It’s Easter Weekend and the weather is glorious. The only problem we have is that the corona virus pandemic is stopping us from going about our normal lives. We are on lock down and we must stay indoors. Of course, when the weather is as lovely has it has been today and yesterday, staying indoors is a shame but we are in exceptional circumstances and must collectively do what we all can to ensure this virus doesn’t spread any further.

For those who have gardens, this is the next best thing. Having an outside space is a wonderful thing to have. And if you do have one, this is your chance to make the most of it and do something different with the people who live in your household. Enter…the paddling pool.

I’ve never had a paddling pool before as wasting the water was always an issue for me. However, it’s quite a challenge trying to explain that to a 4-year-old. She just wants to have fun, especially as her school has been shut for 3 weeks now and you can’t deny that a paddling pool is an amazing source of fun.

I knew the weather was going to be nice for two days so we set it up on Friday, covering it Friday night to enjoy it on Saturday as well. I have to say, it was a great success. My little one absolutely loved playing the water and I have to admit, I enjoyed it too. Hopefully all the excitement tires her out for bedtime tonight!

Now the question, what do we do with the water?

I decided to save as much water as I could find containers for and use the water to water the plants over the next few days/fortnight. I would’ve used the water directly from the tap to water my plants anyway, why not try to save what I could from the pool? The water has just taken a slightly little detour.

So, I tried to find as many buckets and tubs from the shed filling them with water until I ran out and had to let the rest of the water go to waste. I can only imagine what the neighbours thought I was doing but I didn’t care. I managed to find enough containers for half of the water from the pool. Maybe I should invest in a water butt?

This lot will keep me going for a bit.

This is a good opportunity to update on my potatoes and strawberry plants. I was a little concerned about the strawberries a few weeks ago as we had some frost but I got a fleece blanket and ‘put them to bed’. I never thought I would be doing that for strawberries but there you go. There’s a flower on a strawberry plant so I’m guessing that’s a good thing. Also the potatoes have just started to sprout. I’m making a extra effort in watering them a lot more than I did last year.