Beauty in a Sometimes Difficult World

Dicentra, 'bleeding heart' battered by the wind and rain but still strong

What a strange world we live in?  Discuss (don't - you'd never have enough time left in the day to do other things).

On a much lighter note, the weather seems to have turned into a wintry spell for a short time with just 6 degrees on the clock this morning on a colleagues car temperature gauge and summer is almost upon us. Blustery rain, low temperatures, hailstones and snow on higher ground belies the fact that spring is almost over and next weekend sees 'flaming' June arrive. 

Everyone is now quoting grandmas and grandads when they say 'Ne'er cast a clout 'til May is out.' In other words, don't take your clothes off until June arrives. Damned good advice if you ask me. First recorded in writing in 1732, 'clout' is a colloquialism for cloth. But then, in May lies the confusion. 

A late tulip - photo taken yesterday - now battered by wind and rain, not so resilient as the bleeding heart (above)

Does May refer to the month or to May blossom - another name for Hawthorn blossom, which normally arrives in April/early May;  anyway, it's original meaning is lost in antiquity, we can all make our own minds up - suffice to say May this year is bloody cold and follows on from weather records which suggest this is the coldest spring for 30 years!

A close up of a piece of moss (about an inch away), dislodged by the birds from the roof, pretty and dense plants grouped together

Last weekend, I never cut the grass because of rain and this last weekend gone was the same but despite it being very wet, I cut it anyway and I filled our recycle bin which doesn't get emptied for another week. The rain has made it look nice and green I have to say the verges and hedges are now looking beautiful and vibrant.

Before and after (the left hand side) an exciting action shot this - hard to capture

I was getting in the car this afternoon at work and just a few feet away, a Magpie was having a good old preen in the tree and never budged an inch even though it knew I was just 20 feet away. I took a quick if  not too brilliant snap:
 

A preening Magpie

Finally, lets have a thought and belief for a peaceful world after the atrocity on the streets of London. Let justice in this democratic place have its course.

Chat soon

Ta-ra

Damp Squibs

A steaming hot cuppa on a chilly bright autumn day in the garden

I am coming to the end of my week off work. I haven't had any summer holidays this year, so a week off now was to help me chill and do a bit of uninterrupted gardening and decorate (which I don't normally do) the new garage-to-bedrooms conversion.

However, 'the best laid schemes of mice and men' don't always work out right - Robert Burns was so right when he penned that poem in 1786 - nothing changes.

Firstly the weather has conspired against me for doing the gardening, not necessarily because it's been bad unlike some parts of the UK, but simply because it's been so wet, the grass is sodden. You can see from the picture of the leaves that they are wet through due to overnight dews, fog and the odd heavy shower that seem to pass through with annoying frequency. The grass hasn't been cut for about a month, mind you it hasn't grown either, we've had a couple of first frosts already.

However what it has allowed me to do is to compost the flowers which have been very disappointing this year, even the sturdy geraniums have flowered poorly, the heads have rotted very easily and the petunias have been a total waste of time. I know my blogger friend Wheelie has had a number of vegetables rot in the ground this year. The roses, what few I have, have been okay this summer and where there is greenery, that has been okay too. I managed to clear away some pots, clean the big fish pond and net it to stop leaves from falling in it and have a little tidy, so some progress.

Leaves do provide beautiful colours this time of year

That just leaves me with a general cutting down of foliage job which normally takes me a couple of days sometime in November. There is an argument from gardeners that foliage should be left and we should enjoy seeing the decay, colours etc., as stuff dies off. I am not in that camp and think its harder to clean up that way in the spring and there is less opportunity for unwelcome bugs and decaying material to spread disease the way I do it. In fact, I am told that there is a bit of tree disease going around at the moment and good solid frosts will kill some of that disease off. I'm a big believer in nature doing its job.

The second issue that hasn't gone entirely to plan is the conversion from a garage and morning room into two bedrooms and utility/store rooms. The issue has been one of timeliness in that the work has gone on a fortnight longer than it should. The builder who has done the brick work and knocking down and building up has been superb and has grafted so hard. He has been let down by other craftsmen who have not kept promises to turn up and do what they were supposed to do. However, after some complaining and wittering, the main builder in charge of the project finally got some reliable people in and the joiner and new electricians have in turn come in and grafted too and got the project nearly finished albeit late. So, time I put aside for decorating the new build has not taken place. 

The two bedrooms were for two of my younger sons who have tiny bedrooms and are still at home and show no sign of leaving. Having said that, my middle son John is now leaving home to live in a rented place a lot closer to where he works, so rather than an hours journey to work, it will take him twenty minutes. That means that one of the bedrooms will now be a lounge and allow me to have a bit of space for my spiritual work away from her indoors who is not a fan of anything like that at all. That's a story for another blog.

