Wednesday 19 March 2014

(pt2) Three day weekend - Thanks St. Patrick

Sunday 16th March ~

We've never done any of the twee and commercialised stuff to do with the St. Patrick's holiday and with an allotment now, we always have our own plans. Belfast has a crazy big St. Patrick's Day parade on today but, no thanks, it isn't even the big day. It amazes me how everyone else around the globe seems to make such a big deal of it, green everywhere (St. Patrick's colour is blue), four leaf clovers (lucky in Irish but he is identified by the three leafed, normal clover) etc. Plus where did this need, this urgent need to get drunk come from? Is it a diss on what it means to be Irish??

Ahh, sure.

We had FIRE! There was a lot of deeply rotten, moldy and diseased wood around our two plots, coming on 6 years that is bound to be the case. We really didn't want it near to the precious soil and new life we were cultivating. (Fear not, there are still piles of wood and slates etc for bugs, but this stuff was bad.) It needed to be eradicated and though it lots like a huge angry fire, that's just due to close ups and there wasn't any wind and Andrew was by it at all times and what I am trying to say is - this was needed and we were safe about it. It was also beautiful :) The middle picture shows all the dead stalks from the Jerusalem Artichokes too, so great too tidy that area up and it really bolstered the fire. (I contributed them)

Fire!! :) - 'growourown.blogspot.com' ~ allotment blog

Along with this going on, I was on 14b and having a very emotional reaction to the cherry tree bed. That's not a sentence I ever thought I would write, haha. Maybe it was due to the horrendous low I went into late on Saturday night, maybe it was because the cherry blossom is my moniker, but this bed needed my full attention and love.

cherry tree bed, before and after- 'growourown.blogspot.com' ~ allotment blog

Written in shed, in notebook ~ 'I can't quite explain it, it was therapy, there were too many emotions. But I suppose, chiefly amongst them was the need to get rid of that crap; clearing out, destroying it - it did something similar for my soul. I didn't want to give up'.

14b (day 2) - 'growourown.blogspot.com' ~ allotment blog

I have a sense that turning this mess around and making something productive and beautiful with it will do me no end of good. It's going to be an 'easy maintence' half plot with fruit trees, bushes, rhubarb and asparagus in it - things that like to be left alone. Plus it is where my cut flower border is going to be and I am serious about this time, really good dahlias, roses, echinacea, sunflowers, poppies etc, flowers that make my heart sing and will brighten the home too.

take that weeds! - 'growourown.blogspot.com' ~ allotment blog

Just a little example of what I was talking about in the last post - getting those blasted weeds out by the root and all :) Squeeee - it makes me happy.

horse manure and compost bins - 'growourown.blogspot.com' ~ allotment blog

This is more the thing that gets Andrew to squeeee inside. A man's well rotten horse manure and compost bins are his Kingdom! Haha - Though, honestly this stuff has been fantastic and not a single whiff of anything nasty :) Is it wrong to love horse poo and kitchen scraps so much??

So this was the state of things at the end of day 2 around our plots
vignettes of day 2 - 'growourown.blogspot.com' ~ allotment blog
Maggie in a 'I've got a bit of biscuit suck in my cheek' pose ~ 14b coming on nicely, check out the path :) ~ dead gnomes

Plus we decided to take a dander before leaving - there wasn't anyone else there, we had the place to ourselves again! The council has put in a bridge and path to connect the local community to it's community centre, just above our plots. The path isn't great but the bridge is fab - cool idea!

Another collage from day 2 - 'growourown.blogspot.com' ~ allotment blog
The Conservation Volunteers know how to lay a hedge ~ catkins ~ hubby xxx ~ pretty flowers on a bush planted in the hedgerow ~ daffs in the hedgerow ~ me ~ the new bridge

And so endth the second day of the long weekend's gossip
love and hugs


14 comments:

  1. There's nothing like a good bonfire, and compost heap, and cut flower bed and...!
    A lovely post and terrific photos. Happy gardening, Flighty xx

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    1. Thank you dearest Flighty xxx Working so very hard, it is an real joy to see it pay off xxx

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  2. Looks like you guys rocked it! And your post has just possibly solved the mystery of my shade bed....rotten wood under my soil....I am off to dig now! The afters are stunning and that compost pile is awesome! Have no idea why folks need to hit the bottle for St. Patrick's Day...not what it is about for sure. A wonderful week to you! Nicole xo

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    1. Nicole! Thank you for your comment, you always make me smile. I think we rocked it :) x
      Still one more day to share from the bank holiday weekend ;)

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  3. keep all that firewood for your stove?

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    1. Nah....we love fire!! Bonfire time was needed :)

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  4. What a difference!! I loved what you did for the cherry tree and what you wrote about it. Also, the pictures of the fire were cool. I enlarged them and you really captured the flames. There's something mesmerizing about fire -- I think it's all the colors you see in the flames.

    Poor gnomes:~( They can't be saved? ah, such a sad tale, especially since they look face down. I should borrow that picture (with credit) and make it a mystery to be solved. Who killed the gnomes and why? LOL

    I'm glad you had a fun day and the weather looks like it held. Oh, my favorite picture in montage is the one of you with your smile visible in your cheeks!

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    1. Thank you Sara, I really appreciate the comments about my photography, I've stopped selling it and the pressure is gone = more good shots :)

      You can use that gnome photo!! They are OK, faces a little scuffed but otherwise ready for another year protecting our crops.
      Big hugs
      xxx

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  5. You have doen a great job there.

    You never mentioned the leprechauns :) We all suffer stereotyping don;t we? In Yorkshire we all wear flat caps and keep ferrets in our grim back to back house.

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    1. Thank you! Don't mention the leprechauns Sue!! They are always lurking, plotting...malevolent creatures.....*checks coast is clear*.
      But I bet you do wear a flat cap and keep ferrets :p
      Xx

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  6. Wow! And the gorgeous hubby got to squeeee. That's what I call a result xx

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    1. Isn't it though?? I knew you would understand Debbie xx

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  7. I did not know St Patricks colour was blue. We dont celebrate that here anyway. I think being in the wild with your plants and doing useful and mind clearing job is much better than sitting in a pub somewhere, getting wasted. Your pictures are wonderful and I just wish the weather stopped being so dark here... Hope you are feeling better than on Saturday! x hugs

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    1. We don't celebrate it either and the idea of getting drunk really doesn't appeal to me - I like to know what's going on as much as possible. Though I am drinking a whiskey as I type this (everything in moderation), ooops. Maybe if I moved to a foreign land I would hype up my (Northern) Irishness *blush*. The weather is still dark with you :( Wishing you happiness and health xxxx

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