I’ve had a whirlwind few weeks starting a new job and now… I’m off to Japan! I won’t update while I’m gone so won’t be posting for a few weeks. The house renovations are still in progress but we had a good deadline of getting some things ready for the people who are staying here while we are away.
These are pictures from a lunchbreak at the botanic gardens a few days ago.
For the past two years I have been commuting from Oxford to out-west in the Cotswolds, but now I am about to start a new job that is situated in the heart of Oxford. Of course I’ll be back in the Cotswolds from time-to-time on the weekends, but I thought that before I leave this landscape I should do a round up of some of the pictures from my commute and the extensive walks I have taken in every direction from the office. So here it is…
From the post: Little Milton Fete and Charlbury
From the post: Sun
From the post: To the shop and back again
From the post: Exploring
From the post: Wilderness Festival
From the post: Foggy sunrise
From the post: a lunchtime stampede
From the post: sheep paparazzi
From the post: Near my work
From the post: Lomo foggy mornings
From the post: you know
From the post: sunrise
From the post: Next day in the life
From the post: early mornings
From the post: Little Horse
From the post: A commute
From the post: Sunrise
From the post: hoar frost
From the post: stick
From the post: before spring
From the post: spring
From the post: Cotswold Snow
From the post: Grey skies
From the post: we have snow
I have also made a new topic category ‘Cotswolds‘ that shows all the Cotswolds posts of the last two years. There are going to be a lot less pictures of sheep on here! :)
We met our allotment neighbour! She seems nice and a good knowledgeable person to have as a neighbour. Today was our first attempt at rushing down there after work. There is a lot of digging and weeding to do, more than can wait for the weekends. Simon helped me by starting on the next section I want to clear. There doesn’t really seem to be too many bad weeds – just couch grass (elymus repens) or squitch grass to give it its local name. There is a local road called Squitchy Lane after the grass.
I took these as we were leaving as the sun was setting. The first is Port Meadow from by the gate, and the second is across the allotments from the far side from our allotment. We took the long way round to the gate via the compost bins to see what the other side of the allotment is like. I tried to see which is my friend’s allotment but I couldn’t quite figure it out, we will have to meet there to show each other our plots. On the way out we passed right through the middle of the allotment site so got to see many more plots than I’d seen before. There are over a hundred plots and with lots of people having half plots the industry and variety of the plots is very inspiring.
I got my allotment!!! :) I was on the waiting list for almost a year as it is a popular location. I got to chose between two plots, this is the one I picked. It is a half plot. It is all this strip that goes from the near posts, to the right, beyond that right hand paved path to the scrubby bushes in the distance.
Here is from the other angle. So it is from these bushes, and beyond where my spade and fork are, to the posts in the distance. The other side of the plot isn’t mine.
These scrubby bushes are actually some raspberry bushes, I don’t know if they are summer or autumn fruiting, I guess I’ll find out.
I’ve started the clearing work. I spent a few hours digging and filling one of those big blue IKEA bags full of weeds and dragging it to communal compost pile five times. There are still lots of roots I have to rake out but it is some progress.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
What is particularly nice is that it is right by Port Meadow (which I’ve taken pictures of lots of times like in the snow and in the sunshine). There is a possibility that the plot will flood in the winter and there might be a slight shade late in the afternoon from the trees but I think it is worth it to be right by the meadow.
Here is the compost pile :D
