, giving me support and comfort. I thank you all.

So I shall have to ask Andy what happened this weekend at the lottie and what seeds he planted whilst I was in my stupor. I'm pretty sure I missed a lot! Plus I am writing this on my brand new super duper laptop onto which I haven't loaded the hardware for my camera or any old photos yet, eek! So I'm off to pilfer one from clip art that looks all spring like and lovely and between you and me, we'll pretend I took it down the allotment :)

my doesn't the lottie look big from this angle?? ;)

I hope you are all well and feeling happy. I am just so glad to have gotten over the 'blip' and to have the cold instead - give me a cough, sore throat, runny nose and temperture any day over that!! Hopefully I shall resume normal blogging activites tomorrow. Love and thanks to my readers xxxxxxxxxxxxx

when things go tits up

It seems I'm looking for answers to questions I can't ask. I am slowly tearing myself apart and no amount of trying to put on a brave face or ecotherapy is going to help. I have to accept it, at this point in my life I am still somehow up that creek without a paddle and I'm scared.

Pains in my chest today put stop to my lottie activites. I wasn't standing too well on my own feet at the nursery where we'd gone to get compost, the pain was bad and Andrew had to lead me out to the car. I tried for a while to just be there, sitting on a bench once we drove down to the plots but in the end even that got too much. I had to come home and even though I have taken sedatives - 2 types, my brain will not stop churning around like a possessed cement mixer and my chest still aches, as does my head, shoulders and back.

There is only so much dreaming a girl can do. Then it hits with a mighty 'whack' across the face - your life is never going to be how you would like it. My mind is seemingly pre-occupied with the past which I can't change and worrying about the future which could never be certain for anyone, ever. I can't be in the moment, even though, as is clear, I know I should be, though even that is not advised by my Dr - reality is a but much for me at the moment [confused? I know I am]. I feel like running away but I can't escape from myself.

Everything has gone tits up and I repeat : I. am. scared.
I know some of you will not like hearing me say that, I give the impression that I am coping and 'look at me- if I can do it so can you', but be gentle, we all have our weak moments [but I still have the balls to share mine].

All's well that ends well..

Maggie is home! The vets rang us this morning and said the little angel was ready to go home, so we rushed off to get her and gave her cuddles galore. On the way back to the house we quickly stopped off at the lottie and let her have a wee run round. She is so full of beans and had a bath to clean up the boke-y beard, so she looks great. This afternoon she slept like a log, but I loved watching her and just felt that everything was alright again. I loves my Maggie!!

Speaking of which I have a cute photo of her 'helping' Andy last weekend when he was planting seeds - hahaha. I thought it was too sweet to be annoyed at her for being up on the bed.

What did he plant there anyway? I know the second row was Scorzonera; cool seeds eh? We haven't grown this before but according to the River Cottage Handbook No. 4 Veg Patch it  is ' hugely popular in France and Italy....look[s] like a size-zero parsnip', and '...according to fable, is reminiscient of oysters [or] simply nutty and sweet'. Mark Diacono confesses here that he is 'shamelessly evanglical about them' so I hope they're bloody good!!

Not to be out done I too did some 'proper' gardening for a change. I pruned back the dogwood [afer a little lesson] all by myself; look at the difference. Seems very brutal but obviously necessary. I'll just use the decarded branches for arty-farty stuff. Plus at the far end of this plot the rhuburb is really starting to go for it!

Lastly I thought I'd share some photos of a few of the window sill seedlings in the sun room /nursery. We're doing really well with germination rates so far in the tomatoes, chillies, flowers for the cut flower border and celeriac and marigolds.

 

I shake my fist at you St Patrick!

Yes, I shake my fist heavenward and darn it I bite my thmb at him too. St Patrick's Day Eve we take a lovely drive up past Slemish; St Patrick's Day we plant the potatoes, as is tradition; St Patrick's evening Maggie is extremely ill and St Patrick's boxing Day [I know that doesn't really exist] Maggie goes into hospital [ie. the vets] to be put on a drip, poor darling. Huh!!! Me and you Paddy, we're not friends right now!

