Wild Eve, January sunshine and seeds

I don’t do dry January. I never have. I drink a lot less than I used to since the menopause, which put paid to being able to live through the next day, but I still enjoy a glass of wine or two occasionally.

I blame living in France. A meal without a glass of wine was just unthinkable in French society and the habit has stayed with me.

One of the reasons that I’ve never stopped completely is the lack of a drinkable non alcoholic alternative.

Fizzy drinks are either too sweet or filled with artificial sweeteners which are even worse for your health. Fruit juices are now considered mainly to be fruit sugar, although back in the day a glass of apple or orange juice used to be considered healthy. Water is fine, but it gets a bit boring. Homemade cordials made from hedgerow fruit are delicious, but I can’t make enough of them to last more than a few months.

What was missing was something that felt a bit celebratory for a drink in the evening.

I found Wild Eve

https://asapoth.com/

A mix of botanicals and rosehips, this is made in small batches on the Isle of Harris by AS Apothecary. I sometimes have it on the rocks, sometimes as a long drink with soda water or sparkling water. It tastes delicious and it’s not too sweet.

It’s seen me through the festive season and I’m still enjoying it so I’ve just bought a couple more bottles to keep me going for the next few months. Result.

Now that the snow has cleared and the rain has stopped (temporarily) thoughts have turned to the croft and the growing for this year.

January sunshine has given us a boost and Hugh is out digging up the last of the winter vegetables so that we can mulch the beds ready for spring planting in a few months time. I suspect that the remaining beetroots will be far too woody to be edible, but we’ll see.

I wasn’t going to buy any more seeds but I couldn’t resist trying a selection from Seeds of Scotland, a tiny enterprise of two people growing their own seed based on plant varieties acclimatised to the Scottish conditions.

They’re at https://www.seedsofscotland.com

I’ve already got lots of lettuce seed, but who could resist something called Hyper Red Rumple Waved? It’s just not possible.

Let’s hope for a better growing season this year than the washout that was 2024. I’m hoping for extra outdoor beds and proper indoor beds to be built in the polycrub so that I can retire the lick tubs after four years.

And I haven’t given up on the squash growing. It’s got to be possible. All speed ahead with Red Uchiki Kuri and may the powers make it so!