A week of weeding.. and some other bits..

I have never weeded so much in my life.. the garden is getting neater thought.. 3 patches done 5 to go and all the lawns around the house are mowed (thank you Mr W) but the meadow/ woodland is still to sort...  if you are old like me and remember the opening sequence to Little House on the prairie with a little kid running through a meadow up to her neck in grass .. that's my grass.. I plan to tackle it  next week as the rain is going to stay away.

In other news I am now the proud owner of one if these babies.. its a shredder!!! and a monster.. there are piles of rubbish, twigs and pap all over the wood ( a gift from previous owners) but this mean machine is about to get it sorted.. My sister and kids are here for 2 weeks in August.. I sense a project :-)

I have had a little go and whilst he is a beast to move about .. I love him!

Our Cow friends have been moved back up to the fields.. lots of mummies and babies, well probably;y teenagers by now, but cute non the less.. Lolly and Winnie are a bit worried about them and doing more barking than normal  but I am sure they will settle. I should perhaps let the cows in to deal with the long grass scenario :-)

I joined my first thing in the village this week and went to the W.I.. I was made really welcome and even though the talk was about podiatry and foot care .. (yuck) I had a complete giggle.. I, ridiculously, volunteered to join the W.I  garden rota (talk about a busmans' holiday) but it should be fun.. Next month its a trip to Gregynog Hall.. Mr W and I went to bee school there .. but this time its the WI and a Buffet.. :-) I have quite a hectic social life now.. sewing school on Monday, the WI on the first Thursday of teh month, the garden rota and most exciting is next Tuesday when I join gardening group.. Now THAT's what I need. For the princely sum of  5.00 per YEAR.. I get to go and meet with people once a month who actually know what they are doing.. HURRAH!!

The Veg plot is going great guns.. Pac Choi for tea tonight, te tomato plants have tomatoes, the Inca berry plant has sign of berries and everything is growing well.. (good job or Mr W May have sacked me) I am currently brewing rhubarb vodka and have now got 6 pots of Rhubarb jam.. one of which is aimed for the village show on the 3rd August :-)

Its been a fun week for sure but I am sick of weeds.. when is winter here???

Oooo.. just one other thing .. Mrs Mallard (aka Fergie) is back on the nest!!!!! watch this space :-)

look at top of photo a tomato

Lilly pads and their flowers on the lake

finally plated the planters that Mr W's Boy found for us.. completed with chicken protection until the things grow up. 

there are a bizillion tadpoles in there.. some have started to get their  legs 

Dedicated this photo to my lovely friend who helped me rake the lake.. check out the results  :-)

Little house on the prairie grass

Cripes I must mow!!!

weeded!!!!!!!!

welcome back cow friends 

but I have no food sorry

The pac choi for tea!!!

We are back...

.. Having eaten my way across the USA and put on significant weight we are back! We are very lucky people the house sitting tribe were beyond amazing and we have returned to minimal washing, no cleaning to do and all animal and plant life still alive.

The plant life has certainly been kept alive we have returned to food long grass and two foot high weeds.. eeek.. lots to do.. and on day one of my new lawnmower I managed to roll it into a tree stump and bend the blade.. so that's a new blade needed then.. ordered!

So in the emergency I have popped out to but an electric mover to do the bits close to the house.. much lighter and easier to use for sure. I have prioritised the allotment and mowing.. the weeds in the allotment were bigger than the vegetables but all sorted now and I can see vegetables again.

I am beyond gobsmacked about how I left the garden looking like it was just coming to life and then returned to find it green and flowery and really quite bonkers.. Love it..

My work has been cut out for the next few weeks for sure. It is lovely to be hone and it was made even better by all of our cards, letters and pressies from house guests.. they are naughty it was them doing us the favour but it was lovely.. We had 4 sets of house sitters.. Christina and her chums were first and Christina said that they all had the best time.. it was lovely to get her card. Then it was Lucy and Owen and they also had Lucy's Mam to visit.. the card we had from her was so funny saying that she was sitting at work wondering if the woodpecker had been for breakfast and whether Winnie was still running about like a mad thing whilst Lolly sunbathed.. they have clearly been very spoiled of attention these furry chums, Lucy was apparently a whizz on the Aga (Mr W would like to swap me) and she also found the time to make us some lovely coasters .. how lovely. Then came Caroline, Sam and Hilary we had a lovely letter of Caroline telling us all about bad boy Archie killing a chaffinch..Lolly trying to steal sausages destined for the BBQ.. it was lovely to read all about it. Mr W's Mam, Dad and friends brought up the rear and left our house spotless.. I have a lot to live up to now.

We really are lucky, as are the furry and feathery types to have such lovely people in our lives.

OOO and in big news.. we ate our first thing out of the garden.. RADISHES..

The Radishes .. pre salad

weeds and more weeds.. and somewhere in there some turnips.. all now sorted :-)

these tomato's were only 6 inches high when we left .. 

the Wisteria was a stick and now all in bloom .. beautiful 

Everything is so green

My garden.. Wow

Our house.. all dressed in greenery 

wow

allotment without weeds.. and with a lot of rhubarb... Made more jam 

little baskets of bits and bobs for our lovely house sitters :-)