Today’s guest picture comes from Venetia, my Somerset correspondent. She set herself up with this splendid view with the intention of enjoying the Red Arrows display team as they flew towards her. Unfortunately, owing to a failure of communication, they appeared from behind her and were past before she could get a good shot. Still, the countryside is lovely.
We had dawn till dusk sunshine today (with the occasional cloud) and as a result, I spent a lot of time outside.
I was going to go cycling in the morning but Mrs Tootlepedal had asked if I could clean the tray which catches the fallen seed below the bird feeder so while she went off for a meeting, I did that. Bird poop and soggy seed are difficult to get off so this took me some time.
Mrs Tootlepedal returned and it was such a fine day that it seemed like a really good time to dig up the remaining potatoes and let them dry before storing them.
There were quite a lot to raise.
Some of them were definitely not small potatoes.
And the haulms needed chopping up and putting into the compost bin.
And I couldn’t spend time in the garden without looking around a bit.
And after all this, it was suddenly time for lunch and I still hadn’t gone cycling.
After lunch, I checked on the butterflies. There were a lot about and as the buddleia blooms are going over, it wasn’t surprising to find a peacock and a red admiral sharing one of the ones that is still out.
I finally got cycling and soon found out that although the sun was out, there was a brisk wind to go with it so it was warm but hard going. I set off to go over Callister but found that the loose gravel merchants had been at work there very recently so I turned back and took a diversion. At one stage, this entailed going along a narrow road with a very poor surface, gently uphill and straight into the wind. I was pleased to take a rest and nibble on a bramble in a hedge…
…and make up for the recent lack of gates in the blog.
I passed several farmers in the process of getting a second cut of grass for storage.
They must be pleased because when the cold wet spring was followed by a drought, things didn’t look very promising.
In spite of the constant verge cutting, some (short) wild flowers are showing again beside the road as I pedal along.
For one reason or another, my legs were in a very uncooperative mood and the wind was coming from a rather unhelpful direction so my progress would have made a snail feel quite comfortable.
I needed a few stops to let the legs recover and I took one of them at this small bridge over a little burn a few yards from the border with England.
It was a pretty spot…
…with a lot of Himalayan balsam about.
I took my last breather, about three miles from home and was impressed by the seediness of the area.
In spite of my lacklustre legs, I managed 43 miles and found that Mrs Tootlepedal had been busy while I was out. She had collected up the potatoes…
The ones in the bucket are damaged and have to be eaten first.
…and sorted out the bed.
She is going to sow green manure in the bed now.
I checked on the butterflies and saw five peacocks at once….
…and then went in for a cup of tea and a look at the birds among the plums on the plum tree.
Mrs Tootlepedal was preparing a home made pizza for our tea (our breadmaking machine makes a very good dough for pizza bases) and while she was doing this, I had another check on the butterflies….
Four butterflies and a bee on the same flower head this time.
…before going off for a shower and coming down to eat the delicious pizza.
We are taking a keen interest in La Vuelta (the Tour of Spain cycle race) and I was very envious of the beautifully surfaced roads that they were cycling along today though I was happy not to be going down the final hill with them at 76 kph. My nose starts bleeding at 48 kph.
The flying bird of the day is a sparrow threatening the position of a greenfinch.
Lovely flower pics
As you say, that’s definitely not a small potato. To me it looks like one of those prehistoric sculptures of a fertility goddess.
That thought occurred to me as well.
That’s a great crop of potatoes. I’m surprised Mrs. T. doesn’t build a root cellar to keep them in.
She might not have any energy left after turning under a bed full of green manure though. That’s a good size bed.
You can see the wind in that tree even when the wind isn’t blowing, but that is a real pretty spot.
She is an energetic gardener and I may even lend a hand if required. The potatoes will go into paper sacks which seem to keep them very well.
I always enjoy our visits.
Thank you.
My what a lot of sunshine. I can’t get over the peacock butterflies or the potatoes.
The butterflies are a constant source of pleasure to me.
After reading your post and seeing all the pictures of the peacocks, I am in heaven. On a more practical note, those potatoes looked pretty darned good, as my Yankee husband would say.
And mostly free from slug damage whihc is a great bonus.
You bet!
That was some potato, I hope it makes good eating. What a a splendid display of butterflies you managed to catch in your photographs. I loved your picture of that little bridge.
Well done managing that long ride,and pictures too – including a gate!
I can with great travail only keep myself from quoting a German adage concerning the size of potatoes in relation to the cleverness of the farmer. But I am sure in this case the good care and the srduousness of the gardener is the cause of the abundant crop.
Thank you for refraining from telling us the truth!
Good to see you and the farmers getting bumper crops.
An unpromising year has turned out not too badly.
I think we benefit greatly when your cycling legs are feeling indifferent. The bridge is very pretty, as is the seedy photo.
it certainly encouraged me to stop and take pictures. 🙂
I’m pretty sure that potatoes won’t be on your shopping list anytime soon, that’s a healthy crop for such a small area.
It’s a great area that you live in, even your seedy areas are quite nice to look at. 😉 I can see why you took a breather near that bridge, it’s very picturesque.
And it has a handy parapet to prop the bike against.
That is a fine feast of taters for the winter.
That sparrow (flying bird) looks like a dive bomber while the greenfinch appears rather nonchalant. That crop of taters looks like it might take you through a bit of the winter. 😀
We hope so if they store well.
I like the seedhead photos very much.