It is grey, I can see parents taking children to school, but at least it isn’t raining.
I had a strange dream last night, involving stone-built houses, planning permission and failure. The first two came, I think, because I had fallen asleep in front of the TV during an episode of Grand Designs. The feeling of failure, on the other hand, seems to have been creeping more and more into my thoughts recently.
It’s strange how negative thoughts are the ones that seem to persist. Yesterday I thought about plans for earning a living, new sweets for Bassett’s Liquorice Allsorts and, by association, growing liquorice. I then thought of other exotic crops, how James Wong has always disappointed me and gave serious thought to a seed bombing campaign.
I have no personal animosity towards James Wong, in case you are wondering, it’s just that when I’ve tried to grow his alternative crops they have never seemed worth the trouble.
I bought, for instance, two kiwi berry vines when we started Quercus Community. They are hardy, prolific and vigorous to the point of being invasive. Not mine. Mine are like a couple of stroppy teenagers, sulking and refusing to cooperate. When we did get fruit, which was not often, we didn’t get much and my dreams of selling bags of unusual fruit to boost our funds all came to nothing.
I keep telling myself that seed bombing is not the way forwards for my dream to make Nottingham the Butterfly Capital of the world, as it will invariably involve a lot of buddleia and make the locality look like a bomb site. Somehow I always come back to the idea though…
So there you are – my morning has consisted of blogging about yesterday.
Fortunately it is only ten o’clock so I still have time to pull things round. Has it really taken an hour to write this?
I must learn to type faster.
I’ve thought about hardy kiwi for here, although I do not know if summer heat might be too much for it.
Seed bombs! I always learn about something new here. 🙂
You may be right. We put ours in the polytunnel to protect them from the wind, and they did show some signs of distress in the heat. including scorched leaves one year.
………or railway line, perhaps?
Good idea. 🙂
You are right about the negative thoughts. Once they take hold they are almost impossible to shift. Our health has a lot to do with it I think. And unfortunately, our age. Everything takes longer to do than it used and takes more energy.
As for alternative crops – well! So much effort for so little return. So much depends on the soil, the light, how much rain and how much time we can expend on them. I’d go for plain and simple herbs if I were you. Easy to grow, the butterflies and bees love the flowers, and bunches of fresh herbs would sell like hot cakes. I drove past a field of parsley today and the smell was glorious!
Herbs is a good idea. I used to pass a field of coriander near Derby – very distinctive!
🙂
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And fortunately, your post included a picture of the oh so beautiful peacock butterfly. We don’t have them in central Maine, and I always love seeing pictures of them. As for negative thoughts…you are so right. Why do they have such a hold on us? Sigh.
I will make a mental note to include more pictures of Peacocks in an attempt to encourage positivity. 🙂
You did, you did! I was over the moon, and even my Yankee husband Clif, who is less expressive than his Franco-American wife, thought those were some butterflies.
Glad to hear it. 🙂