Wednesday 8 April 2015

Digging up the veg patch...at last!!!


The as yet untouched veg patch,
with not a clod of fresh earth exposed to the glorious sunshine,
and weeds starting to romp away,
especially dandelions
which I did think of harvesting seeing as how this is a veg plot after all:
1) I could make jam out of the flower heads.
2) I could pick the fresh green leaves and use them in a salad.
3) I could lift the roots, roast them, then grind them down to make dandelion coffee.
Of course I shall do none of these things,
not this year.

But....do not fear, we have not relinquished our desire to be smallholders,
and to prove this point,
at long last we have started work on the veg plot. 
Well.....to be more accurate, we are not actually doing the work,
we have employed others to do the work for us....


....... Mum pig,

and her piglets....


Ah, but we do have a slight problem,
and that is that it is very warm here at the moment,
and the pigs seem to have hit a lazy streak,
seeming to want to only work on the veg plot for an hour or so in the morning,
then collapsing in a heap to sunbathe until supper time.
This means that the rate of work on the veg plot is minimal at the moment,
but we know that sooner or later it will rain,
which should encourage our team to get their snouts into the ground.
especially if they have their food rations reduced to encourage them to get digging.

Meanwhile, back at the house,
I have  managed to paint quite a decent amount of the half barn ceiling,
and Lester has sanded and oiled the beams in the dining/music room.
We are making progress.

Took the cows for a walk this morning,
up and down the path to the river we went.
It was lovely,
couldn't do anything other than stop, look, and enjoy our surroundings
as we walked beside the cows as they grazed.

Saying bye for now,
as can't keep my eyes open,
so time for bed.

Vx

8 comments:

Mama Mess said...

A walk with the cows sounds like a very rewarding and relaxing way to end the day!

Elizabeth at Eiffel Tells said...

Your life at Labartere sounds tiring but idyllic. I can picture myself saying encouraging words to the pigs while my husband is working on the house. Warm regards.

DUTA said...

The dandelion weed is quite useful in medicine; it is said to protect the liver, and capsules with dandelion extract are sold in health stores.
Your description of the "employees" (the pigs) at work in the veg plot, made me smile.

(Thanks for informing me of the dissappearance of the comments section in my new post. I've fixed it.)

Mama Mess said...

Ps, you can also pick the flower heads off the dandelions, take them inside and give them a light rinse, and then dip them in batter and deep fry them......they are DELISH! :)

Rhodesia said...

LOL think you will have to give the pigs a helping hand. Keep well Diane

John Going Gently said...

You can sense the change of the seasons....
The light is so much brighter
Hello
Spring

Mizumatte said...

yes piggies are good workers, near us there is two piggies working, should take a picture and put on my blog. by the way you can make a very strong(%)"wine" of dandelious too . hope you had a good nights sleep. take care Jaana

Vera said...

the Goodwife, we were walking the cows in the morning, so it was the reverse....it was a good start to the day!

Elizabeth, our life here is idyllic, but we often forget that when we are busy doing the things to make work for us!

Duta, thanks for the info. I shall have an explore on the internet to find out further info.

the Goodwife, ooooohhh, now that I shall make a note of!

Diane, we think so too!

John, you are so right, and as the light gets brighter so does our spirits, and that is without the help of a tipple!

Jaana, dandelion wine? Now that sounds an interesting project! Didn't know you had a blog, so am just off for a visit.