gardening on..

 Pirate and our foreman

 now the bean sticks are up,it looks like a garden!

 digging! We've had dry weather most of today, with the rain passing North and South of us, although the temperatures are not high...only just into double figures until lunchtime!

 The square in front of the polytunnel will be a veg growing bed.

And for Steve...you can use all sorts for raised beds..this is The Carpenter and family (my youngest son) on their allotment. You can see half builders bags in a cut down floor tile pallet box,

 and other bags, possibly from a well known Swedish store...

They use these...and old baths...as they have a problem with equisetum(Mares Tail) and other serious weeds...but in a  movable garden you can use all sorts of containers!

its up!

The polytunnel is up!
Also three gooseberry bushes and two blueberry bushes are now in the raised beds instead  of pots and and those and the strawberries have been netted against the blackbirds...I'd like to have fruit after all our work!

As the veggies in the raised beds get cropped, more of the potted bushes will get planted in...looks like we'll be staying for a while...

busy again...

riding the boards...then drawing them...I've been remiss on both counts.
We have also been slacking on our own garden due to working on other peoples' gardens...

One can't be everywhere.

Masters' National Track championships in three weeks. Am I ready? Not really...and my age group is down to one...me...so I'll be competing against the next one down, with riders up to six years younger.

Normally there would be more in my group but it seems that some have foregone the nationals and chosen just to ride the Worlds, in October,in Manchester. this is due to the entry fees...they were a bit steep before,but now have risen by £20 for entry plus one event...to £90..and for each subsequent event up by £10 to £45...if that is the 500 metres time trial that's about £1 per second.
Perhaps that's the effect of two years in LA!!

Pirate will ride...he has been part of the fight to gain a 80+ age group. They've had a partial success...the successful 75+ age group has been re-instated.   If we both enter what we usually ride it  will cost £450 just to enter. 
Is it me or are sports in general pricing themselves out of themarket?

polytunnel progress

 mending the workshop deck, before clearing the site

 read the instructions!

 and assist

 ta daaa!

 garden progress...

 its all too slow....

because now we're off to do work in someone else's garden...

bread tasting

Tasty!! I'll aim for a bigger loaf next time..this is a bit small for sandwiches!!

bread!!

I'm in the process of reviving my sourdough mother.  The late Peter Goodridge and his wife Mel Brown (both potters) gave me a bit of their 12 year old mother, 8 years ago.

Despite being in a plastic takeaway box in a turned off fridge for 4 months while we were away, it seems to be ok!  I have a box of it in the freezer as well,just in case!!

The first mix was a bit sloppy...and very slow rising, but that isn't bad.

That's the bottom...the photo of the top crust is refusing to load!
Its still too hot to cut....

loss

I've just worked out that at least one trip's worth of photos didn't get downloaded last September..and possibly two months more have been lost.  Then the digital camera's brain went on strike...

Unfortunately that includes photos of a friend now having problems with depression.  He is at present in a closed psychiatric ward.  Old photos have been a help, so I'm compiling a photo album. Those lost were the only ones from 2018...

Bother!!