It’s all been happening in Birdbrook today, well and yesterday too. On Saturday morning the Morris men came to town, dancing outside the Plough pub. It was part of the annual Thaxted Morris Festival. During the daytime the numerous Morris sides tour the local villages before meeting up in Thaxted in the evening for the main event. I had planned to go in the evening, having missed the morning performance whilst at the market, but the plan went awry at the eleventh hour. Anyway, today was the Tractor Rally, when 30-odd tractors drive through the Moyns Park Estate as part of their route, raising money for charity. I positioned myself in a prime spot in front of the big house to cheer them on and take some photos, and as the vehicles ancient and modern streamed past there was the added bonus of vintage American military aircraft flying overhead on their way to the air display at Duxford.
Old
Older
Modern brute
Flypast
On my way to watch the parade (and to work) I had to stop on the drive because a fox cub threatened to run out in front of me. It backed up and hid behind a tree trunk, peered round it to look at me, then turned and dashed back into the trees. Later on in the greenhouse I moved something and discovered that a newt had been hiding under it. After asking the internet I have concluded that it is a Great Crested Newt, which is a protected species. It had a beautiful orange tummy. I took it outside and released it somewhere cool and moist. Meanwhile in the polytunnel I had to usher pheasants out, not because they were doing any harm or damage, but it was just too hot in there for them in the full sun. They like to go in there to dust bathe.
While we are on pheasants. My best girl darted out of the hedge to meet me the other day, asking to be fed. She came right to the shed door for her seed (she has since been inside). That was all lovely, but she was alone, which means that she has lost all 12 of her chicks. Sad.
The weather last week was pants again. Cold, wet, windy, miserable. The slugs and snails are loving it though, they are in numbers never before seen, and are eating like there is no tomorrow – if I get my hands on them there will be no tomorrow! Talking with multiple keen gardeners at the market yesterday I discovered that everyone is having the same problem this year. It is very disheartening to have plants that you have nurtured for weeks to be decimated overnight by the slimy critters. I don’t object to sharing, but when they insist on a 80/20 split in their favour I draw the line.
I was a bit premature in predicting the vegetable shortage nadir last week….it’s now this week! There is no broccoli this week. There could be, but the price of it increased by over £1 a kilogram so it has become unaffordable – hopefully temporarily. The greens offering is limited to chard, and I have been forced into cutting my pointed cabbages immature, as summer greens, to add a bit more choice. There will be some round and gem lettuces, if the slugs leave some for us.
After a couple of dry days I was able to plant some more beans today, and to slay a few weeds. I earthed up the potatoes last week before it got too wet, and they are close to flowering now. There are small pods developing on the first batch of broad beans, but the second lot has a bad infestation of blackfly. In the greenhouse the waist high tomatoes are now shoulder high, and the polytunnel ones are doing pretty well too. Cucumbers are a bit slow, but are now climbing their string supports. Tomorrow’s job is to liberate the brassicas of weeds, or at least some of them, and to plant some more squash and the purple sprouting broccoli.
Right I’m off, the dinner gong has just been struck in the west wing, so I had better be seated before the dumb waiter arrives laden with tasty leftovers.
Have a good week.
Phil