Class of 18. No need for new school shoes

Apparently birds are the first line of slug defence! And hedgehogs.
I have a dastardly cat X 2, so unfortunately the ecosystem is not entirely functional, although I think ddog deters the cats. Snails and slugs do seem less of a pestilential quantity.
I've stopped putting slug pellets down except a few in the greenhouse at a high level on staging, where birds cannot eat them.

Knot I didn't get many slugs on my last crops which was a small miracle. I'm not sure what kept them away.

I have tried potatoes in containers, yes they were nice but I can buy them and the ones I buy haven't been eaten by slugs. I usually grow cherry tomatoes, I can buy those too and again, the commercial ones come without slug damage. This year I am growing tomatillos to make salsa verde. I can't buy them and I am hoping because the fruit is enclosed in a husk it might be less attractive to slugs. They are supposedly easy to grow outdoors as well as under glass.

None of the stuff grown last year was particularly high maintenance hence it survived my killing fingers.....!

Friend doesn't have much of a garden only a patio and she did wait years to get her allotment. It's the same here - long waiting lists and those that have them rarely give them up.

I shall try and find that article. My DM is an amazing gardener and she kept telling me that one day it would click and I would enjoy it. She wasn't wrong. I go out every night to make sure the malevolent neighbourhood cat hasn't dug up the strawberries. She watches me put new soil and compost down and then hangs around to dig it all up - the evil creature.

I have to have a hobby now that I'm quite redundant with regards to DS. He'll be off doing his own thing after university and I'll be sat at home weeping because he's gone

It wasnt an old article actually...March 8 2021!

My fig tree is 25 years old (I brought it from my flat in a pot) and is very fruitful, partly because it is constricted at one side by an underground concrete bunker (old andersen shelter) that ive never managed to dig out from one end of the garden, under the flowerbed.

How amazing!
There isnt really space in ours for vegetables, it is not sunny enough for long enough in any one area, except for where we like to sit.
However last year I did make a big effort and grew strawberries runners, parsley and tomatoes from seed and I think I managed about 20 tiny carrots from seed. The potstoes were a disaster and rotted.
Allotments do seem to be the best solution, but round here there are v long waiting lists. Also I am alwsys in Ireland for several weeks visiting my parents when the vegetables are most in need of tending.
So back to geraniums exotics and shrubs here.
I was reading an old Giles Coren article about gardening which made me smile, if anyone is a subscriber. Husband and wife at different stages in their gardening attitudes.

Nettleskeins

Our lawn isn't huge but there was always a mud patch where DS would play football. He was mostly just kicking the ball at the front window.....

We have a fair sized space at the back of the house, it is all paved over so we grow everything in big planters or trugs. I'm going to try vegetables again. Had a decent crop of potatoes, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, onions and lots of herbs last year. I have a fig tree but it is only young so I don't think that it will yield any fruit this summer.

My friend has an amazing allotment and she has inspired me to grow more stuff this time around. I'm turning into a gardening bore.....

Ha ha! Im tall and find hammocks a bit restricting.
Im constantly reseeding the lawn
Still, I like that my expectations are so low now that if the dog digs a hole in it, I really dont care
Tg they have all.stopped playing badminton on it...all 40ft. Mudbath ensued.

I am trying to extend the side of the lawn as the gardener managed to hack about 5 inches off the side whilst 'tidying it up' (he does the whole street so not solely 'my' gardener). I've planted seeds but think that I may to have to get some turf down if nothing comes up.

We have a hammock - bought for DS but he is 6'4" and doesn't quite fit into it....

All dd wants now is a hot tub, a hammock and a shed to do Art in undisturbed. Ive bought her some nasturtium seeds but she is very reluctant to get her hands dusty.

Gardening has two functions for me. It makes the garden look nicer (sometimes...I suspect my garden would prefer to just be a clump of shrubs and a few bluebells/daisies) and somewhere nicer to sit and breathe the fresh air.
Second, it can be an end in itself, like cooking or collecting or gymnastics I used to avidly read gardening books, I loved experimenting, colour combos, growing from scratch.

The mistake is to do creative gardening when you just really want to use the space as a charming room, or a view. There are shortcuts

I would often get bogged down in the creative gardening and miss out on a functional space...ie putting enormous thorny climbers when what I needed wss astroturf and a climbing frame for kids.

I've taken up gardening. I always hated it before. I do not have green fingers so will see if anything I plant manages to survive.

DS is also quite quiet. He submitted his dissertation and is now concentrating on the remaining modules he has left. Hoping that he will be home over Easter even if it's for a short while as it will be his 21st and I know his GPs and Aunts/Uncles would love to see him.

