A bit of colour.

Pegging out the washing, why don't women get dressed in the morning?
Gladiolus.
Cactus dahlia. These will flower until first frost at the end of
October/November. You go to bed everything looks good, a slight
frost in the night and all the plants are black.
It is best to dig the flowers out before this happens, clean the tubers
leaving about 4 inches of stalk on them, and store them in a frost free
place over winter.
Next year you will be able to split them and increase your stock.

Rawmarsh soldier.

*****This is just a reference point for me.
It is someone else's story.*****

Ten years ago today.

Just to mark the day.
Ten years ago today I took early retirement, I had had enough
of working the three shift system, days afternoons and nights.
I was offered voluntary redundancy plus early retirement pension
it was too good to miss.
During the last shift going round saying my goodbyes the question
of the day was, what are you going to do Dave?
My reply was " just the same as I do now, accept I will not be coming
to work". Wrong !!!!!
I've done lots more.

A keep sake.

This shell case has a story, it was the first shot made
at the start of the second Gulf War by the Royal Navy.
It was presented to my nephew for services rendered.
Like all the servicemen at that time he thought he was
setting the Iraqis free.
Free from an oppressive regime, ours not to reason
WHY!!!!!!!!!

The changing face of Britain.

Romanian gypsy girl Rotherham.

Fascinating flower.

Flowers amaze me!
Same flower second bud, this is what it should look like.
Weird and wonderful. This was the the first bud, not quite right.
Perfect in every way.

Today in the allotment. July.

Cantaloupe I started in the greenhouse, but I think I will be lucky
if it bears fruit outside.

Today I pulled my early crop of onions and put
them out to dry turning the roots to the sun, all
the green has to go brown before they can be stored,
if not they will rot.

Flowers from my greenhouse.

Fuchsia remind me of fairies and ballerinas really pretty.

Almost there.

The 1970/80's are almost gone, new carpet TV stand and fire place, just waiting for the sofa and chairs to come.
Everything we have replaced was 25 years old, they were
not worn out but had seen better days. I come from the
generation that made things last!

Growing made easy.

20th July, I've a good crop of tomatoes but when they will turn red
is anybodies guess. You are lucky to be able to grow them outside
al-pal. It must be really warm there in DC.

These are the grow bags I was talking about al-pal, do you have
this type of thing over there?
They are about 36"x 12"x 8" in size, you just loosen the compost,
cut holes where the crosses are, cut some drain holes in the bottom,
plant and water. They last for one season only.
The plants you put in them still require feeding with a liquid fertilizer
for best results.

Our Blue.

Our Blue is not allowed in the front room! He knows with
me he is allowed anywhere he wants to go, but he's never at
ease. The moment Una walks in he's up and out without a
word, when it comes to dogs she's the boss.

Today in the allotment.

I went to the allotment to pick some black berries, and this is what
I found! The allotment manager had instructed his lackey to cut the
brambles back, in the name of health and safety.
This act of vandalism took place just two weeks before the crop was
ripe. In my opinion it was an act of jealousy and nastiness.



The boundary hedge of my allotment is made up of blackberry
brambles and anything else that stings.
It looks like being another good year for fruit.
These pictures were taken before the act of vandalism carried
out by the allotment and green spaces management.

I can hardly get through the gate.
Lots of broad beans.
The runner beans I put in last month are racing away.
Beetroot doing well, last year was a bad year for beetroot for me, it
made nothing for me until the back end of summer.
I've not grown sprout for a long time now, the last time I grew them the
sprouts blew I didn't get a one. I gave all the tops to the hens, happy hens.
Courgettes these have to be the easiest plant to grow in the garden,
the more you pick them the more they grow.
From 4in to a foot in a matter of days.

A baby pumpkin I just love to watch these grow. They are the only
thing I sell from the allotment. Halloween a great American invention,
people buy my pumpkins and the money pays my ground rent.

Organic no way caterpillars, slugs, snails they just munch their way
through life. They can strip your garden bare in no time!

Some fuchsia plants I chucked in years ago.

I've spent all day weeding, started 10.15am knocked off at 1.00pm
went home for my dinner, came back at 2.30pm until 5.00pm,
all for the love of it.

Honestly the allotment was a mass of weeds this morning.

Greenhouse plants.

I don't know why but I've only got one bunch of grapes on my vine.

My tomatoes and sweet peppers or coming on a treat.

Leeks and the allotment.

Yesterday I planted three rows of leeks between the four rows
of onions that are almost ready for pulling.
This way there wont be a bare patch in the allotment when the
onions are off. I think I'm a bit later this year putting the leeks in
but they were slow to grow in the seed bed. I usually plant them
in May. Now they are in the holes they should come on.
They stay in the ground all winter so there's plenty of time for
them to grow.
I'll just have to wait and see what happens!

We've all done it.

Wetlands Wath upon Dearne.
Hot days cool water what a combination for danger and a temptation for
teenage boys. When I was a teenager we swam in the quarries and canals
and reservoirs, anywhere where there was open water. Every year someone
did not come home alive, it is still happening today. Apparently it's the cold
that gets you. Today was the funeral of a neighbours son he was fifteen.