BACK IN THE COVID - The Lockdown Diary Day 25

Dear diary, I am a little late on parade today, sorry about that. After our exertions of yesterday I was cream crackered and not up to all that thinking after all that doing. Not to worry, as you can see progress is good and a major milestone has been reached. We now have a ‘productive’ area slap in the middle of our tiny piece, our 0.66 acres of England, double dug, fertilised and enriched with leafmold matured for 9 years. While I was emptying the bin I recalled that when I built it and started  composting leaves I had an ileostomy bag. Now that’s what I call optimistic! In these images I am also showing off the shear magnificence of this stuff, it took 9 years to make, but the 2011 turned out to be a cracking vintage.




We collected together the ‘productive’ plants already growing which includes fruit trees in tubs (on the left) transplanted clumps of chives and finally planted two crowns of rhubard given to us by our neighbours behind us last year. Time alone will tell how we get on. More later.

Back in the day, when El, aka Yahweh in later times, was head goncho (my word) and held sway over his pantheon of late bronze age, West Semitic gods, his consort Ashtoreth had her day of annual renewal when the seasons turned into spring and the cycle of life was started over. A resurrection, regrowth, spring fertility rituals and festivals have figured in all belief systems for thousands of years in one continuous line of traditions largely because life on earth depended on it and life on earth was totally ignorant of the science and biological mechanisms which made it happen. It is still a great time of the year. Full of optimism, freshness, rebirth and fertility. Happiness seems to be forcing its way out into every corner of our lives and worlds. Let it, love it, we need all the optimism that’s going. So whatever is your preference, happy Oestre day, Ishtar day, Ashtoreth day, Astarte day, Aphrodite day or Easter day go for it, have a good one, celebrate the renewal of life and be confident that there are better times ahead.