Being invaded by triffids

As the weather is getting much colder and we had a lot of rain I decided it was time to plant yet again. We cleared a space from the myriad of weeds and got it ready for planting. I divided the seed packets - tomatos, beans, peas, carrots,peppers, chilli peppers, beetroot and parsnips - into two lots, half for Danilo and half for me. He says I don't know how to plant. I read my packets, and took careful note of spacing, depth etc and he just bunged his in the ground.

Here we are two weeks later.

His is the top half, where everything is sprouting, and mine is this end where absolutely nothing is going on at all. I could espit.

You may notice on the right side of this picture, there are some large leaves. We are being invaded by triffids, otherwise known as pumpkin or auyama in Spanish. They are taking over the whole garden, and I jest not. There are all sorts of rules apparently. You cannot touch them or point at them with your finger or the pumpkins die - you can use your elbow though. To find out if the pumpkin is good, you knock it with your fist and listen to the sound it makes. I can do that bit but have no idea what is a good sound and what is a bad one, but I make sure I impress the veg man when buying one by knocking it and nodding knowledgeably and saying, "This one is a good one," and he nods and agrees.

They grow like topsy, with lovely orange flowers and the best thing of all is that where there is a flower, later arrives a pumpkin. This one is the first to arrive and is about a foot long. I have no idea when you can tell when they are ready. No doubt Danilo will knock it to find out.

We will have hundreds methinks and luckily I like them mashed or roasted but if anyone has good pumpkin recipes please let me know. In the meantime I will practise my knocking skills as I will have plenty to practise on.

The rest of the garden is also going crazy and the poinsettia have also taken on a life of their own, with some over 10 foot tall now.

And every day more and more are turning red

We still have an abundance of avocados - I think though they will be gone in another month. They seem to have lasted much longer than normal this year.

And this week my best Dominican mate left for Nuevo Yol as they call New York. She and her 18 year old son have gone as it will be better for his education, although she promises me she will be back in April. She comes to stay every couple of weeks for a day or two and, in true Dominican style cleans my house from top to bottom and washes all of my clothes. She also cuts my hair and has been a great friend for the last 4 years. Magdalena I will miss you - and not just for the cleaning and washing!