We went to the allotment again yesterday. I must be a glutton for punishment!
I did a little bit of hoeing and discovered - in between the weeds - that a few months ago I must have planted 2 more rows of carrots. I would have prefered to find a forgotten tenner in a back pocket, but carrots aren't to be sniffed at. We picked some more runner beans and the raspberries were looking productive. My liliputian cauliflower still hasn't grown any bigger (I'm not sure why I was expecting it to).
And my pumpkins? Ah well. A neighbouring allotment has pumpkins the size of cinderella's coach. Mine? Well, the biggest one is the size of a toddler's tiny football. Small and perfectly formed. I wont mention the others.
The highlight of the day was seeing a tiny mouse in amongst the leeks. At first I thought it must be a shrew as it was so tiny, but it didn't have a long pointy nose. The mouse didn't run away, just trotted slowly into the sweetcorn patch. Ds2 even managed to touch it! I'm pretty sure it was a wood mouse because it looked like the one here:http://www.natureportfolio.co.uk/mammals/previews/source/foA0442.htm
though I'm no expert on mice.
Despite the distraction of the mouse event, the kids were none too pleased to be down the allotment again so I bribed them with the promise of chips at the local shopping centre if they didn't moan too much. We managed barely 2 hours before world war 3 broke out among no2 and no3. It was probably something to do with who had whose leaf or stone or twig or something. [one of those very-important-to-kids-but-totally-irrelevant-and-very-annoying-to-mortgage-paying-adults kinda things]. It seemed a good time to leave.
Sometimes I wish I could spend more time (and less distracted time) at the allotment, and have a beautiful plot like the organic gardening magazines. Of course the allotmentees who are retired have imaculate plots. I swear they must trim the edges of their plots with nail scissors. Am I envious? Moi? Nah...course not..{g} When I get to the point where I feel the urge to measure the width of the grass path to make sure it's parallel (not kidding, it really happens at our plots), then I'll know I'm ready for the funny farm.
Today we went to a friend's house. The children are in school (today was their last day of the summer hols before the new school term), but were home educated for a short time. Our kids get on really well, but like most of their schooled friends it's always difficult to find a time to see them. We end up squeezing the occasional couple of hours between the end of the school day and bed time. I wonder how others manage?
Anyway, seeing the mouse yesterday has got this song ringing in my head. I can't remember the tune for the verses, but the chorus has stuck in my brain. If I have to put up with it then, like the cold virus, I have a responsibility to share it with others (hey, germs are good for you). So, be prepared to be infected...
A Windmill In Old Amsterdam
A mouse lived in a windmill in old Amsterdam
A windmill with a mouse in and he wasn't grousin'
He sang every morning, "How lucky I am,
Living in a windmill in old Amsterdam!"
Chorus:I saw a mouse!
Where?
There on the stair!
Where on the stair?
Right there!
A little mouse with clogs on
Well I declare!
Going clip-clippety-clop on the stair
Oh yeah
This mouse he got lonesome,
he took him a wife
A windmill with mice in,
it's hardly surprisin'
She sang every morning,
"How lucky I am,
Living in a windmill in old Amsterdam!"
Chorus
First they had triplets and then they had quins
A windmill with quins in,
and triplets and twins in
They sang every morning,
"How lucky we are
Living in a windmill in Amsterdam, ya!"
Chorus
The daughters got married and so did the sons
The windmill had christ'nin's when no one was list'nin'
They all sang in chorus,
"How lucky we am
Living in a windmill in old Amsterdam!"
Chorus
A mouse lived in a windmill, so snug and so nice
There's nobody there now but a whole lot of mice.
Thanks to the following website for supplying the lyrics.http://www.sparklytrainers.com/blog/archives/2003/04/29/a_little_mouse_with_clogs_on.html
5 comments:
Oh wow, I keep trying to sing that song to my youngest but can never remember all the words! And here they are on your blog :-) (It didn't occur to me to look them up.. *rolls eyes @ self..*
Allotment envy is a very bad thing! :-) You are obviously showing that you won't be involved in that kind of thing by culturing your weeds. Or maybe not! We have no vegetables at all despite me planting a few things in the garden. I bet your carrots taste lovely!!
Phillipa: Alloment envy? That's nothing! You should see how good I am at 'Tidy House Envy' (I'm so good at it that I'm thinking of developing it into a career). My kids always know when I've been stressed out by someone's tidy/huge/wonderful house because I come straight home and start rearranging furniture!
Gill: you sing such nice songs to your kids. I started singing The Clash 'Bank Robber' to my youngest today. Not sure if that's really appropriate for a 4 year old?!
I remember that song...was singing it to myself the other day, as it happens. It's YEARS old!!!!! Sung by Ronnie Hilton.
We've got an allotment. We are VERY good at growing weeds..especially horseradish (weeds, they are just plants/flowers in the wrong place...but I like them anyway). We let the birds peck at the cabbages we planted because I was so fed up of allotment politics and couldn't be arsed to gather.....the old boys were complaining about imperfect plots and why don't we use weedkiller? And I look at them with their jaundiced faces!!!
Yeah, I get enthusiastic at the beginning of the year, planting everything, and then later in the year realise that a third of my plot is full of cabbages! Seeing as cabbages are so popular in our family (joke) the pigeons get their fair share during the year too. I do occasionally pull up one or two to feed our chickens at home, but I don't think that's the idea is it?
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