Enough time?

 Jerome in front, Stumpy behind.
Cats & Pots

There are three days left in May. There should be enough time left to trim, chop, and burn all the Moosey garden rubbish - and enough gardening activity to write about!

Saturday 29th May

In a psychological experiment I have decided to start a new journal page three days before the end of the month. This means that I will be inspired to do huge numbers of things in the garden, to fill the new page. Obviously the more I need to write - the more I need to do. Ha! We'll see if it works!

This is first on today's list - yesterday I re-dug along the top edge, and now just need to shift a few things up into space (like the daylilies which struggle for light in here, and the red hot pokers which have been luke warm for the last few years).

I am attempting to persuade Stephen to help chainsaw the stumps in the Hump. Perhaps then the clearing of this area can be finished.

The flaxes by the Pump House need their old leaves removed, and there is a person-high pile of old branches to drag to the water race and burn. This area has rarely been cleaned out - if ever - so this should be fun, like breaking new ground (desperately trying to give self some motivation).

That's enough writing for now.

 Bravely flowering and caught on camera.
Late Autumn Rose

Two Hours Later...

It's sort of working. The Jelly Bean Border is now cleared completely - I found a juvenile elm tree sucker growing happily, two metres tall and trunks the size of my wrist. My maintenance record in the Jelly Bean Border is shocking!

Now I'm inside for lunch and then we'll see how much mental Moosey toughness is left. Hmm... Elite gardening, like elite sport, is - 90% mental?

Two more hours later...

It's 90% random, not mental. Before returning to work I decided to take as many photographs I could of coloured things in the garden. I found a lot of tattered roses, still bravely blooming, and the hebe hedge by the water race bursting into subtle flowers. In the Willow Tree Garden I found lots of left-over coloured annuals like Calendula, and also many many weeds. So I returned with wheelbarrow and hand-digger and weeded. Hopeless.

 Delicate pinkish lilac flowers.
Hebe Hedge Starting to Flower

Just when I was about to give up Stephen came asking about chain-sawing in the Hump. That will have to happen tomorrow - I am too tired, and of course my supervision is required.

I may not have done much, but I still seem to have lots to say...

Sunday 30th May

It looks like another warmish day, calmer than yesterday - hopefully I can do some more burning. And supervise the chain-sawing. Too much talk. Not enough action (like the words of the Elvis Presley song)...

 Actually he is just poking around smelling things!
Taj-Dog is Helping

Apres Gardening...

I am SO tired! I have been clearing by the Pump House, and re-digging the very back of the Pond Garden. I think I am a gardening legend - the rubbish is all burnt, and for once you can see where I've been working - it's tidier! I had chook and cat company (an uneasy truce has been declared between Jerome and the rooster) but the dog couldn't be bothered coming over. Boring dog!

Stephen did the chain-sawing of Hump stumps, too - now I have to collect up the logs for the woodshed. If I did this (self-bribery!) I would definitely be a legend...

Monday 31st May

The dog, the rooster and I have just done a tour of the gardens looking for storm damage - there was a huge half hour of wind blowing in the middle of the night. Just one large gum tree in the Hump is down - pretty lucky, really.

I might not do much gardening today - I have a bit of paid work to do. Oops!