Rejoice...

That you only get the visuals. this mornings' task set off us off on the topic of "What's the smelliest thing you've ever smelt?" Gently decomposing cabbages take some beating..

Ok; I'll grant you this may not be the most exciting 'vegetable farming in action' picture ever taken, but then this is reality. 

If you need endless sunny skies, skipping maidens in straw hats, constantly chirruping birdies, and permanently verdant acres you might be better off elsewhere.....

"My Big Book of the Countryside" is probably still available secondhand. 

Or, I believe there are quite a few telly progs available, that amount to pretty much the same thing.

However an appreciable amount work done in the very pleasant company of girl and boy Tuesday. Grooming cabbages.... Who knew that such such fun times were to be had?

It definitely had its' satisfactions from a seeing what you'd done point of view.

And there is always a quiet joy to be found in the humblest of purposeful tasks; especially if undertaken with presence; and in congenial company.

 Because of the unseasonably warm and wet weather we've had this year, the cabbages have suffered what could be described as a 'mollusc invasion'. So many wee beasties, that a large proportion have been rendered unsaleable. 

That's not unsaleable as the supermarkets would have it, our customers are aren't so superficial in their aesthetic judgement, but I don't think even the most nature aware folks could cope with this much wildlife turning up in their veg bag..

Oooooo you lucky pigs......

So it's off with their heads (don't fret Vogons that's the cabbages' bonces not the snails) and transport them slugs elsewhere, whilst they still reside in their Brassica Hotels.

The resultant stumps will actually resprout with rather toothsome cabbagelets. Ready in six weeks or so. If anyone needs a name for resulting greenery I call it 'Spring Medley'. 

In addition to having special dispensations as to inappropriate usage of apostrophe's, us virtual greengrocers are allowed to use whichever florid appellations happen to suit our mood....And produce. 

Compensations many, for the occasional malodorous encounter...

I was wondering what to do with the huge pile of stuff resulting, as we are technically "Between compost heaps"... It is on the jobs list.  It seemed a shame to waste them, in the hedge bottom.

So Girl Tuesday gets 'Joined up thinking; path of least resistance' (or shortest distance by wheelbarrow) gold star sticker for today. 

Fresh piggles are arriving in a few weeks, and they will have the most treemendous fun fossicking about in this pile, so we just heaped them up where they will be enclosed. But I'm afraid our porcine friends are partial to the odd slug or snail.They chew up the big crunchy ones like a kid with a bag of caramels... Soreee; squeamish people...

As a less drastic future solution against the slimy foe I'm hoping soon to get a fresh flock of lovey ducks (Indian Runners; they're the upright ones that look for all the world like wine bottles running around on webbed feet) 

For them there's nothing better than rootling about betwixt and between finding tasty morsels and converting them into golden yolked visions of wondrousness 

(Fresh duck eggs; if you'd lost the thread of the not altogether unfounded hyperbole)

The residue of the last flock, all four of 'em who were no longer laying, got rehomed on a pond in the next valley over ... With an island; to protect them from the fox... Apparently they swam off without so much as a backward glance. They probably thought they'd already died and gone to ducky heaven...So at least if the ginger one did get them in the end; they had a pleasant few days of retirement. 

Guaranteed crowd pleaser this one....

A narrow gauge railway, winter trees and sunshine, and a tiny steam train.... Oh: and chaps leaning on their implementation whilst they admire the smoke drift from their carefully tended fire...

These moments of downtime are vital, to chew the fat, plan the next move, mull over what you have achieved, and to see and appreciate what is right in front of your nose. Fragrant or otherwise.