The niggly hip and the dodgy knee
Fred
Good morning. Today I am going swimming, to gently remind the niggly hip and dodgy knee who's the boss. ME! I go to chamber music (Handel is the composer de jour). And when I get back home I gently remind my garden who's the boss. First I rake the Pond Paddock, then I clear the Wattle Woods path, and trim that Gunnera. Then I get ready to go out to two singing rehearsals, while muttering quietly to myself : I can do this. I am the boss!
Much later...
Did a bit of everything, then got the bonfire going. Trimmed dead rugosa rose canes and self-sown Prunuses from the Wattle Woods, collected a lot of gum leaves and dry Wattle seed-pods. Oh boy. I worked really hard. There were so many oak leaves to bag up! Blades of grass were nearly invisible in the Pond Paddock, but not so were the hosts of pretty forget-me-nots with their fresh green leaves. They were (oops) everywhere.
Another cat fight...
The Fred cats have had another fight and Black Fred is looking a little worse for wear. Off the the vet? Well, he's very bunty and he's eating, so will just keep a check on him for now.
So both cats now have scabs on their heads. Wish they wouldn't do this. They're identical brothers - it would be like fighting yourself in a mirror.
Late at night, after rehearsal...
The niggly hip and the dodgy knee tell me they've done far too much today, and I should listen to them. Limit my gardening work to maybe four hours total, no more. Vary the physical stuff - plod around a bit, sit down a bit, and so on. And stop bending over so much. Good night.
Still Flowering
Friday 16th June
Moderation! The beginning of a slightly more relaxed, less frenetic gardening winter. For me, that is. I will not work such ridiculously long hours. I will listen to my niggly hip and dodgy knees.
Winnie
Moderation...
So today was my first attempt at moderation. I had to rake and bag the pond Paddock leaves - so I just filled five bags. I needed to clear up the Gunnera mess. So I just trundled around with my wheelbarrow for half an hour, no more. I needed to weed the Wattle Wood paths. So I sat down for one hour and pulled out Creeping Charlie and Lamium, and realigned the stones.
I picked up Winnie's ball fifteen times to throw it for her - but I remembered to slowly bend my knees as well. Hee hee. Pretty silly thing to count...
A good idea...
Had a good idea to split up the green Mondo grass and replant it along the shadier edge of the glass-house. But it will need watering. And below the glass-house path the red rhododendron Kaponga has asked (very politely) if it could have some horse manure and some water too.