I wish...
OK. OK. Guess which gardener now wishes she'd done what she thought about doing yesterday - laying newspaper and mulch behind the pond. Guess why? It's seriously raining.
Phormium Cream Delight
Wednesday 6th May
Interesting - there's a groovy sculpture of a pukeko (a New Zealand swamp hen) in the local art gallery. It's not a cute painted blue and red one, but more of an alternative, brooding pukeko, in touch with its darker side. It's metal, a proper bird-size, perfect for the garden, and I'm wondering if Non-Gardening Partner would like it for his BIG birthday? Hee hee...
What I could do is the following:
- Dress in head-to-toe thermal underwear and balaclava.
- Light log-burner in house, prepare dry clothing.
- Then lay newspaper and mulch in driving rain.
As a reward I could then zoom off to the gallery and have another look at that Pukeko... Hmm. My dog would enjoy himself, and Minimus the kitten adores scooting around in the rain chasing raindrops. It's five degrees Celsius - seems a bit harsh. We'll wait an hour or so...
Phormium with Copper Beech
Late Lunchtime...
I've done two hours work. And I've seen sense (or, more precisely, I've seen the dodgy state of my finances). So instead of rewarding myself with an expensive pukeko purchase I'm off to buy some sushi for lunch. And no more gardening. Good work in the rain, though. As I said to Rusty the dog, I'd rather be thought of as mad than boring...
Thursday 7th May
Ha! Today it's sunny. I'm off swimming, and have promised my dog some cycling delights when I get back. The garden is really damp, naturally, and more autumn leaves have fallen. But some fiery Maples are still glowing red, and the Copper Beech over the water race has gone all coppery (naturally).
On the way home I should pick up some bags of manure. The Moosey car has been fragrance-free for a while now...
Much Later...
Conversations with my dog... I have just been around the country block on the bicycle with Rusty the dog. I have explained to him that I am still alive - he nose-bunts my cycling leg and agrees. The point is that, were it not for early intervention, I might well not have lived to get this close to that terribly BIG and SERIOUS birthday, coming this very September. The one that is divisible by SIX...
Dog on the frisbee Lawn
I affirm that I love my garden, my family and their loved ones, my friends, my animals, and my Moosey garden web-site. I love everything I do. And I love everything that I am - except for one sore piano finger, swollen by arthritis. Rusty the dog nods his understanding and then zooms off to roll in some duck poos. Right.
A Trail of Black Feathers...
I arrive home to find Minimus the kitten streaking up the stairs, leaving an ominously thick trail of black feathers in her wake. Eek! I immediately decide to feed the hens and count them. Phew! Then I remember that the bags of manure are still in the back of my car. Oops. Sometimes life is really simple.