New steps in the spring

Spent some of the weekend getting a few Dahlias set up so as to be able to get some cuttings taken latter on in the spring they aren't any special variety just a few i grew from seed last year and i liked the look of, I wanted to get them done as we are going off on a winter break for 10 days to i hope warm sunny weather and while i was on with the dahlias i chitted up 4 Maris Bard potatoes that i will plant in a barrel in the greenhouse when i get back so as to get an earlier crop.


Kevin has been here most of the week putting in some new steps up the garden, it was one of them jobs that i seemed to never have the time to get round to so i bit the bullet and called in our local handyman/ landscaper, OH! wouldn't it be nice to have a level site, i think he was a bit suprised at how much rock and stone he had to dig out just for a few steps. ( i wasn't when i set up my veg patch which is now at the top of the steps i had to remove 5 skip loads of stone then i had to cart in even more soil and compost to fill and improve the plot ) A couple of hydrangea cuttings which had started coming in to leaf i have brought inside so as to not let them get checked if we get another cold snap.

On the Farm our first sheep lambed triplets then one had a single they are some pure bred Texels that we keep so as to breed our own Rams to use on our commercial breeding ewes they are inside at the moment but should be fit to go outside in a couple of days if the weather is OK. Our stock bulls started fighting quite a bit this week so we had to separate them i guess they were just trying to decide who is number one and as they have not had much work to do they are improving in condition and can fell spring in the air.

On the football front well what happens when the best home record meets the best away record in the league?
United beat Doncaster 1/0 of course. Our promotion push continues.

January Snowdrops

I know I'm a born optimist but the days seem to be creeping out a bit and what with the snowdrops getting into full bloom it does seem that it,s heading in the right direction for spring even the potentials have started to show signs of life which is a good 3/4 weeks earlier than i would expect it's just to be hoped that we don't get any server frosts that will wreck every thing, one thing that wont take any harm is the Rhubarb which is starting to romp away The Rhubarb varieties are Timperly Early and Stocksbridge Arrow i was considering if i should divide them this year but on looking i think i can safely leave it until next year. I have finished moving the hydrangeas in to their new bed this afternoon, where they were was a bit to shaded under some trees so hopefully with a bit of extra sunshine they will reach their full potential, as they are now on full show next to the main road i certainly hope so or i will get some comments from passing friends. I managed to get my hands on some plastic barrels on Monday for growing my long carrots in, these are getting harder to find nowadays as most large companies have to send them for disposable to registered recyclers but i got lucky and was given 5 that missed the collection, cutting the tops and base out was a bit of a fiddle, but if you want to compete with these showmen then it just has to be done. Hopefully i will get the sand in shortly so as to give it time to settle prior to coring out for planting. Most of my seed has been ordered now although i do buy my Leeks and Onions and other bits and bobs from Robinsons Mammoth Onions in April as i only have a unheated greenhouse and would find it near impossible to start them of early. Down on the farm i spent quite a bit of time re-tagging cattle this is a job that needs to be kept up to date as the penalties if you don't are quite severe the tags only seem to last 2/3 years before they need replacing. We have also started to feed the sheep more generously as the winter goes on and they get nearer to lambing in the spring.

Football Result Cheltenham 1 United 0 Slipped to 3rd in league

A Brand New Year

It"s wet and windy but quite mild
Well that's it the end of 2007 roll on 2008. 2007 been an up and down year a great spring sunny and warm then very wet all summer, didn,t need to water the garden once but had to work overtime to keep the lawn,s tidy. Work was steady but for the Goverment hassling me with red tape (now't new with that then) and then setting loose Foot and Mouth Disease from their Pirbright laboratory and then they had the nerve to say they coped well with it all (useless tossers ) cost the livestock industry millions and do they care no couldn't give a monkeys, anyway tomorrow i am going to dig out a old established hydrangea up at friends house and transplant it back here can't beat getting cheap plants hopefully it should move easily enough but we will see come spring if it has survived the move.

United 4 Hartlepool 2 Now 3rd in league 1.