Village Show Results

 Here's how we did at the Village show earlier today.

For reference all entries are made in 30%'s name for a couple of reasons. Firstly joint entries are not permitted and secondly there is a Challenge Cup for the most points scored by a female entrant. We stand more chance winning in this category than going up against "Fred" who wins the corresponding male category with ease every year.

First Prize

• 3 Carrots, any one variety
• 3 Beetroot, any one round variety
• 5 Apples, any one cooking variety
• Runner Beans, 6 pods

Second Prize

• 3 Beetroot, any one round variety 
• 6 eggs

Third Prize

• 3 Carrots, any one variety
• Dish of any other fruit, Quince
• A jar of honey
• A specimen Cactus or Succulent
• 5 Apples, any one dessert variety

Highly Commended

• 5 Tomatoes (not cherry), any one variety
• 5 Apples, any one cooking variety
• A jar of honey (set)

Silverware

• None this year, but
• 2nd in the most points earned in the fruit classes,
• 2nd in the most points earned by a female competitor

It is worth mentioning that the show organising committee have brought in new judges. In previous years it had been noted that none of the baked good or preserves were tasted as part of the judging process. This was somewhat exasperating, as how on earth can you judge food solely on appearance?

This year the judges tasted the food entries and provided a note for each entry scoring it on taste, texture, appearance etc. Eggs are now subject to freshness testing, and inspection of the contents too.  This is a much needed improvement to the show.

Both entries of honey were scored at 95/100, and it was commented that they had good flavour. It was also remarked that the set entry had a "good set".

We also entered two jars of crabapple jelly. Neither won a prize, but they were scored at 76/80 and 78/80. I'm really pleased with that, considering it was the first time I'd ever made a jam.  The crabapple jelly with cinnamon was the entry that scored higher, with the comment, "good level of cinnamon - not overpowering"

The "Horti" Show

Saturday was taken up with the village Horticultural Show.

We were both up early and, after a quick breakfast, were out in the garden selecting the produce that needed to be exhibited as fresh as possible.

30% took care of the runner beans, whilst I selected the carrots and beetroot. 

It has been a tough year for growing fruit and vegetables and we both struggled to find matching examples of good quality produce.  I think it's fair to say that neither of us expected to win any prizes, and I did question why I was getting so stressed over a little village show!

Shortly after nine o'clock we headed up to the village hall, and spent the next couple of hours setting out our exhibits and catching up with friends and acquaintances.  

Despite the hard growing conditions, there were a huge quantity of entries, and exhibitors were struggling to find space on the show tables for their produce.  We were also reassured that our produce wasn't, perhaps, as poor as we originally thought.

We headed back home at eleven and left the Show Judges to do their worst.

Lunch and a post-prandial nap followed before 30% and I headed back up to the village hall to see how we had done.

It is fair to say that we had done much better than we had expected. Many of our entries had prize cards, and this made our efforts and stress seem worthwhile.

After checking our results we had a lovely time wandering around the hall chatting with friends and fellow exhibitors. I'm not a particularly social person, but I really did have a fine time congratulating, commiserating and talking about the experiences of growing veg in such a hot, dry Summer.

I suppose I had better start planning our 2026 campaign!

Bees & The Horticultural Show

If ever there was a sign that Summer is over, today's Journal entry provides the evidence that Autumn is finally here. 

Today was always going to be focused on preparing the hives for the Winter and selecting our entries for the village horticultural show, which takes place tomorrow.  Throw in the general stuff that needs to be done around the house and garden, and the probability of an early afternoon snooze was plummeting.

First job of the day was to finish installing the second curtain pole in the living room.  Within an hour I had the pole resting on its brackets, and I'm reasonably pleased with the job.  I can see 30% angling for us to order another three poles for the dining room in the very near future.

Next on my list was a wander up the orchard to check on the hives. We are approaching the end of the beekeeping season, and it is time to get the colonies in order for the coming Winter. This means that I need to ensure that they are well fed and in good health.

Hives #1 and #3 are both very similar. The queens were seen, and each hive has about four frames of brood. I gave each colony a Varroa treatment,* which will remain in the brood box for the next six weeks. I also separated the super from the brood box with a clearer board.  The bees should vacate the super overnight, and I can remove the supers from the hive tomorrow. I will then start to feed these colonies with sugar syrup.

Hive #2 seems to finally be heading in the right direction. It is now fourteen days since the queen was relocated to the upper brood box, and she now has eggs, larvae and capped brood on two frames. I added another frame of drawn comb alongside the brood nest; in the hope that the queen would expand her nest on to that frame too. A couple of strips of Apistan were inserted between the frames to treat any Varroa, and I then went on to check the lower brood box. It came as no surprise that the quantity of capped brood in that part of the hive is diminishing, as the queen has not laid there for over a fortnight.** 

I am reasonably pleased with the frame change and am looking forward to removing the lower brood box and Bailey board at next week's inspection. The hive will then be returned to a more standard configuration, and I can then start feeding colony #2 as well.

After finishing with the bees, I stayed in the orchard and attended to our Wisteria. 

We only planted it at the beginning of May, and it has grown at least three feet in height. This new growth needed to be tied in to the supporting apple tree trunk.  The plant has done really well, despite the drought, as I have conscientiously given it the dregs from the chicken's drinker every evening. It's only been a couple of pints, but it has worked wonders!

