Up to my neck in poo

or manure if you prefer.

Having got umpteen little jobs out of the way on Monday, and finally got all my accounts sorted, filed, acknowledged and signed off to keep the tax man happy for another year I can put all the pretty colour coordinated folders away, take off my office work head and get back to being a scatterbrained hippy in the garden.

Hurrah!

So - new strawberry plot to be dug, old plot to be dug over and big piles of stinking poo to move around.

Here is the existing edge of the strawberry plot.

Here is the new bit dug over.

Here is the new bit planted with baby runner plants.

All edged with the local building blocks that our house is also constructed from.

And even better - Ferguson caught his first BIG mouse.

YAY!!!


Much more fun than calculating balance sheets.

Saturday projects - Flavoured oils

I make my own flavoured oils, as these are so simple to do, yet so rewarding, they taste and look great, and don't cost a fortune.

I tend to get my bottles from my lovely clients who have little 'Monika' stash boxes next to their bins for their jars and glass bottles, newspapers and toilet roll holders, as well as from friends, although less from friends these days as everyone is at the make your own game now.

Today, even though it is still drizzling a bit, I thought I would get outside and set about the herb garden a bit.

With the oregano, the sage and the thyme doing well, I took a few cuttings from these for the oils.  To make the best oils or when drying herbs, always pick them in the morning when the levels of essential natural oils are at their highest.  This will give you the best flavour.

I am using grape seed oil as the base because it is much milder than olive oil, as well as having a beautiful greeny colour.

Whilst there I found a few strawberries nestled amongst the grasses and nettles.  To be honest we quickly scoffed the best ones, and what was left I put in some vodka for the freezer and summer cocktails when the summer finally gets here, and a few more into some gin - mother's ruin with some added kick.

With a strong steady rain settling in again, I am off to fill in all the school forms now.