At last we’ve had some proper gardening weather. The soil has dried a little and the rain has largely held off. It’s still pretty mucky, so to keep the washing down I am resplendent in my boiler suit, but the game is definitely now afoot. I have been out weeding and “reshuffling” like a positiveContinue reading “First flush”
Tag Archives: gardening
Public Service Announcement
I’ve been out to check and it’s still horrible. Shelter in place until further notice. We had a tantalisingly sunny day earlier in the week. It had started overcast but by the time Lyra and I hit the trail patches of blue were visible so a skip around the riverside was in order. As weContinue reading “Public Service Announcement”
Crewel weather
We are suspended between disappearances. It is not black over Bill’s mother, she has simply disappeared, together with the Lammermuir and the Cheviot, all quietly erased by smirr. The wet hangs, bone-chilling, in the air. Drainage ditches are lipping with weak tea and the water table has escaped, with glassy sheets covering fanned out buttercupsContinue reading “Crewel weather”
Rain did not stop play
It has been exceeding vile abroad. Lyra and I have bravely ventured forth every day, but it has not been delightful. The back lane is awash with puddles and the ditches are running lipping full with cold milky tea. By the end of our daily perambulation my finger ends are numb and Lyra is aContinue reading “Rain did not stop play”
New year nip
Things are gradually getting back to normal. All our visitors have gone now and, aside from intermittent confrontations in the battlefield of Mum’s unpacking (usually after a landmine discovery of yet another box of china/glassware/towels), peace has descended. All of the fruitcake and almost all the Christmas sweeties have been snarfed and we are graduallyContinue reading “New year nip”
Lucky for some
Never listen to triskadekaphobics; the thirteenth has been delightful. We had a pretty pink dawn which, in spite of gurning shepherds, simply heralded a bright and breezy day. We were up, bacon sarnied and out with the dog before Jack Robinson could be declaimed. Down in the woods, the worst of the mud had driedContinue reading “Lucky for some”
The bell tolls twelve
In a desperate attempt to fit everything in Keith and I dashed off first thing to choose Christmas trees. We got slightly lost en route and had to phone for directions from a lay-by on the Abbotsford back road. A quick u-ie had us back on track and after that all passed smoothly. The treesContinue reading “The bell tolls twelve”
Three’s the charm
Well like the curate’s egg, the day was good in parts. This is a quick update because my sinuses are in revolt and sleep seems to happen in 2 hour increments between phases of asphyxiation. If I go to bed soon I can perhaps patchwork a nights sleep between the Vicks application, desperate earache triggeredContinue reading “Three’s the charm”
Digging Diversion
Day 2 was hijacked. I started off tremendously, getting up fairly early even though I had sat up late appliquéing legs onto an embroidered sheep (and, with hindsight I should have banked another half hour’s sleep and stopped at two rather than going for the full four as it now looks like a cross betweenContinue reading “Digging Diversion”
Slip sliding away
We are in welly season. We celebrated Lyra’s 6th birthday with a sunny walk along the river in Norham only to find that the “low road” had been converted into a foot deep duck superhighway. Choosing the better part of valour, for once, Mum and I took the high road rather than wade through. EvenContinue reading “Slip sliding away”