February Blog

A couple of years ago I was giving a garden record book, one with suggestion for what to do each month and a page for each week to record things. It is interesting looking back and comparing and looking forward. Next week last year the first frog spawn appeared, always a sign of spring. Fresh water ponds are fascinating blank canvases, it is surprising what finds its way to come and live in it. We always have lots of frog and toad spawn and watching the tadpoles swimming around and developing is always interesting. Sometimes an area looks like it has some sort of deranged black object wiggling away, on closer inspection it is hundreds of tadpoles all grouped together on a few leaves. We have a pair of moorhens which moved in last year and had three lots of chicks. Very entertaining birds and very good parents unlike ducks. Then there are damsel flies and dragon flies, so beautiful with their iridescent wings. Newts have moved in in force, last year when filling a watering can from the lake I had to be careful as I kept finding baby newts in the water. If you fill a clear container with water it is teaming with life. No chemicals makes all the difference.

I also write down when things come into flower and the weather, last year at this time was wet, rain grey and mild, no change there. I have had to pick some of the tall daffodils this year, as they had bent over, they seem to be much taller than usual. The little iris reticulata are beginning to open, such delicate flowers, and the hellebores that had lain flat on the ground with the freezing weather are all standing tall again and looking lovely.

While waiting to hear when restrictions will start to be lifted and in what way we have started thinking about the possibility of being able to open again. We had the new web site build and two months later went into lockdown, sods law or what. I have not put baked beans on the breakfast menu. This is mostly due to the fact that I find them too sweet, not surprising when you read that there are 10 teaspoons of sugar in a tin. I have made Boston baked beans which are delicious, and I recently found a recipe for baked beans, with not a lot of sugar and am contemplating making some and perhaps adding them to the menu.  I was once told our breakfast menu wasn’t extensive enough, which I found surprising until I found out that the complaint was that we didn’t have coco pops.

With the increased interest in vegetarianism and veganism it is important that we cater for all tastes both for breakfast and also for evening meals for those who choose to eat here.  Vegetarian food is not difficult to cater for and alternative milks are much more accessible than they were a couple of years ago. With vegan meals there are a lot more pit falls but noting insurmountable. It is fun looking for and trying out new recipes and entertaining and sharing meals with others is something we enjoy doing and have missed over the last year. Fingers crossed that summer staycations can take place and we have good weather.