100 Happy Days – Day 56

Today has been a good day. This morning, after a late start, Bean did some reading and maths, Plum completed another lesson on Reading Eggs* (with lots of giggles) and PK happily played.

Bean acted as a scarecrow when several big crows descended on our potato patch

After lunch, Bean and I went to the allotment for a couple of hours. It was warm, sunny and peaceful. At least it was peaceful until we got there – we laughed a lot as we dug weeds, piled up the compost heap, chased crows, watched a butterfly love triangle (Bean said “I think that’s a female butterfly and two males. The female and one of the males are in love, but the other male loves her too and told her. The one that was already in love with her heard him and now he’s chasing him off”).

Runner beans sprouting

We had a visit from an allotment near-neighbour (who as far as I can tell, spends most of his time taking a break, chatting or heading off for lunch – I’ve never actually seen him working, though I suppose he must, because he has a vegetable patch, not a weed patch). He came and “chatted” (talked at me) for half an hour, although the only thing I can tell you about that conversation is that he has three keys on his keyring that he could remove if he wanted to, because they are for the old padlocks on the allotments. The rest of his news was lost on me, since he barely opens his mouth when he speaks and this, coupled with the thick local accent and dialect he has, means that I really struggle to understand most of what he says. He must think I’m thick.

Our allotment guardian angel came to see us a couple of times too (the guy who put all the hard work into our plot before giving it up in favour of two together). He’s really taken to Bean and is trying hard to encourage him, showing him how to do things and asking him about what he’s up to. Today he gave Bean 5 potatoes to plant – Pink Fir Apples – and they are going to have a competition to see who gets the best crop.

Butternut squash poking through

Now the big greenhouse is fully glazed, I’ve moved some trays of seedlings in there, so I have room to move in the little one. I was delighted to see that the runner beans have sprouted, and we have seedlings from the children’s sunflowers, and a few butternut squash seedlings. One strawberry plant, still waiting for a permanent home, has begun flowering.

We worked hard, and then came home for ice cream. Fab!