There are more Red Admiral butterflies on the wing at the moment than I can remember seeing before. There are also lots of Comma, Meadow Brown and a good number of Small Copper, plus Peacock and Tortoiseshell. I haven’t seen any Painted Lady though. Generally it’s been a good year for butterflies here, which is encouraging.
The Spotted Flycatchers are back again, I have seen them perching on the paddock rails, waiting to dart out for unsuspecting passing insects. The Nuthatches are back visiting the feeding station, and the hanging feeder is being mobbed by squadrons of Goldfinches at the moment – when there is not a squirrel hanging upside down on it! I went to check on my Blackbird chicks last Monday morning, and they had already fledged. It’s amazing how quickly they go from bald pink alien creatures to fully feathered birds capable of vacating the nest.
So I had my day at the posh wedding in St Paul’s cathedral yesterday. I took a gamble by booking rail tickets, even though it was a strike day. I checked on the Greater Anglia website earlier in the week and there was a high degree of confidence that trains would be running, and so it proved to be. So I had a relaxed journey to London and was in the vaulted chapel in the bowels of the cathedral in plenty of time. The service was very traditional, but relaxed at the same time. The cathedral provided a small choir that was so beautiful to hear. There was an informal stand-up reception afterwards in a room close by, which was very nice, and I was delighted to see someone from Japan who I hadn’t met for the best part of 20 years. I had a long chat with Hiroshi, who I have known since he was 17 – he now has greying hair on his temples! It was as well that he was there, because I knew none of the other guests, and I feel very much like a fish out of water in those social situations. I also felt uncomfortable trussed up in a suit with a collar and tie. Funny to think that it was my everyday attire for donkey’s years, and now I feel overdressed in anything more than shorts and a tee shirt! I left the occasion rather sooner than was polite to do so, for which I now have some regrets and feelings of guilt, but it was all a bit intimidating for one that spends so much time alone. I have lost what social skills I once had…if I ever had any.
St Paul’s before the rain
The wedding chapel
There was a casualty of last weekend’s very strong winds, I discovered an apple tree on its side in the orchard. It wasn’t a big tree, but unlike many of its neighbours this year it was well endowed with fruit. The herd of deer that visits the orchard nocturnally has already made a start on stripping the bark from the horizontal trunk.
Back in my comfort zone of the garden things are looking ok. Yesterday’s rain was very welcome, and will have pepped up many of the crops. I had the sprinkler on last week, mostly on the beans to try to get some of that blossom to set. The good news is that I should be picking some runner beans next week….fingers crossed. There is a nice double row of dwarf French beans that is close to producing flowers, and I sowed another row of seed for a late crop, along with another couple of rows of beetroot. In the greenhouse the earliest cucumber plants are already waning, but the later sowing should keep producing fruit for some time. Tomatoes are ripening, but slowly; the unsettled weather with fewer hours of sunshine than is ideal is inhibiting them.
There is not much change to what is available this week, but I have added green peppers and padron peppers – both will be in short supply. Lettuces will be round ones this week, there is still chard, kale and cabbage. Carrot, beetroot, courgettes, patty pan and spaghetti squash are all in the shop. I will be lifting ‘green’ onions, that’s fresh onions with their tops. The quality of the bought-in ones at this time of the year is not great, so the time is right to begin harvesting. They will be in bunches.
I thought it time to remind you of how you use a spaghetti squash. Cut it in half lengthways, scoop out any seeds and fibrous pith, drizzle olive oil onto the cut halves and season it with some salt and pepper. Place the halves of the squash face down on a baking tray, put the tray in an oven pre-heated to 200° and bake it for 45 minutes. Take the squash from the oven and test it by drawing the tines of a fork over its flesh, if it forms spaghetti like strands it is ready, if not pop it back in the oven for a few more minutes. Overcooking it will result in the flesh going mushy. You can use the ‘spaghetti’ as a substitute for pasta, adding a sauce, or pesto and parmesan. Move aside Fanny Craddock!
I will be back at Wyken on Saturday, so if you would like to collect your vegetables from there please send me an order. I don’t have any other holidays or events coming up, so good health permitting I should be at the farmers’ market on a regular basis for the foreseeable.
The real farmers now want a spell dry and settled weather to crack on with the cereal harvest, but I’m not sure that they are going to get what they want in the coming week. If you are going to be out and about I suggest that you take a Pakamac with you “the raincoat in your pocket”. Have fun.
Phil