Zinnias, green beans & Security Cats.

Hello Friends,
Well, how's this for a lovely zinnia?

I could fancy putting a streak of exactly that colour in my hair. Zinnias are so cheerful. Have to hold my hand up & admit, however, that this isn't one of mine. It was a gift from my good friend Hel. And a good thing too, as I am cursed when it comes to Zinnia growing, despite really liking them.

Every year, this is what happens:

1. Mum give me a packet of zinnia seed.
2. I sow them in my greenhouse with my usual Spring optimism that this will be THE year.
3. They germinate. 
4. They become strong little seedlings. (I am planning my summer containers at this point..........)
5. I go down to the greenhouse & discover an Evil Snail has eaten them ALL overnight.
This is despite the greenhouse door being closed in early Spring & regular mollusc patrols performed by Yours Truly.
This year's Evil Snail was worse than ever because it ate only the leaves....but all of them....so that I was greeted by an entire tray of perfect little sturdy upright stems with no hope whatsoever of re-sprouting. Said mollusc was later discovered tucking into a marigold for dessert & was launched into space with my throwing arm.........a better fate than ending up underneath the Bigger Hairier Half of the Relationship's Size 11s......& far better than it deserved.
So that, yet again, was the end of my patio tubs bursting with tootie-fruity coloured zinnias (except for this one!)

Veggies doing quite well. I grew climbing French beans this year, instead of my usual runners. Just fancied a change & had been getting a bit of pea & bean wilt. I chose a variety called 'Fasold' & so far they're earning their keep. I've got 2 bags blanched & in the freezer, we've eaten quite a few & they look like they're going to keep coming for a while yet.

I only popped out earlier to see if there was a small handful to add to a stir-fry & picked a colander full, then as many again. They're quite attractive plants with lilac-coloured flowers, which so far, the Naughty Sparrow Army has left alone in favour of peanuts for a change!

It's that time of year when cats seem to do a lot of swaggering around outside their house getting all territorial. Now, Albert Whiskers is without his love nuggets but this hasn't stopped him spending a large proportion of his time guarding his property. Big Grey Fluffy rarely wobbles his way up our end of the street these days & most of the local cats are too small & insignificant to bother with, but there are one or two.........a very large exotic-looking lad (maybe a Himalayan?) who lords it up & down the street despite living elsewhere, & Splodgy who has put on some size now........I'm not surprised given his skill in silently sneaking through neighbouring cat flaps & sinking his robbing gob into dinners that are not his own, So this is how Albert Whiskers has spent most of today. If he had a little high-vis jacket, he could be an actual real Security Cat.

 This behaviour will continue until all Cats Who Have Annoyed Him have stopped their silly nonsense & gone home!
And now I must get wokking those green beans.
Cheers all,
C x