I have also been documenting all the post boxes and which cards go into which locations. Here are a few from the last week. Having placed all the images in, I find that I need to make these Month of Letters Updates a bit more compact.

Adding my new fancy, Postcrossing, into the mix and I’m going to have to get a full time job, as I feel like I’m single-handedly keeping Royal Mail in Business. Anyway, on to the pictures.

Painting of Harvington Hall

Blists Hill Letterpress postcard

(Henry’s been busy too, though he’s taken a break for some playdates and school)

Blists Hill Victorian Town General Shop

Harvington Hall

Bird's Crystal Jelly Powder

Painting of Harvington Hall

Painting "Coalbrookdale at Night"

I also seem to have run out of postcards. This could pose a small problem, but I’m sure the upcoming week will remedy that little issue.

Step 1: A Quick Survey of the Soil

Since we don’t have a lot of spare income to do any kind of soil testing or purchasing of cloches etc,  I hadn’t really spent much time in the Greenhouse. Late in the autumn I took a pile of leaves Henry and I swept up and placed them in the Greenhouse and worked in some compost from our compost pile. When I went up last week, it had decomposed a little but not much.

Yeah, lots of leaves still. However, it’s what we got and I’m all about working with what I have. Time to cover those old leaves up with something a bit richer.

Step 2: Check on the Compost

Off to the compost pile, around the corner.

Here’s our three stall compost area. Right now we have workable soil in the lowest bin, half used and the top 1/4 inch frozen with rich earth underneath. The middle section is accepting kitchen scraps and yard waste. We usually have a black tarp over it when it’s cold out but after I put a big bag of leaves on the top of the food, I thought letting it be exposed would help the decomposition. The top bin is one we finished up and covered around September of last year.

Right now there is a lot of “wood” sitting at the top, however if one peeks below a little bit, one can see a bit of earth. I have a feeling with a turn in the early spring and a good soaking and more decomposition it will be workable soil by May. This is just a estimate. I don’t know too much how composts work, however they seem pretty simple. I would like to understand the specifics of composting but honestly I can’t be asked at the moment. I’m finding dump food scraps from kitchen / throw in yard waste / repeat until stall is full cover and simmer.

Step 3: Replace the soil

I gathered the earth up and placed it over the leaves. I would say I put about 4 inches or so on top of the leaves and gave it a good dunking of water.

That looks better.

Step 4: Put on a Blanket

The soil is still chilly, and when I put in the Douce Provence the soil needs to be around 5C to keep the roots happy. Since I don’t have any plastic, cloches, or other ways to warm up the soil, I had a peek around and found some hay from last summer. When I pulled it out the the bag, the interior was actually kind of cosy. It came out in a big roll, so instead of breaking it up and creating a mess, I unrolled it over one side of the earth in hopes of making the dirt cozier over the next couple of weeks.

So we’ll see how that works over the next week or so. I hope to find some kind of thermometer to  see if that straw has done the trick. If so, I’ll move it over to the other side and do it again.

So, there you go folks, a wintery garden update. Just for you.

It was absolutely beautiful, walking up the Nimmings Path. Usually in the summer the path is teeming with people of all ages and abilities. The Nimmings Path is designed to accomodate a wheelchair or stroller up to the top of the Hills, so the way up is slow and steady with a very gentle grade. Today it was quiet, the snow falling gently in the trees.

When we reached the top, it was quite a bit windier and signifigantly colder, but the snow was indeed lovely. We looked at the plaques, but didn’t make it to the Folly Stones.

By about this time Henry was getting a bit fed up with being cold. So we headed back down the hill for some Hot chocolate.

The path back was quick, however colder than going up. Henry had a well deserved Hot Chocolate and fell asleep in the car on the way home.

As of 10:45pm tonight, it’s still snowing and frankly I hope it keeps it up. But for now, I say goodnight.

Goodnight.

We are both cold. Really cold (you know, considering where we are, and all).

Thursday, I decided (after my great journey) we would use the postbox across the street (prolly not for the last time this month, but I would like to mix it up a bit). It looks like this:

I love it how they are often just set into walls, or tucked into corners of buildings.

