The obligatory blog snow photo!

Snow makes everything look so beautiful and pure and clean. However it also makes little birds very cold and hungry and makes little cats (well one of them) poo on Nigel's office floor because she is too cold to go outside!
I had 15 green finches on my bird feeders at one time this morning, and I have to keep going out to de-ice the bird bath so that they have water.
Gladys, the offending little cat, ran around the house miaowing this morning. It was not until she could hold it in no longer that we realised what she had been trying to tell us!
All four cats are off to a cattery for the first time on Wednesday when Nigel and I go off to our favourite place in the world - Shingle Street - for Xmas. It's our first Xmas without Stoofer and Callie is also staying in Brighton, so we'll be on our own in a bleak, desolate and spookily magical place. It's also where we sprinkled Stoofer's ashes so he'll be with us in spirit.
I'm loading up with books, knitting projects and sketch books and am going to use the time away to truly relax and stop thinking about work!
If I don't post again until after the festive season, many blessings to anyone who reads this and have a good Xmas.

Done!

The recent heavy rainfall has almost filled the pond. We tidied up the liner and have edged it with some bricks and spare tiles.

Tomorrow I'll take some oxygenating weed down and put it in. I'll see if I can find any water snails in our pond at home too and take a couple down.

We've netted the pond for the time being as there are still some leaves to come off the trees from the neighbouring hazel patch and some of the large trees behind our plot.

We've left space for the frogs and newts to get under the tiles though if they want to.

I think this is going to look great once we get some plants going around the margins.

The next job is now to get the third bed edged with wood planking. It'll be the last big job of the winter, to get it ready for planting in the spring.

What a great cycle! It's not until you start growing things seriously that you become aware of how you are always planning ahead to the next job to do in preparation for the next and the next...

I am also coveting my neighbour's half plot. They don't seem to have been to it since August, so have flagged up with the allotment secretary that if they give in their notice at the end of the year that I would be interested in taking it on. If I had the additional space, it would give me sufficient room to put in a permanent fruit patch as well as extra space for veggies.

More rain

It's raining raining raining and I am feeling guilty that I haven't texted my husband to offer him a lift home from work.

I have just driven home from Woodbridge through crocodile puddles and just can't face going out there again.

I bet the pond is filling nicely though!