The weather, whilst mild and incredibly still for the most part, (despite hail yesterday, and two nights of frost which have now blackened the Dahlias) has been been wet. And horribly damp in the house.
I am a bit of a baby when it comes to getting wet. I hate being wet. When I’m out working I dash in and out of the barn like the little plastic lady of the weather vanes the minute it starts raining.
But now the dampness is interfering with my seed collecting/drying with quite a lot of mould even on things I’d thought were dry – or that would dry if I took them indoors. Of course it’s always a bit of a gamble saving seed. Generally with the big stuff like beans, squash etc. you can tell pretty much if they’re going to be viable. The tiny seeds are more problematic. I should perhaps germinate samples when I save them to save heartache the following year, but I don’t. What made me think that, was that I’d collected some marigold (tagetes) seed – so nothing special – but was wondering if it was ok. Then I saw that amongst the seed heads a couple had already sprouted. Hmmmmn. So they are viable, but if they’ve sprouted now because of the damp is it worth trying to dry them for next Spring?
And now, after a day where the freeze overnight gave way to a beautiful, sun-filled, sparklingly lit sky, I’m waiting to see what tomorrow will bring. I can’t say that I got masses done, but I feel like I’m getting back in gear again after a period of what can only be kindly called ‘inertia’.
Now that the Dahlias, Nasturtiums, Marigolds etc. have had it I can tackle the cutting back and the weeding more comfortably. There is just so much that needs doing.
In the field today I saw two deer, scared a pheasant, picked some Millers and a huge Orange Birch Bolete (in good condition) which have been cooked down and will be part of tomorrow’s soufflé (just the mushrooms!)
And I collected these most beautiful beans. I call them ‘Isabelle’s Black Beans’ because she gave them to me several years ago and I’ve never found out their real name.