Rain stopped play

First job of the day was to pour a couple of litres of syrup in to the feeders on hives #1 and #3.  We both then ventured in to the vegetable garden. 

30% continued with the removal of the runner bean vines, which were cut down and taken up to the orchard for composting. The bamboo teepees were dismantled and tucked out of the way in the carport roof space. 

I grabbed a hand fork, a bucket and a kneeling pad, and set to weeding around the leeks and back towards the area, recently occupied by the beans.  As we did this the breeze freshened and dark clouds appeared on the horizon.

Showers were forecast and I really didn't fancy being on my hands and knees in the veg patch in a cloud burst. I did, however, really need to get my Spring Cabbage planted out. These had been sown at the end of July, and were just about ready to be put in the earth alongside my row of Savoys.

I grabbed a watering can, a trowel and a length of string, and soon had a new row marked out. I only had ten Durham Early plugs to plant out, and forty minutes later they had been firmed in to the soil. 30% assisted with getting the row netted,* and now I just need to keep them watered and weed free over the coming months.

The showers arrived in the early afternoon and were quite frustrating.  They didn't produce a great amount of rain, but they made everything too wet to continue weeding or mowing. Actually that's now quite true ... 30% persuaded me to take the Beast up to the orchard and mow over the runner bean vines. I can report that these have been chopped in preparation for composting and I also had a trial mow of the orchard.**

This evening we headed out to the Palace Theatre in Redditch for a comedy club night.  We had a great time and were surprised and delighted to discover that the star act was Ed Byrne.  We have seen Ed on many occasions over the years and never tire of his anecdotes.

---

* The butterfly numbers are now declining, but the bloody pigeons will destroy them, given the chance.

** It looks a little better. I need a dry couple of days to get it tidied up before the wet weather sets in.