Baking and planting

I am finally feeling for the first time in about two months that I am about where I should be with planting. Back in March I was very keen, got in the seed catalogue and ordered every veg and fruit under the sun. At that stage the veg patch was little more than a grassy field. Seed planting, being a quick and fairly easy job was done in March and April with huge quantities of seeds planted. However once it came to planting them out and having beds ready the whole process got a lot slower and since then there has constantly been far more seedlings to plant out than I have prepared space for or have time to do. However finally after a days digging yesterday I have almost caught up with myself and there are only a few seedlings now left needing planting out. All of this has meant that most things have gone out rather late so fingers crossed about how it goes.

Some things are growing really well. Strawberries which I got in last year are producing loads of fruit despite the slugs and being nibbled by the sheep twice earlier in the year. Broads beans are coming on well as are peas beetroot and sweetcorn. Lettuce as usual is varied with some doing well and others being a constant battle with my arch enemy the slug. All the Brassicas I have tried to plant (Kale, Brussel sprouts, broccoli) has all been destroyed by a combination of slug attack and being dug up by birds. I'm giving up on them until next year when I am going to need a serious plan to keep them alive. It is quite nice at the moment to have fresh salad leaves every day and fresh strawberries every other day.

Our tractor mower is still at the menders with a new part coming over from the states to get it going again. I suppose having a thirty year old tractor will mean it's parts wear out and they won't always be the easiest to get hold of. It is a slow job keeping the grass down with a push petrol mower so I am hoping the part arrives soon.
I have started selling bread locally between markets. I have managed to sell a few loaves just in the first few days so that's a good start. It's the market again in just over a week and after a bit of a slow one last month we are really gearing up to have a good day there. I have just made some Elderflower cordial today so I am hoping it will be warm on market day as it's a perfect drink for a hot day. I am also hoping to make a load of Elderflower delight (like Turkish delight) before then to sell.

The girls have decided they want to show Mary and Tilly (the two lambs we bottle reared) at the Driffield Show. So for the last three days they have twice a week popped a halter on them and tried to pursuade the lambs that they want to go where they are told. Harriett has found from the start that Tilly is being quite uncooperative and is not keen on being dragged anyewhere. She is however quite keen on dragging Harriett around where possible. Imogen is having more luck and Mary seems to be a little more coopertiave and certainly at the first attempt she walked happily with Imogen. However as the days have gone on she seems to have got slightly more awkward and is taking a bit more cajoling to stop just eating grass and actually walk somewhere.

It has been pretty busy and hectic recently and I am quite looking forward to the summer holidays, although I can feel already things beginning to calm down as we head towards them.