Communal Bath

A daily event in their social calendar.

December Fourteenth

I've been in the garden today cleaning up and doing a little transplanting. So Mild! I found a few strawberries that will never turn red now, what with no sun. November was officially the dullest on record. It doesn't look like we'll be getting a white Christmas this year, maybe a lighter shade of grey if we're lucky...

Eggplants

I never got around to posting this picture of the only variety of aubergines that I grew this year. H, after 9 months working on a farm in Lewes that specializes in Japanese vegetables, has convinced me to grow 'Kurume Long Purple' next year.

And, on the subject of eggs, 3 more again today! The hens haven't yet slowed production for the winter. Possibly because the weather has stayed so mild.

Pomegranate

This year for the first time I had some blossoms on my pomegranate bush! It was a gift cutting from Dr. K back in 2012. They fell away before forming any fruit, but, hey maybe next year...

Voice On Record

One of the many great radio shows to have been broadcast on ResonanceFM over the years is Voice On Record with Sean Williams. It still gives me great joy to replay these podcasts on occasion while I'm working. Most especially the wildlife recordings and episodes 35, 36 & 38 featuring Peter Scott are ones I'll never tire of hearing.

Ripe Strawberries!

Detail from William Morris design 'Strawberry Thief'

A Recipe For Gruel

I never did post a link here to my little animated film based upon a piece of prose by Frank Key. It's done the rounds of festivals and is now on line for all to view. (Hopefully not on your iPhone.)
You can watch it HERE.

3 Eggs

Colossusses

Loads of chard in the garden right now and some of it quite remarkable in size ( Fordhook Giant).
I've put the book there for an indication, but they measure 28 inches in height and the stems are nearly 3 inches across!

Whiskey Galore!

Last weekend we made a little detour to Rye to see friend Paul Bommer's exhibition of prints now on (for another week) at the Lion Street Store. And I bought this beautiful new edition of Compton Mackenzie's 'Whiskey Galore' with cover by Paul.

Choices, choices...

... a bit like the ballot paper.
(Photo taken down in Selbourne area - Gilbert White's neck of the woods)

Pole Beans

Yesterday I got my bean poles up. That always feels like a major achievement to me. Suddenly the garden starts to have some structure, some backbone (back-bohnen?).
Anyway, they will lend support to this year's crop.

Crannies

This time of year as I'm sowing seed and potting on, I get all my 'Rootrainers' out of storage and cleaned up. And not only are they great for propagating but they seem to make a fine winter hidey-hole for all sorts of beasts. One must be very careful not to put one's sweet young seedlings into a tray that is harbouring a fat slug (see bottom left).

Very Late Harvest

Winter has been so mild thus far that I decided to leave the oca underground until now. This is the crop of edible sized tubers that I dug yesterday and then there are many more pea sized ones which hardly seem worth washing. I have saved out several more that are covered in sprouts which I intend to pot up and keep frost free until spring.
I do think they look jolly appetizing.

Blanche's Whopper

"One-A-Day" Blanche surprised us (and possibly herself) the other day by laying a comedy egg. Times and a half the weight of her normal large eggs, with a double yolk. Stella and the other two freeloaders (who remain nameless) just stand by and watch ... and eat ... and sleep.

Seventh Birthday

Hey, it was seven years ago that I started this blog - well, last Friday would be the exact date. My first post celebrated the 'freak' carrots that I had unearthed that harvest and that has been a recurring theme here - witness this and this! Today I dug this handsome specimen out of the ground ...

Der Bratapfel

Kinder, kommt und ratet,
was im Ofen bratet!
Hört, wie's knallt und zischt.
Bald wird er aufgetischt,
der Zipfel, der Zapfel, der Kipfel,
der Kapfel, der gelbrote Apfel.
Kinder, lauft schneller,
holt einen Teller,
holt eine Gabel!
Sperrt auf den Schnabel
für den Zipfel, den Zapfel,
den Kipfel, den Kapfel,
den goldbraunen Apfel!

A bumper crop of Keswick Codlins this year - actually most fruit crops have been good. These cook down to a beautiful frothy purée and when baked are truly scrumptious.

Random Harvest

Here are some of the potato clones which I grew on this year, originally from TPS that I gathered. It wasn't a great year for anything in my garden and I won't blame the weather. The potatoes did all right considering my lack of attention and the absence of rainfall. Many have skins that are quite russety/scaley and tuber size is small.

Two that produced bumper crops and I may continue to clone are the ones below. The first - a red fingerling - I am referring to as Custard right now due to the colour of the flesh and the second with slightly paler yellow flesh I call Humbug. It had a very thick stemmed sprawling habit. But reading the debate here does give me pause. (The film is quite naive but the comments are thought provoking). I worry about carrying disease over to next year's tubers and I think that I'll continue to grow most of my crop from TPS.

World Porridge Day

Gosh! I have just realized that today IS World Porridge Day. How do I celebrate? I have already eaten my morning porridge unawares. Tsk.

Meanwhile, here is a handy reference for working out just how old your goat is.

A Recipe For Gruel

The 10 minute film I have been making for the past year is now finished. HERE is a trailer which should leave you crying out for 'More'!