Full Metal Wheelbarrow

Had a call from the doctor's surgery this morning - after yesterday's blood test they want me to come in for a glucose tolerance test to see if I've got diabetes :(

Can't fault them for speed I suppose. Not looking forward to it though. I really hope I don't have "dire beasties"….

Meanwhile, I picked up my strimmer from its service and told the weeds on the allotment what for. More runner beans have germinated at last, which is a relief - I was beginning to think the four plants from the initial sowing were going to be it this year.

I thinned out the row of Mooli radish - I hate doing that, but it's necessary.

And one of the woodpeckers was feeding on the fatballs this afternoon, which cheered me up a bit.

This morning there was a huge streak of bird poo down the patio door. I assumed it was one of the pesky woodpigeons, being scruffy.

Until I went out to clean it off and found one of the fledgling blackbirds lying on the wormery outside, clearly having flown straight into the glass and broken his or her neck, poor thing. I hope the others have better luck.

 I seem to have slipped into posting nothing but book reviews and photos again. Bah!

I finished tidying the greenhouse yesterday and did some general pottering around the allotment. This included planting out the broad beans under some cloches, as they were doing their level best to push their propagator lid off :-
( Cut for pictorials :) )

Today I had to pop down to one of the shops at Melbourne Hall to collect some repaired clothes so I also pootled down to the pool to take pictures of the birdies.

( Watch the birdie! )

This morning's first job was a trip to B&Q where I bought gloss paint, paintbrushes and masking tape for tomorrow's job of painting the new skirting board. (Joy.). I also mostly failed at buying screwdrivers*, which you'd think would be easy, but as it turned out, B&Q were having a rejig of most of their shelves and their supplies of Stanley screwdrivers were sadly depleted and I only managed to find one of the three types I'd been tasked with purchasing.

( PIctures! )

On Saturday we ate the first artichokes of the year and the first few broad beans (well, Rob had the beans - I don't like them very much, even when they're tiny).

I'm gradually getting the weeds under control at last - there are still quite a few of them around, but there's a lot more clear areas now too.

Today I uprooted some of the remaining brassicas from last year and dug the ground they'd been growing in, removing most of the weeds in that area. I was considering startinfg a second strawberry bed in that section, and since the strawberries have started colonising it already, that definitely seems to be a good plan! :-)

I had a companion on the allotment this afternoon, in the form of this little chap :-
( Watch the birdie! )

Today the weather was significantly better than the silly weatherpeeps said it would be and I got a couple of hours work in at the allotment this afternoon. I've sown two varieties of carrots, beetroot, lettuce, cosmos, poached egg flowers and spring onions (boing!) outside and some more tomatoes, peas and mimulus in the greenhouse.

I've also potted on my first batch of leeks and done a considerable quantity of weeding without, of course, actually making a noticeable dent in the number of weeds.

I noted, fortunately before i'd hoed them all into oblivion, that some of the "weeds" growing between the rows of peas were actually self-sown coriander seedlings from last year's crop. I was pleased by this, as I haven't got round to sowing any myself yet, but also rather surprised as I didn't think coriander was hardy enough in this country to self-seed.

In a similar vein I found a number of nasturtium seedlings at the end of the row where the runner beans will be going in. They can stay there as they should help attract pollinating insects for the beans. Speaking of whch, the ones in the greenhouse are going to have to be planted out oon as they're getting rather big.

Likewise the sweetcorn, which isn't supposed to be planted out until June, but the biggest ones are going so well that they're outgrowing their pots and will have to go out soon or they won't fit in the greenhouse.

And now for some gratuitous pictures taken on Saturday.

( Cut for picturification )

Rob has kindly given permission for me to post some of his shots, as he has more zoom on his camera and was able to get better pictures of the shags and oystercatchers.

( More birdies and coos )

A few more pictures today. along with some wittering about what we actually got up to :-)