Author: N W

I was absolutely sure that I had courgette sees left over from last year: I only sowed two seeds, and there must have been more than that in the packet. Nevetheless, there was no sign of courgettes in the seed box when I looked.

I’ve now ordered a replacement pack. It’s a sad state when the postage costs as much as the seeds! I’ve gone for “Soleil” again, as it was a success last year, with a genuinely compact bush habit, tasty yellow fruit, and quite prolific. I’m giving up on green courgettes, as they never do quite as well here, though I’ve tried several varieties.

I’m all in favour of snowflakes – whether it’s in a vase on the coffee table, or online being berated by the uncaring and addle-pated.

No nap this afternoon. I needed to de-flea the bedroom, which means leaving the powder on the carpet for a couple of hours. Then the hoovering it all up, and then thoroughly ventilating to avoid sleeping in an atmosphere of insecticide. Bedroom and bathroom windows and doors fully open, and front bedroom door and window as far as it normally goes … hopefully, not cold enough to upset the plants in front of the window there.

The first few daffodils have opened, to greet a mild and overcast morning. They’re in the pot by the French window, so I see them from my armchair – the ones in the front garden will be a few days yet.