Winter welcome...

 Escher! You are not supposed to go in there!
Dogs by Pond Cottage

OK, winter. Welcome to my garden. Your rain is timely, since we are below average for the season, even for the year. As a lapsed statistician I still believe in means and medians. But here's the deal. I don't moan about being stuck inside. And you stop this 'snow to sea-level' nonsense.

Thursday 4th August

I woke up in the middle of last night hearing snuffling sounds on the cottage roof. Possums in slippers? Eek! Snow? Please no! Decided to burrow underneath the blankets and not peep out the window. The power of the mind, and all that.

Actually it's the dogs who will be moaning this morning. We don't go to the dog park in fat, cold rain, because none of our friends are ever there. We will, however, will show our toughness by putting on our Goretex (me) and sloshing around the garden, undaunted by the rain (or the no-show snow).

A Bit Later...

Oh dear. I've had to rescue a wee birdie, first from getting stuck in the bird-feeder, and then from the (soft) mouth of big brown Escher. I'm not sure it will survive. Then we went for our garden walk. My friend told me it's snowing a little further up-country. Here the temperature is three degrees Celsius. And when exactly does rain turn into snow? Hmm.... Pretty soon, maybe?

 Cold...
Rusty in the Winter Driveway

And now I will make a hot cup of coffee and an enormous list of all the gardening things I need to do. There's something intoxicating about writing a list when one cannot carry out any of the tasks, hee hee.

  1. Plant remaining Agapanthus.
  2. Pot up remaining Queen Anne's Lace seedlings.
  3. Shift (oops) Cannas into glass-house.
  4. Check and possibly shift all pot Pelargoniums.

Look - this could turn into a never-ending scrolling nightmare. So the above instalment will do for now. And it's dropped to two degrees outside. Aargh! Morning coffee time, I reckon.

Later...

There was a break in the weather, so we did go to the dog park. But it's gone cold and grey again. That's OK. I've got a pie to make for the evening meal, and a 'Success with Containers' glossy book to read afterwards. It has pink tulips on the cover, and reminds me that I didn't buy any new tulips this year. Oh well.

 So pretty.
Hellebore - Winter Rose

Friday 5th August

Hmm... Don't be taken in by all that burble written yesterday. I didn't do anything, not even housework. I went all moochy (for example, spent an hour watching daytime TV soap). Well, today is going to be different. Actually, it's going to be normal. The dogs and I will go to the dog park now, even though the morning is a bit frosty. Then I will start work on that mini-list, with loads of oomph and energy.

 Outside the laundry door.
Fern-free Stone Steps

Later, Mid-Afternoon...

So far I am beating the weather! Well, apart from having lunch outside on the patio table in simultaneous sunshine and hail. One more session, and then I'm allowed to come inside, warm up my feet etc., and fill in all the details. Ooh goodie...

Two Hours Later...

Right. Here I am, showered, clean and warm. I have done lots of very good things today. Let's call it garden maintenance, though - ploddy rather than creative. I finished the fern trim around the house, and also pruned an archway rose, name unknown, which I usually ignore. Hope it thanks me! Then I started cleaning up the path around the pond, cutting out grasses which had self-seeded, trimming flaxes, and relaying the stones on the little wall. And - oops - picking up several gnomes who had face-planted in the soil.

And all the time the sky has has been half-filled with fat puffs of violent, glowering grey. I believe it has been snowing lightly in the city. But I scared my personal weather by shouting in my man-voice to 'buzz off'.