It's A Funny Old Year

Is it August or is it Autumn? the seasons seem unsure. I went out to post a letter this afternoon and decided to carry on and walk through the woods before I went home. We have some lovely walks around our home but I must admit we don't go out and enjoy them as much as we ought to.

The first thing I notices was the rowan berries already ripe at the top of the Rowan trees. It doesn't seem to be a year for heavy fruit crops.

Along the pavement edge are some young Oak trees and I couldn't help noticing these strange shapes clustered among the leaves. Intrigued as I have never seen this deformity before and knowing quite a few of our indigenous trees are succumbing to disease I searched for the answer on the 'Net'.

Apparently its called Knopper Gall, and is cause by the tiny gall wasp Andricus quercuscalicis. It can affect a high proportion of acorns in one year, and almost none the next. Apparently it is unlikely that it will pose any threat to the future of the oak, since most acorns are destined to be food for something rather than turning into trees. I hope it won't harm the squirrels! Further along the walk some of the older Oaks in the ancient tree belt are thankfully unaffected.

The Sloe bushes are looking distinctly poorly this year as well. The leaves are very small and shriveled. The cause is definitely not through lack of water we've had more than enough rain this year. The fruits are ripening but are very sparse. These bushes are usually loaded with fruits.

In the middle of August, these Hornbeam trees which were very late leafing up this spring are looking very stressed and have shed all these leaves prematurely. The path is looking like Autumn not August.

Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain

How does that Nursery rhyme go?

Doctor Foster went to Gloster

in a shower of rain.

He stepped in a puddle right up to his middle

and never went there again.

Is my skin colour a tan from open air swimming in the meager ration of sun we're getting or rust from all the rain we're having? Could be either!

I was manhandling a 15kg sack of dog food into the back of my car this afternoon when I stepped into a puddle only it wasn't a puddle it was an ankle deep water filled pothole in the car park. If the air wasn't already dark from the storm clouds my expletives would have turned it dark!Luckily I had a ppair of 'Crocks' post sandals on so the dirty gritty water drained straight out. Driving with wet trousers flapping about a cold wet foot wasn't too pleasant but it all dried out fairly quickly with the cars heater on full blast.

White Lady

My beans are doing really well this year. I slashed out on a new packet and a different variety. They're called 'White Lady'. Last years beans were so slow to grow that we hardly managed to picked any before we flew off to Canada so by the time we returned they were well and truly over.

I started them off in plastic beer glasses I'd bought some years ago for a party. They were just the right size to grow the beans from scratch. I could then plant them out when they had reached a descent size without disturbing the roots. Beans dislike they're root being messed with! Because they were a healthy size before I planted them outside I fool the slugs and snails as they prefer the newly emerging shoots. We still had to mount a few 11pm snail hunts especially when it rained. I guess the hedgehogs and birds had quite a feast on the unfortunate snails that got lobed over the fence.

Once planted in the bean patch they quickly found the bamboo supports and twisted themselves up towards the sun.

Unlike the usual bean varieties I normally grow these have white flowers hence their name - White Lady. They're also a stringless variety. The flowers have been prolific and the bees love them so we have plenty of fruits.

These were the very first I picked and very good they were, sliced and steamed with roast lamb and new potatoes, yummy. Dave just loves these veg and cant get enough of them. The crop is so good this year I'll have plenty to freeze for the winter months.

I don't think they would win any prizes in a village or allotment show. These beans have attitude! I wonder if there is a class for bendy beans!