Thinking About Cats and Dogs
Fred in his Cat Collar
It's raining. Looovely! No gardening for me - have been to the country library instead. Then I sat in a cafe on my own having a coffee, thinking about life and worrying (unnecessarily, I know) about my cats and dogs.
Earlier this morning Black Fred rolled over and showed me his wounded tummy - it still looked rather scary, but definitely healing. Now I am waiting for Winnie to come from home from her cruciate ligament operation. The crate is ready. Dear dog. Am feeling a bit down (there is no need for this at all). Cats and dogs : the joy, the sadness, and the worry in-between, I guess.
If I was out there...
And what would I be doing if I was out there in the garden? Apart from getting wet, that is... Maybe trimming the dahlias, all of which have shut down now because of frost, and the Ligularias.
Maybe squishing leaves into bags to make (eventually) leaf mould. Non-Gardening Partner bought me a pack of thirty bags, all of which I can probably fill. Oh - I'd be stacking more firewood, too. Not falling asleep in front of the log-burner and/or worrying about Winnie and Fred. Silly, me.
Ligularia Seed Heads
Tuesday 25th May
So Winnie the dog comes home tomorrow - her operation was successful, just a wee issue with her recovery, so she stays at the vet for an extra day. Black Fred's 'lounge-arrest' continues, while Red Fred has built himself a warm cat-nest in the spare bedroom. I am keeping the cats separate - don't want any fighting. Neither seems to have noticed - all that matters to them is a full tummy. And a warm tummy. A wound-free tummy would be nice.
Later...
Have had a very moochy day. The only outdoor thing I did (apart from dog walks with Pebbles) was to stack firewood. I am not a terribly thoughtful stacker - the stability of the pile is my only concern. But it still takes me ages - over ten minutes per wheelbarrow load, I reckon. Indoors I sat by the log-burner and read a whole book. It was rather sad. Oh well.
Couldn't do any bonfiring because the water blasterer was here. That didn't mean I couldn't do any gardening, but it gave me an excuse not to. Oops.
Red Phormium Leaves
Wednesday 26th May
Good morning to a white frost, slightly frozen ground, and me intending to reclaim my credentials as an intrepid winter gardener. So far, so good. I've put on my winter gardening boots! Yeay! This is a great start, yes?
And I've already been outside, flitting around here and there, doing things. A spot of weeding in the Allotment Garden, the rest of the trailer-load of firewood stacked, two huge bags of leaves bagged up for next year's leaf mould, one load of mainly Aconite trimmings dumped under the hedge to dry out. Am now inside for lunch, waiting for the roof painters to (possibly) arrive.
I've easily (if slowly) sunk back into winter gardening mode. The sun is really low in the sky, and one starts off dressed warm, then sheds layers as the day progresses. But I have serious decisions to make. Should I remove all the creeping violets from the lawn by the Apple trees? Ha! The word 'remove' is interesting. And should I buy a rose archway to prop up the Banksis lutea? Ha! Nothing props up a Banksia lutea for very long.
Later...
No sign of the roof painters so I cranked up the bonfire, wheeling over mess from the far fence-line. Making a start doing it was just as easy as sitting by the log-burner thinking about it. Great reason to wash my hair afterwards, too.
Winnie and Driveway Puddle
Later still...
Oops. Have left both my thick woolly jersey and my merino Icebreaker top outside somewhere. Hmm. And Winnie is home. My lovely girl dog Winnie, with a plethora of pills and strict week by week instructions. I can do this!