March, March, March...
March, March, March... Will you be the month of slow changes, with crisper mornings and cooler days - or will we get our best and most settled warm weather? We would really appreciate a late summer!
Monday March 1st
Today the air feels crisper, the sun feels lower, and I feel deeply happy that I am not working full-time. It is calm and peaceful here, with cats calmly pottering and the dog sighing as he flops onto the carpet. And one of the ducks is back, poking around on the lawn in the Pond Paddock.
Jerome the Faithful
What shall I do first? The fire ban is off - I could have my first pre-autumn burn-up... Maybe I'll return to the Hen House Gardens where I was working late yesterday - it's time to get the gorse seedlings before they reach knee-height (as some have). I could even make a beginning of March list. There are quite a lot of things to do - Hmm...
Two hours later...
I've worked really hard weeding in the Hen House Garden and clearing the path. I've drastically pruned a scruffy Cistus, and slightly realigned the curve of the garden's edge (in other words, the garden is larger, hee hee). No sign of the duck, but the ever faithful Jerome has been sitting with me staring into the distance. She is a serene cat.
Wednesday March 3rd
It's been raining. The duck is definitely back. I've been garden-thinking and watching the cricket (we won). Hopefully tomorrow I can relaunch the Moosey March Outdoor Gardener. I think the duck is getting used to me - today between showers I raided the plum tree, and found her poking around underneath it. She almost didn't panic!
Thursday March 4th
This is my first time in the garden since the weekend. What shall I do? Hmm... hazelnut tree weeding? Blast! The bellbirds have been singing away so much that I could shut my eyes and imagine I'm in the New Zealand bush somewhere. I'm tired though.
Friday March 5th
Today I plan to have a much better day. I am determined not to be a boring gardener (I need to work out how to do this, though). There is a limit to the amount of 'gentle and less frenetic' that the Moosey garden can take. In last March's diary I took being 'gentle and less frenetic' (and being a boring gardener) to rather excessive heights. I used this phrase over and over and over again...
Digging :- I've spent days in my garden digging new borders.
Perhaps I need a fresh challenge - a totally new digging project, for example. I could build a totally new garden! Or perhaps I need to break the record for the longest running autumn rubbish burning session. Or perhaps I just don't write anything UNTIL it has happened and I'm convinced it's interesting...
Morning Tea...
No comment.
Afternoon Tea...
As above, still no comment. I've worked hard though - almost a five hour gardening day.
Slow Old Dog
Saturday March 6th
I seem to be sulking in my own diary - ridiculous. I have the whole day stretching out in front of me. It's crisp but sunny - I just need to get out there and slowly catch up with everything that need doing. No lists, no sulks. But first I'm going to bike down to the shop with the dog and get a Saturday paper and some milk. I can't garden without my morning cup of tea. Back soon.
Two Very Slow Hours Later...
O my goodness! Taj-dog is really really slow - poor old dog! After ten minutes we were down to walking slowly, wheeling the bike. At a later drink stop Taj slipped into the water race and I had to haul him out (his back legs weren't working). We walked very slowly after that!
Dear old dog - what an adventure! I was a bit worried that he wouldn't make it home. Nothing like a bit of dog-guilt to stop me sulking.
Foxgloves :- I like growing foxgloves for the great vertical accents they provide.
See - I have now completed four hours of gardening penance for nearly wearing out the dog. I've dug up seedling foxgloves and wallflowers and replanted them in the new rhododendron garden. I've weeded and tried to clean up the edges of the Willow Tree Garden. I've picked a large bucket of plums. Taj-dog of course is fine, if a little stiff and sleepy. Hey - I know that feeling!
And now I am apres-gardening after another hour and a half. I've found so much to do in the Pond Paddock gardens - when did they all get so scruffy and weedy? No time to sulk.
Sunday March 7th
Oops... Taj-dog is very stiff and slow to stand up (I feel terrible). Never again. I am making some plum jam and some nectarine jam before I start my day's garden work. Stephen is mowing all the lawns (after an official Moosey complaint yesterday). A lovely early autumn morning in the country...
I am back - I am so tired! I've had the first autumn burn-up, I've weeded and wheeled all over the place, and I am going to have a jolly long lunch break. The garden is such an absolute mess I am ashamed that anyone knows it's here (real visitors would be banned). I need to do an awful lot of autumn tidying.