Deployment day 1, and like anyone heading into battle it's good to have a plan. Ours being simple if not a little intimidating, to tackle the vessel of weeds, that were everywhere and anywhere. So with shovel and forks in hand we spent a good couple of hours weeding the garden beds that were already there, it's amazing what can be achieved in a relatively short space of time. 

We were able to free the 4 beds of weeds, and a number of rotten potatoes (such a waste). And it was amazing what a difference it made to the overall plot , whilst weeding we also uncovered some young raspberry plants and a patch of rhubarb (anyone for crumble).

We also discovered a magnitude of worms in each bed, denoting the soil is healthy which is great, it also acted as a source of entertainment for Sophie , who between pulling out weeds thoroughly enjoyed searching for the worm family (Daddy, Mummy , etc etc)

Jakey benefited from the fresh air and a healthy supply of snacks, from the comfort of his pushchair, keeping him entertained so we could make some progress, we certainly managed that!

Deployment visit 2, heading into battle with the same strategy, except this time it was to remove the largest weed of them all, and the thorniest,  the sprawling bramble Bush which had been left to grow out of control. Now armed with very thick gloves and some strong secateurs we managed to remove over half on this visit. 

We also had 2 beds each containing blackberry, raspberry and redcurrant plants, but the larger of these beds was half empty, so we decided to utilise the empty space and transplanted some of the neighbouring raspberry plants into it as well as the redcurrant and blackberry's,  meaning we now have 1 large bed solely for berries, and another bed completely empty ready for planting veg into. 

Having had a few days of hard frost, we also discovered a large chunk of ice, which I thought resembled the shape of a horses hoof, Sophie disagreed she thought it looked like a potty and offered a demonstration of how to sit on said potty to cement her idea, and I have to say I think she made an accurate observation. We all shared a laugh together, really cementing one of my beliefs, that it's those joyous snippets in time that really matter, simply priceless.