I believe this is the latest I have ever posted a newsletter. Apologies for that. I watched Birdman last night: It’s a stunningly good film, so well shot and acted and, oh, I just love it, but it’s basically impossible to put fingers to keyboard when your head is full of someone else’s writing of such quality. So I’m doing it today, in all comfort after a plate full of Barracks 5 Jam Jelly on toast and a nice cup of tea.
I spend a chunk of this week planning the planting for next year. I was thinking mostly about trees and vegetative propagation. I don’t want to start too much “new” stuff in 2022, but I might just improve the tree nursery a bit. Or a lot.
I’m full of anticipation for next year. There was a day last week, Tuesday, I think, when the lengthening morning twilight and my circadian rhythms crossed over and filled me with a real sense of joy and achievement. There is a lot of cold weather to come, but we have past the darkness. Spring is not springing for a while, but winter is definitely on the decline. It was emotional.
Last year, I learned so much in the garden. In probably my 30th year of vegetable rearing, it seemed to be the year where every mistake that I could have made, I did. But not in a bad way. Remember when you took your driving test? For me, on the day before, I had a lesson with my instructor. I stalled the car, I changed lanes without signalling, I forgot to turn the signal off after turning, I was hesitant where I should have been confident, and I was too bold where caution would have been the better part.
24 hours later, the examiner told me that the government, through the power vested in he, had determined that I was safe to drive on my own.
I drove home from the test centre, feeling completely in control of that little Fiat Panda 4x4. I think the garden this year is going to be the same. I feel a breakthrough was made. The what’s-what of what went wrong was the catalyst to success in 2022. I think.
I realise, I haven’t sent been a piggie pic for a while. Apologies. The lazy porkers don’t really get up to much in the winter. They get their food twice a day, then they go back to bed. Which, top be honest, sounds like a perfectly reasonable way of spending the cold months. I’m looking forward to seeing them gambolling around in the new fresh grass as soon as the spring allows, but in winter, let sleeping pigs lie.
So here’s a photo of about 18 months ago, when they first came to live with me. Sweet little folks, eh?
I have new concept for the composting toilet. Which I shall tease for now. Actually, until February. I have finally gotten around to cancelling the contract with the chemical toilet people. That happens at the end of this month, so all nicely time delimited to get stuff done, and from Feb, we are going 100% composting! More soon…
In the coming week, I hope to:
Continue with the kitchen in the loft. I got as far as ripping everything out this week. Breaking plenty of stuff in the process.
Chopping wood, naturally.
I might be making a table for a friend’s Malort - Children’s Painting Studio.
See you all again next week,
Please do like & share, it really does make a difference
The Pirate Ben x