In summer I keep my neighbours in home grown heirloom tomatoes and in autumn I am rich in apples and foraged walnuts, mushrooms and quinces that they give me. I feel so fortunate.

It really is an excellent #tomato year.

It’s my 6 year allotmentversary. On this day I sent Andrew this photo (he was in A&E after a motorbike accident) and told him this was totally fine! It’s not as lush today as usual, the drought has been hard, but it’s better, and I did it all myself (he died the following January). #allotment #widow

It took me 2.5 hours to sort out the chaos of 40 tomato plants in my tiny yard this morning. It turns out they do quite well if you abandon them for 2 weeks with auto irrigation. Rewarded with the first ripe Artisan Golden Bumblebee. #tomato

Got this really cool, ghostly picture by accident the other day in Dillon Beach, CA. It is a Heermann's gull with both it's shadow and reflection. #birds

Home from a lovely European adventure mostly by train to the Hungarian Grand Prix via Paris and Vienna. Now I can settle down and watch the race. It’s fair to say you go to F1 to see it, feel it and smell the burning rubber, but the race can be hard to follow. #F1

Out of office on. It’s full time motorsport (tv then travel then live) for the next couple of weeks. #F1 #F2 #F3

You know you spend too much time in Spain when you're refreshing your languages to try and be polite in upcoming holiday and you think "what's French for por favor?". There will definitely be Spanish, my default foreign, accidentally slipping in with attempted French, German and Hungarian.

I hope these Jersey Devil tomatoes stop expanding and start ripening soon! #tomato

Post work door-to-door courgette distribution to the neighbours successfully completed, it's still early enough in the season that they answer the door to me when I'm trying to get rid of excess produce.

Pitched my tent in a field at Silverstone, lounging under a tree and there’s a bunch of some kind of Hairstreak butterflies at the top of the ash tree in mature hedgerow above my head. I don’t have my binoculars. This is a tragedy. People are looking at me funny, wondering why I’m staring at a tree.

We have lift off from the garden ant nests and the hundreds at gulls in the sky above are having a great day #FlyingAnts

Colleague "you eat a lot of salad". Wait until she sees how much courgette I find myself eating #allotment #growyourown

That’s an onboard view that makes the heart stop a bit. #f2 all hail the halo

First allotment (school night) beer of the year, while I contemplate the consequences of none of my courgette plants getting eaten by slugs for the first time ever and now having approximately 6 times as many as a person needs. #allotment

Isn’t she lovely? A Painted Lady in my little yard just now, sunning herself out of the wind. #butterflies

Why wouldn’t a ceasefire start at the same time for both parties in a conflict? Is that normal?

I’ve had outstanding care from my local pharmacist today. medication, advice, what to look out for and told to go back tomorrow for antibiotics if it gets worse, but the insect that bit me and caused my entire (no exaggeration) forearm to swell can do one. Even air hurts.

“Si la vida te da limones, haz limonada” Los limones que me da la vida:

Good job the “no more foreign wars” guy won the election.

You’ll be too young to remember, but there was a time when you could wake up as many as three mornings in a row and not find the world had lost its fucking mind.

Every mention of the new F1 film makes me cringe as I remember (correctly) refusing someone access to the paddock and pits at Silverstone and not realising that it was (an amused) Brad Pitt until I watched the race back days later.

The latest charts for Weds-Thurs are the stuff of dreams for those interested in insect dispersal - all roads lead north! #teammoth

In hindsight planting out 100 baby veg after work was ambitious but I did it, and the wildflower planting in the park looked glorious in the evening light when I came home. The allotment is now pretty full, let’s hope the slugs leave some plants alone this year!

Cracking weekend working at the #MotoGP at Silverstone, the fans and teams were without exception lovely and while its a new sport to me and I didn’t know any of the riders or teams at the start of the weekend, I learnt a lot from the fans and it was really fun to watch. I think I’m a fan.

