Messy paths again...
Wattles Woods Path
Aargh! I didn't realise how blocked and messy the Wattle Woods paths were. I had no idea - after all, I'd cleared these only yesterday. Or was it last week? Last month? Blame it all on last week's big wind? Absolutely!
Yesterday a friend and I dodged grasses, manoeuvred our wobbly legs over huge pieces of gum tree bark, swished past waist-high weeds, and kicked out our feet underneath sprawling Phormium leaves. She was scoping my garden for 'Australian' foliage for a wedding florist. There really wasn't much for her to get excited about.
While I saw much to cause me dismay. The paths were dreadful! That's all it takes - a visitor wanders around my garden paths, and in an ideal world, as her garden hostess I would feel privately proud. Hmm. How about mildly embarrassed?
But not a problem today, for it only tool me four hours to put things right. Again I see how quickly such mess can be cleared, with a wheelbarrow, a rake, and a place close by to dump the rubbish. So there is nothing fundamentally wrong with either my paths or my abilities to maintain them. Ha!
I've wandered around with the camera to take some flowery photographs, and I've gathered in my tools. Privately proud, yet again - the best sort of proud. Though one does wonder about the see-saw mind of a gardener who uses public web-spaces to proclaim personal things, hee hee...
Pansies in the Pond Paddock
Clean up the Pond Paddock
Looking ahead, I need to 'do' something in the Pond Paddock. Mess needs raking up (mainly fallen pieces of Oak tree and Cordyline leaves). The lawn couldn't be mowed properly because of them. The trees have grown huge. This is what trees do, and what gardeners with limited imagination (oops) find difficult to plan for, hee hee.
Friday February 9th
Aha! I've cleaned around the bases of the Pond Paddock trees, swept the pond decking, and cleared gum leaves out of the wriggling pond through the Wattle Woods. The river pump that feeds it was blocked with a large log, but now the water is running again, burbling past the stone sides. Huge strips of gum tree bark have fallen down near the boundary fence, where no self-respecting path would ever take itself. I plan to ignore these for now. I have bigger fish to fry...
Animal News...
Talking of fish, this morning Minimus the cottage cat was slinking purposefully around the edge of the pond, stopping to dip her paw in the water. What was she up to? Aha! Cat-fishing! In half a minute she'd caught a fingerling trout and eaten it. Perhaps this is why she is so rotund? In the house, you'll be relieved to know that Tiger the tortoiseshell (my rude old lady cat) has not piddled again in the fruit bowl. It was not pleasant finding lemons, peaches etc. swimming in liquid.
Sad news about Hissy the Tabby
Sad news - Histeria the tabby went to the vet this morning for her final visit. Dear Miss Hissy, Histeria. So sorry. Rest in peace, my lovely tabby cat. I will miss looking after you, but I am at rest with the decision. We've enjoyed a wonderful cat-and-person life together.
Histeria the Tabby