That's right, what did my little Maggie do to deserve this? Vomitting and diahorrea all evening and the through the night. Now she's in Gleno and I'm here and we are apart and I miss her and she probably wants a cuddle. This was her last night - dry nose, shivering and being sick every 15 mins :(

*******

In the meantime, I shall tell you about our St Patrick's Day. I do hope you had a good one, funny we don't really go for it here in Northern Ireland but Andrew did have the day off. There wasn't any green face paint or dyed beer, but we did go ot for breakfast - here's Andrew's Irish fry. Oh and I saw a leprechan!, honest, look.....

I decided it would be a good time to try the walk from or new house [still not finished yet even thogh I am wishing hard every day] to the lotties on my own. Disaster. I had the biggest panic attack in absoltley ages and had to be taken home an hour later and put to bed. But and I stress the but becase this is not a defeatist blog, we did get the spuds planted - hoorah!

We did it differently this year and instead of just planting them into the beds and covering them up, we put down black membrane, cut holes in it and planted the potato down in there [ ohhhh, lovely soil]. I'm hoping all the extra work was worth it, supposedly we won't have to worry about weeds and we won't need to ridge up the beds through out the growing season. We'll see if it's better than past years and let you know.

This year we went for 'British Queens' and 'Pentland Javelin', Andrew made white stakes to mark the beds, looks good me but I think I'll have to get hold of them and write the words in permenant marker so it stands out more, hehe. There weren't any 'Maris Piper/Peer' this year which is a little upsetting as they're my favourite but I guess these potatoes could be almost as nice, haha. Now, Andrew didn't take off any extra eyes from the seed potatoes, what do you think of that???? I'm not the one that reads the books and magazines but for some reason I believed you had to take at least some off if you want good sized potatoes in the crop - what do you do?

At this stage Maggie and I had to go home [why St Patrick, why do you not like us??] due to ill health. So Andrew had the place to himself and did some other work which goes unphotographed. For example he planted a Dehlia and soaked the Persian Buttercup tubers and put them in compost to be planted properly on Saturday. He also did some chit chatting and a good lot of looking.

Anyway that was our crappy St Patrick's day - so much for 'the luck o' the Irish!'
As I feel a bit low and Maggie-less I'll leave it there for today but I still have to tell you all about that trip to Sunnybank at the weekend and all the news about the great seedling germination we've had this week and what else we've planted in the beds - - tomorrow, tomorrow. Big hugs, I'm off to read about other people's day, hopefully better than mine xxx

A quick ode to Andy; whilst he's out

I still haven't got my 'u' back or my close bracket and zero button! It's all rather annoying to say the least but I go on trying to type quick before Andy gets back with a DVD and some wine...... I think it's time for a new laptop!

Andrew's coldframe~

Yes this is the masterpiece I have been teasing you about. It was made totally by my hubby's own fair hands [sorry, that should read, strong manly hands, hahah] in the back garden. The frame was from his old single bed which we turfted ot once we moved into this, his old bedroom. Then the rest he bought in a DIY store and the magic just happened off the top of his sweet ginger head. Genius [Phone just rang there; Andy mst know we're talking about him...]. Anywho, I think it is glorious and even more wonderful than his first cold frame which can just be seen here in the background of the photo....You're a little jealous, aren't you, just accept it.....

Andrew's favourite new toy~

This is something my science geek of a hubby has wanted for ages, a max/min outdoor thermometer. He is pointing excitely at the results of it's first afternoon hanging on the shed - hmmmm, wow! Yeah, wow. We got this on Suday at the brand new and super fab Sunnybank nursery. We had 2 trolleys when we came out of there but I'll tell you about that later on.

Andrew's plan~

Thought this was cute on the back of the shed door, his plan for the coming season, where things are to be planted and which beds have been fed. He likes plans, I think it's the archaeologist in him.

Andrew's new wall/ entrance way in 14b~

I love this, it's very cute and practial; stones we had lifted when preparing the beds are arranged about the side of the new path in a lovely curve. Also, he planted another Rhubarb plant we got on Sunday and tied in the blackberry securely. The path will eventually be bark mulched around there too but it's a big improvement already.

