More trees down...
Wattle Tree Branches
First of all I'd like to thank the rain for falling overnight. Yeay! Secondly, I'd like to thank the wind for going away. Thirdly, I'd like to thank my family for the packets of birthday seeds. Yeay! Just a few annual flowers : white Cosmos, Cornflowers, and two colours of Hollyhock. And one lettuce (my favourite, Merveille de Quatre Seasons).
Noises in the night...
But before I start gardening I have to do a property check. Non-Gardening Partner heard a loud 'creak, whoosh and thump' noise sequence in the night. Hope it's not another Wattle tree down. There are only two or three left, and one cannot have a Wattle Woods without Wattles.
Ten minutes later...
Aargh! Yes, more Wattles (plural!) have come down - from what I can see, one big one (trunk and all) bringing down the top half of another. This time the huge branches have crashed and trashed the Camellias and - again - half of the glass-house. Argh! I need a strong coffee.
Another Wattle Down
Why are the Wattles doing this? They are about fifty years old. Over time they grow angled towards the sun, and get top-heavy. Perhaps a good soaking from the rain softens up things down under. Then the roots can't hold up the tree, and Bob's Your Uncle! Bob? Kerplunk. That's what I think happens.
Even More Broken Glass-House
Successfully ignored the Wattle tree mess - too annoying on this beautifully calm spring day. Worked away all morning pulling weeds out of the Hump garden, then had lunch underneath the blossom tree again. But needs must - I lit the bonfire and dragged some rose prunings through the orchard gate onto it. They didn't burn very well, and then a hazel branch sliced through my glove, ripping the skin on my left hand. Ouch. Sad old skin.
Silly Pukeko
Pukeko in the laundry...
Came inside in a semi-sulk to find a shreiking pukeko (a New Zealand swamp hen) stuck in the laundry. Oh dear. And one terrified Border Collie, who had gone down the hall to investigate. Bird had got in through the dog door (!) and couldn't work out how to get back out. There was quite a lot of 'panic poo' around. Daft bird!
After cleaning up after the pukeko, showering, and plastering up my wounded hand (poor me), I went back with camera to assess (makes me sound efficient and professional, yes?) the new Wattle tree damage. Hmm...
Sow the seeds...
I have bought some seed raising mix, plus some seed potatoes, new secateurs, and bulb food. Yeay for Birthday seeds! I am looking forward to sowing them, and at least the first half ot the glass-house is undamaged. Phew!