Tuesday was quite eventful.

Fingers crossed the carrot fly won't get my carrots this year .. I've sown chives & spring onions on one side, & have onion sets the other, that's supposed to deter them. I read somewhere that putting cling wrap around the bed can help prevent carrot fly as well. I do have an industrial sized roll of cling wrap that I used to wrap my suitcase,  when I was to-ing & fro-ing from Thailand. Who'd have thought I would be using it on my veg patch 5 years later .. certainly not me.
My usual early breakfast, then I decided to have a go at turning the grassy bank that runs along the outside of the property. Someone got their measurements wrong I reckon. The bank which is approx 1mtr deep & runs the length of the rear garden & garage would have been far better on the inside of the wall but hey ho. We only rent the property,  been here just over 2 years, I've gradually planted up the garden as I would like it, one area was completely blank when we took it over as an area of rotten decking had been removed, we can see most of the garden from the lounge as we have floor to ceiling glass for much of it which is lovely. I digress .... so I got my fork, rake, & garden pick & set to. The ground turned fairly easily, I did'nt want to remove all the grass as it will still be strimmed twice a year, but hopefully, fingers crossed, add some plants attractive to wildlife & colour for the summer by sowing a mixture of annual seed that I have harvested. Pot marigold, nasturtium, phacelia, Welsh poppy, echium 'blue bedder',  plus some wild flower seed collected from the hedgerow. They were all scattered along about a third the bank. This turned easily so rather than struggle with the next section stopped. I don't want to struggle with it, it might not work. That job did'nt take me too long.
Off to the allotment next, kitchen waste  in the composter, I checked if any more turnip seedlings had been munched. Nope! Something has nibbled a couple of the freshly transplanted pea seedlings. GRH!! Fed the birds, 2 robin fledglings were quickly joined about the local rat community. :-( Mummy Robin is still sitting tight in the garden shed. I could just make out her tail feathers sticking up in the nest. Next check for weeds. The chipped bark mulch makes a big difference. Picked the nettles adding to the  composter. A dead cock pheasant on the ground in the field behind the plot.
Next Jorgiesmum's to  change the paper in the bottom of the parrot cages. Missed a phone call on the way over. Rang back when I arrived at Ideford. SOS from Mum. Washing machine water coming up in the kitchen sink and  bathroom shower tray. A quicker than planned visit with Stan & Lucy who were both very subdued. Got Stan's tray changed easily but Lucy put a spurt on to get down the inside of the cage when I'd pulled the tray out .... I did'nt have time for any avian antics so managed to avert. Paper replaced, tray slid back in just in time. Phew! Done!
Back home, dropped off the newspaper, told hubby where I was off to. That did'nt go down well. Bye, see you in a while.
THE SMELL :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( That was definitely a 5* for ponginess. Would'nt like to be plumber. What to do. Mum's next door neighbour, who is a retired builder was outside doing a bit of carpentry, so I casually enquired about his plumbing knowledge ... :-D Result! He came in, took a look, we located the  outside drain cover, lifted it with a bit of difficulty. It's got an inset for paving so that the cover actually blends in with the patio, which makes it heavier, Steve has a bad back so the last thing we wanted was him to do any more harm, WHOA!! A stick & bucket of water solved the problem immediately thank goodness. I put a measure of soda crystals in the washing machine & ran that on 60deg, & left Mum with instructions to put a measure of crystals down the wash basin, toilet, & kitchen sink at bedtime.
Back home again .. a frosty reception. Time to garden ...

Thanks to freespiral for hosting Tiny Tuesday