Buster and the bonfire...
Buster the Cat
Today has been a bonfiring day, with lots of dry mess, Cordyline leaves, gum tree branches, gum leaves, and so on - all needing to be burnt. Buster my elusive black cat has been spying on me - where ever I go, she goes. She watches the bonfire from high up on the top of the pergola. Silly, lovely cat.
Earlier this morning Speckles the stray had been hunkered down on one of the cottage's cane chairs. I went over to say hello to him, but he was only interested in breakfast - he took a swipe at my hand (whose only function, obviously, is to instantly lay down food in front of his nose). I batted him on the head with the cat food packet and he hissed at me. Once a wild cat, always a wild cat. Humph...
We are enjoying having garden visitors. But a wee whoopsy. That buzzing hole in the ground by Willow Bridge? Oops. I have a positive ID. It is a wasp's nest. My seven year old friend took one for the team - he got too close and was stung by a wasp, a bright yellow and black striped blighter. Ouch! Pebbles the dog was very lucky - she was with us and almost put her nose down in the hole.
Autumn Colours
It's getting really autumnal now. More and more leaves are coming down. The dogwoods are colouring up beautifully. Such wonderful trees, these. So happy that I chose to plant some. In fact, there are quite a few things I'm glad that I planted, and autumn seems to be the time I notice them. Here's a list :
I'm glad that I planted...
- The Cornus (Dogwood) trees. Yeay for me!
- The Aconites - beautiful flowers for autumn.
- The Phormiums - stunning shapes and colours.
- The Dahlias - yeay! Power flowers, stunning colours, great for the bees.
And regarding my new wheelbarrow : I've just read the label. It's a barrow for the discerning or professional gardener. Woo hoo!
Cordyline with Clean Trunk
Wednesday 12th April
I did a speed-weeding session in the Allotment Garden, trimmed some of the dead wood out of the big fence-line roses, then collected more dry mess for the bonfire. The trunk of the Cordyline in the Allotment Garden is now tidy (paid my small friends the country rate of ten cents per bundle of dead leaves collected).
Then we bonfired - I raked and poked, while they added the cordyline bundles and then roasted potatoes and pieces of yellow Courgettes on sticks. These were mixed with grass blades and water, turned into soup, and fed to Black Bear and Smug the Penguin. It looked looked gross! Oops. I mean yummy.
Kept a close eye on my new wheelbarrow, and yes - I do tend to park it rather close to the fire. Must be more careful, since I am apparently a discerning gardener...
Ha! when the visitors left I called into the nursery Easter Sale to check out the bargains. Saw a load of rubbish, mainly lots of pots of dead looking Lavenders. Didn't buy anything. Another nursery sale successfully negotiated!