Dancing around the bonfire...
Me and My Bonfire Day Three
The hedge trimmer man has left behind swathes of Leyland branches. Some are large enough to cut up for firewood logs, others will neatly fit in the shredder, and then there's the little scrappy stuff. That's bonfire material. And there is sooooooo much of it!
Saturday 17th June
Aha! Greetings to another burning day. The hedge, neatly trimmed, looks statuesque and extremely beautiful. Today I half cleaned up the trimmings from Duck Lawn. I also raked and cleared by the Hen House Garden, relaying the garden-edging stones to widen the piece of grass. The miniature Agapanthus are replanted - properly, this time. I split them into quarters with the spade and shortened their root systems. I'm going to pot up the roses which had to removed, and replant them in a sunnier place. I have no idea what varieties they are.
All afternoon the bonfire gurgled and fizzed, and in between barrowing loads I practised the actions to 'Give Me a Little Water Sylvie', which I have to sing tomorrow in a concert. Luckily I am in the back row. This will be easy to learn, I thought. What's so hard about clap, right, left, stomp, clap, brush brush, stomp, three tortilla claps (with a stomp in between) and then another clap? Hmm... Winnie became quite worried. Was I in some sort of human trouble?
Clap, Stomp, Tortilla Clap...
To encourage the bonfire I also dragged out several loads of dry mess from behind the pond. Hurray for a superb garden maintenance day. Not such a creative one, however. Claps, stomps, and tortilla claps don't really count.
Lots of Pictures of My Bonfire
Anyway, I have asked Non-Gardening Partner if we could take a load of hedge trimmings to the green waste at the tip tomorrow. Dispose of more this way. Otherwise I will be burning until spring. And I don't really like doing this, but the mess has to be removed from the grass as soon as possible.
Keen on Bonfiring... Day Four
More Bonfire Selfies...
I took yet more 'selfies' of me at my bonfire. I do this rather a lot. I always seem to be wearing something blue. I usually pose with my rake. And over the years I look older and older - more wizened, more and more wrinkly. But my bonfire always looks pretty much the same. Funny that!
Sunday 18th June
Brr... It's still minus one degree (Celsius) and Winnie and I have already been outside to throw her moon ball. Her day always starts with the moon ball. Then she has 'Frisbee with Father' (so to speak). Then during the week it's the dog park (not so appealing in the frost). I've been up early watching the America's Cup yacht racing. Flying on foils over the water - pretty amazing. Now for me it's a matter of waiting until the sun warms up the land. The gardening life is simple compared to those high-tech boats.
Leyland Hedge
Later...
Non-Gardening Partner cleared the front hedge on the roadside while I raked along the driveway. My bonfire re-ignited all by itself, clever thing. NGP's load went to the dump, but the cost was rather high (naturally the wet wood is very, very heavy). So this isn't really a viable solution for the clean-up. Mind you, giving up twelve cafe coffees or seven packs of sushi (or an appropriate combination of the two) would just about cover it...
Clever dog Winnie! She has learnt a new word. Twice in the last two days I've spied Buster the black cat in the garden 'playing' with something. 'Buster, have you caught a mouse?' Winnie hears the word 'mouse', immediately drops her ball and zooms over to investigate. What she's rather hoping might happen doesn't bear speaking about.
Monday 19th June
Aargh! What am I doing? I am bonfiring. Well, to be more precise, I am munching lunch (bacon and spinach in a bun) and slurping a hot cup of tea. I have been raking more mess off Duck Lawn. I have also repotted some roses, rescued from the Hen House Garden (far too shady in summer) and put some polyanthus plants in the house pots for winter colour.
The plan is simple, as it always is. I am going to finish raking Duck Lawn. Absolutely finish it. How difficult can this be? Stamina and resolve is required. Self-discipline! Head down, bottom up - appropriate for Duck Lawn, which has sadly been duckless for years. OK. I can do this. I...CAN...DO...THIS! I can...
A Nicely Porous Hedge...
By the way, the hedge trimmer man was most complimentary about the hedge. It was 'a good hedge, nicely porous'. I've never heard that expression applied to a hedge before. Porous? Poor us - NGP and me - left with all the mess to clean up, I reckon!
Late afternoon Bonfire Day Five
And PS, written at dusk. I did DO this!