Henry is enjoying the actual act of putting the letter into the mailbox. Speaking of Henry, he’s been making some progress in his own Month of Letters. He hand delivered two letters at pre-school today, and mailed off one in the post with me. I have started to take some pictures of the postcards I have sent already, along with some of Henry’s creations. He, at times, wants to “help” with my letters and cards. I don’t seem to have too much of a problem with that. The more he gets involved, the better.

What can I say? Of course I put it off. Petrol is expensive. (That’s per litre, folks)

I didn’t tell Henry what it was until he opened the door (or I helped him). He knows that these red boxes are phone booths, but imagine his surprise when he saw that there wasn’t a phone, but books. (The kids books were below).

Henry chose out of the basket “How to Eat Worms“, a book I read when I was in grade school. Yes, it’s prolly rated for a 9yo, but I’m reading it to him, so we’ll see how it goes. I, on the other hand, chose something that looks like a true British Classic: “The Naked Nuns“

At least we have some good taste in the looks of book covers.

I believe I first saw this on Boing Boing, and thought it was a good idea (in a general sense). I never really have felt the need to participate in these kind of “daily internet challenges” that pop up: post to your blog everyday for a month, write a novel, knit an insane project in two weeks. Whilst all these challenges are Very Noble, and I’m sure quite fun and rewarding, they really haven’t appealed to me very much.

After a few days though, I kept thinking about all the people I could potentially send correspondence to. All the people I miss and would love a good reason to communicate with. Perfect. Let’s do it.

As an added challenge, I have decided to step it up a notch and include my son in the challenge. Whether he catches on or not, he will, if all goes well, be “writing” and sending out a letter or postcard every day in the month of February.

Although my rules are pretty standard — write and send a letter every day in the month of February (I’m adding a blind draw in the mix to reach out to some people I would love to, but have lost touch with for so long you get that *awkward* feeling if you do) — Henry can pretty much write and send as he pleases. I will make sure he sees me writing at least a part of my letters every day and I will encourage him to write and draw his own. He will also have the freedom to choose who he will send his letters to, and I will mail them with him in chronological order.

He already started off with a bang. Tonight as I warmed up my pen and wrote a letter to a person who I hold so very dear to my heart — so very close in my soul — Henry wrote to:

• A friend very nearby
• A friend very far away
• Some animals

(The author at work. And still a lefty for most things).

This is the one Sean is most impressed by. Henry, as many know, is OBSESSED with Minecraft and loves all things “‘sploding monsters”. So he drew one for his pal. Here is what a Minecraft Creeper looks like

Sean’s quite pleased about his blossoming visual recall.

As for me, my letters are less colourful, not as many markers. But #1 has been completed, and that makes me feel pretty good.

As you can see, week 1 and 2 are showing some results, and I’m quite impressed with that first growth on the left there from week 1. I’ll have a hard time deciding which of those two tall ladies I’ll have to “prick out” when the time comes. I’ve decided these have done so well, I’m going to plant the super early ones in the greenhouse while the later ones will be placed under cloches in our garden space out back. The final ones will be placed in the allotment, or planted outright in about 6 weeks.

In other news, I’ve planted some beetroot in tiny cells for transplanting in the greenhouse. Just as an experiement.

Oddly, I don’t remember the beetroot we bought last year being so crinkly. This stuff is ‘graded’, so perhaps this has something to do with it. (I’ll be making a page on beetroot this weekend)

If you’ve made it this far, thanks . We had a great time, and I look forward going back when it is a bit warmer outside. Although I was just wearing a cardigan and vest it was a bit chilly on those towers. After a good long look at any ancient structure it’s always good to warm up and talk about what you saw. Which is what we did.

Henry is now fascinated by the Fairy Tale of St. George and the Dragon, and is looking forward to his next Castle Adventure. He’s also well into floating his marshmallow soldiers one at a time.

And then gobbling them up, like the dragon who lives in the “pond as big as a lake“.