Frosty Fens

A Thick Coat Of Grime

   As the locals out here say we woke to a thick coat of grime this morning, to you and me the fens are covered with an amazing layer of white frost, the first real frost of the year and I'm sure the first of many. As I was out getting coal earlier all I could see was frosty roof tops and smoking chimneys, I think everybody down this road as the same idea, get the fire lit and stay in the warm and to be honest I don't blame them.
   Exciting day here as I'm off to the clay room to mix glaze, tho I think I may need to warm the place up first, I think I need to work on getting that place sealed of all drafts if I'm going to be working in there in the evenings and weekends. I have my glaze recipe book at the ready, a few small lidded buckets and the raw materials, so now I can just see what mess I can make.
   There is fabulous sunshine pouring down into the garden and the birds are all gathered at the feeding stations, I think it's mornings like this one when the fat balls help make their lives a little easier. I'm hoping I'll find time to get out in the garden this afternoon, I want to burn off yet more cuttings, the sooner I get the ground clear the faster I get to build the raised beds, I've worked out I can mange to fit 12 beds into the main area plus there is the area for the herb garden leaving a good piece of ground for the container garden.
   Since I was around 7 or 8 years old I've been growing veg, my grandad gave me my own piece of garden in which I grew carrots and salads, I even remember the first time I was allowed to grow runner beans, making that little cane wigwam and planting those big fat seeds around the base, it seemed like forever before I could see the little seedlings appear, every day after school I would rush down to my grandads thatched cottage to check them, even today I'm the same, I sow the seeds in the greenhouse and every day I'm in there checking for those first tiny signs of new life, it's amazing really, we hold a few tiny seeds in our hand and within a few months we sit at our table eating the most wonderful fresh veg, I guess a lot of people don't experience that, after all it's so much easier and quicker to go buy a bag of frozen veg or veg from the green grocer, but there is really something special about growing your own.
   Before we moved here we had a very small garden yet I still grew some veg in containers, the likes of beetroot, carrots, salads and even runner beans and peas were grown in our pots, in my tiny greenhouse I would grow lettuces and spring onions in pots as I still do today, making it possible to have fresh salad all year round. Of course we grew tomatoes both in pots and of course in hanging baskets and the herbs were always there as most love to be grown in containers. So it just shows however small your space you can still grow your own.
   Well cuppa time is over here and I need to go face that cold clay roon, Yvonne is happy this morning, a whole day in the warm for her doing her listings and sorting orders, hope you all keep warm and enjoy your weekend.