Far Lands

I am...alive and kicking! Fab mushrooms - I fried them with a bit of garlic. I was a little worried, however, when I was going to sleep - I began to obsess about every little nuance of my body. Partly because my local mushroom expert had emailed me this in response to my query:- " If you are going to try some for tea then I wouldn't suggest eating too many, just in case they're not St George's. It would also help to keep a specimen to one side in case you need to hand it in to hospital staff, should you be rushed into A&E with mushroom poisoning... They would be able to identify the species and hopefully sort out any symptoms until the toxins left your system! !" As I lay in bed worrying, I started to worry that my (first) worry could in fact be psychosomatic (this apparently is classic mushroom angst and people turn up at A&E having eaten totally harmless 'shrooms). I then spent an hour or so trying to differ between my two worries - at which p...

...I found some mushrooms. Now, if you know your mushrooms (I don't really, but I have several books - mushrooms is definitely a subject where several sources of info is valuable) then you will know this is quite early and unusual for mushrooms. I found them in a large fairy ring (perhaps 40 mushrooms) under the tree but growing in the grass. Large (10 cms high, 10-12cms wide), creamy-white, sinuate (gills joining stem with a slight moat), and no ring. To me, they smell, well, mushroomy. I think they are St Georges mushrooms which are so-called because they fruit (most of a mushroom is underground) on St Georges Day (23 April), and are at their height in May. So, tonight I am having them for tea! Hopefully this will not be a posthumous blog. If it is, then for id purposes, I have left one in the fridge. Update (hopefully) tomorrow!

The Farlands magic is back - it has been warm and sunny here all week. And there is no better place on earth than here - well, maybe that's just in the context of the Winters and the disappointing Spring so far. All the great Summer activities are underway - the scythe is out and in use, I am collecting kindling, weeding and scything around all the fruit and coppice trees, and sowing and planting like a man with woodpeckers for hands. So many permutations and combinations of the greenhouse and cold frame; then there is the seed bed, and finally the actual beds themselves. All need attention (hoeing) and love (blood and bone fertiliser). There is loads to do - more sowing (peas and spinach today), planting (swiss chard), the grass needs mowing; and of course continual checking on the progress of the various crops. And if that is not magical enough for you (it is for me), then how about this:- (?) One of Eva's chickens has decided that she would rather lay at Fa...

Lying in bed, I heard a drip. Nothing new here - things are always dripping. But, this one sounded close. And it was. Narrowly missing Sarah's side of the bed (she was late home), the drips were new ones. In dressing gown, head torch and bad temper, I climbed up into the loft and found a leaking Hot Water Tank. It has probably leaked since our arrival, but water has only just soaked the plaster ceiling of our bedroom enough to drip through now. water tank is the green thing A proper dog day?

Not a very good day yesterday...the electricians came to quote on the electrics for our extension. They departed in their car by running the washing line over and leaving it at 90 degrees. Then I noticed that our Summer cage roof (fine mesh) which Sarah and I had put on the cage at the weekend had blown onto the hawthorn hedge - I did not know enough obscenities to deal with that properly. Then I went into the veg. garden where nothing is really growing. Mainly due to the cold and windy conditions. But, also because a mouse had taken residence in the greenhouse and dug up the runner beans, the slugs are rampaging again and my newly-planted-out kale had been a quick snack for the pigeons. There were 6 lettuces... So a dog day. Or so I thought. Nothing like a bit of context to make you feel better - Radio 4 has just had a piece on Derry mothers driving their sons for punishment beatings including having them shot. Moaning that slugs have eaten my green shoots now seems a ...

I inspected the bees yesterday - it's best to wait for this (slightly) warmer weather to open up the hive (otherwise they eat all their honey stores warming up!). They are doing OK - 5 of the 11 frames are busy with bees. They have capped honey stores, uncapped nectar stores and pollen stores. And there is plenty of brood (bee grubs), so hopefully the hive is expanding. I really want to put a super on (this is a second box on top of the brood box which the Queen can't get into and so the honeycomb just fills with honey and no brood (which is not that tasty, although I would probably try it, maybe on toast?!) Add caption The garden, like the bees, is being a bit sluggish this year due to the recent cold snap. The fruit cage looks good, but the veg garden staples such as the beans and brassicas are almost non-existent.

Apologies if my blog is becoming fixated on the weather, but it has come to dominate both my daily activities, and my mood. If it's really bad I will don my oilskins and get out there. If it's really really bad I will continue insulating the loft. We are just back from a weekend away of yoga, and clearly my inability to do a correct Sun Salutation has upset Indra (Hindu God of Weather - amongst other myriad titles) who has run amok. Our damage has included three more trees down (simply uprooted) and one section of dry stone wall which has slipped away with all the water.  Steps leading down from the compost heaps Next to Eva's farm  I now saw wood in my sleep, and not much else because I am so knackered having done so much sawing.