Monday, November 2

What a gloomy week.

What a gloomy week it was last week! The weather kept us away from the allotment. Will the so called showery rain ever cease?  I say 'so called' as the forecast showers would be more aptly described as persistent rain.

To add to the gloom, in the middle of the week, we found out that, from this Monday, our area would be placed in tier three lockdown, which to be honest would change little for us as we are already voluntarily complying with most of tier three requirements.

Then, even before we officially entered tier three, on Saturday it was announced that from Thursday the whole country would be placed in a new national 'sort of' lockdown. It's not a complete lockdown as schools and universities are to stay open.
Mostly, things will not change for us as we haven't been out shopping or for a meal out since early in March. All our shopping has been done online. We can still visit my sister as she is in our support bubble. The one thing that will affect us is that we will no longer be able to visit National Trust properties or Yorkshire Wildlife Park as they will have to close. It's a shame as they have protocols in place that mean we have always felt safe during our visits. The animals will no doubt be able to get their heads down undisturbed by noisy visitors.
I'm disappointed that we can't visit Nostell Priory as I was hoping to take more photos once the trees had a bit more autumnal colour. Although after last night's gales I expect that there are few leaves left on the trees. I wanted a photo to have made into an acrylic print for the dining room and I'd earmarked these two locations. By the time the restrictions are lifted the trees will definitely be bare!

The trees at the allotment had already lost their leaves.
At least the lockdown won't prevent us from visiting the allotment. On Sunday we managed a short visit to collect a few fresh vegetables. There was a very small window of brightness on an otherwise dull and drizzly day.
Doesn't it look bleak?

We only just managed to collect a few flowers and vegetables before it started to rain.

We decided to strip the tomatoes from the plants in the plot greenhouse as they are hardly likely to continue ripening on the plants. Maybe we can get a few more ripened indoors
We picked an Autumn Giant cauliflower and a Kalibro cabbage. I also picked the last of our Safari French beans and the last few peas. The remaining peas just refuse to swell. The cosmos and dahlias are still providing us with a few cut flowers and now we have a few chrysanthemums to add to the posy. The chrysanthemums were bought as pot mum house plants which were planted on the allotments once the initial flowering period had ended. Once planted out they grow into larger plants.

So how did we use some of our vegetables last week?

On Monday we used some Uchiki Kuri squash and sage in a chicken and roast squash pasta bake. Unfortunately I can't find the recipe to link to but basically I roasted cubes of squash and sage. Half of the squash was then popped in a dish and topped with cooked chicken and penne pasta in a cheese sauce made using gruyere and parmesan cheese with wholegrain mustard to flavour. The rest of the squash was popped on top and sprinkled with a mix of grated gruyere and parmesan and then baked in the oven. The original recipe also added bacon but we don't eat bacon so this was left out.
Later in the week I made a vegetable pie. Our onion, carrot, potatoes, cauliflower and green beans were used in this. My version just had a pastry top. I also added tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce in place of the soy sauce which we don't use.

Of course some vegetable are just served 'neat' as an accompaniment to other meals.

I wonder what this week will bring? We are supposed to have someone complete our bathroom update this week - I may have mentioned our problems with this in an earlier post. The work was started over a year ago and we finally had to find someone new to complete the work. I'm not sure how lockdown will affect this. At least we have all - including Ruby - had our hair cut recently.

I do, however, feel lucky to be only inconvenienced by lockdowns and really sympathise with those who are struggling to keep their businesses going or are losing their jobs. Let's hope people are sensible and we can get back to some sort of normality soon.

As always stay safe and well

As usual, I'm linking to Harvest Monday on Dave's blog

You don't have to have your own blog in order to join in conversations. It may seem that everyone who comments knows one another but bloggers always welcome new commenters, after all that is how we all started. 

Copyright: Original post from Our Plot at Green Lane Allotments http://glallotments.blogspot.co.uk/ author S Garrett

18 comments:

  1. What a lovely cauliflower and aren't flowers at this time of year heartening? Hope you can get back to the allotment soon. We'll take some of your rain.

