Garden Myths?

I always plant French Marigolds in-between my Tomato plants; I'm assured that they attract the nasty bugs away from all my bug-sensitive plants. I have no idea if it really works, but I do it anyway.

I also used to plant Caper Spurge at Haddock's to see-off Moles and Mice. Again I have no idea if this actually worked, but I religiously followed the advice and suffered from neither.

Mint, Chives, Sage, and Basil, are also supposed to work anti-insect miracles, so maybe I'll replant some up amongst my Beans Cabbages and Carrots.

I'm sure many veg' gardeners out there will want to enlighten me about beneficial plantings. Mostly I suffer from White Fly and Aphids, so any 'tried and tested' suggestions against these pests in particular will be gratefully accepted.

At present I am using 'wildlife friendly' slug pellets (for obvious reasons), a very small amount of natural Guano fertiliser (it's very expensive), and I occasionally water my plants with a diluted savon noir (a glutinous soft soap) solution against bugs in general, which is not always successful. That's it!

p.s. The above photo was taken yesterday during a very brief period of sunshine, otherwise it's been bloody awful here.

The Naming of 'Bunny'.

One of the fun aspects of having children (or even grandchildren), is the choosing of names; this is also fraught with danger.

Grandparents all want their way; suggesting the names of their Mother/Father, Brother/Sister, or even their own names. Aunts and Uncles also want a say, and will possibly suggest something regal-sounding as befits a future Prime Minister or Brain Surgeon; which of course they are anticipating.

In our own recent case the young Cousins also insisted on being heard, and were disappointed when neither of their recommendations 'Chump' or 'Jesus' were chosen.

But the only ones who are really important in all this are the child's parents; and they usually surprise us with their common sense.

So in the future, on his driving licence, passport, and supermarket loyalty card, it will actually say.....

Aaron James Auriel 'Magnon'.

But to the family, and to this blog, he'll ALWAYS be known as 'Bunny'.

Not silver; but almost.

I'm sure most English people know about this, but for the few who may not.....

UK 'boot sales' are awash with boxes of grotty old cutlery which often contain serving spoons such as the above. These boxes are well worth the rummaging. 

These are not silver spoons, they are often made of a nickel silver alloy, but they are particularly well made and therefore there's no paper-thin plating to wear off and expose some nasty brassy/coppery coloured metal underneath. 

So how does one spot such spoons? Look out for the words Bengal Silver, or Sidney Silver, or Waratah Silver, or Nevada Silver, or Brazilian Silver. There are lots of similar names, and you'll find them on the back of the spoon in place of all those usual fake silver marks. (I tried to take a close-up pic of the names, but no luck)

I've owned the ones above for a very long time, and of course they were owned by others before me. None of them shows any sign of wear, whereas with other poorer quality spoons (which I wouldn't tolerate) the silver soon wears thin. 

Quality always shows, and, if you're lucky enough to find them, they can be bought for almost nothing.

I've yet to see a modern spoon that comes anywhere close to the beauty of these old ones. The 3 on the left, above, are a particularly favourite style, with the embossed shield between the bowl and the stem. They make life just that tiny bit more pleasant.

Barn Roof.

We're having a new tiled roof put on the barn; the old one was nasty corrugated bucolic stuff, OK for keeping the rain off tobacco or pigs, but not aesthetic for a 'home'.

Roofing is never cheap whatever country you live in, so choosing the right people for the job is of paramount importance. 'Cowboys' need not apply!

My friend 'St Theresa of the Floral Tribute' had recently used the guy we've engaged (Monsieur F), so he came well recommended.

The 3 man team have only worked for one day so far, and already they have stripped the whole south side, fixed new chevrons (the yellowy bits that go from top to bottom), and wisely covered everything with an impervious layer of reinforced-plastic before leaving for the weekend. The heavens opened 30 mins after they'd gone.

The roof will look very new when finished, but it will be good for at least the next 100 years. After much deliberation we decided to use mécanique tiles; these are interlocking clay tiles that mellow quite well, but it might take quite a while. In our area, inappropriate tiles stand out like nasal carbuncles; hopefully ours will not. 

Wood; 2016?

Call me impetuous, but I've just bought this big pile of split, metre length, Chestnut.

I don't know how much there is of it, nor do I know how much it will cost me. What I do know is that my friends José and his daughter Laurence will charge me the 'correct' price, deliver it, and stack it beautifully.

It's pretty dry already, but if I give it another two years, it'll be perfect. I have enough of both Oak and Chestnut to see me through the next two years, so this new load will simply be in reserve. God, that makes me feel good.

Oh how blessed I am with certain of my neighbours. What WOULD I do without them!

And it's all FREE; well, almost.

Aren't these bloody machines bloody wonderful.

I don't use my laptop for buying stuff; I leave that to Lady Magnon. In fact everything I do use it for is completely free.

Blogging is free; amazing.

Email is free; even more amazing.

Skype is free; occasionally that's pretty amazing too.

Google is free, Spotify is free, YouTube is free, Picasa 3 is free, Facebook is free, my daily weather forecast is free, the online newspaper I read is free, Wiki is free, and goodness knows how many other things are free too.

OK, I have to pay a paltry €29 a month to receive all these freebies; but what the hell.

And amazingly most of these companies manage to make millions, if not billions.

As Frank Capra said; 'it's a wonderful life'.....It sure is!

Veggie Wednesday 8: Spicy Roast Cauliflower.

                                    

When I first saw this recipe, I just had to make it. It satisfies my love of both Cauliflower and Curry in one easy step.

In a small bowl mix together 1 tablespoon oil, 1 small pot plain yoghurt, the fine zest and juice of a lime, 1 teaspoon of chilli powder, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 crushed clove of garlic,1 teaspoon of curry powder, 2 teaspoons sea salt, and 1 teaspoon of black pepper.

Spread the mix liberally over the upper part of a whole, de-leafed, cauliflower, and roast in the oven for about 35 minutes.

With Lady Magnon away, I shall be eating this for the next few days; but I have no problem with that.

I must admit that the above photo is NOT of the one I made (I wouldn't have those public lavatory style tiles in my kitchen, would I). I was so enthralled by the finished product that I forgot to photograph my version, and by the time I'd remembered, it was all a bit of a mess. However, it did start off looking like the above; but maybe a bit more orange in colour.

It was eaten with a simple leaf salad, and the obligatory glass of rouge. Yum.

This is my final 'Veggie Wednesday' posting. My own Veggie Wednesday regime will continue, and I'll now return to No 1. I'll probably go through the 8 recipes in turn; although some have been prefered to others.