Wellness
Red Camellias
Good morning. Wellness is a great buzz-word. I do lots of wellness things. I have non-gardening wellness plans for this morning - a swim and a cafe coffee and brunch. Then some gardening wellness : I plan to start clearing towards the the pond and the cottage. Time that the gnomes had their location spruced up a bit.
No sign of Speckles the stray cat this morning, though he drank his bowl of milk in the middle of the night (none of my other cats drink milk). Hmm. Hopeless cat. Mustn't give up on him, mustn't get too emotionally involved either. Moderation is required.
Later, mid-afternoon...
Have only worked for two hours, but have made a good start. Raked and trimmed, dug out Euphorbias which were always brushing over my face when I walked over to the cottage at night.
Have picked myself some Hellebores and daffodils for the house, and am enjoying a quiet beer (non-alcoholic). Then I'm spending half an hour on a Prokovief piano piece. It sounds fierce and angry, and shouts a lot - quite a contrast with my lovely meandering garden day.
Things to think about.
- Something needs to be planted to grow over the Pond Paddock arch.
- The Weeping Maiden Camellia needs to be shifted and replanted.
- What about planting some of the smaller green Phormiums in the gaps? Smaller? Ha ha. They don't stay smaller for long!
- Dig out the small pieces of rogue periwinkle. Periwinkle pieces do not stay small for long either. Sneaky things, beautiful blue flowers.
Bamboo, Blossom, Cordyline
Next day...
So Speckles the stray came for his evening meal, and then I found him this morning sitting in Minimus's cat basket waiting for breakfast. Odd, random cat. Where does he go all day? And what about the days when he doesn't come for food? He's not at all scarred, his ears aren't torn - he doesn't actually look like a feral tomcat.
Pansies
He has a secret life where he purrs, eats gourmet shrimp and grilled chicken fillets, and lies in front of a wood-burner?
Later...
Have been to my ballet class (magical for wellness) and then a quick dash into the Charity Shop where I bought a beautiful new summer apres-gardening shirt. I am not wearing it - it is a bit cold and drizzly, merino layers weather, and I've decided to spend the rest of the afternoon inside. So I cannot strictly speaking go apres-gardening anyway.
Friday 26th August
Have been swimming (because the morning was very drizzly) and have spent an hour on the Prokovief. Have to careful labelling his work aggressive, I've decided, just because he uses a lot of tonal clashes. Sure, if they're fortissimo, deep down in the bass, they're bound to sound very thumpy and cross. But if they're legato, moderate in tempo, and quiet, then all he's doing is using his own harmonic and melodic style - and thus creating a feeling of calm and repose. Or something!
Trimmed Phormiums
Have also done a couple of hours trimming. Decided I wanted a guilt free afternoon so I deliberately flitted around from place to place - then I couldn't feel guilty that I hadn't finished anything, hee hee. Have now trimmed most of the Calamagrostis grasses, several more Phormiums, and pruned some more roses. The drizzle got a bit heavy, so I slunk inside.
Wellness and warm, clean feet!
And now - oh joy! Warm, clean feet. Such a nice feeling. A wonderful feeling of wellness! One should never take warm, clean feet for granted.