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    1. They are Sue. We managed a trip to the allotment this afternoon and did a bit if tidying between showers. You would be more than welcome to some of our rain if only we could arrange it!

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  2. The weather is certainly gloomy, and we've just had another four straight days of gales and heavy rain. I know you haven't harvested a lot, but you've had something, and your plates of food look good, and you've given me an idea!

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    1. I am now intrigued about your idea, Deborah

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  3. Sue and Sue, let's talk. I, too, wonder what the future will bring. I am used to staying in, ordering plants and groceries online to be delivered without contact. For me, it is blogs like yours that I like so much. I want to read to read about what others are doing. It is my contact with the outer world. I hope you (and others) continue to report things like the weather, successes and failures with plants, wildflowers, birds you have seen. For you, Sue and others in the north of the the British Isle, it is the dark time. For us (Sue in Point Loma and me) in the Pacific Southwest, it is the best. I really like reading about how you use the vegetables for meals. Very inspiring. Thanks so much for your continued reporting.

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    1. I think one of the best aspects of blogging is making contact - it opens up the world in a way that hasn’t been possible before. Much negativity is hurled at technology and social media but how else would you ‘meet’ people from different parts of the world. I can have a real time conversation with a friend in South Africa. We also have a YouTube channel that opens up another set of communication. I use FaceTime to chat to my sister which was great when we couldn’t meet up during the beginning of the first lockdown l’ve no plans to give u0 blogging any time soon. Enjoy your winter and think of me curling up with a Kindle.

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  4. I think the second photo of the earmarked spots is already beautiful. You are an excellent photographer.

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    1. That’s very kind of you tpals- I’d really like a more interesting sky and a bit more autumn colour.

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  5. Yes, I feel so sorry for people that this lock down will be adversely affected. This pandemic is a scourge. I am so glad you are prepared. Hard telling what will happen here after the election.

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    1. It’s like being an extra in a badly made film, Lisa. The world has gone crazy.

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    2. It looks like you make great use of your garden. It sounds delicious! Stay strong and safe. Covid is rampant here and the local community hosts parties every weekend. It is very upsetting.

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    3. It’s really frustrating isn’t it, Bonnie and no-one seems able to stop people flouting the law. We have huge crowds gathering to protest and the police can only just stand and watch.

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  6. I admire your photos too Sue. Sometimes the scenery makes it easier to get a good shot, but there's still a lot to consider like lighting, composition and such. I heard about your lockdown news and wondered about how it would affect allotment visits. Over here we seem to be in a national state of denial about the pandemic. My wife and I are taking it seriously, and I've done little but grocery visits and a dentist appt. the last six months.

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    1. During both this and the previous lockdown we have been a;lowed to keep going to the allotment, Dave. We keep to social distancing rules me I wee gloves when dealing with the site gates. There’s no more sharing a coffee break as we used to.

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  7. I picked carrots, PSB and the very last of our blueberries(!) today during an unexpected lull. Really agree with your sentiments about blogging.

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    1. Blueberries still, Mal wow, ours are now in bright red autumn mode.

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  8. I'm guessing my original comment evaporated Sue. I was very sorry to hear you are about to enter lockdown once again, albeit a very slightly different version than before. If people don't behave here, we may find ourselves in the same situation. We have to observe and respect the rules, for all our sakes including the key workers, who are back at the coal face for us once again too. I'm finding myself shaking my head as I type this. We all need to be careful, every single one of us. There is hope if we do, we will get through this but how long away this will be is completely dependent on us.

    Last month, on a whim, I enjoyed the focus of an online art challenge. It was good for the whole household. I hope you can focus (no pun intended) on new ways to experiment with your sky photography from home or at your allotment. I can see how much you enjoy blogging and the interaction with other bloggers too, I hope it continues to be something you enjoy and takes you away from your lockdown days ahead. Sending best wishes to you both.

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    1. The trouble is that many people don’t accept that Covid is a serious threat, Shirley and nothing will convince them otherwise unless of course they become seriously ill.
      I’m definitely still going to experiment with my photography, I just need some better weather.

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