Very good, very good, very good!
Fantail Bird
Two particular birds (blackbirds? thrushes?) in my trees have really groovy songs. One whistles the first six notes of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Another's whistle-call sounds like 'very good, very good, very good'. Always three times. Well, I reckon he's calling to me. I always shout back 'thank you, thank you, thank you'.
Thursday 17th July
So far today I've been very good, very good, and very good. Let me elaborate - I've been thorough, sensible, and thoughtful - though I have lost my gardening scissors. Four huge barrowfuls of assorted mess (gum leaves, pieces of trees, rose prunings, etc.) now await my presence at the bonfire. I've collected up all the pelargonium pots and popped them inside the glasshouse. I've weeded Pond Cottage's garden, watched by young Minimus and big Fluff-Fluff, my self-appointed cat-guardian de jour.
Check Those Camellias
All I have to do now is to collect four barrowfuls of gum tree branches from the Shrubbery to 'balance' the wetter rubbish, and burn everything. And check out the Wattle Woods Camellias, in case any more have started to flower.
Pink Camellia in Wattle Woods
And remember to retrieve my camera, which is hanging in a tree somewhere. This is very foolish. Sure, it stops me treading on it or mulching it, but there are hundreds of suitable camera-hanging trees in my garden. So if I have a really big day working in lots of different locations... Oops.
Two Hours Later...
All done. The camera is safe, and my gardening scissors narrowly missed being heaved onto the bonfire. Such is life, for a Moosey hand tool.
Friday 18th July
+10Oh dear. I had such grandiose plans. And already the wintry rain has set in, and things could get worse - sleet, snow, etc. Definitely an indoors day, when I can catch up on my TV Couch-Cycling. I'm getting further and further behind (even Contador hasn't abandoned my Tour yet). Ginger Percy loves couch-cycling, and joins me every morning, flopping and purring quietly. I will also do some much needed piano practice. Brahms, beware! You are not too difficult for me, I just need to think bigger and 'see' more of the keyboard.
Pretty Blue Petunias
And make a list! You see, I've decided that as well as being allowed to buy Lavenders from the nursery I am also allowed to buy ready-built petunias. They look great in terracotta (the above pot photograph was taken in the summer of 2010). I want my spring-summer patio pots to leap out and catch the eye. Usually I wait for my own annuals to be ready, and this takes ages.
Winter Miscanthus
Oh no. I've just caught up with some sombre world news, with a passenger aircraft shot down over Ukraine. The world can be a rude, horrible place - this is quite unbelievable.
Waxeye Birds :- The little birds are a great temperature gauge. Above five degrees and they're much less needy.
Much later - It's been a dour day where the temperature hasn't got above four degrees Celsius. Flocks of little wax-eye birdies have been fluttering around their bird feeders, constantly eating to keep warm. On offer is the butcher's carb-laden fat-and-seeds special, plus healthy fresh pineapple and apple pieces. They are very difficult to photograph, and I hate disturbing them.
Takanini Camellia
Rusty the dog and I have been out for a walk (breathing out little white clouds of condensation) and I've taken some more wintry photographs. It's important to take garden long-shots, even if there's nothing but drab green and brown.
Love Those Camellias!
Love those Camellias! They just go about their winter flowering quietly, no fuss, no drama.
In the house I've been busy web-gardening in the 'Container Gardening' section. This is rather embarrassing and I hope nobody has been bothering to visit it. My concept of putting plants in pots is lazy and minimal, and I have absolutely no sense of style. And as for creating a 'colourful combo' - forget it! Very good, very good, very good? Not really. Surely I can do better.
So I zoomed off to the nursery to check out prices of the latest Cordyline hybrids. Ouch. I bought some garlic seed (so-called) and three little flame-coloured primroses instead. Sort of very good...