A Well-Deserved Rest

This morning I was working in a sunny part of the garden and Rufus was trotting along, sniffing here and there.
Some of the brothers were walking around the garden, thinking about important things. The bees were buzzing in the flowers and a gentle breeze was swaying the grass.
I was looking up at an apple tree, asking myself when the fruit would be ready as it was getting pink on one side. That is a good sign usually..

When suddenly...'Woof! Woof!' Rufus darted off across the vegetable patch, weaving between the cabbages. He had seen something and now he was chasing it. What was it?
The brothers slowed down and looked over at us. They did not look happy. In fact they looked quite cross and as if they would rather not share their garden with a noisy dog!
(Sometimes they forget that without me and Rufus, they would not have anything to eat!)

Meanwhile Rufus had stopped right next to a large cabbage which had holes in the leaves. When I looked more closely do you know what I saw? About twenty or more green and yellow hairy caterpillars munching away on my cabbage!
In the distance two white butterflies were dancing away towards another cabbage to lay their eggs. That is what Rufus had been doing - chasing away the butterflies to try and stop them destroying our crop.

So that is why we went to sleep in the afternoon. It was warm and we had had a very nice lunch of bread and cheese and blackberry pie made by Brother Barnabas who was pleased we had saved all the cabbages.Can you see what is in my basket?

Rain in June

This morning I was busy picking chives to have in my scrambled eggs when it started to rain. Of course I am very happy when it rains because all the vegetables I am growing get watered, but it is not very good to work in, as it makes all the leaves stick to your tools and your clothes. My boots get muddy too and they are not very waterproof.
As I was walking back to my house I heard a 'Craw craw!' noise and there was Chalfont the crow hopping along beside me. He had had his breakfast of fat grubs the rain brought out of the ground and now he wanted to play.
'Come on Chalfont!' I said 'let's find something to do indoors.'
Rufus was lying on the straw on the floor of my house. He wagged his tail when I came in. 'Hello Rufus! I said 'Would you like to make something with Chalfont?'
We decided to make our own garden indoors with grassy mounds and trees. Rufus brought all the things we could use such as leaves and moss and twigs and Chalfont cut out the shapes with his beak.
It was almost as much fun as working in a real garden - though we did not get wet - and at the end we drank some delicious lemon balm tea and ate some biscuits with cheese.

Meeting Brother Barnabas and having a Cool Drink

It was very warm indeed today. Rufus had to lie down under the shade of a large tree while I ran around with my watering can. My lettuces, basil and parsley need water every day as they are under the sun. I get the water by dropping a bucket into a deep well in the garden. My habit (monk's outfit) is made of dark material and it is also very long, so that I feel as if I am being cooked like one of Brother Barnabas' loaves of bread! 
Rufus was not very happy either because he was too hot to chase birds and Chalfont the crow hopped about cheekily as if he was laughing at him. So later on in the afternoon I said to Rufus, 'let's wait on the path and see if our friend Barnabas comes to collect some herbs - maybe he will cheer us up!'

No sooner had we found a nice shady place to wait than along came Barnabus carrying a jug full of something. "Hello" he said "you look as if you could help me with trying out a new recipe for elderflower cordial!" Rufus wagged his tail in approval at the idea and I went to fetch some cups from my house. But when he had poured out the drink, Barnabas said we needed some things from the garden to put in it. He walked along the herb beds and the flower beds and he found forget-me-nots and borage flowers and chervil and he sprinkled them on top of our drinks. We sat outside my house and drank the delicious concoction. Rufus had some in his bowl too! We all agreed it was very nice indeed.

May in my garden

 Here I am, gathering some herbs to take to the Abbot. He has a bad cold due to all the rain we have been having this month. I am taking a bunch of sweet cicely, lavender and some roses which have just come out. Being in the garden always makes me feel very happy, so if I take him something from the garden, perhaps it will help him feel happy too.

In the garden I have a small black dog called Rufus to help me. Some of the brothers think he is rather a nuisance when he jumps on their habits with muddy paws, and sometimes he barks when they are having a nap in the garden. But he sleeps by my bed at night and in the daytime he is never far away from where I am working. I share my food rations with him, so it is lucky I have another good friend here in the monastery.

Barnabas is our cook. I go to see him every day to bring him vegetables and herbs for our supper. Now lent is over, we can have two meals a day. I get very hungry gardening so it is good that he gives me an extra piece of bread or meat for Rufus. 

As I'm working in 1383, I write my diary on parchment with a quill pen. I do a lot of drawings of my favourite plants and flowers. Sometimes Brother Barnabas gives me a recipe to note down or an idea for a soothing drink. I'll be adding these things as well as what I'm doing month by month.