Seed catalogues

I bought a gardening magazine and inside were some free packets of seeds and danger of dangers , two seed catalogues . one of them had several types of plants free if you ordered from it and it just so happens i love those .  Flowers in my garden and on my balcony are at the moment in short supply since with my heart problem i cant do much or i fall down . SO , i really shouldnt be looking . I found a fruit tree . A small one i dont have to climb for . well that makes sense right ? flowers in spring , fruit  in late summer , colourful leaves in autumn , no problem , no work . well . while im at it i could probably grow some garlic , we eat that a lot . and tomatoes of course . I found a trailing variety i could grow trailing down the balcony in between the geraniums . hmm . Then i saw some apricot begonias at a great price , they would look gorgeous in between the geraniums .  We could grow potatoes this year  , and maybe peas ... and before i knew it i was sitting with husband and a cup of coffee putting ticks on things .  So i called my mum and said , "do you want to go halves... " seems like im having  abusy year this year . Trouble is ... my garden is currently under snow so it will be a while . driving today looked like this..

I liked this..

And i painted this , the view of one of my trees from the window , i need to put some birds in , its acrylic on small deep box edge canvas .

Sticky snow :-)

special moment

I was having an evening unwind glass of alcohol and i suddenly wanted to go out onto the balcony , ive been ill for so long and my sense of fun came back suddenly . I stepped out in my bathrobe and stood in the semi dark as the fat flakes drifted down onto the snow coated boards . Some fell into my drink and i thought thats a novel way to get ice in it and suddenly everything was wonderful . My garden is so beautiful like this and even though i really want to sit out there with plants and flowers in spring im going to love every second of this . I LOVE SNOW  !  I came in when i stepped in snow too deep for my garden shoes and i got cold ankles but moments like that are what life is for , just watching the snow come down soothes me and exhilerates me all at the same time and the light is subtly different every time it snows . I have a painting on the easel part done that i hope to work more on tomorrow , if i finish it i will share :-)

Painting day

Its STILL snowing . Britain is in shock :-) At first we had the air from the North Polar region and now we have a Continental flow from Russia . I personally love it .  I have set up my easel right next to my balcony , I have floor to ceiling windows , and im watching the trees and birds . We have  a new pair of Chaffinches out there , the red is not as bright as the Robins and they glow with light from the snow . We have a Wren and Magpies and seagulls muscling in now , the feeders are constantly full . The starlings , Blackbirds and Bluetits are constantly squabbling . Im thinking of setting up another feeder . The Robin and Blackbirds are coming right up to the balcony now . My Balcony isnt the sane as most peoples that balcony garden , since i have a garden too and the balcony is ground floor . it just so happens the ground slopes under my house so there is a four foot drop from my back patio doors , and it was either steps out or something much more creative . We could not afford people to do it for us so we built it ourselves . The sturdiest Balcony EVER !  Its changed my life so much . I have coffee out there in the snow , the kids can play a few minutes after rain , i can just step out and beathe . Balconies should be compulsory . :-)
The plan for today is to create  a painting of a Starling in one of the trees at the bottom of my garden in the snow . Those trees change colour all day according to the light and its amazing to see . yesterday when the sun hit the snow on them they went pink .

MORE snow

This is the south east coast of England and we have more snow and more snow to come . we never ever get much and now everywhere is covered . Nighttime temps in some places have been minus 20 degrees C  thats as cold as Moscow. We have sun , then blizzard then sun .. and i was planning my spring garden .

My coffe spot . Usually .

The seed feeder is being filled up daily they just cant get enough .

Blue eyes :-)

The kids Swiss Hut , Being suitably Swiss .

