St David's Day Celebrations~~~March Came in Like a Lion ~~~

 Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant Hapus

Happy Saint David's Day

Gentle Reader ~~~ First, I wish you all, wherever you are, whatever your roots, but especially to everyone of Welsh heritage, Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant Hapus ~ A Very Happy Saint David's Day ~~~ for today, March 1st is the Feast Day of David, the Patron Saint of Wales ~~~

Let's talk about the weather for one moment ~~~ one thing I love is the weather ~~~ no matter what it throws at us, and yes, sometimes I complain about it, but in general I love it all {except for the scorchio heat of high summer}. You have to take it as it comes, and there isn't much you can do about it so you might as well find something to like about it. I love the weather for so many different reasons ~ how it marks the slow turning of the seasons, the windswept and tormented beauty that lies within the heart of a raging storm; the calm that follows the storm; the gentle breezes of a late Spring morning as the world wakes up after a long, cold Winter; the bold colour palette of nature's paintbrush at work in Autumn ~~~ how the land looks in the different light; the billowing cotton puff clouds; the shimmering world after the rain as it sits, shining and glistening in the sun; the ever changing colours and moods of the sky; I love each season, each weather, in turn ~~~ although, as many of you know, my most favourite season of them all is Autumn ~~~ but this is not about Autumn, not today ~~~

So, I gather up all those little snippets of weather folklore along the way~~~ you know the one about red skies at night, or in the morning; or the one about Candlemas, or Groundhog Day, and so on ~~~ well, here is another one ~~~

If March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb

But if March comes in like a lamb, it will go out like a lion

Of course, unlike some sayings, there is very little foundation to this one, and if the weather comes to pass according to the rhyme then it is more a coincidence than the science of meteorology at work ~ mind, they did mention it on the weather forecast and said it could be a subtle hint! 

• Sun

  46°F37°F32MPHSOUTH WESTERLY

• Mon

  43°F39°F25MPHWESTERLY

• Tue

  45°F41°F29MPHWESTERLY

• Wed

  46°F43°F20MPHNORTH WESTERLY

• Thu

  48°F45°F18MPHSOUTH WESTERLY

• Fri

  48°F46°F19MPHSOUTH SOUTH WESTERLY

• Sat

  50°F46°F21MPHSOUTH SOUTH WESTERLY

• Sun 8th

  50°F45°F15MPHSOUTH WESTERLY

• Mon 9th

  48°F43°F13MPHWEST NORTH WESTERLY

• Tue 10th

  48°F45°F15MPHNORTH NORTH WESTERLY

Sunrise 07:08 Sunset 18:00

Last updated 07:33

  

Weather forecast details for Sunday 1 March. Each column contains hourly forecast details for weather conditions, temperature, wind speed, wind direction, humidity, visibility and pressure.

TIME	0800 HOURS	0900 HOURS	1000 HOURS	1100 HOURS	1200 HOURS	1300 HOURS	1400 HOURS	1500 HOURS	1600 HOURS	1700 HOURS	1800 HOURS	1900 HOURS	2000 HOURS	2100 HOURS	2200 HOURS	2300 HOURS	0000 HOURS MON	0100 HOURS	0200 HOURS	0300 HOURS	0400 HOURS	0500 HOURS
Weather Conditions
Temperature (°F)	45°F	46°F	46°F	46°F	46°F	46°F	46°F	45°F	43°F	43°F	43°F	43°F	43°F	43°F	43°F	41°F	41°F	41°F	41°F	41°F	41°F	39°F
Wind Speed (mph)	23MPHWESTERLY	22MPHWEST SOUTH WESTERLY	23MPHWEST SOUTH WESTERLY	25MPHSOUTH WESTERLY	32MPHSOUTH WESTERLY	34MPHSOUTH WESTERLY	32MPHWEST SOUTH WESTERLY	28MPHWESTERLY	23MPHWESTERLY	20MPHWESTERLY	18MPHWESTERLY	18MPHWESTERLY	19MPHWESTERLY	20MPHWESTERLY	23MPHWESTERLY	24MPHWESTERLY	24MPHWESTERLY	23MPHWESTERLY	23MPHWESTERLY	24MPHWESTERLY	28MPHWESTERLY	27MPHWEST NORTH WESTERLY

