Slow birds...
The Dogs Are Waiting
Morning coffee at the patio table watching the birdies feeding. Arrivals are very slow this year, with no big flocks of wax-eyes, and no metallic-sleek starlings as yet. But I have a blackbird by the pond who whistles the first three triplets of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Maybe not in C-sharp Minor, but very musical!
So what to do today? The dogs are waiting for us to do something, and Winnie is prepared for action, with a very slimy tennis balls at her feet. Ghastly thing to pick up and throw! Have done a lot of intensive Hump Garden gardening over the last days. Feel like a change of scenery.
Might?
so might weed in the Dog-Path Garden, near the water race. Might trim a clump of Gunnera which missed out on the big clean-up. Might prune some more roses. A mighty lot of 'mights'!
Lunchtime...
Blast. I can see exactly where all this is going. I've been trimming and clearing out dead ferns, dead Phormium leaves, and Lupin and Scrophularia stalks. And they've all gone straight onto the bonfire, which it looks like I will have to light, later in the day. Blast!
Winnie and her Ball
I reckon I've spent as much time looking for Winnie's tennis ball (and throwing it) than I've done gardening. Already she has lost two somewhere in the garden. Trouble is that the ball quickly becomes camouflaged with a coating of garden dirt, impossible to see. I tell her 'ball is lost' and ask her politely 'where's ball?'. If I'm in luck she'll stare in the general direction she dropped it. gardening with a ball obsessed dog - what a joy!
Much later...
Oh yes. I've been good - over four hours work in total. Rather heavy duty gardening, but I've been tough. And sensible - I've been wearing my gloves.
The Koru Courtyard
So I scraped weeds and dirt off the Koru courtyard brick path (alas, will have to weed kill the invasive Euphorbias). I trimmed more burnable stuff, and carted it to the bonfire. Gathered up piles of dried Gunnera leaves to help the mix. Whoosh! All the smaller branches of gum are burnt, just leaving a few rose prunings smouldering.
Magical woollen socks...
And again, that magical feeling - clean clothes, freshly washed hair, and my feet being hugged by warm woollen socks. One of the best feelings in the whole gardening world. Yeay!