Lastly, Andrew's favorite thing ever~

Planting seeds and giving his plots a darn good looking at on a nice sunny day at his lotties with his girls!!!

xxxxxx

Bloomin' Monday - Magenta Tulips

Another Bloomin' Monday has come upon us, crept up like a thief in the night. Were are the days going? I can hardly believe the weekend is over but joy does wait in the wings....St Patrick's Day is on Wednesday and of course my hubby will be off and it shall be spud planting day!

Now though, let us commually bask in glory of these Tulips, which are making me smile today as they have done all weekend. I'm so tired after a terrible nights sleep that I have been staring at these quite a lot to calm the mind and ease the double vision (I have 18 tulips in my world, haha ).

Going to have a nice packed week of stuff to share so for now I'm going to enjoy my decaff coffee and snuggle up with Maggie and my blanket and listen to the rain...until I finally drift off to sleep......

x

Hoorah, I slept and to celebrate here's another tulip photo xxxxx

Purple Sprouting Broccoli

Can anyone tell me the point in Purple Sprouting Broccoli? I do not understand the fuss.Well, until I saw Matron's. We grew this last year as well and got pretty much nothing, zip, zilch, nada. This year looks the same, oh yes there are minisule little sprouts as Andrew tries to point out to placate me but really, all this space, a whole half bed {though I suppose it is one of the only things on the plot over winter} and one of those plants is dead. Oh it makes me wince everytime I see these plants. Is there a point??? What am I not getting here??? I am trying to be patient but I can only take so much!

One of the offending plants.....

On the other hand, a friend has been so inspired by our fabulous Brussel Sprouts at christmas that he is growing his own this year and from what I hear he is very very excited about it all!! hehehe ;)

And we had a delicious pile of Perpetual Spinach in our dinner this week. Yummy! We have been utterly shameful and just ignoring the stuff up til now *blush*. It was so good too.

So let's get on with it - what we did last weekend.

Haha! I have copied a letter 'u' and shall now go through the whole blog pasting them in, hahahaha, can't stop me, evil keyboard!!!

So all these blasted nervous breakdowns and major panic attacks have really left me in a pickle this week. Plus, my keyboard has decided that there simply aren't enough 'u' s in the world and keep throwing them in everywhere except when I actually want one!!! Oh oh, now they have gone altogether! Eeekk.

I would like to start with the very 1st crop planted on the lotties this year, the Broad Bean. I planted them out, yes little old me. It's becoming a tradition, in that I did it last year as well and I am happy to report that I did not panic at all doing this delicate work; I am gaining confidence it would  seem. With the little sun tunnels over them I reckon they'll be fine and Andrew, when he visited after work yesterday, said they looked perky, so I'm happy. We'll do another sowing direct into the soil very soon, once the frosts die back.

Speaking of soil, I thought you may appreciate a little soil porn *blush*. This was worked very hard with a lot of manure and seaweed and homemade compost added. Andrew ridged the beds up over winter and now, with the help of our Azada they just crumbled apart. It's really lovely soil and I don't even think it will need riddled this year. Yippee! all that work work paid off.

Then another task for me - just look at how sunny it was here on saturday. I planted ot the Sweet Pea seeds into loo rolls. We do this because the cardboard bio-degrades in the soil, I mean we plant the whole seedling in it's loo roll! It works really well and as Sweet Peas love to have long root systems and are fragile with it, the roots don't get bothered at all. I must just point ot Andrew's very clever string use here to keep the rolls all tightly packed together and more strudy. Clever boy. I planted 'Cupani' and some free ones that came with a magazine, I believe it just said 'tall' on them. Fingers crossed my new home will have nice fresh flowers often.

Here is the hubby planting more Peas, but the edible type this time. I know 'Kelvedon Wonder' was one variety, as we really like them but I think he ended up sowing 2 or 3 types. See the use of a pencil to push the seeds down - I use my finger but his are too big, especially when it's 2 to a pot!!

Finally, I have a photo of our new greenhouse. We bought it in Lidls, so not dear but it is really well made and very strudy. I was inside it - it's 3ft high and 6ft long, so I found it comfty and well, warm as it should be. There are vents in the side and the front zips open in 2 layers -first the green bit can be rolled up and tied out of the way to reveal a mesh, which keeps the bugs out but which can also be zippered open and tied back. I swear one day, this plot WILL look good, hahaha.

Posted, with shame, I hope that the letter problem didn't stop everyone from reading :(

hahaha fixed it!