See those numbers in the circles? Those are the average wind speeds for the day, so, this year, March decided to come in like a lion ~~~ a rather big, roaring, very noisy, and very wet lion at that ~~~ the winds came in by tea time on the last day of February and blew February away with such gusto and March came hurtling in on it's heels, with every cobweb in every corner blustered away on the wuthering winds from the west ~~~ and this morning, there is a very mixed bag of strong winds, bright sunshine, and short, sharp, sudden downpours, catching out those unprepared ~~~ 

This is not particularly brilliant news, for March 1st is Saint David's Day ~ the feast day of the Patron Saint of Wales ~ and there are always plans to celebrate the day in style ~~~ many of these events take place outside the words 'damp squib' spring to mind ~~~ many are also held indoors, and most of the outdoor ones went on despite the atrocious weather ~~~ we are a hardy breed in Wales ~~~

The events for St David's Day do not change very much from year to year, so if you click here it will take you to what I wrote for St David's Day 2013 on my other blog Tales from a Celtic Heart {which I no longer add to, but you may like to read and see the photographs when you have time}. 

We are striving in our small village to mark the day with more than just a couple of church services for the schools, to turn the eyes of the world to celebrate the place where David was born and to bring people in to the village to learn more about David and the community he established.  Cardiff, the capital city, is where the main attention is focused, but in truth they do very little to mark the day, whereas, this year, for example, we have four days jammed crammed with a varied programme of events.

This year, there was an Eisteddfod in the City Hall on Friday, followed by lots of things on Saturday, including traditional Welsh refreshments {Cawl, Welsh Cakes, and Bara Brith} served throughout the day with an accompaniment of harp music; an exhibition by the local Historical Society; a Twmpath; the Annual Parade of Dragons; a market on the Cross Square; Community Hymn Singing in a local Chapel; lots of different guided walks by different organisations; and folk concerts in the local pubs and hostelries. The Annual Window Decorating competition was organised, ensuring windows full of daffodils and Welsh themed miscellany making the village look bright and beautiful, despite the grey days.  We are even featured on the BBC's Countryfile on Sunday evening {the link may or may not work for overseas readers, sorry if it does not}

Permission was given for arrangements of daffodils ~ our national flower ~ to be placed in the cathedral.  As it is Lent, all floral arrangements are stopped for the six weeks, but a special waiver was given to allow daffodils for the four days of celebrations of the life of David, without whom the cathedral, nor the village where I live, would be.

On Saturday, the Annual Parade of Dragons took place with the parade led by the 948 Squadron Air Corps Training Band ~~~

followed by one of the longest parades we have ever had ~~~

In fact, the parade was so long that there was nearly a traffic incident as the 948 Squadron Air Corps Training Band arrived back at the top of the Cross Square before the tail of the parade had cleared the High Street ~~~ disaster was averted at the last moment as the band held back, but I can just imagine the backlog of parade as it filed around the corners ~~~

Here are a few images from Saturday ~~~

Some delicious looking Welsh themed cup cakes on the Shalom stall on the market ~~~ I think they are really rather splendid ~~~

Everyone takes part ~~~

Window display at Mathias Hardware ~~~

Second place window display by the Candles and Crafts shop ~~~ with a handmade, wooden harp ~~~

The winning window ~ Oriel Albion Gallery ~ complete with a signed photo of the great J.P.R. Williams {one of our greatest heroes of rugby}

Close up showing the photograph of JPR and the Winner's Tropy ~~~

The Trophy, a hand carved piece of Welsh Slate ~~~ I happened to be in the Gallery visiting my friend who owns it when the Mayor, Cllr David Halse came in and surprised her with the award and tropy ~~~

This is one of my very special treasures ~ my bead bracelet. Some of you will recognise, and own, the Girlfriends bead from Susan Branch, but to day I want to focus on my Clogau gold charms, which contain a touch of rare Welsh gold.   One is the Cariad charm, the other is the daffodil.  Cariad is Welsh for Sweetheart, and my beloved Daddy called me 'his little cariad' so this charm has deep and very special meaning for me. The daffodil, of course, is the national flower of Wales, so again a meaningful charm for my bracelet.

Since I took this image, I have added the Glyn Rhosyn charm to my bead bracelet. One day, I will share an updated photo, and the reasons why this particular charm is so important to me ~~~

Finally, here is a plate of traditional Welsh Cakes for you to enjoy ~~~

Pour Me a Cup of Tea Please~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ As many of you know, I love to bake. I also love to tweak recipes to put my own stamp on them.  Of course, playing with recipes often yields unexpected results, sometimes quite disastrous, sometimes serendipitous.  Here is a little tale of the unexpected goody that has come from a nearly disastrous bake last year.