Hope everyone is well and we can look forward to some sort of 'normal'.......

Thats good Knot! It is nice having DD at home still.
Today she was modelling her "clown" outfit for the design course...scary long yellow paper fingernails decorated with pompoms. Eek. A lot of cutting up of old clothes involved.

Ds1 being quiet, haven't heard much. Ds2 playing a lot of online chess in Lancaster.
Potted a big plant tree up today and now I've given up again...seem to have very little vim nowadays. One task seems to lead to another.
Starfleet and Ursula hope you are keeping well..and kitten too.

Are you back on your feet again Ursula?

DS found out on Monday that he was expected back next week but now he is going back after Easter. I might yet get the bathroom ceiling painted before he goes back.

I take vitamin D in the winter as it wards off my winter blues. I'm sure a few weeks somewhere sunny would do just as well but seeing as that is not an option it's the vitamins.

We've lit fire with (,smokeless) coal and it is just about warming the front room. Rest of house despite heating and aga absolutely freezing because of single glazed windows. BETTER at night when we can draw curtains. Snow falling outside. Not settling. Ds1 continually writing tv and playscripts and ringing me up to discuss. Dd is a nice companion though not in any way helpful with chores or cooking...I am channelling Marilla from Anne of Green Gables.

Kneecap must be very painful Ursula. Im waiting for a dog related injury...fields/parks so muddy and slippery it wouldnt take much. I have a heavenly pair of dog boots that keep me warm but not much grip and a pair which are too difficult for me to put on without hopping around on one foot, im more likely to trip up in my own hall I fear.
starfleet hope the anxiety lessens soon, it is a horrible feeling. On a cheering note I know two women of our age who were semi shielding due to health conditions or relatives' health, still caught it over Dec despite all precautions, and said they felt they must have "cheated"'because it affected them so mildly. And friends whose teenage children had Covid and they the adults didnt get it all despite all mingling up till diagnosis. Adults who were cancer survivors and had auto immune conditions.
I recommend Vit D as these people were all taking plenty.

Ursula walking your dog seems to be a dangerous activity......

Masters funding is one loan. As I understand it the student pays the university for their course fees and any remaining is for living expenses. If they decide to complete their masters at their current university sometimes a reduction on course fees is given - there is a breakdown on Liverpool's website. Any little helps I guess.

Shanghai The reason I went into accountancy is that my employer would send me to college for a day a week and I thought that would be a lovely way to ease into the world of work. I was right too.

Ursula at least you managed to get out of plaster with your wrist before doing your knee. I suppose the good thing is that there's not much going on at the moment for you to miss.

Congrats to Shanghai DS!

Ursula It is my understanding that rather than two separate loans, you get one to cover fees and living. Here's the government page on it. masters finance

Great news on the job @ShanghaiDiva

I'm currently in deep lockdown as I managed to dislocate my kneecap last week, slipping in mud whilst walking the dog. So the two things I enjoyed - walking the dog and volunteering at the Foodbank are currently impossible. Oh joy.

But I have had my vaccine as volunteers were offered the opportunity and I snatched it with both hands.

DD hasn't started her dissertation yet but apparently this is the norm for History. She had loads of work to finish by the end of January and one exam (24 hour on line thingy) so has taken a week to relax. She is back in work two days a week.

Has her house sorted for next year but has not yet applied for her Masters. Am I correct in assuming that they get a the usual fees and maintenance grant for a 4th year?

@ShanghaiDiva congratulations to your DS on having a job lined up.

DS has been at home since mid-December. The local supermarket kept him on their books so he is back to doing 10 hours a week there, and has also got a new part-time job as a vaccine administrator (18-24 hours a week). I hope he remembers that he is also supposed to be studying full-time for the final year of his degree course.

Nice to read the updates. Hope you're all hanging on in there.

Both parents have been successfully vaccinated this weekend so that's a plus.

DS has just finished the final draft for his dissertation and is now touting it about for people to read.....he can't send it to his tutor so has asked if he can direct him to a PHD student to get some feedback before he culls 2,000 words. He is hoping to do a masters but nothing at his current university/degree subject related seems to be of interest so he is looking further afield - may possibly take time out and apply next year.

Me... back in the office as my industry is one that is currently classed as infrastructure so we can carry on working. Even though we are all in separate offices and are able to easily and safely distance in the workplace it doesn't reduce the anxiety I feel every time I leave the house. It seems to be worse during this lockdown than the last and we live in a town that has been virtually under a full lockdown consistently since the end of the summer.