The remainder of the afternoon and early evening was spent selecting exhibits for the Autumn Horticultural Show. It amazes me how many apples, damsons and tomatoes need to be picked in order to select an entry of five or six matched specimens in perfect condition.

We'll be at it again tomorrow morning, as certain items of produce need to be as fresh as possible for showing. I must admit that I wonder why I do it. I get quite stressed about selecting the perfect entry, and quite forget that it is only a little village show. They don't even have prize money!

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* Apistan strips

** Worker brood takes twenty one days to develop from egg to adult worker bee. Hence, the Bailey Frame change has a twenty one day cycle, once the queen has been relocated to the upper brood box. At the end of twenty one days, all of the brood in the lower box will have developed and hatched, and the box and combs can be removed. The brood nest, with young at all stages of development, is now present on fresh comb in what was the upper brood box.

DIY and a spot of culture

First job of the day* was to make a start on fitting the second curtain pole in the living room.

The old plastic curtain track was screwed to a wooden batten, that had been fixed above the window aperture. I removed the old track and carefully examined the batten.  I was well aware that incautious removal of the batten could result in large chunks of plaster falling to the ground. I discovered that it seemed to be held with three nails, and judicious use of a multi tool soon had it removed, without any drama.

A few moments with a chisel and a claw hammer had the remaining pieces of batten and nails removed and I was able to plan my next steps ... My next step was actually a trip in to Alcester for some Polyfilla, as the area behind the batten needed a skim of filler to tidy up the top edge of the window recess.

On my return, I soon had the filler applied, but couldn't really progress any further, until the filler set hard. I did manage to fit the central bracket for the window pole, but that was it for the day.

In the afternoon I completed another little DIY job. A few days ago I fitted a rainwater diverter to the down pipe from the garage roof. The installation of the diverter had made the down pipe a little wobbly, so a new pipe retention clip was screwed in to place ... Finally a job has been completed! 

This evening 30% and I headed in to Birmingham for a lecture at the Symphony Hall. Professor Alice Roberts was giving a lecture about her recent book; Domination.  We spent a fascinating couple of hours listening to Doctor Roberts outline how a small religion from the Middle East came to dominate Europe. It was absolutely fascinating, especially the development of the organised Christian religion alongside the culture and architecture of the Roman Empire.

Shall I ask for the book for Christmas?

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* ignoring the fact that I had already fed and let the chickens, and placed the box of honey jars out on the road-side stall

Green Energy?

I felt that I had earned a rest day after yesterday's problematic picture rail erection. Mind you, at my age, perhaps I should expect problematic erections?*

Anyway, moving swiftly on, we had been invited over for lunch with "H" in Worcester today. We headed over midway through the morning, and were delighted to find that "B" was also at home. Daughter "K" and granddaughter "O" made up the rest of the party, and we had a splendid time chatting, eating and amusing little "O".**

And that was the main news for today.

We headed home just before three o'clock, and both of us had a long snooze after all the excitement.

Now I appreciate that this isn't the most exciting Journal entry, so I thought I'd introduce you to an idea I've been mulling over for  a while.  

Green energy sources are worthy ideas to explore, and I think I may have come across a source for small scale power generation. Let me explain ...

30% loves fresh, unsliced bread. We have a bread maker and we both enjoy the lovely loaves it makes. However, these loaves need to be sliced.  My dear wife will regularly  recount the tale of her dear departed grandmother, who would butter the loaf before cutting away the thinnest of slices. Apparently the woman was a demon with a bread knife.

Unfortunately my good woman did not inherit the bread slicing genes of her paternal grandmother, as is evidenced by these Journal entries.

I have frequently joked that her loaf abominations would have her Gran "turning in her grave," and this gave me the idea for a micro power station. 

If I video streamed an array of poorly sliced loaf pictures in to late Grandmother's resting place,*** and linked up some form of dynamo to her, now rotating, body, I have the basics of a small scale energy factory. I reckon that I could use the headstone to house the necessary control mechanisms, and then all I need is a discrete power cable feeding in to the National Grid.

It's just an idea at this stage, but I think it has potential. One simply needs to identify the subject matter that would cause a willing volunteer to rotate post mortem.  Then design suitable video material to initiate the rotary motion, and you're away. 

Obviously we need some form of pre-death authorisation to generate power from a dearly departed relative. I was thinking of something along the lines of an organ donor card?

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* Apologies, if you found that to be in poor taste. 

** "O" is three towards the end of the year and is a real poppet! She is an absolute delight to be around.

*** Obviously in a tasteful and respectful manner!

A love/hate relationship

My "not five minute job" continued this morning.

Yesterday I got the bracket positioning worked out, and had constructed the wooden spacers needed. Today I could procrastinate no further ... It was time to drill some holes. 

Now these curtain poles are heavy,* and need to be fixed firmly to the wall. I offered up several prayers to the Gods of DIY, to ensure that my drill bit would find sold brick, rather than crumbly lime mortar.

It seemed that my petitions had been answered when I saw a trickle of red brick dust emerge from the drill hole. It would be a solid fixing. I then followed up with a pilot hole in to the oak beam. Everything was going beautifully, and I started to screw the bracket to the wall.

