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Spring arrives in a blizzard – The Beach House Garden

Posted on March 24, 2013 by leroy watson

Spring hits the Beach House Garden – Dark and Gloomy

Well Spring is here and we’re hanging on in the middle of a blizzard. The Beach House is a sturdy little cottage, but the garden is looking anything but spring-like.

The whole of North Wales, and Britain in general, is getting a good covering of springtime snow. This day last year the temperature was 21oC. You may be British, or know Brits, we talk about the weather alot over here, mainly because we have such interesting weather! You never know what to expect, which doesn’t help a novice gardener.

We have planted a few seeds already, granted very prematurely and they are doing well on racks beside the fire! Rainbow chard is beginning to sprout and I fear for these little things when they are thrown into the garden, open to our mountain elements. Maybe we will have an indoor garden this year!

Last years gardening adventures, in sunnier times

It is so cold at the moment, even our semi-wild cat Buster has come inside, to shelter from the winds (see below). Buster is our gardening companion and an expert at getting in the way.

Last years attempts at growing had mixed results (to say the least). Slugs had a field day in the very damp conditions and we became more a slug diner than a organic veg patch. We had some success with a variety of potatoes and the occasional leek, but really, most things flopped. We have new strategies and fresh energy this year to quell those slimy critters and hide our plants from the wind. Our green beans ended up mainly in the opposite field last time.

This year we are going for alot of beetroot, some leeks, many potatoes, some green beans and greeen and red leaves (rocket, raddichio etc). We’d also like to grow some squash and plenty of kale and chard. We’ll let you know how it all goes.

Thankfully, we have little expectations this year and even in this small garden patch, are now fully aware of the difficulties of approaching a ‘self-sufficient’ lifestyle. There is so much to learn and only so many seasons left…

Hope you are all nice and warm and cosy wherever you are.

Buster checking out the bin

More from Buster (the worlds coolest creature)

Categories: Garden, Spring, Wales | Tags: cats, food, garden, gardening, nature, organic, photography, snow, vegetables, vegetarian, weather | Leave a comment

Blizzards and Viruses hit the Beach House – 4th April 2012

Posted on April 6, 2012 by leroy watson

Snow hits the Beach House

4th April, a reasonably interesting day at the Beach House

The golden sunlight is pouring through the window now and spring is in the air, which is normal at this time of year, except there is a foot of snow on the ground.
Yesterday we woke to a fierce blizzard. We live half way up a mountain, above the snow line and facing the Irish Sea. We are well used to storms and high winds. Yesterday was different, the telephone lines were humming like a badly tuned bass guitar and the thick snow fell horizontally at roughly 60 mph. It was a little hairy! In April.
We lit a fire and went to turn on the kettle, but there was no power. No tea. Dear God, it was an emergency. Really, it was nice to be taken out of our comfort zone for a while, we sat and listened to the wind whistling, released from the digital world and free from any concerns of ‘doing’ things. We were snowed in, a great excuse to unwind and let life drift on by.
We imagined the whole area to be doing the same, but came to realise that this blizzard was only affecting our village! (Population negligible). Two miles down the hill, in Penygroes, they were enjoying a pleasant spring day whilst we battened down the hatches (put extra socks on) and struggled on, without even a hot beverage.
The electricity came back on and eventually we were dragged back into the ‘e’ world, we had bits to do on-line. I turned my little Filipino laptop on, opened an email and promptly contracted a virulent virus. Quite a special virus named the ‘Windows Custodian Utility’ which set about crippling me in an electronic fashion. Apparently it is very new and clever, which in some perverse way made me feel privileged.
It has only just left me, after many consultations with our ace techno neighbour Mark and no doubt a huge slice of luck. I have been bashing it with as many scans as possible for two days. Be gone you vile worm!
So here are some pictures of snow in April, falling on the fresh blossom of our garden and prompting us villagers, more so than ever, to bemoan our weather (we normally live in thick fog) yet secretly be fascinated by the unpredictable nature of this funny little island.
PS – If you are unfortunate to get this virus, drop me a line, I am now an expert at killing this persistent little sucker.