I love Pond Cottage...
I've enjoyed January in my bright, flowery summer garden very much. I have new seats to sit on, clear and tidy paths, and even some new plants to look after. And I love Pond Cottage, where I've been sleeping semi-soundly for the last week...
Flowery Summer Garden
Monday 31st January
Today I'm going to try and finish doing the lawn edges. Late yesterday the lawns were mowed, so of course now they look wonderful and my garden borders look dreadful. But first I'm going to soft-boil an egg for a good gardener's protein breakfast.
Three Hours Later...
The flowering perennials look oddly exuberant, and I've also been zooming around with the camera. I've had cat company (Fluff-Fluff) but Rusty the dog is sulking - he poked his nose into a bees nest. I think he got a fright rather than a sting..
- 'The slower the gardener the more fun the gardening...'
- -Moosey Words of Wisdom.
There's been a real edge to the colour of the morning, with the sky a rather brooding grey. My gardening has been somewhat ineffectual, but really enjoyable. Oddly, the slower the gardener the more fun the gardening...
Breaking news of great importance in the Moosey household but of little impact otherwise - Tiger the cat has been gardening. She actually came outside, climbed up four stone steps, and sat with her fat furry bottom in the real soil of the vegetable garden. Then she purred (encouragement?) as I weeded and collected tomatoes. This is a great day for catkind!
Tiger Cat on the Decking
And now the sun has broken through (silly phrase - the sun hasn't broken anything) and everything is shining again. I'm going to return for a final session weeding in the water race.
Much Much Later...
My work is done for the month, and I'm really happy to have finished January on a gardening high. I'm still 'on holiday', sleeping in Pond Cottage, and I love it over there. The birdlife is interesting to watch (thrushes and blackbirds scuttle around in the leaves) and the pond reflections sparkle. The trees seem sheltered from fierce winds, their limbs dancing gentle port-be-bras movements instead of whooshing around in a panic. My Pond Cottage cat, Fluff-Fluff, has taken up permanent evening residence, and I don't get too many visits from the possum.
Sister Cottages
Just when I thought I couldn't get any sillier, I've had a brilliant idea. Daughter of Moosey is now based in the Cook Islands (in the South Pacific), and sent me a picture of her little residence on the main island. I've called it 'Coconut Cottage', and decided it can be a sister-cottage of my Pond Cottage. Well, if cities can be twinned and have sisters why can't cottages? Hee hee.
Best of January in My Garden
The Best January Garden Event has to be setting up Pond Cottage with furniture and books to read. My Best Janunary Flower is the recycled yellow rose Ivey Hall, which I bought for five dollars in autumn. It's a sunny honey of a golden rose. Three cheers for the Agapanthus I planted in bulk, too - the green foliage is much appreciated in the dry shade of the Wattle Woods.
Ivey Hall Roses
All the cats are the best cat, of course, and Rusty the dog has been his usual brilliant best doggy self. And naturally I am the Best Gardener...