Stollen is one of my most favourite Christmas treats.  For some reason, probably all the other gazillion and one things to do for Christmas, I have never baked my own, but with each passing year the cost seems to be going up way out of relation to inflation, and with some supermarkets charging as much as £8.00 for a Stollen, or around £3.00 for a small box of tiny Stollen bites, I decided to give it a go.  {After all, what could possibly go wrong with making an enriched dough stuffed full of dried fruits and marzipan?}

If you don't already know the history of Stollen, here is a link with a brief history.

Now, let it be known that I am a Disciple of Delia, so around lunchtime on Christmas Eve, still with loads of jobs to do, I assembled all the ingredients, as listed in my trusted Delia Smith's Christmas  {this link is to the revised version, Delia's Happy Christmas, mine is the original}, plugged in Emily and changed the beater for the dough hook, rolled up my sleeves, and set about baking Stollen for the very first time.  I mean, how hard could this be? It wasn't as if I didn't have enough things still to do, but with the help of Emily to knead the dough there was plenty of time to finish all the other jobs for Christmas Day ~~~ wasn't there? 

Of course, being a Disciple of Delia, I have all her cookery books, and naturally I have both the original and revised Christmas books ~~~

You can find Delia's Recipe here, and if you want to watch the process, you can watch Delia's Christmas Stollen video.  The site is, in general, worth more than a quick peek, so make sure you have a pot of tea on hand as you may be gone some time ~~~

Are you back yet? 

I measured out the ingredients, followed the recipe, and with the help of Emily it wasn't long before there was a lovely rich, yellow, fruit~laden dough rising in the airing cupboard ~~~ the cottage was already taking on the fragrance of Christmas baking ~~~ 

It was then that disaster struck for the first time ~~~ the dough started to take on a life of it's own and in a very short time it had risen well beyond what was expected of it, in fact it was, in my estimation, about double what it should be, so in I ploughed and knocked it back, shaped it and carefully rolled it around the marzipan roll, slipped it on to the waiting baking tray and put it to rise again {which it did, reaching rather gargantuan proportions again} before I tucked it in to the oven to bake ~~~ which it did rather beautifully, despite it's size ~~~ until I {Oh! so very stupidly} got over excited and disaster struck for the second time with vengeance, for as I lifted it off the baking tray too early, much to my dismay, out fell the beautiful, meltingly hot marzipan roll on to the floor ~~~ pass the tissues now!  How painful it was to see that plumptious confection in what I can only describe as an Almond Paste Splat all over my kitchen floor. If you have never seen an almond paste splat, I hope you don't, especially if you love the delightful confection as much as I do ~~~ oh, and hot marzipan cools down quite rapidly {except when eaten hot and it adheres to the roof of the mouth ~ not that I have ever done this, you understand} and has a nasty tendency to stick to the floor in such a way that a bucket and mop job is the only way to clean up, so adding more work to the already bulging list of Christmas jobs ~ which wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't a looming deadline!

Of course, the whole bread was spoiled as a Stollen, but did not waste.  We ate it, warm and buttered; toasted and buttered; warmed with custard; and the very last scraps were put into a heavenly Bread and Butter Pudding served with a warm brandied custard sauce ~~~ heavenly ~~~

Long have I thought and pondered and wondered over what went wrong, and can only think that maybe I forgot to add the salt to the dough {salt is a necessary evil in bread making as it inhibits the yeast from rising too much, so this makes sense given the uninhibited rising of the dough} or maybe I accidentally reached for the wrong flour, over kneaded the dough, maybe the marzipan was just too heavy for the dough, any one of a number of things.  I stopped losing sleep and agreed to move on ~~~

Two things have come out of this ~~~

• do not wait until the eleventh hour to try a new recipe, especially Christmas Eve ~ and ~
• try making buns and chop the marzipan through the dough {don't ask me where this thought came from, but come it did} so ~~~

Fast forward to yesterday ~~~ I gathered all the ingredients and made another batch of dough, only this time, the marzipan was cut up into small cubes, just over 1/4 of an inch in size, and added it in with the fruit. I am always changing my mind, so instead of making buns, I pressed the dough into a circle and scored it through to make wedge shapes. I left it in the circle on the baking sheet, and baked it at Gas Mark 5 for about 35 ~ 40 minutes until it looked baked ~~~ 

I then made Delia's icing, but as the lemon was a bit small and the icing a bit thick I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract {something I seem to add in to most of my sweet recipes, even when it is not in the ingredients ~ I think I have a bit of a love affair with vanilla}

So, here is the result of my Christmas kitchen disaster turned good ~~~ yesterday's Stollen wedges ~~~

I did leave the nuts out as there is a nut allergy sufferer in the house, and that is the beauty of home baking ~ you can adjust the recipe to suit any dietary or other needs.  Next time I make this, and be assured there will be a next time, I will put toasted flaked almonds on half the icing as I think they will add to the overall final presentation.

