The Distancing Diaries - Day 86 & 87

On Saturday night the sky turned a dramatic shade of grey and I rushed outside to take a photo. Within minutes, the thunder & lightning started, the cats dashed inside, snuggled next to Jon on the sofa and remained there for the rest of the evening.

I had a fitful nights' sleep and was wide awake from 4am for what felt like hours but the next thing I knew Frank was jumping on the bed and it was almost 8am. I followed the lads into the garden to assess the damage from last night's storm, which thankfully amounted to a few tree branches brought down by the torrential rain and the remainder of the Oriental poppies stripped naked of their petals with only their bulbous seed heads remaining. I made tea, brought it back to bed where we read until 9.15am

Breakfast was coffee and toast accompanied by the last half of the Andrew Marr Show. Once dressed we headed into the garden and, supervised by our feline overseers, Jon got to work sorting out the greenhouse and veg beds whilst I cut back the brambles and bindweed that were threatening to engulf Jacob's enclosure.

Jon erected a makeshift frame for the cucumbers using a frame salvaged from an old gazebo that bit the dust years ago.

We haven't had a great deal of success with our gherkins (eaten by slugs), watercress (vanished), parsnips (never happened), kohlrabi (just the one), ruby red chard (three), beetroot (two) or carrots (three) but what's the fun in doing something if it's easy? Inspired by our visit to Wightwick last week, we combined all of the surviving plants into a single row and vowed to try again.

On a positive note, we've got about a hundred tomato plants in several varieties, two types of rocket, some particularly tasty Oriental salad leaves, peppers, lettuce, leeks, French beans, new potatoes, onions, purple sprouting broccoli, turnips and Sicilian purple cauliflower as well as curled cress, mustard, dill and parsley.

During our break for noodles, the heavens opened and I had to dash outside to rescue our gardening gloves and shoes. The lads were too slow and took shelter beneath Gilbert, staring pitifully at the house for over an hour while the rain bounced off every surface. As if by magic, the sun came back out and we were able to continue. Jon transplanted my experimental new potatoes from their pots while I planted up some calendula seedlings.

Making the most of the sunshine I consulted our gardening books for guidance as to what to plant next.

WEARING: 1970s India Imports of Rhode Island block printed maxi skirt (eBay), cheesecloth off-the-shoulder top (charity clearance shop), vintage Polaroid sunglasses (car boot sale)

I have a plan, I have seeds, I have pots, the compost is another matter...

Alys Fowler's The Thrifty Gardener was found in a discount book store, the rest are charity shop finds. That's a Primal Scream mug if you're wondering.

 Self-care Saturday was a day late, my hair is slathered in coconut oil and my nails are naked and awaiting painting later.

SOURCE

Tea was a cheese toastie. Thanks to Fifitr who was kind enough to recommend a fantastic documentary about the history of wallpaper HERE as well as the first part of the BBC drama about the Salisbury Poisonings.

This week's lockdown nails are Fuschia Generation from Barry M.

Monday (day 87) and the plan was to visit another National Trust garden, Jon had made sandwiches, I'd done my Wii Fit session & we'd eaten our fruit & yoghurt earlier so we could be on the road for 8.45am but Frank was out of sorts and hiding under the bed in the spare room so we decided to postpone the trip and keep an eye on him.

It was foggy when I got up but by the time I'd finished watering the patio plants the sun had appeared and it was deliciously warm. Off came the long-sleeved top and maxi skirt I'd dressed in earlier (and been admired by the My Hermes driver) and out came my bikini. I weeded between the cracks in the pavers and swept up the mess while Jon sorted out car stuff.

WEARING (briefly): Block printed, organic cotton maxi skirt (Cotton Cottage, 2019), recycled silk sari top (Jodhpur, 2020)

Meanwhile, Frank had emerged from under the bed, polished off his breakfast and joined us outside. The odd behaviour of earlier all but forgotten. It was probably just as well we'd cancelled our plans though, as the Tool Station delivery arrived, not bad considering Jon had only placed the order late on Saturday afternoon.

When Jon was in the greenhouse yesterday he discovered four aubergine plants we'd forgotten about (another veg to add to the success list). After again consulting my books, I transplanted them into larger pots and placed them in one of the cloches, empty after moving the cucumbers yesterday.

Did we visit the garden centre to stock up on compost? No! I checked the compost bins and to my joy realised that, in the months since we last checked, it was now rotted down and ready to use.

When I opened the shed I discovered that Saturday night's rain had brought the roof down and all our festival curtains, wall hangings and flags were sodden. Whilst I loaded the washing machine, Jon propped up and patched the roof and stapled a tarpaulin to the outside as a precaution. To add insult to injury Jon got stung by a wasp twice.

After three loads of washing and a lot of swearing, we took a break and ate the sandwiches we'd packed for our day trip.

Has anyone seen Stephen?

While Jon continued with the vehicle maintenance he'd started earlier, I cracked on with painting the cupboard I'd prepped on Saturday morning, which I did outside on the lawn, not wanting to miss a second of sunshine.

The cupboard was missing a doorknob but we had a bag of wooden ones in the shed we'd bought from a car boot sale years ago. To apply the paint evenly, I chopped a potato in half and stuck the screw into the centre, a trick I employ when I'm painting dolls house miniatures. A coat of Modge Podge later and it was a great match with the glazed ceramic knobs on our other kitchen cupboards.

In between coats I lay on the lawn and read my latest book, a tale of a young couple who bought a ruin in Corfu in the 1980s. Will we get to Greece this year? At the moment I'm doubtful but I live in hope.

With the sky turning an ominous shade of grey, we shifted the cupboard to the shed to dry overnight (that'll be a test for the repaired roof!), gathered in the washing and cracked open a beer, just in time for the heavens to open.

Tea was the last of the mini spring rolls from Jon's visit to Farmfoods back in May along with some homemade potato wedges and a salad, which included the last of the exotic oriental leaves (I'll plant more tomorrow.)

I'm sorry I couldn't share another National Trust garden with you but here's a few new developments in ours - the third spear on our delphinium, a flowering hosta and this shrub with gorgeous sweet-smelling, white blossom (I've no idea what it is, can anybody tell me?)

Frank's eaten well and he's very fussy. Yesterday we were visited by four tom cats, two of whom the lads managed to chase off. He doesn't appear injured so we're wondering if he's stressed. I'll keep you posted.

Stay safe, stay out of Primark (unlike most of England) and stay in touch!