The Dead Bird

I brought Peter to the front of the house to show him some dark purple opium poppies; there was a dead juvenile chaffinch on the ground. The wee thing was unmarked and still warm. It must have flown into the window. We were both sad to see it. 

These things happen. At least the cat didn't get it. That would have been a far nastier end for it. Back when Martha was small I might have kept the corpse for her to have a funeral. She used to love that. Instead, I buried it in the compost bin.

I told Bert,

I put that wee chaffinch in the compost. Might do it some good.

What! Sure it's dead.

I meant DO the compost some good.

It's Been A Bit Of A Green Week

 A few days after the Assembly elections, Banjo Man looked out our window and remarked, 

Have you noticed how green everything is since Sinn Fein won the election?

He was right of course. The grass was lush and emerald and the beech trees were newly furled and fresh-looking. It was May after all.

Out in the polytunnels, the new irrigation system was performing well and all the seedlings and plug plants were flourishing.

I'm still feeling enthused about my compost project. Got an additional bin from Dee Mac and started another pile. I'm getting so into it that I've started to slightly resent all the vegetable peelings and such that Rusty and Lily eat. 

Fred has found the Catnip (Nepeta cataria) we planted. About two-thirds of cats respond to it and he is one of them.

Thursday was our day out in Derry, enjoyed by all despite it being a bit damp.

Our first stop was the Plantation of Ulster exhibition at the Guildhall. Martha is becoming a history buff so she found this really interesting. She was even more interested when she found there were dressing up opportunities.

Zoe decided to be a Gael, that was easy, all she need to do was wrap herself in a couple of lengths of homespun. The girls were Planters (better clothes). The first picture is planter Evie oppressing native Zoe.

Then a walk around the walls. Matha lectured us on the architecture and told us all about oubliettes and murder holes. They're doing the Normans at school. We checked the famous mural. Those green school uniforms fit my theme. I don't know what's going on with the mini-diggers and the hi-viz guys but we'll find out someday.

Bert didn't do no-mow May. He didn't have to as he already has no-spray, let-it-grow, glorious wilderness all year round and that wee patch of a lawn gives him a lot of pleasure. This is more than can be said for his two new frames of bees. They are savages. The girls do gymnastics on the grass and poor Evie was stung on Friday. She was stoic and couldn't understand why I panicked. It was Bert's turn the following day. One actually flew up his nostril and stung him. I am giving them a wide berth.

The week ended with an enjoyable lunch, more gardening and a lot of hoo-ha about the platinum jubilee. Apparently, some of it turned out to be enjoyable, especially when the Johnsons got booed. There was something twee with Paddington which I must admit I rather liked. There is a sweetness about that bear and it seemed to rub off on the (green) Queen. 

In Which I Obtain Smelly Compost And Zoë Becomes A Shroomer

It appears that both of yesterday's Flickr pics have dropped to the number 21 spot. So won't be shown again today.

And if any reader is feeling deprived of pictures, here is a link to my least seen picture. Taken in 2005 and only one view so far.

We went to one of our local garden centres with a delivery. The guy that owns it is a very gregarious chap and always tells the best stories. Local folk probably know who I'm speaking of. While our friend was giving Nellybert (the gardeners) a talk about the local council he received a phone call. It seemed that he was, at that very moment, supposed to be giving a talk to the local council about gardening. I never knew he could move so quickly.

After the deliveries were made, and an Ulster Fry consumed, we made our way to the local council yard to collect some of their free and evil smelling compost. I intend to use it to mulch my old perennial bed which has become a disaster area. I've laid cardboard down to suppress weeds and over this will go the minicipal compost. I'm doing it despite hearing horror stories. Young Rainey said his father's gardener used it on his beds and everything died. The internet says it is full of weeds and plastic. Don't know about the weeds but there is plastic.

Zoë had an interesting find yesterday. She was pulling up last season's chard in the polytunnel and found she had pulled up an unusual mushroom.

She checked it out on the internet and thought it might be a morel. Today she told me that she had sent a photograph to the NI Fungi Group and had it confirmed

It is a morel and good eating! One of the most expensive mushrooms around, but very rare in Northern Ireland.

So I'm to keep my eyes peeled for more of them. Zoë thinks it might have been transferred to the tunnel from under the beech trees as she had been using leaf mould as a soil conditioner and mulch. I checked out the NI Fungi Group myself and apparently there has only been three reports of morchella in Northern Ireland.