Reversing topographical erosion... Building a hill from a hole.

Favoured view of the week, from the kitchen door. It's been a beautiful day

May 30 2021, Happy Mothers' Day.

 

"Bandit"...

Harco type hen crosses the line, it enjoys rummaging in the mulch

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 A chase ensues.

Back on the path...

"No good hiding in the shadows, I can see you. Keep moving..."

 At last.

She can find her way home from here.

 

Iz Normal...

The carpet has just been hoovered. Thanks to Anne-Sophie it's looking really pretty.

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There were three kinds of bees busy in this newly opened Poppy. The Free Bees get to keep their life supporting nectar, the slave Honey Bees will be robbed of their healthy immunity promoting nourishment.

More Irises... pollinated by tiny beetles, they're specialists,no extinction issues there.

Raspberry plants are thriving along side Sunflower seedlings, in their nursery quarters.

A bit of shade is always welcome in the homestead garden.

 

The closer you get the prettier it looks.

A splash of charming colour... Preparing for market.

That's just the hats,

 

Just a small reminder...

Look beyond the screen side image.

Nigella, "Love in a Mist."

Dedicated beyond the call of duty...

Lest they had forgotten, it's Mothers' Day on Sunday.

 

A lot can happen in a day....

 

 Eglantine looking elegant.

None commercial polinators appear to thrive here. I suspect that the Bee "extinction" issue is more closely related to a dead end evolutionary corner with no where to run and nowhere to hide.Exploiting the lucrative side of the genus ,given that profitability is dependant on wholesome relationship with Big Ag... In my view an impossible, forlorn hope. The commercial enslavement of bees ,doping them down with cane sugar and trading their immunity support, the honey,for cash profits. Our little domain supports the other guys. the insects that give benign service for free. Perhaps escaped slave bees will discover our little haven one day, rediscovering in the process the great diversity of the "Wilderness Survivors" in their own species.

Take a weight off your feet, get comfy. Breath the air, fresh off the plant life. Enjoy the view.

Composing the Compost...

 What comes around... Grows around...

Coriander, I'll transplant some of this and put squash in the gaps.

A pink and red baby popping, from mixed parentage...

Pink parent Poppy, (Papaver Orientalis).

There will be plenty of spuds and beans this year.Strawberries Galore..

MidSummer is almost upon us. Just wondering how many of the Global Warming delusionaires have noticed how cold this Spring has been.Chance of getting a "Flaming June" would be a fine thing.So many irons in the fire, Looks like slow progress, it's gradually accelerating. Good work needs time, and much peace at Home. The Izdom of Iz , is a real permanent terrestial domain. It isn't just a mobile phone number.We have a lifetime's work ahead of us, I am up for that. no jabs no passbook no nmasquerade. no time for mere jobs. Fully engaged in a grand Labour of Love.Drop in if you are passing this way.

If it was ever the same once... I missed it.

 

The first leaf,not big enough to cover up much embarassment. It will grow. This fig produces purple fruit, easy to propagate. Just cut a fresh juicy stick in the autumn ,bury one third in good seed compost water well once, and stand well back.  There is usually a wealth of rooted suckers at the base of mature fig trees. Some plants are for gifts, some for exchange. Suckers that can't be given away; get shredded for compost mulch or burned off for the potash.

The Thornless Blackberry; we have other plants naturalising in the hedge.  This one outside the door looks to be producing many kilos of fruit in spite of growing in a few inches of grit, shared with a mass of other plants.

Siberian Wallflowers fading glory. The lower flowers were removed to encourage more green growth. The rest will go to seed.

It sits outside the kitchen door just trying to get noticed. It's working...

We'll have buckets of these here Whitecurrants this season, a great addition to our sweet and jelly merry making.

Gooseberries appearing like jewels, I will make cuttings from this plant once the harvest is done. 

Kale seed pods fattening up and ripening. A winter saviour, Russian Kale is a house favourite.

What's happening in this bit? From right to left: Garlic, Coriander,blending in with Oak leafed lettuce, both naturalised, self seeded.. There's a quick row of Radish at the top.

The future has to start somewhere...We leave the mystery behind us.

 Eglantine (Dog Rose). The first flowers.

Fitting in with the Ley of the Land.

 Heavenly scented, Julien, you would have to be here some evening to appreciate the chilling perfume.

 At the foot of the Thornless Blackberry, a mass of species share a few inches of road grit and pot spillings. This is a favourite haunt of small brown lizards and large green ones.  The green ones burrow into the root bound grit and lay eggs. We try to avoid standing on the plants so the lizards are safe enough.

Silver Birch,(Pendulata), seems keen to grow here. We will prepare some sandy compost and encourage these seeds to grow on once they are properly ripe.

Yesterday's views...

A swelling mound of White Horehound, Poppies in the foreground, ready to burst

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A lot of information at a glance...

 Goji.

Cornus, Hazel, Hawthorn... Still room enough for a good apple tree.

It's what you make of it ...

I will fill the blue bins with water today to give a weighty resistance to the infill of rammed earth.