Monday 31 December 2007

housekeeping


Arrived at the break of day, not in order to be heroic but because I was delivering a daughter to a train at 8.10am. It’s now 12.08 and I soon have to collect her from the station.

Firstly today I completed digging to the 4th post, which means roughly 48 feet of the bottom section now dug. Then I wrapped 3 lots of prunings in a blanket and dragged them up to a neighbour’s bonfire site, by which time the blanket was ragged and I knew how it felt. This has liberated the main path again, as far as I’ve dug. I’ve also generally cleared up, emptied old plant pots and stored them and wheelbarrowed the weeds I’ve dug over to the compost heap. I’m conscious that I have a friend/collaborator coming here on Friday to engage in walking my paths with me and for this task the paths need to be clear.

Time to go…

Sunday 30 December 2007

pre-planning



It’s so mild today that I’m able to sit on the palette under the elder/rose arbour, my usual position for drinking coffee, writing and contemplating during the hot summer months as the elder provides consistent shade. I’m here alone today which has become unusual, I’m digging, of course… almost a third of the way along the bottom section and path that runs along the edge of the upper section. This is all entirely virgin territory as far as I’m concerned, apart from the artichoke and rhubarb that I planted up against the wall last summer. So, when it comes to a plan for planting, anything goes really.

I am going to have to address this issue of planning pretty soon as I should probably already have made my seed order, planted garlic and be ready to soon put in broad beans. I’m going to designate a seedbed this year so I can be prepared with brassicas for next winter. I haven’t yet managed this very successfully, just the few straggly cabbages that are in front of me where I’m sitting here and that smell as though they’re starting to rot.

Saturday 29 December 2007

sprouts and friendship


Nearly called off wall-building today because I’ve a nasty cold but woke up to a sunny and bright morning and decided the fresh air would do me good. It has. I’ve been digging while my friend’s been building. I’m now sitting in the shed waiting for the kettle to boil for coffee for the two of us and one of the other allotmenteers who’s turned up for a chat and to harvest some of his sprouts.

I wonder how much of this cold I’m suffering from is to do with being stuck inside over Christmas, I think my body is acclimatised nowadays to being outside for a considerable part of most days. A short dog walk isn’t the same as a few hours digging.

I’ve been looking at the plan on my studio wall at home over the Christmas week and realising that I am way behind with my digging plan, however I hadn’t expected to be getting my wall rebuilt which has been a serendipitous experience in the thing itself and in the building of a new friendship.

Saturday 22 December 2007

Christmas cheer

Another wall-building Saturday, for my wall-building friend that is, I’ve been sieving compost with a view to filling my home-made plant pots which together with a packet of seed will be my Christmas presents this year.

I’ve dug the last of my parsnips and some Jerusalem artichoke for Christmas feasting and sawed up the last of my seasoned wood for the wood stove.

It’s 4.05 and the light is just starting to fade giving way to a beautiful almost-full moon.

Saturday 15 December 2007

the day after the night before

Wheelbarrow and soil are both back where they belong after their performance last night at BLOCassembly. Moments after returning the soil I spotted a robin taking a worm out of it, which seemed to me to round off the cycle nicely.

Wall building again today hindered by frost which glues the stones together giving an illusion of more stability than is actually there. However, if I waited until warmer conditions prevailed I’d then have plant growth to contend with.

I realised the other day that I haven’t been alone on the allotment for maybe 2 weeks. My work has become peopled recently. So far this feels OK but I’m surprised at being comfortable with it, I would have expected to be needing time here by myself.




Friday 14 December 2007

preparation for an event



Just calling here for spade and trowel. It is my event at a gallery in Sheffield tonight, I am taking a barrow of soil with objects I’ve dug out of the ground here during the last 18 months. This will, I hope, be the starting point for the becoming of a narrative rather like the one that took place here early on the morning of 1st June.

The images show the hole where I’ve removed earth from to be used in my event tonight and the ice that I knocked out of a plastic bowl 4 days ago and which has not yet melted!

Tuesday 11 December 2007

sub zero back-ache



It’s very cold today, 1pm and the ground is still frozen. I woke up this morning with back-ache and realised I wouldn’t be much use with the wall-building we’d scheduled. My friendly wall-builder is sympathetic having had a similar complaint just last week so I’m taking things steady, 2nd coating the gate and posts with wood preserver and first coating the 2 sides of my shed that had been exposed to the sun’s drying rays this morning.

Tuesday 4 December 2007

gate progress


Rain stopped play for the last 2 days, this morning is overcast but dry, just, so I’ve brought my gate back here from home where it’s been drying out in our hall at the same time as tripping people up and generally being in the way. I have now preserved the wood, both the gate and its posts. I was intending to do the same to my shed but I think it’ll better to wait for a sunny day.

I have half an hour now before I need to leave so I’ll move some stone in preparation for wall-building, rumour has it that my wall-builder is moving about again.

Saturday 1 December 2007

sick note

After a stormy night it’s a mostly mild and bright day. Usually, nowadays, Saturdays are wall-building days but my consultant/colleague in this task has hurt his back and is in a lot of pain so the soup we usually consume for our lunch in the shed I instead delivered to him as recovery food. The other half of the pan-full is for our middle daughter who’s ill in bed at home. I hope it helps to make them both better.

This morning at a Christmas bazaar I saw a friend who lives up the lane from the allotment, she was commenting to her husband that she’d witnessed a scene she considered highly incongruous this week. She was referring to me sitting outside my shed with my laptop on my knee. Her husband, a farmer/ builder gave this some consideration and commented on the bringing together of work with a peaceful environment.