Against the odds

I went to a lot of trouble to prepare my raised beds.  I added compost and well rotted manure.  I dug them over well.  I waited for the milder weather to sow the first seeds.  Result….so far nothing.

So explain to me how in my onion rows there are now three healthy looking parsnip plants? These must have grown from seed I put in last year which for whatever reason didn’t germinate last year, but just decided, after being the ground through all that sub zero weather we had, that now this year was the time to grow…

I bet if I’d deliberately put parsnip seeds in that part of the garden, they wouldn’t have germinated.

I’m confused….!  😉

New shower!

They’ve finished fitting the shower!  (Thank goodness – not sure I could have survived any more days of crossing my legs while the workmen occupied the only room in the house with a toilet in it!)  We can’t use the shower until tomorrow (to allow the silicone to harden off first), but we’ve admired it with awe!  It looks mightily sleek and modern for our rather…er…rustic….bathroom, but I’m certainly not complaining.  I’m just looking forward to indulging in water-saving, and time-saving, showers rather than always having to rely on the bath.

After a long day, there’s nothing more comforting than soaking one’s aching muscles in a hot bath.  But the shower will, I’m sure, prove to be a popular addition to the house, being both convenient and environmentally friendly. 😉

Long term effects of a cold winter?

While we are now enjoying a mild spring and have probably forgotten the grim low temperatures of the winter months, it’s perhaps worth noting a very brief article on the news this evening regarding falling levels of Arctic Ozone (I actually heard it on Channel 4, but – as has happened before – when I went onto their website to find a written version of the story, nothing – so I’m providing a BBC link from their more slick website – sorry C4, but it’s your own fault!). Panic about levels of ozone feels like something from my youff – you hardly ever hear anything about it nowadays.  We’ve stopped getting all het up about aerosol sprays, and fridges and so forth now we’ve dealt with the CFC issue.  I guess we think we’ve solved the problem. But apparently, the extreme cold weather has caused some pretty alarming ozone damage which is still in evidence even now it’s spring.  Click on http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12969167 to read more about it.

And in the meantime, start stocking up on the high factor suncream!  😉