I am always glad when a crafty person shares their garden on their blog because I really just love a good nosey at other people's patches so I've decided to include more allotment stuff here. You can always just skip it: in fact, a question - do you read blogs, or just look at the pictures?!  I find some blogs irresistible and read all the way through, and there are others which I just look at for the photos - usually bloggers with thousands of readers, so I doubt this admission would bother them.

Anyhow, back to the allotment.  Thing 2 is a diligent helper so she and I went down and picked the remaining soft fruit.  

Nobody but me actually likes blackcurrant jam very much so a few pots will be enough - I will have to find something else to do with them.  If you have a favourite blackcurrant recipe suggestions would be very welcome.

The last strawberries, picked in the sun - I wish you could smell them.

These ones got made into Eton Mess, which was eaten so quickly that there is no photo evidence.  Pictures of other people's dinners are really inspiring but it doesn't often occur to me to take a photo of ours!

We have still got rhubarb and apples to come, because I get the benefit of one side of a row of old apple trees - cookers and eaters - which separates my plot from the next.  I've just been reading Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's book Booze and found out that you can make rhubarb vodka, so that's next on the list - I will let you know how it goes.

I don't want to sound too like Barbara out of The Good Life (I always liked Margot best) so I'd better point out that my most successful crop at the moment is actually weeds.

Why I am a Slow Blogger

Thank you to Moira for hosting the Slow Blog Linky - I'm just linking up to make my excuses for the lack of creativity.  I managed to finish one project since the last linky but I am spending the summer holidays trying to be a Good Mother, attempting to keep on top of the weeds on the allotment, and working, so not much craftiness involved.

For the last week I did get to go skiving off to the mountains up North with my husband, without children!

Last year we actually managed to get up to the top of that mountain - this time we were looking at it from the top of something a little smaller.   The vegetation on top of our hill looked like this, heather and blaeberries.

It seems to be a particularly good year for them.  Nom nom nom.

We found this Emperor Moth caterpillar which made me think of the caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland, only missing a hookah to make him look even more psychedelic.

Further down, it was more meadow, with some beautiful orchids. I think this is the Fragrant Orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea) although it definitely was not growing on lime as described in my book.

Sneezewort (achillea ptarmica).

There were more beasties too - a shield bug, 

and a dung beetle.

Needless to say, it wasn't always sunny.

Slow Blog Linky

Hey Slow Bloggers,  are you up to your eyes in small children during the holidays, busy at work, failing to keep up with finish-alongs?

You can always link up with other slow bloggers - this month's party is being hosted tomorrow by the lovely Moira!