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Bumblebees, Too Many Leeks and a Poke in the Eye

 It was World Bee Day on Friday. I mentioned this to His Lordship Malarkey. A confused look clouded his face. ‘There’s a world bidet?’ said he, in all seriousness. 

Honestly, what can you do? 

Go into the garden and take a photo of a bee with enormous pollen trousers, that’s what! 


There she is, right in the middle, sorting out that pink aquilegia blossom. I also found this teeny tiny moth on the lemon balm…


After extensive research (ahem!) I’ve decided it is either a) a dot moth or b) a four spot moth. Dot moths are common, four spot moths less so. Obviously, because I am a moth snob, I would like it to be the less common of the two. 

Yesterday I did LOADS of gardening of a tidy up, compost making and weeding nature. In the course of tidying up underneath the grapevine, I managed to be poked in the right eye by a sharp piece of old grapevine and it BLOODY hurt. So I had to stop gardening and go and examine my by now very watery eye to make sure there as nothing untoward stuck in there. Andy had a look too, using the high tech ophthalmology equipment of the light on his phone. Neither of us could see anything. I gave it a good wash, anyway, and put in some eye drops which made it sting even more. ‘Stabby’ and ‘scratchy’ weren’t enough to describe the pain. Bizarrely, no redness, no burst blood vessels. 

I succumbed to a couple of paracetamol, applied some self healing energy and moped around squinting like a dodgy pirate for the rest of the day. Went to bed, woke up this morning - all better! Hurrah! 

This morning, I planted 180 leeks into their final growing places. And two more rows of carrots. Some of the leeks ended up in the fruit cage with the raspberries, gooseberries, blackberries and blackcurrants because I ran out of space in the main garden and there was a handy space at the back of the cage. I don’t know if they will be successful growing there - however, I am thinking that the scent of leek might deter the bastard bitey insects that attack me without mercy when I go into the cage to pick fruit. The raspberries are less of a jungle tangle this year because Himself Malarkey and I took them into hand yesterday evening and organised them into approximate rows using a cunning layout of well placed strings. 

Most of the vegetables are transplanted now, including four courgette plants. I shall be sorely disappointed if I’m not complaining of excess courgette by the middle of July. However, come August Heather and Ollie will be living up here and I can foist some of the courgette glut onto them….mwahahahaha!!!


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