Hectic August, a Busy Woman, part 1

The busy woman has been too busy to blog!

Growing food, emailing and finding caterpillars, all frantic and lots of fun.
Several hundred lettuces have been eaten,

pounds of chard and dozens of kale plants jammed in spaces.
The huge veg bed at the church is doing well, my car park beds are at their finest with a lacy curtain of fennel.

The accidental garden on the towpath has grown really well and despite some peoples fear of destroyer ducks not a scrap of trouble, even slugs don’t bother it.

Not a peck mark to be seen

The vegetable visitors keep on coming, I like a bit of peace when gardening, no chance of that anymore, I like to wear what I call my playing out clothes for gardening and these are often items not to be seen in. I have had to get used to bending over weeding and a carload of veg tourists stopping for a chat.

The rain has both pleased me and driven me crazy, I spent days getting every plant on a tray or dish ready for dry weather,

then I spend hours draining off water.

I made my chicken shit food too strong and my tomatoes got burnt, too lazy to mix it up properly. I have learnt a good lesson, when in doubt DILUTE!

Old Napoleon and the girls are fed up with the rain, they are dreaming of a dust bath; I can see it in their eyes.
I thought birds stopped laying, mine don’t they lay eggs like clockwork.

The Sun Newspaper came today they stayed for hours, our Estelle gave them the tour. Ace Royal photographer Arthur Edwards and top reporter Stuart Whittingham

Everyone they spoke to in town got the idea and gave a positive comment; they took hundreds of pictures and were genuinely interested. The sun has millions of readers and we want them to know what people can do if they try.

Arthur is a wonderful guy who knew the score about hearts and minds and food, also he had a very very cool car –so the loved one tells me –electric!!
Some of the things that happen still make me cry, the way good things come and the kindness of others.

The loved one and I have purchased a wooden cow, we had her out at our recent food event, and she is called cosimoo.

We had to go and buy teats at a farmer type place as she is a milking cow,

the shop is amazing and you can get a lot of kind of teats and wonderful other weird stuff.
Cosimoo was made by a young peoples project called Pitstop, they even made a little milking stool and sent a mooing thing with her. Estelle made a wonderful tail for her. We raised money for the mayor’s fund for naming the cow. A passer by gave us a calf! Then the problem of where to store our new livestock!!!
We have hit upon a fantastic low tec activity, our wooden milking cow and butter making, yep butter making!
All you need is double cream rotary whisks and plastic bowls, the kids and big kids loved it, loads of bread from our organic baker Saker and HEAVEN.
I am getting excited about the London conference, Peckham he we come.
Its exciting and scary as there is a lot of work to be done.
I have made contact with a wonderful person Rosemary Fost. she is full of wisdom and a has a long life of knowing all about soil and nutrition, she has been sending me things to read and although she is a long way from us we hope to meet .

Someone asked me yesterday if my life was more richer now I have no telly, I said no not at all, she was surprised, so was I.
My life is richer because I have an Ipad that’s for sure and no I don’t watch tv on it

Part 2 here