Part of the Making Winter series started by Silverpebble and Thriftyhousehold.

Actually it’s difficult to think about winter because today feels decidedly spring-like. The sun is shining and the forecast is for temperatures of 15^oc, which is a far cry from the snow and freezing weather of early February. The warmer weather makes me want to get outside and tackle all of the garden jobs that I’ve been too wimpish to face in the cold winds. But first I need to do a little planning, so this morning after the children went off the school I got out my seed box and started organising my veggie garden.

Sitting and pondering what to grow and where is one of my favourite end-of-winter jobs and a nice way to celebrate the arrival spring (oh please say we’re done with the snow for this year!)

So, after I finish my elevensies cup of tea and cheese scone I’ll be donning my wellies and heading off outside. The beds need tidying up after the weight of the snow dislodged the protective plastic and I’ll be digging in some chicken poo and composted kitchen peelings to top up the nutrient levels. Then comes the fun part of planting seeds into little coir pellets – they come as compressed discs and swell delightfully after you add water. Then they’re ready for you to drop in a couple of seeds and get the magic started!

Hooray for the end of winter (hopefully!) and for the start of making some delicious summer veg!

PS: The herb labels and green seed tidy came from Sarah Raven x

We’ve had some wonderful weather here for the last few days – a real Indian summer. Toby enjoys the garden so much when it’s warm and dry but because he can’t bear to touch wet surfaces and won’t wear shoes in the garden, it won’t be very long before he isn’t able to play outside anymore. So we’ve been making the most of this last blast of summer and filling the time after school with as many bubbles and as much bouncing as is possible!

We’ve even stayed out until sundown and been rewarded with some beautiful skies

I do hope that this winter isn’t going to be too harsh and we get some more bubbly, bouncy days to tide us over until spring arrives.

Have a lovely weekend wherever you are and please send any spare luck my way for tomorrow evening as I’m hosting Amy’s 12th birthday party sleepover. I have a feeling sleep may not actually feature much!