The screw went in to the brickwork and seemed to be holding well, so I started on the second screw in to the oak beam. I'd been careful to drill out a pilot hole and, again, the screw went in well. With a couple of turns of the screwdriver left to go, I felt the screw snap ... Fuck!

I removed the bracket and checked out the situation, hoping that there was a sufficient length of screw protruding, for me to gain purchase with a pair of mole grips. As I removed the bracket and spacer block I discovered that my supplications to the DIY Gods had been insufficient. The screw had snapped off flush with the surface of the beam. How on God's earth was I going to get the damned thing out!

I considered my options which seemed to be 1) relocate the bracket, or 2) attempt to remove the screw from the beam. Option two was always going to be the preferred option, as I had spent an age ensuring that the pole was perfectly positioned; taking account of the curtain length and window frame proportions. I then spent a happy few minutes exploring whether a screw extractor would be of any use.**

In the end I realised that I had little option but attempt to drill out the screw. I will freely admit that I was doubtful of any chance of success. I was going to attempt to drill down the centre of a 5mm diameter length of metal with a 2mm diameter drill bit.  The most likely scenario was that the drill bit would skip off the broken end of the screw and drill in to the beam instead.

I positioned the bit with care and slowly started to drill. I frequently checked my progress and, when necessary, revised the angle of attack in an attempt to remove the obstructing screw.

After a few minutes, I realised that I was actually making headway, when I saw a little pile of metal swarf start to accumulate outside the hole. Clearly the Gods had had their fun with me, and had now decided to reward my perseverance.

It took all of the morning, but I eventually got the brackets fitted. The pole was dropped in to place and 30% took care of ironing and hanging the curtains. 

I must admit that I get an incredible feeling of satisfaction from overcoming the challenges of working on an older property, doing a job properly, with attention to detail. I am well aware that a tradesman would have either charged me a fortune, bodged it, or both! 

It has taken me a day of effort*** and a plethora of tools from the workshop. It has been stressful, and there has been a lot of swearing, but I am very pleased with the outcome.

What I haven't yet mentioned, is that the room has two windows. The next one is larger, and has a completely different set of challenges to be taken in to consideration ... 

... I do have a love/hate relationship with old properties!

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* 25mm diameter iron poles with ball end finials

** My research suggested that they are only any good if the screw head is still attached i.e. when the cross head or slot is severely damaged, making removal challenging.

*** Not counting the time I put in to planning the job, and how I would deal with the likely pitfalls.

Post Script: 

I should also mention that our afternoon included a visit from local artist, JH and his lovely wife S. They had come to scrump some damsons from one of our trees for jam making. After helping them pick a few kilos, we all retired to the patio, and had a splendid couple of hours chatting, drinking tea and eating 30%'s home-made apple cake.

There's no such thing as a five minute job

A significant part of my working life was spent estimating how long various tasks would take, identifying appropriate resources and determining costs. 

I rapidly learnt that there is no such thing as a five minute job.  However simple a task might seem, there is a need to document what needs to be done. Allowances need to made for clarifications and questions. There is the time needed for management, time recording and, of course, procrastination and coffee breaks.  When these, and countless other factors, are taken in to account that five minute job will accrue at least a half-day of effort!

So, where am I going with this?

About ten days ago we took delivery of two rather nice wrought iron curtain poles. They are beautifully constructed, and will compliment our windows much better than the plastic tracks, from which our curtains currently hang.

These poles have been carefully stored under the settee, until I a) summoned up the courage to fit them, or b) could find no further excuse not to fit them!

Unfortunately I have run out of urgent tasks that need to be completed, AND 30% has started to make polite, but less than subtle, enquiries about when the poles will be fitted.

So, today I made a start on putting up the poles.

I've already explained the reasons why there is no such thing as a five minute job, and I have spent many hours going through the various problems I was likely to encounter completing this particular job.  I should point out that the cottage was built around 1700 and you haven't got a clue what lies behind the plaster work!* Basically I was about to start a job that I knew was highly unlikely to be straightforward.

The first phase of the work was some careful measuring and marking out of the position for the first bracket.  The bracket is affixed with two screws, and the lower of these will be inserted in to the brickwork.** The second screw needed to be inserted in to an oak beam that surmount the window frame.

The beam is slightly recessed, which necessitated me having to construct an oak spacer to allow the curtain pole bracket to fit flat against the wall.

That might sound simple, but knocking up a wedge shaped spacer from oak took me the best part of two hours and involved a minor service to my table saw and belt sander, and a trip to Screwfix for a new sanding belt.

Did I mention that there is no such thing as a five minute job?

By mid afternoon, any enthusiasm I had was gone. I can't believe I am saying this, but I was relieved to head off to the dentist, and spend forty five minutes in the chair having the preparation work for a crown!

I'll get back to the curtain pole tomorrow.

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* Many years ago, when we were refurbishing The Pile, I removed the plaster from the walls in the Dining Room. This room was built in the early nineteenth century, and was clearly constructed from whatever came to hand. As the brickwork was revealed, I came across a block of timber that had been mortared in, in place of a couple of bricks. Over the years the block of wood had dried out and contracted. As I carefully removed it form the wall I noticed that it's upper surface was covered with dead beetles. Obviously the wood had been infested with larvae when it was put in to the wall. Over time the larvae had pupated and hatched. When the adults had emerged, they had no escape route and had spent the following two hundred years entombed in our wall. It was quite a macabre find.