Not just as terrible now Andy is here

Oh how I love my hubby. He bounded home and up the stairs with hugs galore and more seeds in his pocket. Of course he knew I had had another bad day and he had rung people on my behalf to complain at my treatment (my hero) but he also had a cheery smile and a homemade song to lift my spirits. He worries about me but he also makes sure to reassure me and just be by my side - I'm a lucky girl.

We've just had dinner and now he is outside/inside making lots of productive noise with his man toys (drills and what not); almost finished his fabulous new cold frame. Of which he is rightly proud. I shall take photos tomorrow and share his joy with you. It is a masterpiece.

I was thinking about just how much he adores gardening and the effort he puts into to all this; planning, researching, chatting with others at the lotties and looking. He is very good at the art of giving a garden a good looking at, haha.

Well here is a photo of Andrew and a pea.

All the magic of life on this Earth in his hand.

By the way, I hope my new background isn't too much, I just wanted cheering up earlier and I love these wee owls. xx

and back to terrible..

At least terrible is written in small letters this time, not caps. I pushed too hard yesterday trying to recapture my monday and have my tuesday too. So today I have a migraine that will not go away and as of half an hour ago a huge panic attack has started and I feel I'm going to have to built a fort and hide in it, Maggie has put herself forward as guard dog. Brave wee girl.

Fingers crossed I'll see you tomorrow. Nothing can break my spirit these days! Roarrrrrr!

This is a photo from the Belleek pottery factory of our favourite gardening friends, the ladybird. Oh, that we could just make a load of them for the lottie as easily!

Reclaiming my Bloomin' Monday!

Well gosh darn it if the mind monster in my head didn't just steal another day from me. I am here (not at full power but getting there) to get it back! I am aware that it is Tuesday but this is my blog and here I make the rules. So today is Monday - I shall have my Monday with a side of 'happy', thank you very much Mr Monster.

As per usual I have a very beautiful bloom to share with you (which ironically may not have been this open and this gorgeous yesterday...). This little darling and her friends were found outside in a pot in Mamma G's garden. Just smiling away at the world and easily overlooked; with a bin in front of them poor dears.

Also whilst outside I was able to see the sun room window sill (it's so full in there with all Andrew and my sofas and furniture etc, that it is for the present, un-useable. Andrew, with his long legs and arms can reach all the way to this window from the inside (amazing what the body can do in extreme situations) and has these Spuds chitting away merrily. Of course they won't be planted until St Patrick's Day (as is tradition). Beside them in a very condensation filled covered tray I think there are Celeraic and happy news from the lottie yesterday ~ tiny specks of green in the Leek seed trays!! Yippeeeeee.

Andrew also planted some Tomato seeds, they're on a window sill too, I think it's the kitchen, can't think where else they could be.

Still have lots to tell about the lottie at the weekend. But for now a very big THANK YOU to everyone who wrote a comment yesterday. Reading them late last night honestly gave me a lot of hope and strength. I truly have the nicest followers in the world. I will get around to personal replies but forgive me, migraines are haunting me after yesterday and I can't stay on the computer long. Big HUGS xx

And now I'm having a TERRIBLE day

Swings and roundabouts. Good days are seemingly always followed by horrendous days in my world. Yesterday wasn't good and today has so far been a nightmare (quite literally as I have been in severe panic mode all morning and now it's creeping back which means my sedatives are wearing off, I've had such trouble breathing I now have chest pains and for some reason I've taken to biting myself very hard and even growling. I can feel my heart beating in my throat and want to throw up, my blood pressure is going up again and I feel sudden bursts of anger). Things, well, aren't good.

Fingers crossed I can cope better tomorrow, lots to share from Saturday.
Please send happy vibes my way, these sorts of days make me very dispondent and scared xxx

I had a GOOD day.

Yep, me!! For the first time in ages I actually had a good day, isn't that fab?? The morning started off a bit crap but then, as Andrew was working near by (at Carrickfergus Castle) he came to Mamma G's and took me out to have lunch with him. We went to a lovely little place, a deli/coffee shop and chatted and looked at all the jams and chutneys for sale - inspiring! Outside it was a little cold but the sky was blue and the sea was lovely to look at (I could'nt live away from the sea, it's always been there right at the doorstep my whole life).

