Every where I look the signs of spring are more evident each day,busy birds, their beaks full of dry grass of feathers whirr about the garden and others already busy with fledglings are busy finding food for hungry mouths.
All this industry makes me feel that I too should be preparing for the busy season and today with the sun shining and the smell of warm earth sweetening the air I set about doing just that. Today was a major baking day which meant that not only several loaves but also cakes and cookies needed to be made as the biscuit tins were empty!
Within a couple of hours five lovely loaves , two trays of wholemeal melting shortbread and two trays of Bakewell slice were cooling on the kitchen table and the clearing up began. While washing up the aftermath of all that baking I washed out several dozen jam jars and put another couple of dozen in a bucket to soak off the labels. I love it when the jars arrive with the labels already removed but all jars are welcome here and it does not take long to clean them up.
Down at the bottom of the orchard is the partial shade they love the gooseberry bushes are in full flower and are well attended by numerous bees, with luck the frost will hold off until the fruit has set and we shall soon have a good crop of gooseberries which make the first real jam of the year. Gooseberries should be picked green if the jam is to set well for as they get bigger and ripen into sweetness they lose their pectin and a sloppy jam is the result. Around a half of our gooseberries go to make gooseberry jam, the rest are frozen and later in the year they supply the pectin I need to set my strawberry jam so you see they are a valuable crop.
Canes and pots needed to be cleaned and tubs filled in order to give the compost time to settle so the the pots can be topped up. Seed potatoes are already chitting nicely in my window and will be planted out on Good Friday which the old wives tale tells us is the best day to do this. Here we grow our potatoes in bags as I find all that earthing up beyond me these days. Red Roosters are this years chosen crop a we all like this tasty all rounder.
Robin and his mate were my constant companions throughout the afternoon snatching worms and small bug disturbed by my activities and watching them confirmed the where abouts of their nest and the fact that they had young already. Over in the shelter belt a pair of kestrels are setting up home again, these lovely birds are voracious vole eaters but will take birds as large as a blackbird when the chance arises. Young kestrels are very noisy and our summer days are filled with their hungry squawkings and their squabbles when food arrives.
Here and there daisies sprinkle the grass and cowslips are peeping out from among the primroses now. The Fritilaria which I planted last years have survived the winter and are about to flower, these plants can be rather temperamental and often do now survive the first year yet if the right location can be found they spread like wild fire and are very beautiful indeed.
Parakeets are a feature here and in on old lime tree there are four separate nests at different heights and two wood pigeons nests , it's like a block of flats. Parakeets favour ho;e in trees and at each hole a bird stands guard while the other is off collecting food,they are such pretty birds and I am at a loss to know why people dislike them so.
Warm air bathed my skin as I pottered about the garden and my little cat in a state of high delight at finding herself with company did her usual lap of the orchard climbing every tree as she went before settling down on a sunny bench to watch me as I planted more strawberries and spread hen muck pellets about. High on the old orchard wall a dog fox also watched, enjoying a quiet hour with the sun on his fur, he is a fine fellow and we have known him since he was a tiny cub.
After all the baking this morning I made a fast meal for this evening, skewettes made from mini sausages bacon rolls mushrooms and cherry tomatoes, served with a tabbouleh fajitas and spicy tomato sauce. I did not want to go back indoors as the evening was so pleasant but of course after the weekend it will stay light for an extra hour....lovely.
One more good thing happened today, the owl box which the boys brought for me arrived and it is a really good one which my son will site for me next week, for now I wish you all a good night and a happy weekend.
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