** Well! I say "brickwork," Christ knows what is actually behind the plaster. It could be lime mortar or something even less substantial!

Expansion?

Over the past few weeks I have been considering increasing my number of hives to six, or possibly a few more.

In the past, whilst working, I always said that "four is enough," but now I'm retired I have the time to care for more colonies. I already have the necessary equipment, AND I can take a snooze whenever I like too!

So, I'm thinking about expanding, in a very small way.

I make a reasonable amount of money from my hives, but nowhere near enough to live on. They provide a nice little trickle of cash that cover beekeeping costs, the occasional takeaway, and the odd day out clay pigeon shooting.  

Increasing the number of colonies, won't actually be much more effort, apart from that involved in extracting the honey crop. In real terms doubling my number of hives will probably only add an extra three or four days of effort each year.

So what is driving my thoughts on expansion? I seem to be selling an increased amount of honey from my little roadside stall, and there are a few other potential outlets for me to explore too. Honey also doesn't go off, so having a reserve supply would be a useful buffer if I suffer a poor harvest ... or if sales go crazy!*

On the subject of honey sales, a few weeks ago a lady, of Vietnamese origin, called by and purchased ten jars of honey over a three day period.  She called in again yesterday, asking for another ten jars! I advised that I was midway through bottling a batch and that more would be available today.  

At nine clock this morning she pulled up at the gate and took away ten jars. Her fiancé grinned a little sheepishly, and advised that she really loves my honey. Apparently a couple of jars will be heading over to Vietnam with her parents, when they return home later this month.

Mind you, that wasn't the last of it! By the end if the day I had sold another five jars,  making fifteen in total ... At this rate I'll be bottling again by Friday.

In other news, my main focus today was to set up a new water butt. 30% acquired a lovely little butt from an acquaintance in the village via Facebook. This morning I spent a happy hour constructing a lid from a few scraps of wood. I then headed in to Redditch to pick up a rainwater diverter kit.  It will come as no surprise that the afternoon was spent siting the butt, and fitting the diverter kit to a conveniently located down pipe. 

After a successful test, I can report that I have a good flow** in to the butt. All I need to do now is fit another couple of down pipe brackets and then declare the job completed.

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* A reserve supply will also reduce the amount I buy in bulk from Beekeeper Pete. I still make a decent margin as a reseller of his stock, but I'd be daft not to make the best profit possible.

** At 61 any good flow is a welcome surprise!

They're heavy!

Once again I am down to my last three jars of honey,* so it is time to get another couple of batches liquified and bottled.

First task of the day was to set a 5lb batch of honey to warm in a water bath. It takes a couple of hours for the honey to liquify, so 30% and I headed out for a short walk with the dogs.

As we wandered alongside the ploughed fields, our eyes fell upon numerous rounded river stones** lying in and on the furrows.  We both thought that these would be fantastic in our, soon to be built, water feature.  

Basically the plan is to use our stone trough*** as a sump. A fountain pump will be installed in the trough, and we will then install a perforated shelf, just below the lip of the trough. The shelf will support a layer of these rounded stones, and a fountain jet will then bubble water over the them ... Well, that's the idea!

It's a great idea, but I wish that we had brought something suitable to carry a collection of large stones back to the house!

The honey bottling required my attention, on and off, throughout the day, so I filled my time with odd jobs. The most significant of these was to recharge the batteries in the security cameras.

So that was Saturday, replenishing the stall and stealing stones.

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* One of those is a jar of set honey, so that will sit out on the stall, ignored, for weeks. 

** The soil around here is a rich red clay containing plenty of rounded river stones ranging from small pebbles to rocks larger than my fist.  It is clear that this is a soil that has its origins in a water course, as evidenced by the abundance of smooth round stones.  We are situated in the South West Midlands and it is possible that these soils were produced by glacial rivers at the end of the ice age.

*** Now tested, and found to be water tight.

Two esses

The title of today's Journal entry neatly sums up my main achievements for the day.

As a bit of a diversion, I'm not sure why I feel the need to do stuff each day. Is it a hangover from a working life, where I was mostly self-managed, and needed to ensure that my days were productive?* Is it an inbuilt personality trait? I'm not sure, but I do know that I do like to make stuff, and take immense satisfaction from a job well done.

For the sake of balance, I can also be a lazy sod, and will happily spend all day with my head in a book.

Now, back to the two esses.

The first of these was the production of yet another batch of tomato soup. The tomato plants are producing an amazing quantity of fruit at the moments, and I estimate that I am picking about 3 lbs every other day. 

Surprisingly, 30% has mentioned diverting a portion of the crop to make, and freeze batches of cooked tomatoes. I say "surprisingly" as she adores our homemade tomato soup, declaring this each time she eats it. 

So, with the soup made, I was hoping for an afternoon of gentle pottering. However, I had foolishly forgotten that 30%** had arranged for us to head out, to collect a load of horse manure for the veg patch. 

A consequence of this was that I needed to fit the tow ball to the car, before hitching up the trailer.  The muck heap was only about three miles from home, and it wasn't overly arduous to fill the trailer to the brim with shit. We were invited to come and collect further loads, provided that the fields do not get too wet.

So that was my day. I have in excess of two litres of tomato soup ready for freezing and a trailer full of shit ready to be spread over the veg patch ... two esses.

