Sunday 15th March 2020

One word, five syllables... coronavirus! Things seem to have developed remarkably quickly, and on Friday a state of emergency was declared in Bulgaria. As of today there are 41 confirmed cases and two deaths, but the worry is that Bulgaria is predominantly an elderly population and they have been the ones most vulnerable to the virus. Supermarkets, chemists, banks and petrol stations are remaining open, and possibly clothing shops for some reason, but as far as I know everything else is supposed to be closed. Fast food places can only offer a home delivery service, and hotels too are supposed to just do room service. Public gatherings of any kind are banned and large fines or prison are threatened for people deliberately flouting the rules. Police have already had to shut down some nightclubs in Sofia which had stayed open, and four lorry drivers were arrested for breaking quarantine. The state of emergency is to last a month initially but I'm sure the situation will be constantly reassessed depending on developments.

When I was in Kaufland carpark last Monday, the day after the first confirmed cases in Bulgaria, I suddenly had a big red microphone thrust into my face. It was a news reporter interviewing people who looked like they'd been overbuying. Was I panic buying in light of the arrival of the virus in Bulgaria? Thankfully my trolley had a lot less in it than if I'd been doing my normal 'big shop' so I was able to say that no, this was just some normal shopping and that I wasn't worried about coronavirus. I must confess though, in the ensuing days I've been regularly checking for news updates and reading up on the signs and symptoms. Dangerous stuff as last night I felt a bit cold - oh no, was this the start of an illness?! Of course not, fool, it's more to do with the weather going from 21 degrees, sunshine, shorts and t-shirt on Friday, to sleety snow below zero on Sunday. Get your thermals back on and stop panicking.

The recent spate of lovely weather has kick started my gardening, and I've just noticed this morning that the first tomato seedlings are poking through, along with brocolli and cabbage. It's quite exciting having a brand new garden at this time of year as I keep studying the emerging shoots to see what I'll have. There have been tons of pretty white snow drops all round the edge of the front garden, and now there are tulips pushing up. There are also lots of pink primulas starting to flower, and up in the little meadow behind the barns I've got small clumps of daffodils.

I went up there on Thursday to strim it all for the first time, as there are grand views of the mountains from there and I think it would make a lovely place to sit at any time of year and look at the views or to watch the birds. I'm digressing now but I've been thrilled at just how many varieties of birds are regularly in the garden, and the other day I even had a lesser spotted woodpecker which I've never seen before. I foresee many a happy dawn and dusk sitting up there with my binoculars clamped to my face. Anyway, back to the gardening. It looks a lot nicer up there now that it's been strimmed, and I think I might just heap all the cuttings around the boundary where they'll just rot down. To be honest I'm a bit wary of having a bonfire there as the stubble on the ground is absolutely bone dry and I'd hate an ember to drift off and start a disaster!

Heaps of cuttings waiting to be gathered up

I've also started making the raised beds, using actual beds! Well, the old metal headboards anyway. The area that I plan to have as the veggie garden is quite stoney, hence the need for the beds, though I actually prefer growing things in raised beds anyway, so much easier for weeding etc. Of course raised beds means the need for compost of some kind to fill them. Previously there was no problem as I lived pretty close to horse owners who were happy to let me have trailer loads of manure and stable sweepings, but I live further away now. Luckily, on the edge of a neighbouring village, there's a huge dairy farm, so I imagined I'd be able to arrange a delivery of poop from there. As always it takes me ages to finally pluck up the nerve to go and tackle the 'speaking to a new set of Bulgarians' issue, but the other week I finally went along there to inquire.

It was on a Sunday so there weren't as many people around, but I eventually found some workers by the cow sheds. They said I needed to speak to the boss who would be there on Monday. I went back the next day and asked at the security gate. Talking to the guy there, it turns out that the dairy doesn't let the public have the manure at all, it's all used for muck spreading on the fields round about. How gutting! The security guard asked where I lived, and it turns out he's from the very next village. He told me that there's a smalled dairy farm nearby and they do allow people to have the manure. Perfect! He explained how to get there but told me not to get out of the car but just to toot the horn. When I arrived at the farm I understood why.

As I entered the farm courtyard the car was immediately surrounded by at least a dozen dogs of over size and variety, all barking madly and running backwards and forewards. No, definitely not opening the car door here! A woman came out an shouted at the dogs, at which point I slowly emerged from the vehicle. I explained what I'd come for whereupon she said I'd need to speak to her hubby. She told me to get back in the car, because of the dogs, while she went and got him. Hubby eventually came out and said that yes I could have a delivery of manure, and took my phone number so he could let me know when. We haven't quite reached a successful outcome yet as he phoned to say it was all very wet at the moment so I'd have to wait a bit, but at least he phoned which means he may have intentions of following through with the offer. Meanwhile my first two raised beds are up and waiting.

This is the first one made from some of the many metal headboards from the house, and poles which were all stashed in one of the barns. They're a bit rotten in places but hopefully I'll get a few years out of them. I've decided to have a go at making wicking beds this time. This is where you fill the base of the bed with water which then soaks upwards into the soil and encourages stronger roots on the plants. For this first one I put a plastic liner in the base and then used some of the bits of rubble from the roofing work to fill this. Topped off with a layer of sand I then bought some plastic plumbing pipe and drilled holes in it so I can get the water directly into the base. I've put a layer of old dried sprigs over the pipes to help keep the soil separate.

This is the second bed which I've decided to fill with some of the old stuffing from the mattresses. I'll put a layer of sand on it for the water pipes to rest on and then sprigs and soil. It's all very experimental but I'm always up for a bit of gardening fun! If the manure delivery doesn't pan out in time then I shall just have to plant things directly in the soil this year, and start a compost heap going for next year.

Lots of the plants I brought with me have now been transplanted in various places: lilacs and forsythia in the big meadow; hazelnuts, figs and soft fruits in the orchard; herbs and flowers in the front garden. Now I need the snow to stop so I can go and play again. I think I'm happiest when kneeling in a patch of mud, gently patting down the soil around one of my leafy babies.

Work is still continuing with the re-wiring though it's pretty much finished now. Last week they came and put the huge metal earthing spike in the garden. I think this is so that if there's a major electrical fault then the electricity will be directed into the earth and not into me. That'll be a nice surprise for the peach tree the spike hahas been buried next to! During the drilling for the new sockets and cables we've discovered that all of the upstairs walls are made of wattle and daub. Both the electricians and the man who came to measure up for new windows were very impressed by this and keep telling me how strong and well made it all is. I suppose it at least makes repairs simple as presumably I just need to throw a handful of mud and straw on any cracks.

All the new roofs are performing well under wind, snow and rain, though the flue pipe from the kitchen stove has leaked water. I dismantled the pipes and had a look up the flue, and I'm pretty sure the water is getting down inside the pipe from the roof level.

Not much I can do about it until some kind of roofing worker comes, so in my usual style I've just suspended a plastic pot under the drippy bit to stop it splashing on the kitchen worktop. Job done! Now to have some buttery crumpets with a slab of cheese, and to plan my supermarket panic buying for tomorrow.