Rain relief

As you know I got very despondent about the state of the garden during the heat of the summer but in the middle of October we had a few days of rain and I started work on the vegetable garden.
I am very pleased with progress despite help from the kittens, the spring onions are up and growing well although I will have to sow a second spinach patch as the first has grown very patchy with early kitten scratching.
I have covered the carrot box, unfortunately I lost all the carrot seedlings due to enthusiastic digging so I have resown with lettuce and covered it with blue plastic netting. I think I will do the same with the spinach patch.
I have sweet potatoes in the ground and they didn`t grow terribly well during the summer but have now taken off and are flowering like mad. They have very pretty flowers like a small cream and pink morning glory.
I am not at all sure when they should be dug up but I have emailed a friend who grows them so should know soon.

Cat astrophe

Mimi in the sunshine showing her shaved side

I have been working on my vegetable garden although I got a bit down hearted in the heat of Summer and it took a while to get back my enthusiasm.
Mimi and Daisy have grown up to be very handsome cats and are endlessly amusing to watch. They have both been spayed so no more worries about more kittens, I couldn`t stand the strain.
They are  a bit of a pain in the vegetable garden however, Daisy really thinks I want her help and finds the water outlets on the pipes fascinating, she goes along patting at the water.
My lovely carrot box, they are sure, was put there as a posh outside toilet for them both and I am going to have some rather unpleasant work to do before I can use it again.
I have planted the onions about five times, they think it great fun to dig them up.
The spinach is a bit sparse because they have scratched up at least a quarter of it. I will sow some more and see what happens.
Mimi hasa very thick coat and is very like Merkel, she loves being stroked but has to lick you and Daisy has a silkier, finer coat and is a fantastic hunter.
Skopelos has had a problem with rats this year, some empty properties over run with them , but despite the chickens we don`t have a problem except for finding up to three rats in various stages of being eaten on the terrace.
When you go up to lock up the chickens you have to be careful not to lock Daisy in, she has worked out it is a good place for rat catching.
Merkel isn`t much better and here is a photo of her enjoying a rest on one of my seed trays, unfortunately full of busy lizzie seedlings.

Daisy after gardening