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* That's time-critical complex deliverables for you.

** One of my wife's personality traits is that she can be a bit of a girl guide. This manifests it self as an uncontrollable desire to perform good deeds, whether they are wanted or not.  The dark side of this compulsion is that she can, on occasion be, shall we say, a little interfering.  

On this occasion she offered up surplus apples from our trees via Facebook. A local lady came and picked up a couple of bags as treats for her horses. The conversation go around to horse manure, and the rest, as they say, is history. I should state, for the record, that this is one occasion when my girl guide wife came up trumps.

Post Script: I must also record that we had our first decent rainfall today after more than thirteen weeks of drought. We still need weeks of rain to restore the land, but today's fall was very welcome.

Tales from the riverbank

 The weather forecasts in the preceding week have indicated that heavy showers were expected this week, as the remnants of a hurricane system came in across the Atlantic.  

There has been rain, but very little has fallen in our vicinity. We have had a couple of showers that have barely dampened down the dust, but nothing worth mentioning.

When watching the forecasts I was concerned that I would not find a gap in the weather to inspect my bees this week. I need not have worried. This morning was fine and dry. A little breezy perhaps, but fine and dry.

I prepared my smoker and was about to put on my bee suit when a delivery lorry pulled up at the gate. It was the stone trough that I had recently ordered. My plan is to use it as a cistern for a water feature I hope to construct in the next few weeks.  The trough was stored in the car port and I headed up to have a look at the hives. 

There is no need to go in to any great detail, as they all look pretty much as they did last week. 

I need to have a think about hives #1 and #3, as they don't seem to be taking honey out of the supers and storing it in the brood box. Perhaps I need to use an uncapping fork to open up the cells, and encourage them to take the honey down in to the hive? 

Hive #2 looks very much like it did last week. The bees do not seem to have redistributed the stored syrup to give the queen more space to lay. Perhaps the relocation has disturbed her laying? All I can do is continue with the frame change and hope that matters right themselves in the next couple of weeks.

As I finished the inspection of the last hive I felt a couple of drops of rain fall. My timing had been perfect, as the drops had become a downpour by the time I as unzipping my bee suit in the shelter of the store room.  Unfortunately the rain only lasted for a few minutes, and the ground was soon dry again.

The title of today's Journal entry refers to this evening's fishing on the Avon at Barton. 

We didn't have a huge amount of luck this evening, although the one catch I did have might explain a lot ... 

... Fairly early in the evening I had a bite and I struck. I could tell that I had a fish on my hook, and I started to reel it in. Bubbles grabbed the landing net and clambered down to the water's edge, while I played the fish. By this time the tip of my rod was curved right over and what seemed to be a large fish was struggling to escape. As I reeled the fish in, Bubbles started to laugh and asked if I was sure I needed a landing net.

I looked down to see a small flash of silver. The fish was a tiny chublet, perhaps six or seven inches in length. As I lifted the fish from the water we suddenly realised why I had thought I had caught a monster. The small chub had a huge open slice in one side of it. Basically it had been attacked by a pike as I was in the process of reeling it in. The weight and struggling had been the pike, rather than the small chub.

So, I may not have caught the biggest fish in my life, but this was certainly one of the more unusual catches. And, with a pike in the vicinity, perhaps the other fish were staying well away?

Let's have another go

 I was reasonably pleased with my first attempt at making crabapple jelly. I think that the jelly could have had a firmer set,* but, as I said, I'm pretty pleased with it.

I still had plenty of crabapples left over, so I decided to give the recipe another go. I used exactly the same recipe, except for the fact that I replaced the cloves with four or five lengths of cinnamon bark, each about ten centimetres in length.

When it came to boiling the jelly mixture, I boiled it as vigorously as I could. I tested it after boiling for nine minutes and it was nowhere near the setting point (105 ℃)**. The consistency*** at that point was just a thick syrup.

I returned the mixture to the heat, and brought it back to a very fast, almost frothing boil, while testing the temperature. After a minute, or so, of boiling the temperature increased to a little over 103 ℃, but again refused to climb any higher. I retested the consistency and there was little difference.

After two or three more attempts, the temperature finally exceeded the magic number, and the consistency test produced a liquid that crinkled when pushed with a finger tip.

I soon had the jelly bottled and left it to set.

The date on the blue label should read "27 Aug '25"

I can report that I am even more delighted with this second attempt. The jelly has set beautifully and the hint of cinnamon, combined with the sweet apple flavour, is fabulous.

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* The jelly has definitely set. If a spoonful is taken from the jar, the depression remains visible in the surface of the jelly a day later. I definitely count that as being set. I just feel that it could be slightly firmer.

** it was somewhere around 102 ℃

*** Jam/Jelly consistency test: Chill a saucer in the freezer. Pour a couple of teaspoons of the jelly on to the saucer, and return it to the freezer. Let it cool for a few minutes and then push the sample with a finger tip. If the jelly has reached its setting point, the surface should hold together and crinkle just in front of the finger tip.

I quite like "SOUPY" as my starting word in Wordle

There are no great achievements to report for today.