It was delicious with coffee for breakfast, and I must confess, I planned to present the wedges on a pretty plate and take a better photograph, but I notice that one wedge is already missing from the above circle, and as I type there are just three wedges left ~~~ 

Magical Moon, Venus, and Mars

Gentle Reader ~~~

Just one very quick image this evening ~ a magical sight in the evening sky tonight ~~~ tonight the waxing moon, Venus, and Mars all in very close conjunction.  This will not happen again until 2017, so it was a real treat to have clear skies tonight to help me capture a memory of this event.

Here is my photograph, the view to the west from my cottage garden with the new moon and Venus are easily seen, and to see Mars just look slightly above Venus and there is the Red Planet, a minutely tiny speck in the deep dark sky ~~~
{at first I thought it was a speck of dirt on my laptop screen~~~}

Tomorrow evening, the moon will sit above the two planets and be even more spectacular, but we have a forecast of rain and cloud, so I am grateful for clear skies tonight. I hope the skies are clear above you so that maybe you will have a chance to see this too ~~~

Vintage Stoneware Hot Water Bottle

Gentle Reader ~~~ here is a little vintage blast from the past ~~~ a stoneware hot water bottle that belonged to my Great Grandmother.  Few things bring such comfort as hot water in a bottle, and I remember, as a child, this dangerous beauty used to warm my bed as it did for many in the family before me.

I don't know the make, for there are many manufacturers of stoneware bed warmers {maybe Denby or Langley Ware} dating from the early 1800's onwards until rubber hot water bottles came to mass production in the early twentieth century.  They are extremely robust in construction and many survive today so there is no shortage and very little value to them.  Of course, that mine belonged to my forebears means it has a value greater than money can buy, for it has kept the feet of my family toasty warm on many a cold winter's night for decades when Jack Frost danced through the night ~~~

It is heavy before being filled with hot water, and, as I recall, was put into my bed and moved around at intervals for an hour or so to make my bed toasty warm before I was safely tucked in with a modern rubber bottle at my feet to keep me warm as I drifted away into the sea of sweet dreams.  

I feel lucky to own it, for it has not been seen for decades, assumed broken and thrown out in years past, but recently I was clearing a long forgotten corner of the attic ~~~ and there it was, having made the journey some thirty years ago when we moved house ~~~ hidden in a dark corner where no one went and only spiders lurked ~~~

Cleaned and spruced up, I have taken these photographs and must now decide what to do with it.  It is a lovely cream colour, warmer than these images show, with a rich brown glaze and stopper. I don't know what the pattern is, other than leaf like, but is quite traditional.  It makes me think of pastry leaves on a pie!  I think it is best to simply find a considered spot, maybe on the hearth, and leave it on display and appreciate it for it's simple and honest beauty.  It is certainly not to be used to warm the bed any longer!

