Garden Journal In Disgrace!
Now my gardening journal is in disgrace, as well as my garden. The days have been too hot to do anything garden related. There's been little to write about. It is, after all, mid-summer, and there are friends to meet for lunch in cafes, dog parks to visit, books to read...
Friday 16th January
But the gardening mind, if a little sluggish, is ever analytical. The gardener looks at a particularly messy bit where the weeds have all regrown and reminisces (somewhat lyrically) : 'I did my best, it wasn't much...' No point in getting downhearted, though. There are always weeds. Fact of gardening life. I'm always finding major messes in places I remember cleaning up just last week. Or was it maybe last month?
PInk Dahlias
Today I've been in the Allotment Garden. I've tied in two rambling roses to the rope swags, and planted a third. I've been snacking on peas and harvesting potatoes. It's been relatively passive prodding and poking, finished off by watering the Viburnums with a hand-held hose. Tomorrow I'm going to plant more roses along the edge.
Spot the Kittens
Kitten Report
Time to file a kitten report. Buster the black is a languid, lazy-bones kitten, normally found lolling on a cushion, snoozing on a bed, or stretched out by a sunny window. Tiddles the tabby is the absolutely opposite. She's in your face, leaping up all over everything, exploring, playing, teasing Winnie the puppy. Tiddles takes all the risks, while Buster watches all the action.
Both kittens are super-smoochy and purry, and enjoy their new life here. Buster is a very picky eater, though, and has to be fed on her own.
Winnie the puppy is now a real doglet. Her ears, I think, are adult size, and stick right up. She is a brainy dog, and is getting good at retrieving the frisbee. She loves the dog-park, and is confident and social, often initiating chasing games with some of the other older dogs. She swims in the pond and loves cooling off in the water. But there are some alarming juvenile signs...
Saturday 17th January
OK, it's been too hot to be gardening, anyway. I stayed home this morning to vacuum the house and clean up the house decking. After a sociable lunch under the sun umbrella by the pond, we loaded up two trailers with firewood for our country friends. We've been there and back, stopping for a refreshing pot of tea. The dogs had fun.
Hot Dog - Winnie in the Water Race
And now we're off to the beach for an evening meal with the grandbaby, delivering potatoes and beetroot from the garden. Sometimes on a hot day there's nothing nicer than a cruisy road-trip, with the air-con gently whooshing gently.
Darcey Bussell Rose
Sunday 18th January
Another too-hot day, filled with the following : a blues band rehearsal (brilliant), a cat-nap on the bed (short enough to wake up happy), and a visit to the dog park. Winnie the doglet is going through 'a phase'. When she doesn't want to get back into the car, she refuses to comply, keeping out of reach. She's not quite six months old, but it might be time for the serious training to start.
Have I Run Out?
So when exactly am I going to get back to the real business of my life, namely doing the garden? I'm not writing much - perhaps I've finally run out of gardening words? Or gardening thoughts? Scary!