Bonfire of choice...
Fred in the Wheelbarrow
What to choose to do in the garden? Yesterday I chose to have a slow, gentle, all-day bonfire - a barrowful of this, a barrowful of that, no need to rush. I would rake up the driveway leaves, and clean up underneath some of Cordylines...
So I pottered around various garden areas collecting appropriate burnable rubbish (lots of gum tree leaves, for example), accompanied by Red Fred who loves to ride in the wheelbarrow. I raked up this and that. I trimmed perennials (Aconites, and those tall things whose name I can't remember). My bonfire sulked, then smoked and flamed for five hours. I had a lovely time. Great choice - I even became rather fond of my bonfire. Foolish woman!
The hedge trimmer is coming...
A text from Non-Gardening Partner, brief and to the point, brought me back down to earth : 'Hedge trimmer coming tomorrow afternoon.' Aargh! Aargh! Aargh! The big Leyland shelter belts are getting their biennial trim. This means an uber-bonfire of all the mess. Some pieces go in piles to be shredded, but many more (the scrappy, tiddly bits) have to be burnt. It will take me weeks (and weeks, and more weeks) to clean up everything. What if I don't feel like bonfiring any more? No choice, I'm afraid.
Last Autumn Leaves
The first thing I'll need to do is wet the bonfire's ash volcano with the hose, shovel it into the wheelbarrow and dump it by the boundary fence. Grr. What if I don't feel like shoveling ash? But look at it this way - the hedge trimmer has kindly given me the morning to 'prepare' (i.e. deconstruct) my bonfire, ready for his mass production of Leyland branches.
Bonfire Ash
Thursday 23th May.
Woke up feeling like being a rebel and raking up the fallen autumn leaves into bags instead. Aargh! Oh well. Better get going. No time like the present. Best way to get started is to start. Less talk, more action. And all that...
Much, much later...
I did rake up some Pond Paddock leaves, and also added bags of horse manure and barrow loads of mulch to my new garden therein. Looking good, it is.
Also, while waiting (not necessarily eagerly) for the hedge trimmer man I deconstructed my bonfire, dumped all the well-watered ash over by the fence-line, then collected a new lot of mess, and relit it. Then I put on my shorts (meeting and greeting in my green froggy wading suit might have been too alarming) and plunged into the cold water race to start the serious early winter Gunnera trim.
New Pond Paddock Garden
One of the Freds was scary company, almost falling into the water (he climbs into the Gunnera leaves, which then sink with his weight). At four o'clock, soaking wet, and spotted all over with mud, the dogs stopped playing their 'go round' chasing game and barked to announce the trimmer's arrival. Being a good country chap he made no comment on my clothing, just dumped his green machine in the front paddock, and zoomed off. He will start tomorrow morning. We (my bonfire and I) can't wait...
Lots of Pictures of My Bonfire
Now I'm inside, warmed up, and wishing I could stay home tonight. But I have one of my choirs. And they'd better have done their practice. I am not in the mood for lazybones singers.
Later...
They had! It was a wonderful rehearsal. Phew!