Sort out the weeds...
Hump Path
Aha! I have two whole days to sort out the weeds in the Hump Garden. And I will jolly well sort them out, with hand scrapers and a spade. And if I get too cross - who knows? I'll threaten them with a squirty unmentionable chemical compound (might scare them more than the spade, hee hee).
Lunchtime...
Sorry about this, but I'm back inside for self-affirmation. I don't know why it's important that I finish the Hump Garden weeding in two days. Might be setting an impossible goal? Or just trying to beat the arrival of October? I remind myself (for the umpteenth time) that weeding in a garden can never, ever be finished. And that hand weeding, when compared to using less organic methods, makes the gardener (me) feel very virtuous. Wish me luck...
A short break...
Anyway, half a day done, and now I'm having a short break. Hard working weeders deserve short breaks. A toasted chicken and cheese sandwich is crackling on the stove, and a pot of tea is brewing. I've drunk some water, and I've got my book. I promise to return to the garden, and at the very end of the day I'll list my achievements, which hopefully will include some non-weeding items.
Six hours later...
- Put logs in place to show the boundary of my weeded area near the standard roses.
- Pulled out dead tree pieces from the back of the Shrubbery.
- Dug up Lychnis and Aquilegia plants from the path, replanted and watered them.
- Replaced rotting log edges on the sides of the path.
What I didn't do was start up the bonfire, or finish properly. But I did my best. So that's totally OK.
Monday 30th September
And today I did my best again. I've went back into the depths of the Hump Garden to scrape out more weeds. I've did this for five hours, and at times (when I struck a moist patch of soil) I rather enjoyed it.
Part of the Spring Hump Garden
But it was oh so repetitive. And I didn't finish. After coming in and having a shower I fell asleep in a chair. Had totally lost all my puff and energy. Went off to bed just before 7pm to read more of my Algebra book. I am up to page eight...
Tuesday 1st October
I feel so much better this morning - a good night's sleep and linear algebra, a heady combination! Even Speckles the stray cat cheered me up, coming for his supper just before dawn. And then my walk over to the house from the cottage was inspiring. The far-away reds (Camellias, new Maples), pinks (rhododendrons), creamy whites (blossom trees), and the stone edges of garden borders that I've cleaned up - beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Silly to get tired (like yesterday) and lose my enjoyment of the grand picture.
That's the trouble with doing a lot of hand-weeding. One becomes fixated on small, negative things. Not good!