Pimm's o' clock

Well that was a busy and interesting week, lots of fruit picked, lots of flowers planted, and a few jugs of Pimm's consumed (I do like a drop of Pimm's!). I was up early this morning and went straight over to the plot so I could pick a large basket of fresh, juicy strawberries. That's because I had agreed to help my sister Sally with the village school fete, and I had only been asked to run the Pimm's stall ... what a great job for the afternoon!

The strawberries were to go into the Pimms, so I chopped them up with some fresh oranges and lemons, some cucumber, and of course some fresh mint from my plot. It was a beautiful day today so I expected to sell a lot of Pimm's and I wasn't disappointed, I sold the lot! The fete was well attended and everybody seemed to enjoy it, especially the kids as there was plenty for them to do, and I also won a coconut (I love fresh coconut).

Pimm's o clock

This afternoon we found a baby sparrow in the garden which was not strong enough to fly, and was not making enough noise to attract it's mother, we left it for a while but this evening it was sheltering under my lavender bush so we brought it in. David did a quick bit of research on the internet for some tips then we were able to feed it with some crushed up meal worms mixed into a paste, and make a nest for it in an old shoe box. It has settled down for the night now, and seems OK, so we'll keep it warm and feed it again in the morning and fingers crossed it will soon be strong enough to fly.

I'm still sat outside in the garden with David as it's such a lovely evening, and we are listening to the boxing on the laptop, it's so nice to be outside as we spend too much time cooped up indoors during the winter when it's dark and wet. Let's hope we can have a prolonged spell of nice weather and then we can all have a few more nice evenings in the garden.

Cindy xx

Cherries and some new chickens

I've gone a bit mad with the photos in this blog, and the first one is of some of the lovely fresh cherries and gooseberries that I picked earlier today, I think it's time for me to make some cherry pie! I'm picking cherries everyday now and if I can stop eating them then I will definitely make a pie (or two) before the weekend. 

Freshly picked fruit from my plot - do I get some commission David for my AGA product placement?

Since my last entry on Friday I have been rather busy, and I had a very enjoyable trip to London on Saturday to see The Wizard of Oz at the Palladium with the family, it was amazing, we had great seats and it gets 10 out of 10 from me!

The Palladium

Sunday was glorious, and we had our first real taste of summer, it was also a day of rest after all of the walking on Saturday, although I did find time to rustle up a little something for lunch using a couple of pieces of Dexter sirloin steak.

Dexter sirloin with all the trimmings

On Monday I went to market as Annette & Gavin were taking some geese to sell, I loved it, it was over at Stoneleigh Park, and not only did Gavin treat me to breakfast, but I came home with 2 new Rhode Island red chickens as well ... they are settling in nicely!

There is lots to do on the plot and the rest of the week will be busy, although I will be sneaking off to meet David for a coffee at lunchtime tomorrow.

Cindy xx

Dexter day (but no allotment)

What did I do today? I had a very busy day, most of which was spent at Myer Bridge farm helping my friends, Gavin & Annette Wightman, as their Dexter cattle came back from slaughter today. It is really good to know where your beef has come from, the cows had a happy life in the field, they did not have any chemicals, and the meat was really marbled (which is a good sign), pure Dexter beef ... delicious.

Dexter cattle

We had to go to a village in Leicestershire (South Kilworth) to pick the meat up, which is a 40 mile round trip, and on the way back we had 200 kilos of meat in the car. It is a really quaint little village, very picturesque, and you would never have guessed that there is an abattoir there. It is a family run business, with a lovely old fashioned butchers shop at the front of the house, which is packed full of locally sourced meat.

When we arrived back at the farm we unloaded everything, and boxed it all up for sale, it was hard work but by 10pm tonight it had all been sold, so it was well worth it. We also managed to keep a couple of sneaky little steaks back, which we fried with some onions for lunch, very nice, and we were ready for it!

Dinner!

It was a very rewarding day, and I bought a box for myself as well, so I am sure that over the next few weeks I will be rustling up some delicious meals, which will of course be accompanied by lots of fresh produce from my allotment.

I'm typing this while I watch U2 live on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, then I'm going to get some beauty sleep as "I'm off to see The Wizard, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", at the London Palladium tomorrow ... now where did I put those red shoes?

Cindy xx