March 2021

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 At last, a new blog from RedRococoGraden! I have recently re-opened the Esty shop as the covid infection rate is going down and my husband and I have both had our first jabs. I have also kept up with my reading over the winter hibernation (I think that I must have been a dormouse in a previous lifetime!) For book club reading the choice was 'Where the Crawdads Sing' by Delia Owens - a wonderful book, so read it if you can. Our previous book club choice was 'The Silence of the Girls' by Pat Barker which is set back in the times of the Trojan Wars from the viewpoint of a slave girl but is mostly about Achilles. I am a fan of her direct writing style and enjoyed it even though it is not a time period that I read about often.The top of my fiction reading pile is 'The Thursday Murder Club' by Richard Osman, whilst for Mother's Day I received 'Feral ...' by George Monbiot from my son, and his girl friend lent me 'Overstory' by Richard Power whcih she read last year. I also got some vegan choccies from him and a card, so it was a happy day. Although they live in Cheltenham which is only about 14 miles away, we haven't seen them since the end of last year but are making plans to meet up in April, when allowed.

Part of my current daily routine, as well as feeding the birds, is potting up the seemingly endless supply of baby spider plants which have been produced by two very prolific plants I got from the Blue Cross on one of their fun days. The matriarch plant stood in the Blue Cross reception at Burford (I used to volunteer there in the cattery, in pre-covid days). Next, I am planning to sow additional seeds in the greenhouse - I have already sown some radish. I have made some space in there on the bench by putting out some Sweet William seedlings which have overwintered in the greenhouse and will soon be planted all over the garden. Last week the weather took a turn for the worse, and during the gales on Thursday, the tree where I hang the birdfeeders was blown down so I shall have to hang the feeders on poles, like every one else. I was slightly concerned about the rooks nests nearby, which they have been working so hard to build, but they seem to be unscathed.

We try to get out about once or twice a week for a walk around the valley, weather permitting which is about three miles or so and passes through three villages as well as our own. On our last walk yesterday we noticed quite a few trees blown down during the gales, especially those which had been swathed in ivy. (see above photo) There is one quite steep hill on the walk but there is a convenient bench at the top where we ususally sit for a few minutes to catch our breath.

Anyway now time for lunch, so stay safe and healthy,
Julie

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