Herbs to sell in summer

Thank you for all the comments yesterday, I got around to replying to them at lunchtime.

Woke to a mucky sort of morning - grey and dampish but no actual rain. A Blackbird serenaded me around the field as I went to let out the chickens at 7.30, which was nice, I had heard them singing about an hour earlier so they think spring is on the way. The forecast was for brightening up so I did a quick load of washing and got it out on the line.
Next job was to rustle up a big batch of tomato and herb bread dough which was left  to rise in front of the Rayburn.

Him Outside had already gone over to our neighbours for more hedge cutting, It's a very long hedge and she usually gets a couple of lads to do it with a flail on a tractor, but the field is too wet and they are still busy with trees from the winter gales so we have benefited with the extra work.

I was then able to get outside to sort out all my pots of herbs which I will be selling soon. Many years ago when there seemed to be more hours in the day, herb growing and selling was something I did on quite a big scale. Often having around 20 different types of herbs to take to the Suffolk Smallholders Show and to sell at the front gate. Now the greenhouse is needed more for producing plants to put in the poly tunnels and the big herb garden that I used to take seedlings from got over run by the lemon balm so that we turned it all back to grass and now I just have a few herbs in pots. But at a  boot sale last year I picked up some cheap lavender plants and also got some rosemary cuttings to strike  so have a few things to sell this summer. - Every Little Helps!

A few lavender,thyme,rosemary,lemon balm, chives and mint plus 1 fennel will be ready to sell in a couple of months when they have greened up and grown a bit bigger.

The postman came with my small parcel of dishcloth cotton so after knocking back the bread dough and making some rolls I was able to sit and knit while watching the ladies curling semi-final. It was a shame they were beaten but they still have a chance for a bronze.

After lunch Him Outside finished pressure washing the IBC containers and took them off the trailer so he could use it to fetch a load of wood. He had a tip off yesterday from someone he used to work with that some sheets of ply and some big timber supports were about to be chucked out.  As he needs some decent ply to do a new floor for the trailer and we are always looking for  wood for the Rayburn and Woodburner he was able to say straightaway that he would rescue it.

Eggs collected and sorted it was time for me to sit and watch the mens curling - still knitting. By the way, my first dishcloth was far too big for dish washing so that has gone to be a mopping up cloth in the utility room and I didn't learn from that so still cast on too many stitches for the second cloth.
So I'm making a second big mopping up cloth and then I'll remember to only cast on only 44 stitches as recommended by Ann. I shall attempt 4 knit 4 purl to make a waffle pattern.

I heard more strange things about the States on the radio this morning ( apologies to readers from the USA but there seems to be all sorts of odd things happening in your country). I was listening to some farmers being interviewed about the shortage of water in some places and how water ( in the form of hay) is being exported to China to fill up the empty containers after they have unloaded their load of electricals and tat. China now need more fodder for more meat producing animals and are willing to pay  over the odds to get it. Which means that the price of buying in feed stuff for cattle in the dry parts of the States is pushed up.
AND Monsanta are trying to muscle in on seed production in this country by doing some sort of deal with our government. I didn't catch exactly what they were talking about but I didn't like the sound of it. It becomes illegal for farmers to save seed or buy it from anywhere other than Monsanta. Something else for us to worry about regarding food security and self reliance.

On a happier note a big welcome to some new followers; Ellen making 139 on Google Friend and to Deborah, Janet and Sandy on Bloglovin', the total there is now 105.
Hope you enjoy reading about our quiet life in Suffolk.

Review of the month - Looking Back At January + todays news

It's the first of February so here is my usual look back at the month to see how things have gone -  The Good and the Not so Good.
I think you can sum up January in one short sharp word - WET or two words VERY WET or three words Absolutely, Awfully WET!

 But I have to look at the positives first.

1. Unexpected and very good income from County Council work.
2. We have enough money for February's Budget
3. We managed to get all three children and all three partners here together.
4. All spending ( except food) was very low
5. We are still eating our own stored apples, pears etc from the freezer and dried apricots and prunes so only £1.50 spent on fresh fruit.
6. The butternut squash stored in the craft room are still OK
7. We still have cooking apples stored in the shed
8. Plenty of our own fruit still in the freezer
9. Still eating leeks, Brussels sprouts,parsnips, cabbage from the garden
10. Loads of lovely library books
11. Just over £100 added to an ISA
12. Total savings towards the Roberts Red Retro Digital Radio = £50 ,so I'm a third of the way there.
13. The chickens are laying very well - over 8 dozen eggs to sell every day.
14. Friends came to visit for the day.
15. I got one small bit of cross stitch done and made some papercraft cards.
16. We used a voucher to get multi-purpose and seed compost for the year.
17. More wood has been added to the log pile.

 On the other side of the coin

1. Everywhere is so very wet, a very depressing month
2. I went down with a flu type thing just when the family were here.
3. Food spending over budget but  that was because of the traditional giant takeaway when the family were here so I don't begrudge it at all.
4. We finished eating our own potatoes so had to buy a sack  =  £6.40
5. County council work now finished - no more income from that job

Today's news
 We had another huge rainfall last night - it seemed as if it was all night long. The beds in the garden are now all surrounded by water and as for the chicken runs - Oh dear.
But this morning we had blue skies and sunshine so Him Outside went to help our elderly friend with some tree pruning at the second home across the fields from us.
There was some shooting going on in the wood near us yesterday and when Him Outside went onto our field later he found a pheasant - still warm - so sorting that out was one of my jobs this morning. That makes 3 we have in the freezer. I rootled around outside to find a few herbs ready to make  omelets for tonight's dinner. This is all I could come up with

Parsley, a few tiny new fennel leaves and even fewer new shoots of welsh onion.

This afternoon we popped out for 15 minutes to a jumble sale at the Guide Hut in Leiston, nothing very exciting there really. Him Outside found a small kit containing car light bulbs and fuses for 50p.

Then it was time for a cuppa, a biscuit and the beginning of the 6 Nations Rugby.

Welcome to follower  134 - The Vintage Kitten, she lives somewhere on the north of the UK where they had snow overnight . Also welcome to three more followers on Bloglovin, Phylis, C Gunn and Lesley, taking that total to 96.  I hope you enjoy my ramblings from Suffolk.

Back Tomorrow with February Weather Sayings