I’m hoping to be back blogging again next monday – 8th February – which, even for a month of only 28 days, is still early February really.

In the meantime, here is a picture of my one of my favourite winter things – flowering witch hazel. I recommend finding some and having a good sniff – they smell wonderful. (Tip – If it’s really cold you need to blow on them first.)

We have out fingers crossed that the dreaded B word won’t get our tomatoes this year, despite the rain. We are already eatting some of the ‘jellybean’ variety, which are colouring up, a small handful at a time.

Somehow, in the days between harvesting the onions and yesterday, the chilli plants have seemingly tripled in size, and thrown out a ton of fruit. I see chilli oil in our future (something I only think about when we eat pizza, and then regret we don’t have!)

FB is still too small to really use the bean tepee his dad made for him in the spring. I think the beans (and our larder), appreciate him not really playing in it this year.

But there is such potential in how it has grown, especially in the last couple of weeks, and next summer, with some toys and boardbooks, it’s going to make a lovely place for a happy boy.

For now, we’ll just sit and watch the beans grow.

Since we have harvested the garlic and onions we have had nothing but rain.

I think this means there will be lots of clove-pealing in my future, and that our unspoilt spoils will be stored under oil this year.

(FB’s Grandad and Nana came to take us to lunch, and we took them to see how the allotment is getting on.  Between us we ended up harvesting black currants, the shallots, the garlic, corn, and beans. A huge help.)