Picking raspberries and red currants in the rain.

Today I've managed to get soaked twice and rip my work trousers, which I admit have seen better days, but I love them, they are patched and repaired all over and do give me a certain sort of tramp-like air when I am wearing them, but I'm dreading the loss of them, which could happen soon.
They are just great for gardening, they have padded knees, elastic on the back of the high waist, lots of large room pockets and they are Rohan walking trousers, so made of fabric that does dry very quickly.
Actually, I think I started to rip them last week when I snagged them on a tree stump, but the rip got enlarged today, and once dry they will need some major repairs.
My first job of the day was hedge cutting, and in long grass they soon started to sag with the weight of water on them, and then I think I stood on the ripped hem and tore it much further.
I dried off driving to the next job which was a quick case of planting up a few pansies and giving everything a good watering. However Lisa had already phoned my on Saturday and said to come prepared with plastic tubs for fruit picking and so I've collected 900g of very ripe raspberries and 1.8kg of red currants. I've boiled up the raspberries and half the red currants with enough water to cover and they are now dripping through a jelly bag. I've frozen the other half of the red currants and plan to make cranberry and redcurrant sauce with them. ( I think in the depths of the freezer there is a bag of frozen cranberries). This may happen tomorrow as the weather forecast it dire.

Hens issues...again

This morning when I got up, Mike said he'd just seen a young fox at the edge of the field and he thought it had just taken one of the hens, however, the hens were all still locked up and when I went over and counted them, there were still the 5 that we have left - the cockerel, 3 hens with him, and a broody in the nest box. He explained what he'd seen and it seemed there was a hen that has been living in the tin hut, sure enough when we went up and searched, in between all the bags of logs, there was a nest with around 20 eggs in it. Well, we've no idea how long this hen has been there and how long she had been on the nest, and what do we do now? 

 Suggested we stick all the eggs, which were still very warm under the broody in the nest box, but when we looked she was already bulging at the seams. The other issue was we couldn't see a strike site, usually a pile of feathers where the fox grabbed the hen. So I suggested we left the eggs where they were in case the hen escaped.

An hour later we went back and checked and sure enough there was the hen, back on her brood.

I have no idea if any of these eggs will hatch under either of the hens, but if they do, then I think we may need to get them segregated this time.

Not a great time for all this t be going on as we have Sam's dog staying with us from tomorrow night for nearly three weeks, and when they called today, she started chasing the chickens...not a good start! 

Birthday cakes

This week I've had orders for 4 cakes to make,  3 birthday cakes and a chocolate fudge cake. So after I'd finished gardening jobs for the day, which fortunately was by 2.30, I've come home and been baking. I've done an angel cake 70th birthday cake for Hannah's MIL, a low sugar coffee and walnut cake for Ita's husband, which wasn't a great success, it hardly rose, but she insisted I had to go down the low sugar route, even though I was nervous of the result, I've covered it with a the layer of a very dark chocolate ganache. Th fudge cake was easy, I make these quite regularly for orders and then, the one I've not started on, is for our grandson's birthday on Saturday, he will be 6 and of course wants a minion cake.

And here is the finished Minion cake, which I have to admit, I'm rather proud of.

Back on line

For the past week I've had no internet, I've been staying at a friend's flat in Harrogate whilst working at the Yorkshire show, and the flat is just about to be put on a long term rental agreement, so there was no telephone line or Internet. Then to cap it all, when I left on Friday, I forgot my iPad.

I had a hard but enjoyable week at the show, the rain came on Monday when we were getting set up and walking our teams around the show ground to get them orientated, but the 3 days of the show were glorious weather and I've got quite a tan.

The days were long and tiring, and to be honest, having no internet was a blessing as there was no need to try and keep up with emails and such, it was basically a week of get up, make coffee, go to work,come home, bath and bed each day.

Anyway back to normal this week, I've been out gardening all day today, 4 customers done and been to visit Mrs H who I've also not seen all week.

 I've got 6 more tomorrow to squeeze in then I need to come home and start making icing sugar flowers as I have 4 cake orders to do before Saturday. 

More missing chickens

Over the past few weeks we have slowly been losing hens, we are down now to 6 and the cockerel, it must be a fox, but we've not seen or heard evidence of it and it's odd for a fox to only take the occasional bird, they usually do a complete wipe out. But can't really work out what else could be happening, the first two birds to go could have been explained away by other issues, but now now some of the 'gang' have disappeared. I'd like to keep them cooped up, but we've just disinfected the hut and it smells very strongly of jeys fluid and it would be just as cruel to keep them in. I know it's just nature and part of the food cycle, predators and all that, and I tell myself that at least it's a quick death but I still fret about it.

Anyway, most get on, got the car to get loaded to take my stall things for tomorrow,mother got an airport run, then got grass cutting job this afternoon before going to visit Mrs H in the nursing home. 

Not sure who reads this, so just need to be careful what I write, but got family problems at the moment and that's taking up some of our time, hopefully it will settle itself out, but we'll just have to see what happens there.

Busy days ahead

It's been a few days since I've posted so thought I'd better just get my head straight as to where I am with things. I've been back to back gardening all day for the start of the week followed by taking an elderly couple to hospital for an appointment because they were unable to contact the patient service that was supposed to collect them and bring them home, then ended up working late to catch up on jobs I should have been doing when I wa at the hospital with them.
I went to one of our CDWMs last night, at Sue's we had a great laugh as always and ended up quite a late night, I was driving as usual, so at least I had a clear head this morning.
Today I've been in Harrogate helping Judith clear out her flat, she has managed to get long term tennants from early August, but will be letting it unfurnished, so lots to do there, this is the kind lady who is letting me stay there all next week whilst I'm working at the great Yorkshire show.
We do rather long hours, usually 6 ish in the morning to 8 or 9 at night, so having somewhere to crash in Harrogate saves another couple of hours driving a day.
Busy getting sorted for another hectic day tomorrow, then stalls to run both days this weekend, the Saturday one will probably be pretty quiet, but Sunday could be madness as it will on the river bank in York while the Dragon Boat races are on.

Hanging baskets and wall troughs

Very pleased with a couple of my wall troughs this year, a couple of they may need another few weeks till they look their best, they have fuschias in them which are still some way off a good show, but this one is looking lovely, even Mike commented on it the other day.

Wasps and roses

I bloody hate wasps...what purpose do they serve in life?, bees are a different kettle of fish, but wasps seem to just be vicious creatures with no aim in life apart from inflicting pain. Can you tell I've just been stung?

I was just emptying an old plant pot on to the compost heap and I realised there were a large number of wasps around, one just landed on my arm and stung me, I didn't provoke it, or try and brush it off, it just sat there and did it!

The compost heap is next to an old plum tree and once I've got over the shock, I'll go and see if the plums are maybe nearly ripe, it is an early plum, usually ready a good 6 weeks before the Victoria's so I suppose that may explain the wasps.

I've been out in my garden since early morning, deadheading and weeding and was just about to stop for a break when I got stung, so sat here with a coffee whilst my wrist throbs painfully.

Taken some pictures of the roses today, they are beautiful this year, I wish I knew their names, but the only one I am certain of is one of the pink ones,

which is called Darcy Bussell, it's a David Austin rose, bought for my 50th birthday by a dancer friend of mine. She said it would always make me think of her...and it does.