Saturday 27 March 2010

Time to Work

Planting time is running full steam and I've been battling with trying to dig the garden over (and kinda losing) last year it was so much easier as a friend came with his rotovator and went over the previously plowed land quite easily so I could just happily plant away - this year however, he's busy working so it's down to yours truly to get it done without machinery!

The piglets are doing great and love getting out and about when they can, turkeys are laying well and the horses and donkey are enjoying the spring grass that's growing like mad now the temperatures have risen. Easter is next weekend and we'll be celebrating it Bulgarian style, with dyed eggs and sweet bread etc.  We have guests arriving for a week this Monday to stay in our bungalow and explore the village etc which will be nice. It's that time of year when people start thinking about holidays and also property hunting in Bulgaria so maybe we'll have some more bookings this year.

There are a fair few properties for sale in the village and I'm often asked by a local if I know anyone wanting to buy - so if you're interested please feel free to let me know what you're looking for and I can make some enquiries.

Tuesday 23 March 2010

Shopping

Today I've been out and about to do some much needed food shopping (again!) and into the large town for a few things too, most of which I managed to sort out but some I'll have to do on another trip.

It's nice to get out of the village (and my wellies) for a while and I even managed to put a little bit of makeup on and dress in smart clothes. The horses and donkey weren't too impressed as they stayed in for the morning while I was away from home but it hasn't harmed them at all. I did manage to give Maya a fright though, I'd stupidly left my wellies outside overnight and it had been raining - so rather than have cold, wet feet I put carrier bags on inside the boots....good idea I thought, horse just didn't agree!

Soon we'll be putting the winter boots and clothes away until November and I'm really looking forward to pottering about in sandals or flip flops again. I've already started to tan after the couple of sunny days we've had and the layers are being stripped away like the skin of an onion!

Which reminds me - must get some onion sets and garlic in the ground ASAP, plus sort out the peas and beans to go in. Today I bought a small lemon tree in the cash & carry, plus an equally small olive tree so they need to be re-potted tomorrow but kept in the house for a few weeks until all risk of frost has passed. I also bought a few more varieties of peppers and tomatoes to try out - will let you know how they get on later in the year.

Sunday 21 March 2010

Busy Bees

We've been quite busy the last few days and outside working while enjoying the mild and sunny weather. The garden is looking a lot better as we've cleared away the rubbish, pruned some of the trees and generally just made a start on things.

It's been so warm that hubby has managed to wear shorts and we both caught the sun, him turning a lovely golden brown while I'm pink! I've sown some herb seeds outside and planted more lettuce, done some weeding where I'd like to have a flower garden and pruned back some of the plants that have made it through the winter. So progress is being made at last.

Today I'm having a day of pottering about and hoping to get radishes planted and possibly part of the garden turned over to plant peas and broad beans in. There are still some wet patches in the garden so we can't yet rotovate it but soon there'll be all manner of things growing and my internet time will be shorter as I spend more time outside.