Morning Strawberry Raids

We have thieves in the garden. I suspect there are two of them, raiding the strawberry patch early in the morning and then slinking in with wet feet, sticky hands and happy faces. They take every berry that is even remotely red and leave me devastated when I check later in the day. But it is worth every strawberry when they lead their grandfather to the patch and excitedly share their loot with him.

Everything else is slowly growing up, out and all around. We have had a few losses this year as it has not been the best growing season with a hard late frost, strong winds and very dry conditions.We grow what we eat, what grows well seasonally in our soil, and what we love. Our staples are potatoes, onion, garlic, parsnips, carrot, beetroot, celery, salad greens, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, leeks, peas, beans, berries and orchard fruit. I also make sure to plant some flowers for cutting, and some for the insects. Poppies, cosmos and single dahlias are wonderful for this, as well as the borage, nasturtiums, and calendula that self seed freely between rows.

In another few months the garden will be completely different, with the flowers dwarfing the vegetables, the early potatoes ready to be pulled, bees and butterflies competing for flowers, and more veg ready to be harvested. Although, with two little thieves on the loose, who knows what we will have left to harvest!

This post is dedicated to my beautiful cousin in QLD who leaves me voicemails that make me laugh and homesick all at once, and asks about our sheep and our garden. x