I’m really enjoying MotoGP, Andrew was a biker and would have jumped at the opportunity to be here so I’m learning about 2 wheeled racing. I’m lucky this holiday job puts me in a prime spot to see the action. I think I could be a fan. #motogp

The calm before the storm. I’ve pitched my tent, it hasn’t yet rained, I’ve brought myself to the pub where there is indoors, a chair to sit in and cold wine, I won’t get another opportunity until Monday. #motogp

I know my outfit was on trend today because the lad at the self check out asked me for ID, then I turned around and we both laughed really hard. He did say “only just” by way of compensation 🤣

Gary was somewhat sceptical about my plan to get my baby plants to my allotment this morning. It’s just how I roll. #allotment

2 hours well spent making a really good biryani, just a shame there’s no one else here to enjoy it. Ah well, I’ll eat well all weekend #widow

Don’t get too excited everyone, no doubt it’ll be an entirely cricket based episode tomorrow #TheArchers

Allotment isn’t looking too bad today. I often wonder if I come across people I talk to online in real life. If you were at an allotment this morning and heard a middle aged woman swearing and ranting at an ungrateful bee that stung her, that’d be me #allotment

Not today Peggy, I’m already overwhelmed by the news! #TheArchers

An obliging female Adonis Blue at Durlston NNR. @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social

New baby pest controllers! And some of my healthy bindweed forest. The compost bin is full of adult Slow worms, I found 14 adults and babies on my plot today without really looking. I’m very lucky to have them. #allotment

There should be a team/ constructors penalty for an unsafe release as unsafe as that one. #F1

Ah the pre-election period, I can’t comment on politics so here is my cat thinking she’d tough out the rain then deciding to run for cover. Obviously the rain is entirely my fault in her eyes. If it could just be enough to mean I don’t have to go to the allotment at 6am I’ll be happy

By 30/4/2023 I'd seen 11 species, 2024 it was 10. This year with Small Blue at Prestbury Hill, Gloucs yesterday it's 23. Remarkable. @bc-westmids.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social @ukbutterflies.bsky.social

His grace, the Duke of Burgundy. Prestbury Hill, Gloucestershire 30/4/25. @savebutterflies.bsky.social @ukbutterflies.bsky.social

Since Andrew died I’ve not been able to concentrate to read, I used to always have at least 2 books on the go and read all the time. It’s apparently not uncommon in widowhood. Tonight I’ve read for nearly 2 hours, and I’m going back in for more. This is a really big thing for me #widow #grief

The Syrian Arabic word for a hamster is أبو جراب (abu jrab), where jrab refers to a pouch/saddlebag/tote. And abu often means “father of,” but can also function as a general honorific (like “mister”). So it’s not too big a stretch to say the Syrian Arabic word for a hamster means “Mister Saddlebags”

I’ve just seen a rabbit rescue say that because Easter is coming up they are already getting enquiries from parents wanting to buy rabbits as Easter presents. When told that they are an 8 plus year commitment and need a lot of space they were hung up on. Absolutely boils my piss

‘Distant Rain’. Yes, I did get a soaking soon afterwards. 🙂 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The #Camino Primitivo was incredible. Completed with my amazing 76 year old dad whose slow and steady approach outlasted several younger, fitter pilgrims. I always miss the Camino when I return home but it’s really nice not sharing a bedroom and often shower with strangers! #ultreia #peregrina

I’m on a farm in Spain, staying in a truly luxurious hostel, being fed more delicious local food than it is possible to eat, and now the shots of local spirits have come out. I think I’ll stay here for a week and then get the bus to Santiago #Camino

Dad and I conquered La ruta los hospitales on #Camino Primitivo today, we had perfect weather for it.

I’m nervous #F1 #Formula1

Guardians Asturias, Northern Spain

Fools Spring was conveniently at a weekend so the allotment got a lot of love. The frogs have left but the spawn is developing nicely.

I’ve attempted Ramazan pidesi, a bit of an effort considering some of it is about to be İskender kebab, but it’s delicious.