Friday 25 May 2012

Post No. 300: Allotment Interlude

It is indeed my 300th post! When I first started this, I had no idea where it was going - all I wanted was to write. And write I did! Learning lots of new things and making many new friends along the way, and that alone is reason enough for me to continue; no "higher meaning" necessary for me :-)

I know, I said in my previous post that I was going to take you to another Stately Home today. But Nan's Farm & Garden Report made me decide otherwise: you'll get an update on the allotment instead.

My parents' allotment has often been the subject of my blog posts, for instance here, and since it is quite an important part of our family life, I think it is only fitting that it becomes once again the topic for my "jubilee" post. (What's the 300 in jubilee terms anyway? I know 25 is silver, 50 is gold, 60 is diamond... but 300?)

Last week on Saturday, my Mum and I set out for the first time this year to do "our" walk; we like to take the train to the small town near the even smaller town (some would call it a village) where the allotment is close by, and walk from there. Depending on how often we stop for breaks, to enjoy the scenery, have sip of water or take pictures, it takes us between 1 and 1 1/2 hours.
As you can see, the weather was just right! This is looking back down the hill towards the small town where we got off the train. We were sitting on a bench in the sun here, having a snack and some water; it was lunchtime, after all.


I have already showed you the walk as such, but not this wonderfully enchanted little old building in the village:
We were wondering what is was originally used for, some kind of storage, obviously, but what exactly?


The next pictures are all from the allotment; you can see how nicely my parents (mainly my Dad) are keeping it all:
There are new goldfish in the tiny pond (the old ones didn't make it through the extreme cold period in January/February, I'm afraid; or maybe they had simply reached the end of their natural lives anyway, they'd been in there for years) and some other things have changed since I've seen the garden last. Can you spot me reflected in the golden glass ball?


The afternoon was still very beautiful, and after resting for a while (of course with coffee and home-made cake), I wanted to walk again. The woods are so beautiful at this time of the year, and this is where the shady figure went:
I heard a cuckoo and many other birds, some of which I was able to identify, but by no means all of them - never mind, their song was lovely also without knowing their names.
The way back to the allotment from where I was always seems a bit longer - maybe that is because of the path leading mainly uphill?
Anyway, it wasn't far from here; the compact-looking row of trees and hedges in the left half of the picture show the edge of where the allotments are.


It had been a very good way to spend a Saturday, and I hope there will be many more like this over the coming months.

20 comments:

  1. Hello Meike:
    What is so lovely about all of this is, of course, the situation of the allotment, right out in the countryside. The idea of taking the train and then walking to it appealed to us enormously, as did having coffee and cake with you!

    Your parents keep their allotment immaculately and it must be a source of great pleasure to the whole family, as well as a source of good things, we assume, to eat.

    Congratulations on 300 posts. At 57 after a year we wonder if we shall, in fact, make our diamond jubilee!

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    1. Thank you, Jane and Lance!

      Yes, it is a source of great pleasure, and especially for me - I only (literally) reap the benefits but don't do any work there.

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  2. What lovely pictures. In England our allotments tend to be much more untidy, and are nearly always mainly for growing vegetables, but you seem to have a lot of flowers in yours, or very tidy vegetables!

    Congratulations on your 300th post. Long may they continue.

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    1. My parents grow fruit, vegetables, flowers and herbs, plus there is the tiny pond with goldfish, newts, toads, dragonflies and all sorts of other animals. We have a bird bath and my Dad makes sure "his" birds are well fed during the winter; it is not necessary to give them anything in the warmer months, they find plenty to eat then, but they are always around for him to watch and listen to.

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  3. 300! That's wonderful! Time flies when you are having fun!
    I love it when you go to the allotment. I can't say I know what I am seeing, except I can identify the chives! And I don't blame you wanting to walk into the trees, they look very inviting.
    I am looking forward to seeing your photos from your next trip!
    Love,
    Kay

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    1. Kay, I don't know half of what my Dad has planted, either :-)
      But I know it when a large bowl of salad is on the table, and everything in that bowl comes from the garden!

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    2. And the fact that your parents are enjoying the fruits of their labor is good for them physically and mentally! This is the same way I feel about my Dad's garden. And you and I benefit from their hard work! We both appreciate it and know how lucky we are.

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  4. I am so impressed - I struggle to keep my garden tidy and it is outside my front door.. I cant imagine travellign and walking and gardening - and walking? home again... How often do they go there?

    Looks beautiful though:)

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    1. Fi, my Dad never walks there, he always goes by car, and does not go for walks in between gardening, instead he takes little naps in his favourite chair on the patio, or just sits and rests and listens to the birds or talks to one of the other allotment owners. It's just my Mum and myself who do the walking bit - and a lot less, if any, gardening work.
      My Dad goes there almost every day. My Mum goes with him only if he does not leave too early for her liking ;-)

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  5. I'm with Fiona on this one. I love a garden but one which is outside my door. My Dad had an allotment when I was very young but the purpose was purely to grow food because there was still rationing when I was very young.

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    1. No gardens for either of us outside our doors; my parents' flat is on the 3rd floor with a balcony (done nicely with flowers and kitchen herbs, too), and while there is a garden around my house and theoretically, 1/3 of it is mine, I never do anything there; it has been entirely taken over by the other families in the house, and I don't mind, as long as I get to pick cherries directly from my kitchen window.

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  6. What a beautiful allotment, Meike, and I love the walk you took through those gorgeous woods. Congratulations on your 300 posts. I've only just managed to reach my 100th!

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    1. Thank you, Perpetua! And congratulations to you for the 100th post!

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  7. Congratulations! Wow, I envy you. My blog is 2 years old but I still have few posts.

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    1. Denise, thank you :-)
      Well, you have been busy writing your book, haven't you; I doubt I'd have 300 posts in 3 years if I was writing a book as well.

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  8. Happy tricentennial. (Noun: The three-hundredth anniversary of a significant event!)

    All th best for the next three hundred.

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    1. Thank you, John! Tricentennial sounds rather impressive. I knew "Bicentennial" but never thought of using this term with other numbers.

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  9. You know how dearly I love these allotment postings.
    Do any younger people have them, or is it mostly older, retired people?
    I was surprised to read Maggie May's comment about the English allotments. Until your blog, Meike, the only way I had heard of allotments was in English books and movies. I imagined the English ones to look just like this one.
    It just seems like a little miracle of life to me that people would travel to garden - that it means so much to them that it is worth the trip. Have you mentioned before how long they've gardened there?

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