Monday 1 May 2017

Eggs away










Windowsill salad - pea shoots grown from Sugar Ann peas in an inch of compost. A quick salad fix for when there's not much outside.

Out in the garden I've planted out the sweet peas. It was so dry until today, when there was some sort of monsoon hailstorm. The lettuces and radishes looked pretty flat afterwards but no doubt they'll bounce back. The rain was sorely needed, the grass round here had started to go brown.

Down at the allotment the rhubarb stems are suddenly incredibly short. I'm guessing that's to do with lack of water as well. Hopefully today's rain will have helped. I put out some dahlias and noticed that they'd been nipped by the cold weather.

Back in the garden the great tit chicks have hatched and the parents are making frequent caterpillar runs. I'd love to know how many are in there and how far along they are. I wonder if we'll be lucky enough to see them fledge.

I've been slowly knitting a little here and there on a small blanket. I have a ball of pink to add in that I'm looking forward to. I don't get to experience much pink here in this house of boys. It will make a nice change.

Isn't the blue egg divine? I found it when I was walking the littlest boy to his football training the other day. Somehow I managed to hold it in my hand for an hour and a half without squashing it. I'm thinking it might be a song thrush egg.

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments on my last post about being organised and making time and getting things done. They all helped, and I've read them through several times. They've given me some tips and ideas. I've started by getting the housework out of the way today, tomorrow I shall have more time for writing I hope.

Wishing all a good and productive week. CJ xx

19 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you're getting a chance to use pink. I look forward to seeing your blanket again. That egg is so pretty, what a lovely color. Windowsill salad is such a good idea. I love the idea of eating food you grew right in the kitchen.

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  2. We haven't had any 'good' rain but the other day we had a couple of hailstorms which gave things a battering.

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  3. I enjoyed all your images you shared.. the knitted blanket looks so soft and warm.. can't wait to see how you add the pink. With so much testosterone and blue in your world, you should break out and don yourself in pink from head to toe! LOL! I am wearing a pink shirt today and wore my pink pussycat hat too. I draw the line at pink pants, tho. Ha! I like the pea shoot salad idea.. and the image of the pea twining up the teepee. Enjoy your week! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  4. Your knitting as photographed is a work of art on its own, CJ. Pink will be a nice combination with the soft brown. So wish I could knit.

    All the best with your gardening endeavors. I've planted some spinach and lettuce as it does well with the colder temps. And we've had tons of rain so it should take off soon. I have a lot to do to get our lawn in shape here at the lake and in the city. So many weeds and big bare spots. I don't know how this occurred over the winter. We tend to prize our lawns here...very manicured or at least, weed free and tidy!

    Sounds lie you have a program going with your chores and setting aside writing and for that I'm happy for you. Sometimes we think we ought not be regimented to be creative but sometimes I actually sit down at my computer without a thought in my head, but it comes somehow because I'm saying, "I'm ready now!" I can't put things off, like I do with my blog. Gets me a little wired!

    Take care, my friend, and enjoy your week!

    Jane xxx

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  5. I love pink! The baby blanket is looking so soft, I'd love to rub it against my cheeks for a wee feel. I planted half of my dahlias out yesterday. The dog swiftly pulled out the supporting sticks and with it the plant. Two are ruined, one didn't have stick worth his while. Maybe there is some more plant left in the tubers, will dig them up and put them back in a pot. I am always on the lookout for teeny tiny eggs but have never found one. Have a lovely week xx

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  6. Lovely photos, CJ. I'd love to have birds nesting in our garden but we have two murderous cats so I'm glad we don't. I'm very conflicted in my feelings about these cats... Great idea to grow pea shoots on the kitchen window! I've got a few sweet peas to plant out but the wigwam needs repositioning so I must get on with that. Hope you have a rewarding and productive week. Sam x

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  7. My sweet peas need to go out so as you've taken the plunge I will too. I was holding off because of frost but hopefully that's past now. Everything looks lovely and green in your garden. Great news about the GT babies. My experience is that they tend to fledge whenever you're not looking! Xx

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  8. Hey CJ,
    Another one holding out on planting the sweet peas out. A job for tomorrow. I have loved all your photographs today. Such life and goodness there. Not much pink here either.
    Leanne xx

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  9. Glad you're excited about your knitting project. The eggshell finding has started here - lots of blue robin's eggs and the starlings have already been removing the house sparrow eggs from the sparrow's nests.

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  10. An enjoyable post and lovely pictures. Lucky you finding a blue eggshell.
    Thanks, and you too. xx

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  11. The blue egg is great. I love that first photo. It's good to be excited about your knitting. Good times!

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  12. I know what you mean about the rain. Three weeks without rain, we had, and the garden looked awful. Of course it rained on bank holiday Monday - of course it did! - but I tried not to mind. Your garden and allotment are both looking very nice indeed. It must've been fun to find the egg shell. xx

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  13. The colour of that egg is one of my very favourite shades of blue. What a great find! I've seen pea shoots at our market but have never purchased them. I wasn't sure what to do with them, but now I know. Enjoy knitting with that pink!

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  14. The blue of the egg is beautiful. I hope you get to see the Great tits fledge after watching the progress of the adults. It amazes me how they find all those caterpillars. Your pea shoots look so healthy and strong and I expect they are delicious. I hope the week goes well and you get time for writing.

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  15. That egg is such a beautiful colour! We had a bit of rain the other day but not nearly enough. It doesn't seem right to have to be watering things so early on in the season.

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  16. You've helped me identify an identical egg shell! I only had to carry it down the path and was afraid I would crush it. I have every excuse to knit with pink but her mother is trying to stem the tide of pinkness. A lost cause I think!

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  17. i planted seeds in the garden last Sunday -- peas, radishes, lettuce, beets, onions...thinking i was being so clever as rain was forecast for the Monday. Then it rained on Tuesday as well and now we're into day 2 of a four day deluge (a 'stalled system' - wouldn't you know it?). I fear my seeds may have floated away.

    still, i won't complain. because i'll want to complain about the drought later in the summer. :)

    glorious wee eggs!! i keep finding intact eggs on the barn floor at work -- not broken, or even cracked so likely didn't fall (it's a cobble floor) -- we've theorized it was a young sparrow, first year layer?, possibly caught short. :)

    i love the idea of windowsill salad. xoxo

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  18. oh the colour of that egg. gorgeous x

    and your blanket knitting looks so soft and squishy. and I love that mug x

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  19. "You can of course get dressed, pack your stuff and get your shoes on in twenty-three seconds." This still how I think. I'm not sure that's reassuring. Such beautiful pictures! And garlic, what a great thing to grow! I always leave here inspired. It's so good to check in with you.

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