Last week we had some very interesting weather, a couple of really stormy, windy wet and grey days with the odd bit of sun in between. It was also fairly cold, so I didn’t get out in the garden as much as I thought. The picture below is the grey, rainy view from the house for most of last week.

I did spend some time in the tunnel and last Wednesday I spotted a couple of bumble bees that were brave enough to come out between the stormy and rainy days. They were checking out my blooming rocket in the tunnel (see below) and also investigating the first dandelions to come out nearer the house. It always warms my heart to see them.

Meanwhile, the girls (the ducks, pictured top) had decided that having over two acres to roam in, and they never really roam far, just wasn’t quite enough. The grass must have seemed greener in the neighbors field, because they kept finding ways through the fence to get in. So, Tuesday afternoon was spent applying chicken wire to the gaps and then seeing the ducks find their way through anyway. That’s ducks for you.

Due to wind and rain they stayed penned up for a couple of days after that and so have made their pen a right mud pit (see below). I really should move the pen to a new location this year anyway. I have four sections that it rotates between. I keep thinking about whether to try to plant duck forage plants in these areas. Watch this space for more on that.

Anyway, my second attempt at re-patching the fence later last week has proved more successful than the first, for now at least.

This week I’ll continue checking the beds in the tunnel for couch grass and maybe adding a bit of compost on top of the soil, but under the straw (otherwise it would just become a luxury cat toilet). The beds are looking pretty bare, but they’ll fill up with transplants during the spring and I’ll some seeds directly too. More on my planting plans in the next post.

I also have another plan for cheering up the bare looking beds that I’m playing with. All will be revealed before the end of the week.

That’s all for now from a chilly, overcast but dry St Patrick’s Day in County Leitrim. Celebrate well if it’s a holiday for you. At least the kiddies in the parades aren’t being rained on, even if their knees might be going slightly blue with the cold.