Give me five...
Fred in the Wisteria
Five things that I love to fill each day with : music, friends and family, garden, cats and dogs, and knowledge. Five ticks for today! Details : playing Bach trio sonatas in the morning, lunch with my dearest friend, afternoon gardening and frisbee throwing with the dogs, then inside for cat cuddles and my book about K2 (scary mountain). Such variety, and all packed into one glorious day!
The best thing?
What was the best thing about today? Non-Gardening Partner took the day off and played his violin with me and my flautist friend. Next best? I couldn't start up the bonfire, because it was too windy, so my hair smells nice. And the next best thing? A new part of the Hump garden is now filled up with horse manure and oak leaves, more dahlias and new recycled roses planted therein.
More best things? I've located some Agapanthus clumps (whose location is now too shady) - they can be shifted into another area in the Hump Garden. And I've finished fixing my boundary dog-proof fence. Easy as that!
Some not-so-good things? One of the Fred cats has been climbing around in the Wisteria by the bird feeders, on a mission. Birds beware - be very careful. Being a brown tabby, he is quite nicely camouflaged. And Tiger the tortoiseshell, my old cat, has hardly eaten anything today. She is wheezy and wobbly. Surely she will not be with us for much longer. So sad.
The dogs
In the garden there's wonderful fragrance with the Daphne in full flower. My white flowering shrub seems particularly happy. The early Camellias are going a bit brown, the mid-season ones just starting to flower.
Life moves fairly quickly in the garden from now on, with daffodils, snowflakes, and hellebores. The early red rhododendrons are just starting to flower. Nearly spring, is it? Yeay! Have to stay alert. Don't want to miss anything.
Knitted Mice
Saturday 17th August
Good for me, spreading all that horse manure yesterday, because it rained rather nicely overnight. Today we have already been swimming (great for the hips and knees) and Op shopping, where I rescued a family of nine knitted mice. I love 'home-made' toys - these wee darlings may (or may not) be for the grandchildren, hee hee.
And now - a quick look through my winter garden photographs, and then a brisk drizzle walk with the dogs and the camera to take some new pictures. I'm looking for early spring things. Hopefully I won't see too much mess, and too many weeds. Some daffodils are starting to flower, and I've been waiting and waiting for a row of recycled Camellias planted last year to show their colours. Cross fingers that I like them - the buds looked a bit pink. Please, pink - I love pink at this time of the year.
Not too much later...
Well, it's pretty damp and cold out there. But the light looks - more springlike? There's more green growth in the garden - particularly annual forget-me-nots and Symphytum Hidcote pink, both lovely spreaders. And there are lots of happy, buddy rhododendrons - almost flowering!
New White Camellia
Underwhelming!
But such underwhelming new Camellias! A few pale white flowers - does that even make sense? - small and round and devoid of character. Was hoping for some tiny pink blushes around the edges, at least.
They took me ages and ages to dig out, and I have a curve of six, all the same, alongside a path in the Wattle Woods. Well, at least they were free for the digging, and the leaves are glossy green. Don't mean to sound ungrateful.
A bit cold and damp for me to linger long outdoors, so have picked some Daphne for the house (lovely smell) and come back inside. The log burner is warm, Tiger the cat has eaten a little more food today, and the new mice are squashed into their own basket, next to the rescued gollywogs and the moose. Please don't ask.