I finished writing my latest novel and had a couple of days off. My brain didn't brain for a while in retaliation, but that's OK, I went out to 'veg' - literally!
Out into the garden to harvest the produce I'd neglected for a good two weeks!
Cayenne Peppers
Courgette flowers and fruit
The water containment system - which kept the garden watered all summer without using the mains supply
Mini-melon bed and sweet potato patch
*Tiny watermelon!
Tiny Honeydew melon
Sweet potatoes (with some ordinary potatoes thrown-in)
Some sort of squash/pumpkin
Butternut squash
Courgette - or zucchini
It's amazing how fast everything moves on in a few days, especially when it's still warm - 23/24 degrees in the daytime, around 15 at night - and we have rain every day.
We could hardly carry the trug full of veggies up the garden - and there's more to come!
Yes it was heavy!
I harvested 2 mini watermelons, 2 mini honeydew melons, 5 butternut squash, cucumbers, courgettes, tomatoes, aubergines and two varieties of pepper.
The bounty at the end of summer
I doubt we'll gather the same today, but there will be tomatoes - there's always tomatoes.
I didn't know tomatoes grew so big!
They got away from me a bit this year...
Soon, we'll have eggs to gather too. We hatched 2 hens and 2 roosters in the spring and they're coming on to lay, soon. Then 'Ivar' the hen we hatched last year went out and lost herself for a few weeks and brought home 7 babies. They should be ready to lay sometime around Christmas - well, the hens should... not much hope of the roosters producing any eggs.
Left to right: Hei-Hei (soon to be known as 'stew'), Chicky-chick and Ivar (the boneless, she had 'sploot legs' and I had to correct them for her when she was tiny).
We also hatched 5 ducks a week after the 4 chicks, then we hatched another 2 runner ducks.
Of the 5 ducks, we have 3 female Aylesbury ducks and one male and one male 'nondescript' duck.
Both runner ducks seem to be male.
Ducks!
Runner ducks
In the meantime, we have a pond to dig, new raised beds for a kitchen garden, duck and chicken houses to build and I'm thinking we'll need a 'Bachelor pad' for the males so none of them are fighting over the females.
Then there's the other wildlife we have the delight to share our home with.
Insects, animals and birds, it's simply amazing
I'm no expert but I think this may be a buzzard
Stripey Stinkbug?
This had just emerged from its cocoon and was 'filling out' its wings - amazing!
Fabulous Stag Beetle!
An ex-snake
Rabbit! I found a baby-bunny in the summer and set it loose in a good bit of shade
This beautiful creature took a couple of dangerous baths in the fish pond and had to be rescued. We made the pond safe for visitors after that
Collecting the fallen leaves to make next years' compost
*We have amazing sunsets!
Last night's supper - all from the garden
This week has been a bit stressful and busy.
I finished the next book in Ash's series and it has been entered in the Peoples Book Prize - and now I have to wait to see if it has been accepted.
We have a new book cover and I'm so happy with the whole process. Although, I will NOT be putting such a strict deadline on myself for the next book. It will be ready when it's ready!
