07 April 2006 - Readying for Tulip Festival 2006
I have been seriously wet in the last few days to the point of reconsidering my career options! So how come a hose pipe ban is just about to start to make our rural life even more complicated and exhausting?
We are working endless hours at the moment to get the garden ready for our Easter opening. The cheese market, instead of having its customary lull at the beginning of the year, has reacted hysterically to our 'Best Fresh Cheese' award in the autumn and orders have out-run milk supplies by a mile. And on top of that, Oh great joy, we are lambing!
I do actually love lambing time and still get a thrill when each new arrival interrupts my day. Not so keen on the night bit and the 'complications'. This covers a huge spectrum of what can go wrong, and often does. Ending with the usual orphan in our kitchen.
This year's seems to be called Cat - I asked Amy for a boys name beginning with C (who could argue?) Anyway - Cat the Jacob ram - is messing on my floor, frightening the domestic animals and seems to like Angus' toes.
On a positive note we have managed to finish tidying the top woodland. We cut back, cut out and generally cleared a horrid tangle of neglected garden and made a rather pleasant walk that still welcomes the wildlife, but removes painful hazards. We would like to introduce snowdrops and blue bells to this corner since the wild garlic has yet to arrive. We just need another day in the week to split and plant - maybe we can attract a mad volunteer?
We have cleared and dug the major part of the vegetable garden and have re-done the paths with woodchip. Most of the herbaceous borders are cleared and I am re-doing the broken labels. Goodness how organised we are. But, of course, nature never allows you the lead and we have already seen signs of bindweed. Our critic will love that! :)
The roses are pruned and trained and the Clematis have been persuaded over our choice of host but already the strong winds have relocated some. None of this matters since the Hellebores are in full flower, the Primroses and other Primula are cheerfully popping up in all corners and the Pulmonaria's blues and pinks are stunning. Certainly, spring is starting gently but the signs are multiplying every day and I for one feel excited about the coming year.
Our initial, big event will be the Tulip Festival 2006 and yes, we can see evidence of the ten thousand new tulips peeping through. Even allowing for the ones the mice have chewed, our 'In the Pink' display promises to be stunning. We hope the whole show will be popular, especially our special day for Breast Cancer on May 6th.
I can hear Cat complaining so I must go and pretend to be a mother sheep.
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