No Jedi gardening...
Yellow Leaf Fall
Oops. I'm getting way behind, May-wise. Even 'May the Force' has passed me by - with very little Jedi gardening being done. But I have done some scribbling. That must count for something? AT least I've been thinking about my garden. Here's how May began...
Thursday May 2nd
So it's raining - cold, all 'over the place' rain, for which I am mentally unprepared. I wish I'd spread more mulch. I wish I'd planted more plants. I wish I'd got my firewood ready in a neat pile by the back door. I wish someone had told me.
I even wish I had some nice winter crocheting to do - a mohair shawl, maybe, made from 'granny squares' in shades of blue. Hmm... Only eight degrees Celsius outside, a dark grey afternoon, rain coming at all angles. I could be outside gardening, but I don't want to get cold and wet. I wish I'd planned for this...
Saturday May 4th
So the weather clears up, the autumn sun comes out, and what do I do? Jedi gardening? No way. I spend three hours stacking firewood in the woodshed. Mind-numbing? Not a bit! I rather enjoy the decisions that need to be made. Where to put this tiddly piece? Is this piece too long? And this knobby one, such a funny shape...
Like 'Autumn Leaves'...
And then all afternoon I stay inside writing music. Musical notes swirl (like 'Autumn Leaves', hee hee - now that's a rather lovely song) around my head, through my fingers into Silebius, and out onto beautifully crafted pdf files. I write music for my choirs, for my bass player, for my flute player... And whenever I stop for a break I continue my TV train journeys. Oops...
Autumn Cotinus Leaves
Monday 6th May
Today I am going to garden head-on. That is, as soon as I've zoomed off to see the nurse to get my yearly 'flu injection. No time for cabview trains on Youtube (I've been whooshing through Austria, hee hee). The gardening plan, apres-jab, involves the new Pond Paddock Garden, as follows :
- I tip out my latest horse manure bags.
- I redirect stones from behind the cottage for the edge.
- I lay newspaper, and wet it.
- I tip last autumn's leaves over the top.
- I cover with lots of mulch.
And if I get bored (bored? Never!), I make a start weeding and trimming the Allotment Gardens, preparing them for winter. And then I refill the trailer with another load of firewood. See how easy it is to organise a really productive day?
Much Later, Dusk...
I did bits of everything. Just a couple of 'near misses', animal-wise. Firstly I stopped Minimus (just in time) from charging at Red Fred in the Pond Paddock. Earlier she'd rudely chased him up the Apple tree (and wouldn't let him come down). Fred does nothing to warrant this anti-social cat behaviour.
Pebbles in My Driveway
Then I found Pebbles the dog trotting down next door's driveway, yelled 'oiy!' (which would be a really good name for a naughty dog, hee hee), and back she came - through my dog-deterrent fence, sagged and broken in one place. I have to fix it, because next-door doesn't bother with fences, and my dogs getting out on the road is too scary.
Fred in the Oak Leaves
But guess what? The trailer is full of firewood, the new garden is a little larger (I found some quasi-leaf-mould), and yet more autumn leaves are turning colour and falling. The Fred cats have full tummies and a warm log-burner to snooze in front of. I am very happy, and the dogs are relaxing after their energetic gardening day. The force is strong in all of us...