Bigger and brighter, though with all the old favourites

A beautiful cornflower

16 June 2025 (Monday)

We had a lighter blanket overnight, though I think the time of having blankets on the bed may be coming to an end for a few months.

It was to be a pretty normal Monday today, with both work and work work... though first, a quick trip to Lidl!

Our local Lidl closed for refurbishment a week ago, and I've managed to scrape through on fresh food items (ie, vegetables, fruit, yogurt etc) until today as I did a 'big shop' the Friday before it closed.  But now, wants (rather than needs...) prevail and BOTH of us are up early and off in Fenella before 7am to the new Lidl that opened just over a week ago in Brentford.. for some reason, I'm a little excited!  It's bigger, and brighter than our local one was... though all our old favourites are there, so it's just getting used to the layout, which is remarkably similar to how our local store was... maybe this is how they all are now.  Anyway, we get our shop done and then it's back home... me to my desk, and Richard's going to do a shopping haul video - which is not a turn on for us, though others love them which is grand!!

Anyway, back to my morning...

It was mainly spent at my desk doing stuff for For Earth’s Sake and the Great Green Barn. We’ve Midsummer Revels coming up on Sunday and there's quite a bit that needs organising for that still. I'm down with Vanessa tomorrow, so there are various things that I’ll leave until then.

With the weather being dry, and looking as though it's going to remain dry for quite some time I was down this afternoon watering, and also feeding all that needed to be fed.  It's mainly the squash, cucumbers and tomatoes, though maybe every other week I give everything else vegetable-wise that we’ve got growing a little boost too, and I'm also beginning to give some feed to the flowers we've got - I’m sure they’ll appreciate it!  And on flowers, I did spy this little cornflower, which despite its size is big and bold and one of my old favourites; never grown by me before, though hopefully will self-seed and become prolific.  Of course, it had a little feed, and I’m sure with grateful thanks will throw up further blooms soon.

Someone asked what feed I use.  Well, I use an organic general fertiliser with added seaweed. I bought it two years or so ago as quite a big chunky 10 litres, and I'm almost all the way through it now.  I also make my own nettle fertiliser and comfrey fertiliser, and I sometimes combine the two. I find that these two home-brewed ones are good for general feeding throughout the year, though comfrey feed is particularly good to encourage flowers and fruits, whilst nettle feed promotes general growth and is good for leafy greens, such as brassicas, chard, spinach etc.

After a light supper, as lunch was quite big, it was time for a bit of TV, and then to bed… and a chapter or two of my book.


Weather:  Warm… and getting warmer.  Sunny in the main.

Breakfast:  Bran Sticks, yogurt, and banana
Lunch:   Lentil soup (tinned and thinned a little), hummus, crackers, cucumber, radish and tomato
Supper:   Cream cheese, a rice cake, tomato, radish, cucumber and olives