Moving into Autumn
The Shasta daisies have finished flowering - a sure signal that the garden is moving into Autumn (a delightfully muted, mellow season). I reckon there are about three hundred daisy stalks to trim. Only three hundred - not a problem! Wait until the autumn leaves start dropping, hee hee...
Old Shasta Daisies
Yesterday I made a start by Middle Bridge. Today I continued, this time starting by Willow Bridge. Was very distracted, though - Red Fred had gone AWOL. He was totally, seriously missing. Kept dropping my tools and taking my dogs off for walks to look for him. Even encouraged them to bark - they had THE most wonderful day ever! I didn't. I called and called, but there was no sign of Fred, and my garden started feeling very empty. I couldn't sense his life force, and so I thought he was lost for ever.
Thursday 14th March - Fred is found again!
First thing this morning, feeling very sad, I gathered up the dogs. We would do another Fred-search, and they could bark and be as noisy as they liked. Went past the Sleepout. Fred! Aargh! There he was, waiting for his breakfast, very happy, as large as life. Fred! Missing for 36 hours. Hmm... Too scary.
Spent the afternoon feeling so much happier, enjoying my garden. Went back to trimming the daisies. Almost got the lot. To be honest these flowers are pretty messy most of the time. And guess what happens next? The big Gunnera leaves along the water race get trimmed. Aargh! More proof, if proof is needed, that gardens can never, ever be finished. And I love that!
Red Fred :- I love my big tabby Fred cats.
As I've been working I've been wondering where Fred went. Why didn't he hear me calling him? Or see and hear Non-Gardening Partner with torch and two extremely noisy dogs, out searching the property after dark? It's a puzzle that only a GPS tracker could solve, I guess. After last week's five hundred dollar (!) possum bite I must admit I thought his timing was pretty lousy.
And I worry that his hunting instincts might get him into more big trouble. Dear Fred, please just stick to rats and mice, and stay near the house.