I've gone, shuffled off to share the Tart's blog - you'll find me there now, when she lets me near the computer...

Friday, June 29, 2007

Brave New World

I'm back!
Actually I was never away but I had things to do, places to be, humans to comfort and all that unsung hero type stuff that is a dog's lot.
There have been good bits and bad bits in the last few weeks - my neighbour dog Pepper (a bit of a dumb redhead setter type) has upped sticks and gone to live with Lindsay's wee brother, leaving me to make free with her doggy chocs. There has been an awful lot of scene shifting going on next door and I don't think it is done yet.
Lindsay's big brother stayed for a while so I managed to blag some milk and cookies by doing the big sad eyes routine. Now it is all quiet but there's the promise of a visitor lady this coming week so I may try the same tack then.
The incessant rain has caused grumbling by Hugh - can't get out to cut grass with the tractor, can't get to do his regular gardening jobs for others, poly tunnel is flooded, hen run is flooded etc etc. There are supposed to be pics inserted at this point to display waterlogged strawberries and the sad sight of a mudbath where the purple sprouting broccoli should be but someone has failed to load them onto the computer...
Hugh did manage to marshall at an off road event elsewhere in the Borders last weekend - he really enjoyed the landscape on the private estate the club were using

The exhibition is up and running - the private view was last Friday evening which was a very wet and miserable one. But our generous friends came along and livened up the proceedings considerably - and three of Hugh's works were sold that night! Then yesterday Humphrey, our website building hero, went along to photograph the work so that we can get them onto The Workhouse website - images here soon too!

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Thank you


This is just a big thank you to everyone who has sent cards and e-mailed support. Lindsay and Hugh are doing OK though there's still a bit to get through. The good news is that a stash of dog treats has been uncovered next door and I am doing quite nicely, thank you very much....

Friday, June 15, 2007

Sad Day

Bad news at home so no posting just now. My lovely supplier of biscuits next door, Lindsay's Mum, died quite suddenly and we will be at sixes and sevens for a while.

xx Ash

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Part ll -





Some herby views here, to start with. The healthy bits...
As to slugs, Lindsay has only read about using sawdust to keep the critters off but she has been out today putting mounds of very coarse shavings round the tenderest of the plants. The shavings are sold as horse bedding and we usually use them for the hens if we don't have any straw for their houses and nest boxes. This year, though, the slugs that are doing the damage are titchy teeny wee things which are difficult to spot. So we'll just have to see whether the sawdust idea works or whether they are so wee they just squirm underneath or through the soil. Coffee grounds worked for a while last year but you have to drink a mountain of coffee and also every time you water the plants you wash some more grounds away.
An admission about fennel tea - Lindsay loves its light aniseedy taste but it comes in a paper sachet that you drop straight in the cup! So this was (is?) to be the year when she grows her own and gathers the seeds, dries them and uses them to make her own tea. No research has been done by her ladyship - typical, really - and she's out of Dr Stuart's Wild Fennel Teabags at the moment so she cannot even dissect a teabag to examine the contents. However, this will be remedied and you'll get the full saga before long!

Monday, June 04, 2007

Roll on summer





Lots of growth in the garden though not all of it is edible (I know, I've tried...) First we had a sunny April, then a rainy May, so everything is up and running, including the slugs which have found their way to some of Lindsay's seedlings. She's planning to build some sawdust walls to stop the little blighters in their tracks but she'd better be quick.
Either slugs or rabbits have been feasting on the more tender leaf type herbs too - a new wild fennel plant has been eaten to the ground. L was looking forward to drinking it as she's a bit of a fennel tea freak these days (it balances out the less healthy cake and chocolate habits, she likes to think).
Apart from gardening, it's quiet here, as H and L are forever up in their workrooms, slaving over masterpieces - I'll post some work up once we have decent shots. Humphrey who built The Workhouse website will be photographing all the exhibition works later in the month.