Frosty...
Today I got up to find the wood burner in the house blazing merrily, and a note from Non-Gardening Partner - 'Gone skiing'. Blast! I had such plans for him! But lighting the fire was a great idea, since there was a pretty heavy (for us) frost.
Frosty Lawn
Things didn't warm up outside until 11:30. Took an early lunch and coffee out, then (supervised by my friendly blackbird) I shifted the stone edges of Middle Path, axing out the Viburnum roots that were in the way. Dug out and replanted foxgloves. The new route looks so much better. Silly to wiggle when you can curve gracefully, if you're a path - or a person, maybe?
Silly to wiggle when you can curve gracefully..- Advice to a path.
Then I cleaned out some more glass from the glass-house. By now I was noticing the cold, so I lit the bonfire and collected various dry loads (including the pieces of Arondo that I'd chopped off yesterday).
Warm feet, wood-burner going...
Then the best two things of all - warm, dry feet in clean wool socks, and the wood-burner going again. A cold but sunny day. Congratulations to me. Great work!
Sunday 7th July
First thing I did was to spread mulch all over the new path, joined by my blackbird who hopped and poked through the surface. Then a different bird joined NGP who was busy shredding the smaller Wattle branches. The noise didn't put this new bird off - oh no. He/she was busy searching in the chippings for food.
My Bird Friend
Meanwhile I dragged, chopped, and burnt the dead wood. My bird poked carefully around the bonfire edges. I am now wondering how many more tame blackbirds there are providing gardening company. There may be dozens, subbing in and out.
Fred Climbing
Feeding the birds
This year I have given in to veterinary science. I am not putting out any fat balls for the birds that live here or visit. Just fruit - apples, banana, kiwi fruit, and yesterday a large piece of water melon (which has already been eaten). I don't get many seed eaters. The numbers of silver-eyes is drastically down from last year. This, perversely, may be because I have withdrawn the fat ball offering?
Feeding Speckles
After being missing for three nights (and me worrying), Speckles came for his dinner. He then made a nuisance of himself by coming into the cottage and eating all Minimus's left-overs, while she growled from the bed.
NGP reckons he has another sweet old lady somewhere else who he's conned into providing food. After all, one does not 'own' a domestic cat, let alone a feral one.