Andrew went back to work and I worked on a couple of guest bloggettes  for Mind and a new bag I am going to sew. But lo and behold, the phone rang and Andrew was coming home again!! He had been given the rest of the day off. So.......to the Lottie with us!!!!!

Finally, a day were the sun was shining and the ground was reasonably dry. I planted out the first crops - Broad beans ('Aquadulce Claudia') that had been in the cold frame. I have little cloches over them but they look happy, fingers crossed. The weather is supposed to be okay for a while, oh touch wood!! Then we made up our new, super duper tent coldframe/greenhouse where we hope to do great things with tomatoes and chillies. That's the idea anyway. It's so big I was inside it whilst we worked on getting it put together. Unfortunatley I didn't have a camera with me but I'll take pictures at the weekend.

The atmosphere was lovely and the birds were tweeting away merrily. We had a nice chat with some follow lottie folk and enjoyed the sunshine on our faces. The leeks Andrew sowed at the start of the week went into the new tent structure (no signs of green yet - I looked). And we looked in awe at how good the garlic is coming along and the fat buds on the spring bulbs we planted - daffodils and tulips ahoy.

Anyway, as I said I forgot my camera so here are a few from the weekend past. Hope you are having some workable weather! xxx

Anenomes still flowering!   We finally remembered to bring the garlic string home

My motto on the shed door

Cosy chat in with Bill

Doug and Jasmine have a hug on their plot

Quite scary though lying down on the job.

Aaaarrrrggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Too many blogs, too many darn good blogs to try and keep up with! God grief I lose my concentration for a week (sleeping problems = bad concentration + double vision = can't be bothered) and you all go nuts writing blogettes like there is no tomorrow! I must knuckle down and read tonight.

Tonight is of course the first Wednesday of the month and therefore.....(drum roll)....the Allotment Committee meeting. (Drum roll fades out into a dismal few bashes on said drum). It seems it could all be, excuse the expression, going tits up. Ronnie, my super duper lottie mate has resigned as Chairperson, another member resigned a few weeks ago and Andrew is ready to do the same. They just aren't getting any happier and the whole thing is ruining the lottie experience for each and every one of them. I CAN NOT have my hubby crazy like Christmas morning about building a new cold frame and getting on with the seed planting one mintue and then remembering there's a meeting coming up and getting all depressed. The allotments are a place of JOY!! I feel I need to scream it at everyone. Politics? Leave me out of it, I know that is the cowards way but I am not there to lead, I am there for therapy.

So tonight, whilst the meeting goes ahead, I will be trying to catch up on some missed blogs, I have a feeling the meeting may be well over before I'm done!

Keep smiling xx

A new begining

Somehow the Earth has her secret ways of giving you a boost when you least expect it and most need it. Today, this very morning she was kind to me in the midst of a crisis...I recieved 2 more adorable Valentines cards, covered with stamps, from people I don't really know all the way in America, sending me love and allowing me (after a horrendous Maggie walking experience were I thought my heart was going to explode with panic) to feel worthy of life for a while. Beautiful, hand made cards, one with a quote I love and one with a poem (amongst other lovelies) that has really touched my soul. 

I am utterly depressed today but I am sitting here on my wee sofa, looking at those gorgeous yellow tulips surrounded by 6 Valentines on the table; they have a little bit of the palest blue sky above them and on the dresser next to that table sits 2 seed trays - life and love and hope are all around me. May it seep into me as the day goes on.

*****

Andrew planted leek seeds last night; he had been getting super anxious about the lack of sowing done so far, so now the new allotment year has offically started in our home. We chose good old 'Musselburgh' again and 'Lyon 2 Prizetaker' so fingers crossed. I shall now be staring at these darn trays intently, waiting for that first speck of green, think me not crazy, but I may even talk to them ~ you know, to encourage them to grow and poke their little heads up into this big bad world. Who knows, one of these could indeed be a prize taker, as this year I think the lotties are going to get more competitive ;)

Bloomin' Monday - Yellow Tulips

Ah, March! we know thou art Kind-hearted, spite of ugly looks and threats, And, out of sight, art nursing April's violets!

 Helen Hunt Jackson

Happy March to you all xx