A walk was taken with the dogs in the morning, and we seem to have settled on a route that is sufficient to take the edge off the dogs, and not be too extreme for 30%.*  

Our walk takes us out of the house and up to the top of the hill. There, we leave the lane and turn left on to the footpath that runs along the ridge of the hill. The walk allows us to look back towards home and the church tower is visible in the distance. After about a quarter of a mile we cut through the hedge, and then retrace our steps, although on the other side of the hedge. This gives us a completely different view to the one on the outward leg of this short wander.  We soon reach the lane again, and are back home within a few minutes.

After the walk, I headed out to the garden and made sure that the crops in the greenhouse and veg patch were watered.  Apparently rain is forecast to come in for the next few days, so I am hoping that the ground will soon get a good drenching.

Having watered the fruit and veg,** I picked over the ripest fruit from the tomato vines and returned to the kitchen with about three pounds of tomatoes, ripened to perfection. I will admit to stuffing a few cherry toms in my mouth, as I wandered back to the house.

With yet another glut of tomatoes, my agenda was set for the day.  I prepared another batch of cream of tomato soup, which was added to the cache in the freezer, as soon as it had cooled sufficiently.

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* She is currently having mobility problems, that are under investigation. She can get around, but now prefers to use a stick, and tries to avoid over exerting herself.

** 30% takes care of the pots and the ornamentals.

A culinary first

 My experience of making preserves is limited to a single batch of Beetroot Chutney. I made a batch after last September's Horticultural Show, and 30% declared it a great success.  I was not so enthused. It's perfectly acceptable, but I'm not an avid eater of pickles and relishes. I'll have the odd smear of Branston in a cheese sandwich, and TP's Lime Pickle is lovely with a curry. I even enjoy a spoonful of onion relish with a portion of pâté or terrine.

The more I think about this, the more I realise that I quite like pickles and chutneys. I just don't eat them very often.

Anyway, apologies, I headed off on a bit of tangent there. Back to the subject of today's Journal entry; I have made a single batch of chutney previously, but today I attempted jam making for the first time.

A friend the village gave us a jar of Crabapple Jelly last year and it was lovely. I was perfect with roast pork, and I have no doubt that it would be lovely added to deserts or breakfast yoghurt. 

Anyway, the jar has, long since, been emptied, so I decided to try my hand at making a batch. 30% managed to acquire the recipe, and she also managed other blag a large bag of crabapples from an acquaintance. I therefore had everything I needed, and set aside today to make my first attempt at jam, or more precisely, jelly making.

The first thing I did was to abandon the recipe I had been given. It needed a pound of rose hips, and I really could not be arsed with fighting my way through the local hedgerows to find sufficient ripe hips. Instead, I used the BBC Food website to provide a recipe.

Ingredients and materials

• 1kg crabapples
• 6 cloves
• 1.25 litres of water
• 600 - 800 g of granulated sugar
• 8 x 8oz jars with lids, sterilised

Method

1. Prepare the apples by washing, removing the stalks and any other damaged areas. Roughly chop them in to small chunks
2. Place the apples in a large pan with the water and the cloves.
3. Bring the mixture to the boil, cover and then simmer for about 45 minutes. The lower the simmer the better the flavour and colour of the jelly will be.
4. After simmering, remove from the heat and separate the pulp from the liquor using muslin or a jelly bag. Do not squeeze the pulp. Just let it drip slowly in to a bowl for a few hours, or overnight.
5. Measure out the crabapple liquor to determine the quality of sugar required. 600g of sugar is needed for each litre of liquor. This recipe, allegedly, produces 1 litre of liquid. I ended up with 1.35 litres and needed 810g of sugar.
6. Pour the liquid in to a clean saucepan and bring up to a simmer. Add the sugar, one third a time, stirring to dissolve, before adding the next third.
7. Once all the sugar has been dissolved, bring the mixture to a fast boil for about 8 minutes, or until the setting point has been reached (105 ℃).*  
8. Remove it from the heat and let it rest for a few minutes, before decanting in to a jug. Then pour in to the sterilised jars and put on the lids immediately. Note: At this stage the jelly will still be a liquid, and will stay so for a good while. I found that it set overnight in to lovely soft jelly that holds its form.

I still have sufficient crabapples to make another batch. I think I may replace the cloves with some cinnamon bark for my next attempt.

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* As a jelly making novice, I can report that this was the most challenging part of the recipe and a jam thermometer or digital temperature probe is a must. I had to return the mixture to the heat three or four times before it reached the setting point. I tested the setting point by placing a teaspoon of the mixture on a saucer, and placing it in the freezer for a few minutes.  When the cooled jelly is pushed with a finger, the surface of the jelly crinkles in front of the finger tip.

Mostly horticultural

 After our recent work on improving the herbaceous border at the rear of the cottage, I made an impulse purchase.  I decided that a few Cranesbill plants would be the perfect addition to the border, providing a long lasting display of colour at the edge against the path.

Three plugs of the geranium Azure Rush were purchased from eBay, and they arrived with yesterday's post. This morning I headed out to the potting shed and soon had them potted on and watered. The plants are tiny, with barely a couple of leaves showing above the soil surface, and I felt that they would benefit from a few weeks in a pot before being transplanted to the border.

Next job was to water my leeks, and then replenish the water in the butts and tanks.

In the afternoon I finally got around to planting out my Savoy cabbages.  I purchased these as plugs at the beginning of the month, and they have flourished in our cold frame. Their roots are now starting to appear through the drainage holes in their pots, and they have many more leaves.

