A bright shout of yellow on a gloomy winters day

The cold, wet and wind finally stripped everything away from last years pea frame - leaving only the thickest of stems, and these tiny butternut squash.

I'm leaving them there, the frost has already turned them to mush and they are covered in holes where the birds are tucking into an unusual winter feast. 

Coffee Experiment Update 27th December 2017

Snow, rain then a cold snap has frozen the top inch solid. 

All the worms have disappeared deeper to get away from the cold, I'm sure they'll all be back nearer the surface when the temperature rises. (This is London - it won't be long!) 

The second photo shows the now lumpy surface. 

Yesterday's rain wasn't heavy enough to flatten the masses of worm casts that have appeared since my last update. 

Even though we are in the middle of winter, the worms are loving the spent coffee grounds and have totally covered the surface again since the last rain. 

Christmas 2017 : Sparkling with Mother love

I'm wearing my Grandmothers Viennese crystal beads to add sparkle and glitter to my Christmas. I remember shopping for these with my Mum sometime in my very early teens but don't remember exactly when!

My Mum was a careful and expert gift giver, and showed her love and affection by buying people the perfect thing they never knew they wanted.  

These crystal beads were an expensive gift when bought, and my Nan treasured them and wore them all the time. 

When I inherited them they were a triple stranded necklace, which could be un clipped and worn as one, two or three strands depending on whim or the occasion. I disliked like the short graded drop style but wanted to wear them so I re threaded them randomly onto one long string. 

The individual beads are worn and chipped with long use, but they still sparkle like nothing you can buy now and I love them 😍

 

Christmas 2017 in the Triangle : Broadbeans!

The year turns and the new  broadbean plants are up out of the soil.
I germinated these seeds in toilet rolls in October in an unheated greenhouse. When the tap roots started to show out of the open end, about three weeks later, I planted them out.
The plants are up and most have four leaves They'll sit and wait till the days lengthen in February when they'll start to grow again.