Cat TV & a Small Harvest

The end of the week hasn’t exactly been sparkling weather. Wednesday was pretty miserable so I made the trek up the garden and fitted some more hooks and now the tools are all hung neatly. Despite the talk going round, I have no plans to actually live in there.

Back inside I settled down to watch a DVD on keeping chickens. I’ve been asked if I’d like to sell them on the site and wanted to check it out. Not only did I enjoy it but Squeek the cat loved it. He noticed the chickens and ran down to the TV where he sat with rapt attention to the end.

This has actually given me an idea to make a fortune. There are lots of people out at work all day with bored pets so a TV channel for them Cat TV! Exciting programs all through the day like mice running around, hamsters running around a wheel and so forth. Maybe late night TV as well, toms in a ring, yowling for beginners. OK, I’ll stop there.

Thursday wasn’t much better. Although it didn’t rain beyond a few spits in the day, it threatened to pour down all day. We did some tidying up in the garden, mowed the lawn etc so that we could get to shelter quickly when the rain arrived.

By late afternoon we decided to take a chance on the rain and loaded the car with the trimmings and lawn mowings plus a few more large pots of spent flower compost and headed up to the plot. I piled the compost material in the bin while Val harvested. Yet another couple of cucumbers, more chilli peppers and a few more sweet peppers plus a few tomatoes, about a couple of pounds, went into the bag.

Out on the plot the Buerre de Rocquencourt French beans are in full production. Better much late than never and these are the nicest French bean I’ve ever tasted. Yellow, thin waxy pods with a delicate flavour and a good texture these aren’t ordinary beans, these are John’s beans. You need to imagine a gentle music track behind the voiceover.

Since rain was predicted for Friday, I knew the potatoes were likely to stay in the ground for a bit longer so I gave them a quick light scattering of safe slug pellets. They’re our spuds, not the slugs.

Friday was, as predicted, miserable. I spent the morning glued to the computer catching up with work. I’ve been asked a couple of times how I fit work in and the answer is nights. Some things require more mental effort than others so I tend to do the complex stuff when I’m fresh and the less demanding tasks in the evening.

Jake, from the forums, popped round in the afternoon as well, which was nice. He’s working down south so we’ve not seen much of him recently. Gave him a jar of chutney, a jar of marmalade and some pickled onions. At least he can have a taste of Cheshire when he’s in the desolate urban wastelands.