Wednesday, July 12, 2006

I am at the point of meltdown

It is so very hot here - it us unrelenting and I do not know what to do to keep cool apart from lots of cool showers - not rain unfortunately.

So here I sit before you with pretty painted nails - pearly pink actually as I am a girly person although you would never guess would you?

Here are a few photos that I promised from yesterday - and I mean a few for a change.



Here is my little shadow Ginger, forever by my side and helping. Well she always thinks she is.



She watches my every move intently, then joins in and has a go herself.


The only trouble is, because she faces me when she watches what I am doing, she digs and scratches up the soil mirror fashion - so in fact she earths up a big pile on the potato that I am about to dig up. No wonder it takes me so long!


This is the 'unseeded' Loganberry and Raspberry Jam. But this year the raspberries are so much smaller because of lack of rain, so the seeds are smaller too and some of them have slipped through. Shame as it took four pounds of them and almost four pounds of sugar too, and ages sieving it. It sure is tasty though The hats are only temporary and will be pretty material and nice labels. The jar on the left is a coffe jar and the one on the right is or was a sauce bottle. They both took well over a pound of jam as they are rather big bottles. (They did get washed, sterilised and then scalded with boiling water, then the water tipped out and they were put in a medium oven to dry, then used hot.) By going to all that trouble ensures that you can use any jars whether they have had curry paste, beetroot or pickle, and there will not be any trace of a smell left. That's the beauty of glass.

I have to go up the allotment tonight as I haven't visited it yet today. I like my girls to have a lovely run around and scratch - they will love all tha manure I put on yesterday.

Must remember my camera. I am so tired I could go to sleep - I have had an incredibly busy day - but as it is not about the allotment or gardening you'll mot be interested.

Off for a sit down for an hour before I go off into the wilds of deepest East Anglia. I expect the 'tractor men' will be up there tonight - or not - but the football and Wimbledon are now a memory!

5 comments:

  1. I too am just about to sit down and have a read!

    I have smuggled some more gardening books in whlst hubby has nipped out.................
    tee hee!!!

    Dxxxxxxxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous5:48 pm

    Haven’t you heard there’s a campaign to bring in the siesta in England ... show your solidarity and take 40 winks in the afternoon ... I can only show my support for the cause at a weekend ... but sleeping in the afternoon is fantastic!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. jam looks good and lovely pictures of the chicks. it hot here also. will be untill september and after that gets cooler at nights.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous8:10 pm

    May I share this with you and your readers or bloggers as I think the correct term is. We have a caterpillar on our carrots. It arrived earlier this week and we have watched him eat and eat and grow and grow, from a half an inch to 2 inches in 4 days. Only one. We have found out that it is a Swallowtail. We feel so priveledged that we shall let hm or her eat all it wants. Appently they are found in Norfolk too but not in Britain. I shall add that we live in Central Europe.


    http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.eurobutterflies.com/images/M-O/machaon-S541918.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.eurobutterflies.com/species_pages/machaon.htm&h=375&w=500&sz=25&hl=en&start=17&tbnid=rPhwhY7USOYZTM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3DSwallowtail%2Blarva%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3Dlang_en%7Clang_fr%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DN

    ReplyDelete
  5. A siesta if only I had time gg - I am often tempted then think that I might not sleep at night!

    Maybe Patsy has a siesta - it is hot there too.

    What a gorgeous link I got seriously side tracked looking a the site just for a change.

    They didn't say which part of Norfolk did they. Maybe it wasn't rabbits that ate the carrots.

    I am going to sit down and read for half a hour - the River Cottage cook book that Mrs Nesbitt got for me reduced. Totally different from the RC family cook book.

    And you will never quess what - I picked up the book and it slipped out of my hands onto the carpet, and opened at Courgette and goats cheese soup - and I just happen to have bought goats cheese in the village shop as I could't get feta.

    So I am getting lots of inspiration for using up my courgettes.

    Thanks one and all of the cavalry coming to my aid. Just need a few of you for a weekend to help up the plot.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment - it is very much appreciated. Your comment will appear after moderation.