Good morning, February...
Good morning, February. So what have I done so far this month? Trimmed garden borders (mainly Lychnis) and chopped down tree suckers (Prunus and Gleditsia). Measure the success of my achievements by the number of barrow loads dumped? An average of only four a day. But as the saying goes, four is better than none.
Agapanthus
And so far today I've only did filled the barrow once, which drives the average down somewhat. It's unusually muggy outside, with cloud cover - good for languid, easy-paced gardening, but nothing too challenging, please. I will return, I promise. Just as soon as I've done my second (Ha! SECOND!) session of piano practice.
Tiger Lilies
Have had a mini-break-through with my Albeniz virtuoso pieces. Always thought that virtouso playing just involved squillions of notes, played close to the speed of light. Not so! So much is in the mind - thinking ahead (close to the speed of light), seeing and hearing the next notes and not panicking, grabbing onto any patterns or repetitions, and feeling all the physical shapes that hands and fingers have to move through. Like fast paced hand ballet? Hmm. Back to it, anyway.
Annual Marigolds
And I'm making plum jam. 'Tis the plum season. I'm using my modular microwave big bowl approach, hoping that not too much spills out over the top. There's also the tempting time-wasting two thousand piece jigsaw - oh my goodness! So much to do!
Later...
It's far too hot for working outside. Went over to dig some potatoes, was surprised by my stray cat Speckles coming out of the Hump Garden. He sat on the grass. I sat on one of the Adirondack seats. We talked. He relaxed, rolled over, and shut his eyes. I'm trying very hard to relax and tame this wild cat. Then Winnie arrived, rather ruining the moment.
Next day...
Only three barrowfuls trimmed today, and it was really hard, messy work. Started pulling out the Alstroemeria (stalks only) from the Island Bed, then worked my way right around. Lots of old Lychnis has come out, and there's been lots of grunty weeding. And I dead-headed some of the dahlias. Now my hands are a bit achy. Oh well. That happens in the trimming season.
Summer Dahlias
Much later, apres-gardening, wearing my new super-duper helmet, I went to take my new bike down the driveway for a spin. Great excitement for Winnie the dog, who came too. Had some issues getting on it. Tried an arabesque backwards over the seat - didn't work. Nor did a front chorus-line high-kick over the handle bars. Made myself apply deep, sensible thinking. AFter much giggling, worked out what to do - lay the bike down on the ground and then step carefully through and over it. Doesn't look very sporty. I have to use the same technique to get off. But hey! I have fun trying to do my best.