Few things compare to the cosy comforting warmth provided by a hot water bottle ~~~ be it to cuddle and keep you warm or to provide relief from an injury.  Nowadays, the popularity of hot water bottles is waning due to the convenience of the electric blanket, but I confess that I adore my cosy hot water bottle more than any electric blanket!  

~~~Do you use a hot water bottle, or do you prefer an electric blanket?  

Mincemeat Palmiers

Gentle Reader ~~~ ooops! A while back I promised to share my Mincemeat Palmier idea. So, I'm sitting here today, the day before St Valentine's Day, curled up in front of the fire nursing a nasty head cold ~~~ feeling a tad sorry for myself as the weather is horrible and the world looks as glum as I am feeling today ~~~

I did make a mistake, as you will see, but they are very easy, and great for using up those odds and ends that haunt the fridge and freezer after Christmas, but, of course, you can make them at any time of year.  Sometimes they are called Elephant Ears or French Hearts ~~~ 

I made mine using up leftover frozen puff pastry {which I always keep on hand in the freezer for emergencies} and a half jar of mincemeat that was languishing in the fridge ~~~

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

I used a half jar of mincemeat, an orange, bought puff pastry, and some left over marzipan from icing the cake ~~~

I always add extra spice to everything ~ I love spice, but of course this is optional ~~~

In a small bowl, place the contents of the jar of mincemeat and the grated rind of the orange ~~~

Add your spice if using and grated marzipan ~~~

Unroll the puff pastry and spread the mixture across, leaving a small margin on the longer sides ~~~ these are a little over filled, and you will see what happened ~~~

 Roll up the edges to nearly meet in the middle of the pastry ~~~

Fold in half ~~~

Cut into pieces, about 1/2 an inch ~~~

Place cut side down on a baking tray ~~~

Bake in the oven for about 15~20 minutes until all puffed up and golden ~~~ as you will see, a lot of my filling oozed out because I'd overstuffed them. I didn't mind though, they were not for anyone else, only me, and they tasted really yummy and didn't last long ~~~ {I'm not afraid of showing what went wrong, we learn from our mistakes!}

Plated up with a light dusting of icing sugar snow to mask the imperfections ~~~

I might not get 10/10 for looks but they tasted just fine and it is better than wasting the ingredients!  Next time I'll get them right!

In the UK, Valentine's Day is a celebration of the love between couples, but in the spirit of an American Valentine's Day ~ where it is for everyone to share love and friendship ~ I send you all greetings for a Very Happy St Valentine's Day and thank you for the friendship we share through our online writings and photographs ~~~

White Picket Fences, Garlic and Onions, and Future Thoughts

Gentle Reader ~~~ if there is one thing my heart yearns to see in my garden it is a white picket fence ~~~ and soon I hope to have one!  Plans are afoot but I am a classic Libran so it often takes me a long time to make up my mind, in this case to find the answer to the question "Where shall I put my white picket fence?" but I think, at last, the answer has arrived! Hurrah!

My love of white picket fences came long before I had even seen one when, as a child, I read books that transported me to faraway places where each house in the neighbourhood had these wonderful white picket fences.  No home was complete without a white picket fence. Even though no one had a white picket fence in my neighbourhood, I felt my childhood was incomplete without one of these magical things. I was obviously deprived and living in the wrong world. Of course, I never told anyone about this deprivation, this void in my formative years, for I would appear ungrateful as there was a wonderful, large garden in which I could play and ramble, with a swing, and an apple tree to climb, hens to pester, flowers to pick, and vast space in which to have as many adventures as I wanted to invent. Just no white picket fence to make my childhood complete.  Later, I saw them in films, or in television adaptations of the books I read as a child; then, when living in America, I'd sometimes see them in villages and towns as I travelled, and then I came across Susan Branch's vegetable garden, and if you click here you will see Susan and Joe building their very own white picket fenced vegetable garden.

You can read a little potted History of White Picket Fences.

You can also see a really pretty, thoughtfully considered, and useful white picket fenced garden over at Petals Paper Simple Thymes, where my friend Dawn has a sweet and heart warming tale to tell how her fragrant Tea Garden came in to being.  You just might notice a Susan Branch theme developing ~~~ Do stop by and take a peek ~ not only is it a such a dear story, she has added some truly special touches of her own.  Dawn will make you really welcome there ~~~

So, my hankering to own a white picket fence grows; long have I pondered and long have I wondered ~ for my garden is surrounded by stone walls, and there is not much I can do about that, nor is there a space to cordon off a special area as Susan and Dawn have done. Thoughts passed through my brain. Ideas are batted around and fall by the wayside. Then, it came to me ~ in a rare light bulb moment ~ that if I can't knock down the stone walls, if I can't have a whole fenced off area, I can have a white picket fence as the fourth side to my vegetable plot! It is too open and needs something to make it an enclosed area.  Perfect! Finally, an idea to run with that has real promise!

This is the main vegetable plot taken a few years back but it is pretty much the same today, bounded by three stone walls. The fence will go along the edge closest, or I shall make a rectangle across the foreground and enclosing the area up to the edge of the yellow weed suppressing sheet and over to the small bin ~~~ oh! and I want a row of lavender plants edging and falling over on to the paved area {where I am standing to take the photograph} ~~~
{don't look at how untidy it is, I've been using it as a holding bay for flowering plants for the borders}

They will be white and purple long stemmed lavender plants to contrast against the fence and to provide stems for lavender wands, which I love to make in the lazy summer evenings, sitting in my deck chair ~~~

If I make an enclosed space there must be just enough space over on the left where there is a small path {hidden under the ever~expanding osteospermum and sage plants} to push Wilbur Wheelbarrow on to the plot. As soon as the weather is a little warmer, I will go out and measure things up!  

Goodness, I am quite excited about this.

