Seven days - not doing stuff. Honest.

Photograph from Radio Orkney Face Book page, from Bruce Flett. With thanks.

So, its been quite a week of weather. I can't say these are my photos, but posted on our local Radio station (Radio Orkney), gusts in excess of 80MPH, are not the weather I often venture out in. The best quote I heard this week was from a chum (James I hope you don't mind) and the quote regarding the upandcoming weather was.....'Oh joy...the phrase 'easing gale to severe gale' is never a good sign!' Thank you James, its never a good sign hearing things might go 'back' to a severe gale from hurricane force winds is it?? No.

One of the south isle barriers this week - which were closed alot - photograph again from facebook and the Radio Orkney - with thanks from Martin Fleet.

So, given the blustery weather, its been a week of 'not' doing stuff. Not being out much and not eating much but soups.  I've discovered gnocchi is not just for italian dishes, its also darn fine when dropping head first into a chunky home made chicken broth, yes very fine indeed.

Prior to the gales we had snow of the crunchy squeaky kind, nice to walk in, with a stick. Finally able to get a proper sensible, but safe walk.

See I've even taken my wooden leg. But, it obviously DIDN'T go up the hill, even with a proper stick, honest. Moving swiftly on, or rather, moving very slowly on, at a steady and even pace, to avoid hurting leg further.

The dogs really enjoyed the snow (which is Haggis's first venture into snowy climes) and being kinda brown and heathery in colour, it was NICE to see them again.

Peedie is an old hand at snow. Whilst he's not a great fan (it gets caught in his undercarriage and turns into snowballs. But he prefers it to sideways rain.

Like I said it was a week of NOT eating anything but soups. This time chicken, sweetcorn, leek and bacon chowder. Yummy and warming indeed.

Now between the snow and the storms we DID get walking again around a path by the coast. It did NOT hurt my leg, although it was exhausting. Currently it would seem I'm NOT very fit.

We almost DIDN'T make to the favourite bench.

But we sat a while and watched the view. NOT moving, which is strange for me. I'm more of an 'ants in the pants' kind of girl, rather than a sitting type.

Bonnie eh? Both the view and the bench. And, I've definitely NOT being digging. NOT with one leg, that's impossible huh? Um no.......NOT completely impossible. Ahem, it was the garden students *honest*, those are NOT my gloves.

Nor is that a 'ladies' garden border fork gallivanting in a veggie plot. No its definitely NOT.

And I definitely DIDN'T break my raised bed whilst forking it over the soil. NO, this is an illusion, I'm not the strong. Especially with the 'one leg' situation at the moment. But doesn't the tilth look bonnie?? The edge of the bed gave way when I tried to use it for leverage rather than using my dodgy leg. It would seem, I'm stronger than a railway sleeper. Even with a dodgy leg. You see Linnew is thinking of holding a potato-off soon, so I thought before I embrace new growing I should probably dig up the residues of last years tatties........just to get a head start.

The edge of the bed is just *resting* honest. And, so with beds laying in terror beneath me, I had no choice, I had to harvest a huge bucket of tatties today. At the end of January, although if I was more cunning I'd say that these were harvested much earlier and NOT in January.

This bucket of tasty King Edwards, with no blemishes and delightfully fresh and tasty before you is a kind of mirage, unveiled in January when they should have been uplifted in the autumn. I'm always late. These are also the freshest carrots you'll see in late January......whilst a bit on the muddy side, a few blemishes but a really nice end of row crop. And, as I'd forgotten about them, a nice bonus.

So that probably makes me the laziest vegetable gardener in the world. Or very clever to 'clamp' my tatties and carrots in their growing spot just before we decided to start eating them........I'm probably more efficient than lazy. Or probably not.

 

You see a week of erratic weather and generally *NOT* doing stuff, not walking, not venturing out much and not gardening, due to being the laziest gardener in the world it would seem.......

 

With thanks to James and the listeners and 'facebookers' on Radio Orkney's page for weather photos.