THE day...
New Daffodils
It's my actual birthday day - a most gorgeously warm spring day - and Non-Gardening Partner is taking the day off work to start clearing the Oak trees. Yeay! How old am I? My element for this year is Tungsten, hee hee...
Happy birthday to meeeee...
I have made a birthday resolution. I am far too untidy in my habits. I shouldn't lose, then find, then lose things again - like my loppers, which I really need. Spending ten extra minutes each day collecting up my tools would make my gardening life so much easier.
Much later...
Wow. What a day! Found the loppers, helped NGP, and together we processed all the wood from one of the Oak trees - the dead one. Logs stashed under the shelter hedge, branches lopped into pieces for kindling, barrow loads of scappy stuff wheeled to the bonfire and burnt. Hours and hours of hard work.
Chain-sawing the Oaks
Then I had to go to a serious choir rehearsal (a Haydn Mass with an orchestra). Oops. I could hardly stand. Ended up playing the old-lady card and getting a chair. Had too, otherwise might have fallen over. Oops.
Speckles :- Have been feeding Speckles the feral Mackerel Tabby for nearly three years.
And when I got home, Speckles was waiting over by the cottage. No hissing - he chirped at me. I'd like to think that he said 'Happy birthday, lovely person'. Suspect it was more like 'Oh, it's you. About time, too. Where's my meat? Where's my milk?' I sat with him and patted him and he stood on my leg to reach his milk.
Saturday 9th September
NGP has put the trailer in position, so I can deal with the Oak tree mess efficiently. I am doing some serious lopping and sorting out, putting suitable branches in piles for the shredder. I'm thrilled that those messy Oaks are down. The gardens are lighter, and there's minimal damage - just one Choisya, and a huge Phormium which I can slice off at the ground and let sprout again. OK - I can see a huge amount of clean-up work to be done, but it's finite.
Monday 11th September
No gardening was possible yesterday. Spent the day singing. Tra la la. And today I went family visiting, only managed a couple of hours clearing the oak tree mess. Watered all my seedlings in their pots.
Blossom and Daffodils
Noticed that the big cherry blossom is almost flowering. Such a special time of the year. Love it.