A line was laid out in the veg patch. A watering can was filled, and a trowel and kneeling pad was collected from the potting shed. I dug my first hole, and was surprised and delighted to see that the soil is still moist a few inches below the surface. I have been told that cabbages like to be planted deep, so their roots should be able to access the water in the soil. Needless to say, I filled each hole with water before planting, and gave them a good soaking, after they had been firmed in to the earth.

30% and I then spent a good while protecting the plants with a sprinkling of slug pellets and netting. It is amazing how quickly the cabbage white butterflies can locate a brassica plant. I swear one of the little sods was flitting over my plants within ten minutes of them being planted out!  And as for pigeons, those bastards would raze the crop to the ground in moments, given the opportunity. The only good place for a pigeon is on the ingredient list of a terrine!

The cabbage planting took most of the afternoon, especially when I take in to account the time to tidy up, and celebrate with a self congratulatory cuppa.  By five o'clock I had definitely run out of steam, and did little more.

A quieter couple of days

 I have had a fairly relaxing couple of days and have neglected to make a Journal entry.  This is an attempt to fill in the gaps.

On Friday 30% had arranged for H to come over with her two granddaughters, O & A.  They are two and five respectively and, shall we say, real characters!

They arrived midway through the morning and stayed until mid afternoon. We had a splendid time sitting and talking, while the girls played and chattered. There was no chance that two youngsters would occupy themselves, so we went up to the orchard to see the bees and chickens, and, of course, collect some eggs.  We explored the greenhouses and the veg patch, picked apples from the trees, and sampled raspberries and blackberries from the bushes. 

It's nearly a quarter century since TP was their age and I had forgotten how easy it is to amuse youngsters with the simplest of activities.  A half filled watering can allowed them to play at gardening, and they loved splashing water over the plants, whilst carefully avoiding the bumblebees!

We had a lovely day sat out in the sun, and they left around three in the afternoon. I have to be honest and report that 30% and I were both exhausted by their antics, and retired for a long snooze after their departure.

Now on to Saturday.

Evesham is hosting its annual Fishing Festival this weekend., and this has become a bit of a pilgrimage for Bubbles and me.  Basically it is an opportunity for us to trawl through the various pop-up stalls to find that "must have" angling essential at a bargain price.

I picked up Bubbs at ten o'clock and we drown down to the Evesham Crown Meadow. Anglers were setting up on the river bank for the competition that would take place later in the day, and tents and gazebos had been pitched to create a temporary market place on the meadow.

We spent an hour, or so, checking out the bargains and I wandered away with a Shimano spinning rod, a new handle for my landing net and a pair of curved forceps. Bubbles was a little more restrained, coming away with a couple of bags of boilies.

I was back at home for lunch, and just in time to wave off 30% ... she had arranged to spend the afternoon with one of her chums.

My afternoon was filled, making another batch of tomato soup, as the tomato plants are producing a seemingly endless supply at the moment.

In the evening we headed down to the local pub. 30% was under the impression that a local couple were performing this evening. It transpired that she was mistaken, so we ended up chatting with a couple and enjoying a glass of wine in the evening sun.

A trip to China Twon provided sustenance, and we then collapsed on the sofa in front of the TV. 

Recently the BBC has been showing a number of subtitled documentaries about Japanese craftsmen and restoration experts.  For some reason, which we cannot explain. these have been absolutely gripping television!  The intricate processes followed and ritualistic approach that is adhered to are fascinating to watch.  Over the past couple of days we have seen Samurai swords, Kimonos and Pottery being hand made. Each documentary left us wanting more.

Bailey Frame Change ... some progress

 I found myself awake at an horrendous hour this morning, or should I say "at some point in the night"?

I checked my blood sugar and the time, both were far lower numbers than are good for me.  As I was hypoglycaemic, my next step was to wander down the stairs* and find something to eat.

I filled my face, and returned to my bed, but failed to fall asleep.  Reluctantly, I hauled myself from my pit just before five o'clock.

The hypo and the lack of sleep meant that I didn't feel particularly great this morning, so I did very little. I took a nap after lunch and, as a result, felt marginally brighter.

This encouraged me to don my bee suit, grab my smoker and head up to check on the hives.

Hives #1 and #3 are both doing really well, and I have no concerns about them. I managed to spot both queens, and each has plenty of brood. 

The hot, dry Summer has impacted honey bee colonies across the country, and there is very little nectar available at the moment. I have been feeding my colonies to prevent them starving and have decided that I should bring my Winter preparations forward.

The first step is to remove the supers from the hives. Unfortunately these are part-filled with a mixture of honey and sugar syrup, so they need to be emptied first. I decided to place them above the crown board of the hives with the porter bee escape removed. The theory is that the bees will move up through the crown board in to the supers. Once there, they will remove the honey and syrup, and take it down to store in the brood box. Well, that's the theory. Let's see what happens in hives 1 and 3 over the next week.

Once the supers have been removed, I will think about an Autumn varroa treatment and feeding in preparation for the colder months.

Now on to hive #2. When I last checked the hive, I discovered that the bees had built fresh comb in the upper brood box, and then decided to fill it with syrup. I also failed to find and relocate the queen. 

I was hoping for a more positive inspection today.

