Speckles actually purred!
Possibly the nicest five seconds I've experienced all year, sitting on the verandah this morning with a cup of tea and Speckles my stray cat. As I was gently patting his head, he closed his eyes and actually purred. The first time ever - a proper purring noise. For five glorious seconds!
Speckles the Stray
And then I stood up (slowly) to go back to the house and he hissed at me. Apparently I am too big when I stand up. Oh well. One cannot have everything...
Striped Phormium
New dahlias and breadknives!
New things! Seven large clumps of dahlias from the veggie and flower stall down the road to plant. Four 'new' breadknives (from the Op Shop, the handiest of garden tools) to try out. So let's get going...
And a new plan! I am going to slice down a large green Phormium in the Hump Garden which is breaking apart (because of an abundance of heavy flowering stems). Oooh goodie - which breadknife will I choose?
Three hours later...
Dahlias all planted, Phormium deconstructed, pieces separated into dry 'burnables' and wet 'stashables'. Have left most of the mess in the Hump Garden to remove tomorrow. I do this by scooping up armfuls - the wheelbarrow is no use.
And I suspect the Phormium's root ball will have to be dug out - it's a species Cookianum, too big for this location. No doubt it was small, compact, and beautifully suitable when I first planted it. They usually are, hee hee...
Sunday 19th April
Woken in the night by low growling - Speckles was in his cat basket on the cottage verandah, and ginger Foxie had arrived on the garden path. Oops. Simultaneous stray cottage cats. Oh joy! Gave Spex his milk (to kept him occupied), and talked softly to Foxie who had retreated into the garden. But the night was pretty dark, and I was actually sweet-talking a dark green bucket. Oops...
Foliage in the Lower Hump Garden
Later in the afternoon, back from music rehearsals, I removed all my Phormium mess (took ages). Surveyed the lower Hump Garden. Thee are some lovely things in here. But... Oops. My funny little retaining log wall is not really fit for purpose any more. It's sagging, and needs strong metal warratahs (or solid posts) to support the weight. A job for Non-Gardening Partner?