Friday, September 25, 2015

Poor sad little pumpkins

This year I planted some pumpkins on the upper tier of the garden thinking they would have some space and perhaps enjoy the view.  I was hoping to get at least 4 or 5.  I planted some cool seeds too - white ones and warty ones. After our wettest spring in recent history, they spouted and looked ready for action.  I was sure of my success.
 





After all the view from up here is fabulous.  Too bad the pumpkins were not inspired.
But alas, all is not right with the pumpkins.  After achieving a certain size, they just stopped growing.  And as for fruit, I have 1 tiny start that does not look like it will do much.  I guess the soil up there just sucks.  Oh well, next year I'll will try a different location.  As for this year, guess I will have to go shopping.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

In the middle of the forest...

Recently, on a vacation in the United Kingdom, His Lordship and I stumbled upon a magical place.  Driving through the new forest, we passed through the small hamlet of Burly.  Unbeknown to us, this little village has a very witchy legacy.


The first thing I noticed was that the town had two magic/occult stores.  That is unusual for anyplace, perhaps outside of Salem Mass. His Lordship was thirsty so I implored him to stop and look for a drink with the ulterior motive of getting a better look at these shops.

 
 
Whilst in the Witchcraft store, the proprietor informed me that Burly was the home of Sybil Leak, the mother of the modern Wiccan movement.  He had a short synopsis of her life and invited me back to Burly for their annual Halloween party, which he said would be nowhere near the breath of the celebration we have in the U.S.  Still it would be a cool trip.
 
 
Unfortunately, there was nothing that really caught my eye to purchase, which is too bad because I would have liked to take home a little reminder of Burly.  We did not even find a drink for his Lordship!  However, we did see ponies wandering around the parking lot - this is the New Forest after all and the ponies have the run of the joint!