1. It’s grey and drizzling as I set out for the allotment but it clears up by the time I’m ready to dig. The ground is still largely dry and the soil moves easily.

1b. It takes longer to harvest the mange tout than I thought it would: there are plenty of pods amongst the leaves.

1c. A shower makes me feel like it’s the start of a new day: a new day to do fun things.

2. As always, it’s painful to look at the moulting hen – her regrowing feathers look like pins or quills and her puckered skin underneath looks like a sorry chicken on a supermarket shelf – but she clucks around unperturbed and the feathers that have come through are a fluffy red.

3. Inspired by some bargainacious reduced-to-clear peppers, I make goulash for dinner – it’s delicious and saucy.

4. The incongruous colours become a lovely mottled mossy green.