So beautiful...

Taking stock - my garden is so beautiful. It's also so big, so full with growth, so alive. So many wonderful colours, thanks mainly to the dahlias. I should never get cross with the dahlias for flopping around or self-seeding. They make a huge contribution in late summer.

 On the edge of the Hump Garden.
Favourite Dahlias

And there are so many wonderful greens in the shrub and tree branches. So I should never be cross with having to trim, lop, and saw things off. The lawns are very green, after all the rain we've been having. So trimming their edges should be a joy. Except that my shears don't work properly - the grass blades are too wet, and the shears might have been left outside in the rain a few too many times. Oops.

 Beautiful!
New Zealand Gardener Roses

I have good gardening boots and plenty of pairs of gardening jeans. I don't mind sitting down in the dirt. And there's always a hot shower ay the end of the day. So no problems with clothing or grooming, either, hee hee.

Two small problems...

I only have two problems : a) agreeing to sing solo second soprano in Liszt's Via Crucis in a concert (I thought I was singing the alto part). And, much more seriously : b) trying to limit my intake of news and current affairs (there is so much nasty stuff out there). Curiosity versus ignorance. Not easy to balance both. Much easier to practice the Liszt - breathing, producing good vowels, making every phrase sound as beautiful as possible. Screech! Some of the notes are a bit high for me. Eek!

 With Golden Marjoram and Oreganum.
Messy Herb Spiral

Later...

So I've already been for a swim, and practiced my singing, and now I'm listening to the cricket and thinking about going outside. I'll find a shady spot which needs weeding. That won't be difficult. Everything needs weeding!

Later...

Chose to weed around the Herb Spiral, a spiritual, peaceful place in my garden. I kept away from the bees, busy visiting the flowering Marjoram. There were plenty of seedling Cosmos and Calendula in the circular path - I let these be.

I enjoyed myself, paying attention to small details like scraping weeds off the bricks, working really slowly. Unfortunately we were losing the cricket just as slowly (have new batteries for my little red cricket radio). Oh dear. Oh well.

Lilli :
Lilli is nearly fifteen years old, and is has dementia.

Oops. Lilli-Puss has just come in - she's absolutely drenched. Must have fallen into the water race. I've towelled her shivering body down, tried to warm her up with food, and carried her to a patch of late afternoon sun. She really doesn't know what's going on. And she's getting so weak.