I worked my way through the upper brood box and it looked just the same as last week. Some of the foundation had been drawn in to comb, and there was a lot of stored syrup. I removed the upper brood chamber and placed it on a Bailey board.**

I then started my search through the lower chamber.  About half way through the combs, I managed to spot the queen. I quickly transferred her and the comb to the upper brood box. After finishing my inspection, I reassembled the hive with the queen now secure in the upper chamber. I closed off the lower hive entrance with a piece of foam. The bees will now access the hive from the new entrance in the Bailey board.

According to the cognoscenti, now the queen is confined in the upper brood box, the workers will remove the syrup in order to give her room to lay. That is the theory. Let's see what actually happens in reality.

Over the next three weeks the brood in the lower box will develop and hatch. At the three week point, the lower brood box can be removed and the old comb disposed off. I will need to continue to inspect the hive and keep an eye open for queen cells in the lower chamber.

So that is the theory of the Bailey Frame Change. I'm not sure that my bees have read the relevant articles!

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* Late night walks across the landing now require a greater degree of caution, as Wilson has taken to sleeping out there. His coat is a similar colour to the carpet, which makes him well camouflaged in the low light levels. Whilst I trust him more than I originally did, I wouldn't want to step on him by mistake.

** This is a perforated floor that is used to separate the upper brood box from the lower one. It is constructed in such a way that it creates a new hive entrance for the upper brood box. It also prevents the queen from returning to the lower brood box, although the smaller worker bees can move between the two. Basically it forces the colony to concentrate their efforts and their brood nest on fresh comb in the upper brood box.

I now need to be very patient

Today started with a walk down the lane with the dogs.

We got back home at close to eleven o'clock and agreed that it was an awkward time. It was too soon to have lunch, but too late to make a start on anything time consuming. As a result we drank coffee and pottered for the rest of the morning. 

My pottering activity was to fill two wheel barrows with mulch in preparation for planting this afternoon.

That sentence pretty much makes the rest of this Journal entry redundant. Yes, the afternoon was spent planting, watering and mulching the herbaceous border.  I also revised the positions of a few plants* that had clearly been planted in the wrong place.

We still have spaces to fill, but I now need to be patient to see whether our design develops in to a work of art or a dog's breakfast!

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* Mostly smaller plants placed too far back from the front of the bed. These included a couple of hardy geraniums and a dwarf Knifophia.

Thinking in six dimensions

30% was hosting a select group of Coven members this morning.  I did what any sane person would do, and left them to it!

I headed out to the veg patch and was about to start watering the leeks when I had a sudden change of plan. I grabbed a hand fork and bucket from the potting shed, and spent a good hour hand weeding between and around the two rows of leeks. They were planted out in early July and now look like leeks rather than chives! It will be months before they are ready to be harvested and I don't want them to be competing with bloody weeds!

At lunchtime a local builder called around to give us quote for new gates. He turned up in a far more sensible vehicle,* and seemed reassuringly competent. We now need to see what his numbers look like before making a decision.

In the afternoon I returned to the veg patch.  I had impressed myself with my weeding efforts in the morning, so I knuckled down and finished the back half of the plot.  My cabbage plugs and seedlings are doing well in the cold frame, and the Savoys will need to be planted out at some point over the weekend.

30% and I then turned our attention to the recently cleared areas in the herbaceous border at the rear of the cottage.  We have a number of new plants to be transplanted, and we spent a good while placing the potted specimens in various arrangements.

Initially I thought it would be a simple matter to produce a pleasing design, but there are so many factors to be taken in to account.  We needed to consider height, width, overall shape, colour, flowering period and relationship to neighbouring plants in our attempts to finalise our design. It is no wonder that we had, on occasion, creative differences, as thinking in six dimensions does tend to make one's head hurt.

We eventually achieved a, hopefully, pleasing arrangement, and left it for the day. 

Our final activity was to head out for an evening walk with the dogs across the recently ploughed fields.

I guess that I will be planting tomorrow.

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* i.e. One that is not a flagrant display of excessive profit margins

Some light gardening

 Monday morning was fairly lazy.

TP had stayed overnight, so this morning was spent on a few odd jobs, whilst making the most of the opportunity to catch up with his news and plans.

I did make the effort to bottle a few jars of set honey, before clearing away the paraphernalia involved in making my honey crop saleable.

At lunchtime another chap called in to give us a quote for replacing our gates. These gate companies really must target a customer sector with more money than sense. This chap turned up in a new Land Rover Defender. This is an expensive vehicle and indicative of the sort of profit margins that are going to be applied to his quotation.

30% and I have done a reasonable amount of research and have a fair idea of what a pair of gates will cost. After a good few years spent estimating labour effort and cost, I also have a reasonable idea of how long the job will take. We don't mind paying a company a reasonable profit, but a flagrant display of fripperies suggests excessive margins. Our expectation is that this quote will be higher than the first.

In the early afternoon I headed in to Alcester to collect my spectacles from the optician. They had replaced the lenses in my spare readers and sunglasses following my recent change in optical prescription.

In the late afternoon the weather had cooled a little, so I headed out to the back garden where I cleared, weeded and improved the soil in another area of the herbaceous border.  I also split the large clump of Iris plants. Half was removed and transplanted to another area of the bed. I then spent a happy half hour ensuring that the transplanted plant and cleared areas of soil were well watered.

The weather looks to be cooling over the next couple of days, and we may well finally get to replanting parts of the border.