Blogfromthebarn

A rustic idyll, bucolic enterprise abounds at the Barn


It was a very exciting time over the Bank holiday weekend.
Mrs Stuffy has decided she'd like to "do some gardening". Now neither of us are blessed with green fingers which historically means that the eminently sensible approach of a mix of woodland (occasional chainsawing), lawn (occasional mowing) and hedgerow (occasional berry-picking) works for us.

But alas, no longer, egged on by Sister-in-law Jo, the fragrant Mrs S has decided that she fancies growing some fruit'n'veg, which I'm happy with in principle but I couldn't help noticing that their effort consisted mostly of shopping, for trowels, dibbers, seed labels and a "scarecrow kit" (a broom handle and some sacking before you ask, by that definition a toilet-roll tube and a box of matches would be "a firework kit", a bunch of grapes and an empty bottle "a vintners kit").



So they did shopping and I "helped out" by sewing the bloody scarecrow together, building two raised beds, manhandling massive railway sleepers, turning over the sod, driving in a dozen fence posts and knocking up a rabbit and deer-proof fenced enclosure.

Meanwhile her Ladyship, Cha-Cha (the scarecrow decorator) and glamorous assistant Jo prodded the mud with sticks, inserted millions of pounds-worth of fresh young seedlings before collapsing, exhausted and demanding that I "rustle up some Margaritas".



I feel like an overworked Mellors (without the perks).



The weekend was made even more agricultural and rural,by the long awaited arrival of my bees, they're now installed in the wood, well away from people and are presently working their way upward in this traditional hive,building honeycomb and storing nectar, pollen, honey and thousands of baby bees and gradually moving from their current home in the black bit at the bottom up into the green section from where I'll transport them to their new home in the stunning purple polycarbonate "latest thing in beehives", the BeeHaus defined by my beekeeping chum Ian as "HOW MUCH ?"

Watch this space...

posted by Stuffy @ 2:53 pm