Happy (belated) New Year 2014!

I know I know it's a bit late to be wishing you all a Happy New Year when we already have our feet firmly plonked in to February! But as they say better late than never.

I do apologise for the very long absence but as many of you may remember I started up a new business venture which took me up a new path and unfortunately not the garden one.

The business is going well, as with all new ventures there are ups as well as downs and it has been somewhat a bumpy ride with a wide arc of a learning curve too! You soon learn who are the friends and you know the other part of that saying!

The business has evolved and grown so much this past almost a year. Not only is there refurbished furniture we have workshops, craft groups and a selection of wonderful local crafter's who have their gifts and wares on sale. I have met so many wonderful creative people as well as having made many new friends.

There has also been several other changes in my little world, I am going to see a specialist surgeon regarding the problems and pain in my leg/hip on Wednesday, I saw the consultant last October and after X-rays they seem to be erring on a hip replacement so I shall find out this week what is actually going to be done and to be honest I am petrified! I am unable to walk any distance and can no longer walk the dogs which I really miss doing.

So as you can imagine with the above condition there is currently no hope of any gardening in the near future as bending and crouching is the most painful of all. When I look out into the garden and see how it is all so over grown it is heart breaking but I do have an action plan that I am hoping to discuss with a certain someone but can't say too much as yet just in case they read this first! However I will reveal all in due course.

I am debating on whether to start up a separate blog for the business or to combine it with this one. I want to let people know what I am working on and give tips ect and also keep people updated with what workshops craft sessions are coming up. So if anyone out there is still reading this blog your thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

I will leave you with a link to the website so you can have a look at what I have been up to the past year.
I promise not to leave it so long next time x

http://wigglywoocraftemporium.webs.com/

Frazzled!

Hello everyone! I do apologise yet again for my long absence. Things have been rather busy and I was trying to keep it all going but unfortunately something had to give and it was the garden that has been pushed to the wayside.

We have had amazing weather these past couple of weeks, my waterbutts are empty. We have harvested some potatoes, peas and strawberries however the onions have gone to seed, the fennel needs thinning out and the swedes are growing well. There are no runner beans, French beans, courgettes or squashes in the garden this year but there is plenty of weeds!  So far this year has been a bit of a blur and has whizzed past at tremendous speed!

The heat seems to have affected the girls as we are down to just one egg a day, they have become very noisy indeed, as soon as I get home and they see me through the door they become very vocal as they know they will be allowed out for their daily stroll shortly. They have been venturing into the kitchen a lot more, even flighty Matilda has taken to a wander around the kitchen.

A few photos of the well erm I suppose growing/disintegrating vegetable garden

Lots have been going on at Wigglywoo's Craft Emporium We now have the tea room up and running as well as the workshops, lots of lovely furniture and locally handmade crafts and gifts. What I love about the shop is that no two weeks have been the same since I opened, there has been changes to the layout and what we have for sale is always changing. 

The first pieces that went on display

adding to the stock

My beautiful girly set that I really enjoyed doing

The emerging tearoom

The tearoom all set and ready to serve

The rear end of the shop as it is now

another section of the shop as it is now

 As you can see from the photos the shop has totally transformed over the last three months. I have met lots of lovely people since I have been in the shop as well as a few strange encounters. It is hard work but I am loving every minute of it. 

I hope you are all having a wonderful summer, until next time and I promise not to leave it so long x

It is Blooming Cold!

What on earth is going on with this British weather? We are almost at the end of March and have seen no sign of spring and this morning I awoke to another smattering of snow and escaped chickens! I knew something wasn't quite right as Max was back and forth with a worried look upon his face. I had a quick search as I thought that perhaps there was a puddle of even a pile on the floor!

It had been so windy that the latch on the run had opened and there was the girls clucking loudly and running amock around the garden. Matilda was head down and arse up in the soil of my fruit border where I have one scarggly tayberry bush and a small prickly gooseberry bush, it all looks so sad and desolate in the garden.

When I opened the door the girls were trying to come in, cheeky little things.  I grabbed the bowl of scraps and they all came flapping down the garden with me and are all now safely back in the run tucking into a feast.

It has been another busy week. I have been preparing for the opening of Wigglywoo's Craft Emporium on Monday. I am just enjoying a quick coffee in peace before heading back over to carry on with arranging and sorting out the warehouse.

I am at a craft fair tomorrow, which will be my last one for a while and hopefully I will be able to get out into the garden once more and get on with one of my other great passions of growing my own vegetables.

I hope you all have a great weekend, until next time X

Scarf, gloves and hat at the ready!

Everything is wrapped and protected now as we sit and wait to see what comes. Parts of the country has seen snow and sleet and in large areas rain. So far I have just had a few drops of rain but it has turned rather cold. I have my hat, scarf and gloves on the table in the lobby ready for walking the dogs tomorrow and I always wear my wellies even if the sun is shining!

The girls laid two eggs today, I think they spent most of their energy on emptying out the coop! There was bedding and newspaper scattered all in the run. I cleaned out the coop and cleaned up the mess they had made. They sure are a mucky bunch.

I sowed a few more seeds today some sweetcorn and a couple more of tomato. I will need to sow some more cabbages and peas but I think I will give it a week or two before doing anymore sowing and hope that the weather improves.

I removed the flower from the rhubarb today and hope that by doing so this cold weather will not cause any damage to it. The little round ball behind the pinkish flower looks like it is going to be another flower. I only planted the rhubarb last year so we did not get to have much from it as you are not supposed to take anything from it during it's first growing year. It seemed such a waste that I did take four stalks and made a small crumble with it. It looks like there is going to be plenty this year though.

And finally.....Just as I am finishing this the heavens have opened and my water butt will be filling up nicely. I bid you a good evening or day x

An oddity among the rhubarb!

Well the sun was still shining today, all gardeners are talking weather in the forums. It is supposed to change mid-week. Everyone is busy placing fleece and cloches on everything in a vain hope it will survive. We had a very warm spring last year followed by a wet summer, throwing everything in the garden out of sync. I wonder what this year will hold for the humble gardener.

Whilst having my daily wander around the garden doing my inspections this evening I noticed something rather odd looking growing out of the rhubarb. The only way I can describe it is that it looks like a head of broccoli. After a quick look on the web I have since found out that this is in-fact a rhubarb flower and needs to be removed as it takes all the goodness away from the production of the rhubarb. My battery had run out on my camera so I will post a photo tomorrow before I remove the flower.

Two of the pepper seeds have started to emerge today, however my seed germination does not appear to be as good as last year due to the much cooler weather we have had this year compared to this time last year. It has obviously had an effect on seed germination. I think I will look into getting a heater for the greenhouse for next winter to help speed things up a bit.

The girls laid two eggs today, Matilda has been busy jumping for flies, whilst Octavia was contending in the cabbage leaf chuck! She would take a peck at the leaf then fling it over her head. It was quite comical to watch and Dory and Bell were having a tug of war with a cabbage leaf stem. They sure will make great contenders for the chicken Olympics!

And finally..... It's getting late and my bed is calling. I'll bid you goodnight and good day x