December Week 3 - More

When the reason that one isn't doing much gardening is the rain - I guess that's OK. It's sooooo good for the Moosey Garden.

Saturday 20th December

Yesterday I did manage a couple of hours of sultry afternoon weeding, while listening to the cricket and the bellbirds. This morning the benign rain is back, gently soaking everything again. It's like seeing a happy child with just too many toys! The first days are spent in sentiment - oh, look at the dear wee garden. What lovely rain! But soon this becomes just too much of a good thing...

However nothing floods or gets bogged down in the Moosey Garden, and the summer rain is windless, so none of the Delphiniums flop over. The daylily flowers look a bit frazzled in the wet, but the roses bloom on, oblivious, and the yellow-flowering shrubs (mainly Hypericum and Senecio) give the borders that warm, summery look.

I do have some reports of garden progress.

1. The first brown seed heads on the Angelica have appeared.
2. The ground cover rose Apple Blossom Flower Carpet is absolutely beautiful.
3. Some Heleniums I sowed from seed last spring are almost flowering, a summer later. They are obviously perennials.
4. My red rose Marseillaise (in honour of my French relatives) is blooming. It's a noisy rose!

The bellbirds have been really noisy in the rain - and I'm hearing a new chiming bird, which I would love to be a tui (it probably won't be).

Bellbirds

Like the bellbirds they are nectar drinkers, and many of my flaxes are in flower at the moment. Growing native New Zealand plants and being rewarded with some beautiful native birds...

Sunday 21st December

More rain! But I did manage an hour dead-heading late in the afternoon. I feel rather disconnected from the garden - it's early summer, and I should have been as busy as a bee...

This morning, in a dreamy daze on my way to feed the hens, I almost stood on the resident Moosey pheasant, lolling in the grass by the ash heap. He flapped off over the shelter trees into the orchard and honked his outrage for the next five minutes.

Meanwhile, overhead, a pair of duelling bellbirds whistled to each other - the same song, with a delay of a few notes. Such beautiful, happy sounds, compared to that grumpy pheasant. Though of course, that's only my human viewpoint, and I could have it completely wrong.

Stumpy :

Stumpy is one of the original Moosey cats.

Goodbye to Stumpy

On a sad note, over this weekend Stumpy the old grey cat has been fading fast. Her time is here, and we'll go to the vet first thing tomorrow morning.

A few hours later - actually, we won't need to. We've just buried our dear old grey Stumpy cat in the orchard, attended by the dog, three of the younger cats, and a crowing rooster. We're just so thankful for her long, happy life.