Back on the land

Don’t you just love how easier it is to get up early when there are fun things to do? It’s Wednesday, it’s sunny and I’m raring to go.

Well, it’s only 3C out there and I’m still in front of the roaring fire, but I am doing the list.   That’s the best bit.   The list runs to a whole page and starts with sowing broad beans and peas.   But it won’t be a quick plonk em in the ground. I’m doing a rather scary redesign of the potager beds to give them more appeal.

When I left last month, I sowed seeds and put out the potatoes for chitting and left them in front of the huge picture window in the living room. The lettuce and cabbage have sprouted well; so too the shallots.   But the penstemons, stubbornly refuse to germinate.

I’ve done some reading and they are supposed to be started off at 4C. Which I have done. But we shall see if they can cope with the potting shed. They move there tomorow.

But for all of you wondering how it went, the good news is that the pipes didn’t burst when I came back yesterday and turned the water back on.   What a relief.   This is the first time the mountain had frozen and along with it, the water pipes.   But with a careful turn of the mighty levers in the box in the ground outside the guest house, the magic water flowed.   How magic? Try living with flushing loos without water for a few days. It makes driving over to the village square to the communal (and always running water) trough  and filling with jerry cans a very contemplative task.

There was a mighty spluttering and a gurgling in the taps, but that’s fine. I just have to check the washing machine today and then call it safe.

So on with outdoor news.   I can see a lot of damage from this three weeks of very cold weather.   The rosemary has a lot of burnt tips and I think I can see some very damaged cistus plants. I’ll do a good lap first thing this morning and take pictures and observe.