Rain, rain, rain and spuds

Market day again yesterday and mum and I netted a huge haul. A big box of apples, a bag each of pears, bananas and mandarins, a couple of bags of potatoes (two kinds), a bag of carrots and one of onions. Without the little trolley, we'd never have made it back home!  All up, that enormous amount of produce came to about $10. We're not sure because we combined a pile of loose change and didn't count it first.

Today is one of those ultimate changeable days. It started off pouring with rain, then turned overcast and threatening, then the sun burst out and drew me out into the garden where I captured most of the photos you will see below. The sun lasted about an hour before down came the rain again. Now, as I type this, it's back to overcast and threatening. Though it's inconvenient and makes planning for outdoor activities difficult, I do enjoy the unpredictability. Those brief snatches of sunlight are all the more precious as a consequence.

After rain and in the bright sunshine, water droplets are a magical sight. I captured several on the pea flowers.

I adore the purple pea flowers. The variety is an heirloom variety and the pods are meant to be purple as well. I can't wait to see those babies!

From there, I wandered the garden, snapping photos of anything that caught my eye or seemed different from the last update. First up, look at this amazing pattern that the rainwater made on the underside of the apple tree boughs.

I'm trying to keep a cherry tomato plant alive for as long as I can over winter. To this end, I enclose it in a plastic shroud overnight and on cold days. This is the first time in over a week that it's been open to the air and sunlight. I need to do that in order to have a chance for the flowers to be pollenated so they will form fruit.

Some pollenation has occurred and there is new growth and new flowers, which suggests that my mini hot-house is working... to some degree anyway.

I have another, larger, hot-house type structure covering the basil and pepper plants. This one is not so successful, I think becuase that part of the yard receives significantly less sun than the other. Also, the area is larger and the plastic enclosure less secure. I'm not yet to give up though. It might still work.

The hot-house is on the left, inside the hot-house is on the right.

Last weekend I moved Ruby the rhubarb as I had noticed her dying back. Maybe it's the time of year when she does... I'm not sure, but she's looking better since having been moved. I'd still like to see some new growth though.

Here's some views of the backyard and the thriving garden that Em and I built just a few months ago.

The broad beans, mixed lettuce, spinach and turnips are going great. No flowers on the broad beans yet, but I trust they will come.

The remainder of the potatoes that I bought a month ago have now passed the stage of edibility. I tossed them in a bucket and took them down to the potato patch. Em, you know where that is.  :-)  The area doesn't receive sunlight, but given that there are already potato shoots coming up, I figure what the hell. I have nothing to lose and a lot to gain if they work.

Paddy helped plant the potatoes. He considers himself quite the green thumb... paw. 

I have a cute video as well, of Paddy chasing the shovel and digging in the soil but it's too big for You Tube. *sigh*  But, trust me, it's cute!  ;-)  He's a great little gardener.