The Year that was 2023 - from July to December: A Catch Up.

The Year that was 2023 - I am not even sure if anyone is reading my blog anymore, so sporadic my posts have been.  I am hoping that I will get back into more of a routine of blogging next year, as I am aware of how much I miss if I don't record it. So just a brief update since my last post in June

JULY

I think this was the first of the garden produce.

Courgette, Cucumber, Dalmatian Beans & Peas

AUGUST

We had two new sheds built this year, one is a train shed for my husband, and the other is a crafting workshop for me.  It was going to be for guinea pigs, but it has been 18 months since I have had any, the longest time I have ever been without guinea pigs.  So in hindsight we have changed the use,  as such we probably should have had it lined with a different door, but it is what it is.

The sheds...the door on the left hand shed had to be replaced as they ordered the wrong door, so that is why it still has the 'wrapping' on it.  

The pond lilies looked as beautiful as ever

I took the following two photos when we went to Sandown Zoo...why no animals, who knows?!

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SEPTEMBER

Early September we saw this wonderful steamer go past when we were down at the beach

The garden was relatively productive and we had beans, courgettes, radish, spring onions, peas, some tomatoes, although not as many as last year, pears, raspberries, and the usual glut of apples most of which I gave away.  I need to work harder on it last year as it really wasn't as good as it could have been.  This is partly due to lack of motivation since the tragic loss of Percy last year which I am still finding it very hard to come to terms with.

OCTOBER

The last two beans on the vine in October this year!

A Jay in the garden.

A rather large moth.

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NOVEMBER

Amazing sun rises

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DECEMBER

Amazingly we had two kiwi fruit on our vine this year.  A real surprise as we have to cut it back hard every year as it was planted (not by us) in the wrong place and it completely takes over and covers our bedroom window and makes the room very dark.  

These are the two from our plant

On either side of them are shop bought kiwi fruit.  Ours are quite a lot bigger, but more the size that I remember them being when I used to get eat them in New Zealand

CHRISTMAS

Christmas was a quiet affair with just my husband and myself and our younger son who now lives locally to us.  It was a nice day.  We will have a second 'Christmas' in early January with our other son, daughter in law and baby grand daughter when we go up to stay with them for a week.

Fresh Fruit Salad & Pavlova

We didn't even decorate inside this year, but did have lots of lights outside.

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OTHER RAMBLINGS

I have got into the Dolls House hobby properly since April this year and it has been quite absorbing hobby at times as I make and craft furniture and accessories for them - yes plural, I have more than one!  I still need to work on the Dolls House that is my 1940s family history project and hope to make a proper start on that this year.  In the meantime I have decorated and made furniture for a couple of 1930 - 1950s Triang Houses, and a couple of 1960s Triang houses, plus I am working on restoring an antique dolls house from around 1915.  

The pups are part of the household now, although have been problematic at times... they have started peeing/marking inside the house (the kitchen) which is driving me insane, and Peter is still an absolutely nightmare to take out if he sees other dogs...a bit hard to avoid.  This means I have to take them out separately, as he sets the other two off and it is just too much to cope with.  As a result, I probably walk less distance than if I could take them out together and do a nice long walk.  I am planning on remedying the walking side of this next year, by dedicating at least three days a week to taking one dog on a lovely long walk on different days so I can relax more and actually get back to enjoy walking again.  Back in 2019/2020 I was walking at least 100 miles a month, now I walk a mere fraction of that.

My Garden in May 2023: Part Two

Today is the back garden... I lost interest in the garden I am ashamed to say last year after my accident and the loss of Percy.  This year it was a very slow start, and after a almost four week illness in March/April, the first time I have been sick since 2019, I am finally back into tackling the back garden again, which is a full time job!  

My first job was to weed and dig over my little oval garden and plant some more plants in it.  Unfortunately I may have to lose all or part of this garden as we might tuck a shed into the area behind it between the trees.  This is quite disappointing to me as I really like this little garden.

I've dug over the vegetable beds and planted seeds.  This raised one is for our salad vegetables - radish, spring onions, salad.  We also have one at the front too.

I've planted two courgette plants in here that I got from a neighbour.  I haven't had a lot of luck with courgette so far, so am trying them here this year.

In this bed I have peas and I have also planted a tomato.

More tomatoes in here, and I have since planted a third.

In here I have planted my Dalmatian bean seeds, two peppers and sweetcorn.

Started weeding the strawberry bed! 

I also ate the first strawberry of the season, it was delicious!

My husband dug over this little corner bed and repaired the wall with what we had available and we have planted two bushes of which I can't currently remember the name, but it has blue flowers and I have planted some small hebe type plants.  I have tried to grow vegetables in this bed the past three years, but haven't been particularly successful so we have turned it into a little feature bed and will put a weed mat down and then bark it.  

It was time to tackle around the glass house which had really become overgrown.

It is at least approachable now, but I still have to do behind that side. 

Inside, well it was a jungle of weeds!

Yup, pretty bad.  Obviously I hadn't propagated any seeds etc this year.

Looking better now. 

I chose to leave the self sown/growing raspberry plant because it had some fruit on it.

This corner I had dug over last year, and before I attacked it, it was over waist height in weeds!

This also needs attention.  I did pull out all the stinging nettles.  

I strimmed this far back corner.  We have been thinking what to do with this corner and might plant some rhododendrons here.

It really is a jungle, and this is after I have been strimming and weeding!

I weeded all around the gooseberries.

They are looking good.

More strimming.  I had this as a vegetable bed the previous three years, now it is grass!

Strimmed in the orchard part.

Left these flowers though.

This is my next task, to weed around the raspberries.

Tidier here too.

Lots and lots to be done.  As my husband said, it is like a labour camp when he comes down here!  Ha ha!