STILL snowing

Today is a bad heart day , I have Vasovagal syndrome which means some days im exhausted . like today . I can barely see or stand so im sitting wrapped up in my armchair with a waterbottle and a blanket like an old granny watching the snow fall . Im melancholy and kind of loving it . i can feel the depression lurking because i have inaction but on the other hand im soaking up the weather into my mind to paint later so i am working , sort of . Im watching the birds , the Robin that thinks it rules the world is fighting with the Blackbirds , they are fighting with each other , the Pidgeons are trying to have sex on the fence , well , HE is , and the Starlings and sparrows are taking advantage of all this and nicking the food :-)
The snow is constant but tiny flakes and they are actually melting the thin covering of snow from yesterday . If it picks up it will start to lay again it must have warmed up a bot from last night . If i start to see big fluffy flakes or the wind picks up then we might be in for some serious stuff . Where i am has escaped most of the snow , we have less than a centimetre on the ground , roads are easily passable .

snow

It snowed on my unfinished decking this morning , this is before i walked on it .

Snow on my left over pine branches from christmas . And on my candles , in fact , IN my candles .
The birds were starving , i had to fill up the seeds and fat balls AGAIN and put put warm water for them . We have more snow and freezing temperatures on the way . This is the first real winter i remember in years .
Today I went to the farm shop . Ive been looking at other peoples food blogs and balcony gardens and i was imspired so i bought fresh fruit and veg and got cooking .  I did spaghetti bolognese with a fresh salad and balsamic vinegar dressing , then I did a spiced fruit crumble since it was so cold outside . Not the usual dinner and desert combination but i wanted to cook . It all tasted great except for the plums . The crumble was great but im never buying out of season plums and cooking them like that again , they needed much more sugar than i was willing to put in and plums dont usually , ive cooked with them often but i should have tasted one first . trouble as the door repair man came at the same time as my mother in law phoned and husband was out getting kids from school and i just didnt have time . so in it went , i will remember that recipe though . for another try later .

 I cant wait to start growing things on the balcony again , fruit and vegetables . last year i had Mint , Basil , Tomatoes , Grapes (we got two )  an aubergine that didnt fruit and a whole pot of strawberries that the kids ate faster than locusts can . Also some lettuce that got strabge eggs laid all over it , ill try that indoors i think .

Fluff on the balcony

MUM ! says my boy , there is fluff on the balcony . I shot up out of bed  , went slowly down the stairs as a good example , and then went quickly to the window . Yes , there was indeed fluff on the balcony . White , cold snow fluff :-)) and snow clouds looming . I adore snow . I live on the south coast of England so we dont see much snow , hardly any in fact and usually we watch the wether report of the rest of England under a foot of it and we have blue skies but today we have a sprinkling , and i love it . I sat in my chair by the window and ate my breakfast watching the birds on the feeders ,then i felt sorry for the blackbirds since they cant reach them so i threw them out some bread .  Today the depression is in abeyance which is a relief the past week has been hard . Very hard but today im feeling free .
I also spruced up one of my Geraniums im attempting to overwnter , it looks a bit sorry for itself i think i need some liquid fertilizer for it it hasnt had enough sun . The other plant im a bit worried about is my Orchid . I dont know anything about Orchids . It was white when i bought it and it flowered for weeks but its in an orchid pot , if i water it drips straight through to the pot and then sloshes about in the bottom , so the plant looks floppy but its sitting over water . Huh ?  I know thats its natural state , its  a rainforest parasite but it ought to get itself organised . i\ need some feed for that too but i cant afford a trip to the garden centre yet , i DARNT go it will have sales on and i always spend too much in the sales . ;-) This is my morning coffee time where i take time for me . having three small kids means i dont get much but its just me and my boy today . Since he fell down the stairs i want to have him near .  I want more snow ! but then i dont , because my dad has liver cancer and needs an operation sometime in january , we need to get him to hospital in London for that so i want lots of snow but i want the roads clear for when he goes please . And then i think of all the other people that need to get there ... and thats why i have depression , i worry so much , i must try to be a little selfish but its alien to me . i learn i learn... today , this morning , right now is beautiful . thats enough ,.