September 2013 August
2013 January
2014
Saturday
September 14th
Not a good day. First weekend
back after holiday, and whole family went up to the plot to pick apples. We’d
almost finished stuffing the bags with Bramleys and Spartans and had made a
start on the onions when I twisted my right ankle by the broccoli bed. In
trying to right myself, I landed even more awkwardly on my left ankle and there
was a snap sound and rather awful pain. I ended up sitting in the mud with the
horrible feeling I’d broken my ankle. Sir hauled me out and I had to hobble to
the car using the long apple picker extension pole instead of my left foot.
Didn’t help that the right foot was also hurting a lot.
Several hours in A&E later
with a very swollen foot, I had a pair of crutches, loads of painkillers and a
probable sprain (though there was some uncertainty as to whether I’d cracked a
bone).
No more allotmenting for a
while :-(
End Sept update: had recall
for more X-rays but they have decided I just have a funny-looking bone.
Driving, hobbling about but that’s about all. Foot and leg have gone purple all
the way up to mid-calf level, so I have really sprained it in style. *sigh*
Sunday
22nd September
Managed to stand up long
enough to string the onions up in the shed to dry out a bit.
Onions and shallots safely in
the shed.
Sunday
September 29th
Hobbled up with crutches (and
it was painful enough even with the extra support) and picked the remaining
marrows before they got eaten or frosted. Could barely bend so that was that!
October 2013
No real work done at plot by
me! Gardening Lady however is gradually working her way through clearing under
the apples, cutting back the rampant undergrowth. Overwinter there is going to
be some serious chopping back of the shrubs too!
November 2013
More apple picking by the
whole family, this time being very careful indeed! I now have stupid numbers of
apples. Leeks looking big. Walking OK as long as I don’t bend my foot sideways,
which on this allotment is a challenge.
December 2013
Saturday
December 14th
Can mostly walk OK now. Covered the onion bed and the courgette bed as I
figure the first priority for overwintering is to get the shallot and spud beds
weeded. Dug a ton of maincrop Sárpo Mira reds up
(they always keep in the ground beautifully) and I still think I missed some
and some usable
Took down the canes and wire
for the runner bean bed - canes now tucked up in shed at the house and the wire
is wrapped round a post. The other post (the new one) is unbelieveably wobbly
so will need a bit more walloping to get it in position again for next year.
The runner beans did so well this year, I’ve got a freezerful.
And I left a bunch of sage for
the Christmas stuffing up there. Sigh. Have to rescue it tomorrow.
Washed potatoes. The big one was 1lb 7.5oz!
Wednesday
December 25th
It’s been a long time since I
could list several homegrowns for Christmas dinner. Not quite as much as
previously, but we had roast and mashed potatoes, sage and onion stuffing,
braised red cabbage (with apple and onion), French beans and (almost) marrow
from the plot. It should have been marrow and runner beans, but I tasted the
marrow first and it was bitter, so I ditched it and didn’t bother with the
beans. Did the second stored marrow (much
nicer, and with runner beans) for New Year’s Day.
Happy New Year!