Early morning, sleep elusive. At the plot to feed and water. A magpie and a crow are screaming into a corner I can’t see. And then there they are: two young foxes. They appear impervious to me and the bird rage. Playful, even joyous. Not at all shy. Mostly, if anything, curious.
I watch them roll around, do small theatrical dives. Trot around the back of the plot, scoot along the allotment edges. One appears the more fearless.
I am watering with the hose. Seaweed-feeding the peas and beans. The sun is shining, just me where the wild things are.
I watch entranced as they trot about. I am here to plant out the courgettes and squash that were growing in trays on the roof terrace. But of course, I never keep sowing notes about which small plants are which, how big they will grow, how far they will spread. Except I know they’ll spread too far.
For now though I will plant them near the edges of the plot and heavily dose with good organic feed. I need the seed-trainer empty for the coloured corn that Kala brought back from Thailand. It tastes sort-of-nutty, she says.
I scatter some Tagetes erecta Crackerjack from Chiltern Seeds. I am feeling the need for more height and colour. It was a first-time sowing for us last year and I may have become a little over-attached.
I adjust the ties on the tear peas and sweet peas. I replant spare French beans on the tipi. It is quiet and calming here.
I loop the hose on the pond fence, admire the yellow flag iris. An evocative flower. Shifting memories of Devon rivers. It is time to go when I see the more daring fox advancing on my canvas bag. It grabs a handle. I splash some water and it playfully runs away. I hope to see them again soon.
Allan Jenkins’s Plot 29 (4th Estate, £9.99) is out now. Order it for £8.49 from guardianbookshop.com
