I really didn't need any shopping this week, and I do actually have some bread rolls in the freezer, but when we went to Booths for a coffee and a cake for Alan, he wanted to pick up some bread, so I picked up another pack of bread rolls for me.
The ones in the freezer can stay there for another day. 🥶
I also got a packet of those 'Melting Moments' biscuits, they are lovely on their own with a nice cup of coffee, or crumbled onto these little dessert pots that I bought the other day HERE. Which turns them into an instant crumble.
I had to snap into action yesterday and harvest the kale, well what was left of the kale.
There were suddenly caterpillars everywhere, and the greedy little blighters were all over it, chomping on my leaves. I got all the best leaves that were left and blanched them ready for the freezer. There's no where near as much as I would have liked, but four portions of my five a day to be added to soups or pasta dishes was just about worth the effort.
Art by Aziel Illustrates
Now on this chilly and intermittently rainy day it's time to go back to my book. I hope you're having a good weekend.
Sue xx
What a beautiful painting - there is so much detail to see and enjoy. Glad you were able to save your kale!
ReplyDeleteWendy (Wales)
It's so detailed isn't it, I love it. I'm glad that I managed to rescue at least some of the kale. I must remember to put a net over it next year, usually seeing a few butterflies reminds me to, but I hadn't seen any ... which is very unusual. The weather must have turned them into 'stealth butterflies'. 😄
DeleteOh those pesky caterpillars! A good job you spotted them in time, Sue. Gray has just come back from the allotment and all our gooseberries are gone :( They weren't even ripe! Would the birds have taken them do you think?
ReplyDeleteLovely artwork again :0)
I think I was a couple of days late in spotting them looking at all the damage they had done. 🫤 Back in Wales I always found it was the mice taking the underripe fruit before I got to it. They would harvest all the still-green strawberries and stack them in little piles at the back of the raised beds. Once they had cleared the strawberries they would move onto the gooseberries.
DeleteOh no! I never thought of mice taking them. Some of our strawberries have gone too. Where the allotment is situated, between two rows of houses, mice are a distinct possibility. Thank you :)
Delete❤️xx
DeleteI like the sound of the instant crumble pud. Lovely picture too.
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
I got the idea from those little yoghurts with a pot of crumble or sprinkles on top. 😀
DeleteOooohhh I am imagining myself in that picture - it looks an idyllic place. Far from this grey, wet and dismal day. I'm having a Dressing Gown Day - no plans to do anything except making myself a cup of tea at some stage.
ReplyDeleteI hope your day was good, it's nice to totally relax into a day isn't it. ❤️
DeleteWe've grown all our kale this year in pots on a potting table outdoors. There's loads of it and so far no caterpillars. We don't eat it ourselves - we grow it purely to feed my 2 elderly rabbits. They're 9 next & I rescued them at age 1, so I put their longevity down to eating kale😆.
ReplyDeleteI have never thought of growing kale in pots, it would be so much easier to drape some fine mesh over a pot. 😃
DeleteYour rabbits are a brilliant age, you've obviously given them the best care, and kale is so good for them isn't it.
Having had a problem-free gooseberry bush for many years we were surprised to see it stripped of leaves this year, leaving the developing berries with no shade.
ReplyDeleteOH thinks it may have been snails.
Ooh, that is unusual. I think our strange weather patterns must be altering a lot of wildlife's behaviour. They are putting themselves first in a bid for survival, and I can't blame them.
DeleteGooseberry sawfly. The year they missed we had gooseberry mildew in the garden. They did better on the windy allotment.
DeleteThat's a strong possibility. They could strip the bushes over a couple of days couldn't they. ☹️
DeleteLovely painting...Have a great Sunday.
ReplyDeleteIt's gorgeous isn't it. I am thinking of printing it out and framing it. 😃
DeleteWell done on your kale rescue. Have a lovely weekend. Xx
ReplyDeleteI didn't manage to save much but at least I got a bit for my efforts. 😀
DeleteI like the sound of those little puddings and must look for them when next in the supermarket. Catriona
ReplyDeleteThey are tasty, a bit sickly sweet for me on their own, but with crumble or squirty cream they seem more balanced.
DeleteEnjoy your kale harvest! I bought a packet of kale seeds, but, it is a winter crop for us, so, will plant them in November or so.
ReplyDeleteI used to grow it almost year round back in the polytunnel in Wales. My veg growing is nowhere near as good these days. 🫤
DeleteI planted kale during lockdown and it grew prolifically, trouble is we both realised we hated it and even the tortoise turned his nose up at it! If only I could grow aubergines as successfully! xxx
ReplyDeleteI do admit to preferring spinach over kale. But I had forgotten to buy spinach seeds ... so kale went in. I should imagine all those little caterpillars were very healthy.
DeleteLove the picture you have chosen looks so cosy
ReplyDeleteI would be very happy to be in that room reading my book, as long as those birds are on the outside. :-)
DeleteWe no longer plant kale, cabbage or cauliflower as the bugs seem to really enjoy those things. Glad you managed to rescue some kale.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
They really do don't they. Perhaps instead of struggling to keep them off my crops, I'll leave growing the brassicas to the professionals in future. 🤔
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