Springing into Action

Hooray! I finally went to my allotment today! I was dreading seeing what state it was in as it has been a while since I last went. The snow and weeks of sub-zero temperatures didn't do as much damage as I thought. What a relief! I was amazed to see that I still have some rocket left - thanks to the fleeces. I pulled up the remaining leeks leaving just two small ones to enjoy next week.

My main concern was the herb spiral. I thought the snow would have caused some damage to some of the herbs, but they are growing back nicely. The rosemary and lavender were totally unaffected by the bad weather. My other concern was my lonesome globe artichoke. I planted four, but three of them were eaten by something in the early days of growth.The last time I saw the surviving artichoke, it looked rather frost damaged...but it is looking good now. I wish I had planted many more globe artichokes as they really are delicious. Unfortunately they are not available to buy where I live. In fact, when I enquired at the veg stall at the market, the assistant didn't know what a globe artichoke was! I think I will plant some more this year.

I didn't take my camera to the allotment so I have no photos to show. I can't bear to have a blog post without photos...it just doesn't seem right. So I have used a couple of random pictures from the website www.public-domain-photos.com

It was so nice to be on the allotment again. The sun was shining and it was warm enough to abandon my jacket. The allotment site is surrounded by trees and houses, which provide protection from the wind, making it quite a sun trap.  There were lots of people there today too.

I have had my plot for a year now. When I first went to see the plot it was covered in snow...what a contrast to today! It really did feel like spring was coming. I hope we have seen the last of the snow for this year. The clocks will be going forward towards the end of next month, so not long to wait for longer evenings.

It is the Chinese New Year today. It is now the year of the tiger. I am a tiger in the Chinese horoscope. A wood tiger to be precise. Apparently the celebrations last for a few weeks. If you want to know more about the Chinese New Year there is a link to a Wikipedia article here. If you want to find out what animal you are in the Chinese zodiac, there is an article here which contains a list of dates and a list of traits for each animal.  I am going to celebrate by cooking myself a Chinese meal...I'll be including my allotment leeks!

Springing into Action