~~~ Let's Talk Onions!~~~

Onions are probably my most favourite and most used vegetable. A day does not go by where I do not use onions in some way in at least one meal, whether it be as part of the trinity that forms the base of most home made soups, in a vegetarian chilli or a rich tomato pasta sauce, caramelised as a pizza topping, in a lentil stew, raw with a salad, or in a cheese sandwich.  I could go on, and I know you are mentally adding your own personal favourites to this list as you read ~~~ unless you don't like them ~~~ 

Do you know that onions are one of the most widely grown and widely used crops on the entire planet? Every culture grows and uses onions in cooking, and they have numerous health benefits as well as being versatile and tasty. If I have onions in the fridge I have the foundation of a meal. Just think about how many times in the week you use onions ~ but did you know that they aren't just the spherical brown, white, or red ones in the shops ~ their cousins include shallots, banana shallots, leeks, garlic, spring onions {salad onions or scallions} and the tinier pickling onions too?

I recently read an interesting article, which will help you get to know your onions too. It tells you a little about the history of onions, and even how they are found in the first known recipe book that is four thousand years old ~ yes, you read that correctly!  I find that so amazing ~~~

Despite being a favourite, I don't actually grow onions {or potatoes} for the simple reason that they are inexpensive, readily available, and I do not have a huge vegetable plot that I can turn over a lot of space to growing when they are so readily available.

However, this winter, rather than leave the garden to rest, I sought advice and planted a small area with an assortment of onions, and a couple of tubs of garlic; if you click here and scroll all the way down you will see what they looked like about four weeks after I planted them in November, and below is what they look like now.  I am thrilled at their progress, and am probably quite unreasonably excited over them, but then as a novice gardener I always get excited when things do well ~ and the reward of nurturing anything from a tiny bulb or seed to a full grown plant that gives so much pleasure when it ends up on the plate, when you know the complete provenance of what you are eating, is something you cannot describe, or buy!

First, the two bins of garlic ~~~ the first one had rather a nasty accident three weeks ago, but from the looks of things was caught and rectified in time!  We'd had a lot of rain, and one day I noticed the bin was full to the brim with water! Panic strikes! The holes in the bottom somehow clogged up, so I pierced around the base of the bin to let the water drain out, which it did very slowly. I was afraid the crop was waterlogged and spoiled, but new, green shoots are growing from the middle of each plant so I'm hoping all is well below the soil ~~~

If growing in these bins is a success, I can move them on to the paved areas where there is nothing at the moment, so I will increase my growing space!

This bin was planted about a month after the first one and has nearly caught up! ~~~

and here are the onions, with weeds still growing so I shall have to clear them in a week or two ~~~

They are still quite small, but looking sturdy and strong, so I hope they will start to increase in bulb size as the weather warms up ~~~

{I had to zig zag the frames with string to keep off the birds and cats that might do a lot of damage if they are able to get on to the planted area}

If you want to know more about planting onion sets, garlic, or anything else garden~related for that matter, then the RHS has good information and guidelines.

While looking around the garden earlier, I also noticed my clematis is putting on a lot of shoots already.  Do you remember the dead clematis that suddenly came back to life after many years?  It now seems to be doing all right for itself, so it is time to look for a permanent structure and maybe take some cuttings when the time is right!

Thinking and planning forward into Spring and planting vegetables, I have bought some raised beds with suitable liners to retain the soil, on a spare piece of land adjacent to the cottage. These will hold my simple salad crops of lettuce, leaves, Spring onions, baby beetroot etc., thus freeing up space on my small plot for other things. Photographs and ideas will follow!

For now, though, I am still browsing the seed catalogues ~ for remember, I am a typical Libran and cannot make up my mind what to plant in my precious small spaces!  Top of my list this year will be seeds for growing outdoor tomatoes ~~~ I've already selected two varieties, and must think carefully as to what else will be grown this Summer ~~~ in the meantime, while I peruse the seed catalogues in front of a warm fire, with a mug of hot tea, remember that ~~~

~~~A Gardener's Work is Never Done~~~