I hope you enjoy your weekend, whether you are working or not.

Chat soon

Ta-ra.

Hands in the Soil

The resident (male) fox in the grounds at my place of work

Just finished a mixed week this week and ended up by yesterday (Friday) not feeling too good at all, mentally or physically. However having just completed four and a half hours in the garden including giving the grass its first cut in a month, I feel invigorated and energised and back to my normal self. I've taken a week off work next week to do some 'me' stuff.

Despite continuous rain and showers, the grass was dry due to quite a strong breeze last night yet the ground underneath is still fairly wet. Often, grass can go yellow with too much water, yet the grass has remained green and lush and looks good for a cut. 

I've potted up the last of the plants, some cactus dahlias and trailing begonias. A mixture of ground cover and medium tall perennials are now potted up outside. Lily 'Stainless Steel' and dahlia tubers are in pots along with some other begonia corms. Petunias and geraniums I planted up three weeks ago are looking well and are growing in the shelter of the greenhouse overseen by my lovely green man. Some trailing begonias I've ordered are not due to arrive on time, I think the late frosts a couple of weeks ago may have delayed them at the nurseries.

Being fortunate enough to be able bodied and reasonably fit for my age, I count myself lucky that I can get into the garden and do the things I enjoy. Being with nature is a wonderful experience even though in the domestic garden environment it tends to be a manufactured one. Nonetheless, to get  my hands in the soil brings me closer to Mother Nature and keeps me grounded. To be able to touch and admire trees, watch the wildlife and breath fresh air is so important to me and today I bought a small portable radio to take to my greenhouse to listen to when I use the warmth and shelter of the glass as a bolt hole, safe from being interrupted or being molested by domesticity.

I have a lovely family around me and some friends who I admire and adore but there's just something about my own company which attracts me. Is that being selfish or arrogant? 

American author Alice Koller (bn 1925) who spent many years deliberately living away from other human beings said, "Being solitary is being alone well: being alone luxuriously immersed in doings of your own choice, aware of the fullness of your won presence rather than of the absence of others. Because solitude is an achievement."

Chat soon

Ta-ra

We've Had Babies

As always, my first duty is to welcome a new 'follower', Molly Printemps and her very interesting and entertaining musings on her blog can be found here. 

There comes a time every spring when I venture into the garden with trepidation ready to start the year's preparation for the spring and summer. Although I put the compost on the borders a few weeks ago, I've done very little other than a watching brief. The weekend has been pleasantly warm because there's been no breeze, but a thick jumper was still needed.

Surprisingly, the garden's not looking too bad; a little tatty perhaps, ragged round the edges, but a bit of elbow grease will soon sort that out.

On Saturday I semi-cleaned both my fish ponds and gave it a good examination. I found one dead goldfish that had become trapped behind a basket, but other than that - all appeared well and indeed today, I saw a few tiny black fry swimming about the large pond - we've had babies! The water is warm enough (10 degrees C) to feed them a little wheatgerm food and they are tentatively playing with it. 

Today saw me clean my greenhouse ready for some plants coming and some spiders are now looking for new homes. I have some different varieties of lavender bushes in pots and after a trim, they were re-potted along with some other plants including two geraniums which had survived all winter uncovered in the greenhouse. 

I have noticed the huge number of ladybirds in the garden and the midges are flying over the ponds already, highlighted in the weak late winter sun shine.   The lady birds vary both in size and in colour - some are pillar box red and some are even shinier slightly darker red and the number of spots vary too.  I must take some pictures and check the varieties out - I just thought there was one type of ladybird and that was it!

I have noticed however how relatively dry things are which I suppose I should be surprised at but considering there's a drought already officially announced in South East England, it's understandable. We haven't had sustained rain here for a long time. 

The spring flowers are showing nicely - snowdrops are in full bloom and the hellebore is just starting to flower. Shoots are well advanced on the roses and the grass is tufting in places so I guess the first high cut is only a couple of weeks away. 

I hope you have a great week.

Chat soon

ta-ra.

Packed Away for the Winter

Another busy week this week but less hectic which has been pleasant, a chance to re-charge the batteries. Today has been spent in the garden pruning shrubs, cutting back and giving it a final clean up before the winter finally comes to us. With moving leaves from the borders, I was revealing ground not seen for a few weeks and hiding places for bugs, the wild birds have come flocking back into the garden. Just today sat having a sandwich for lunch, in half an hour I saw: blackbird, thrush, collared dove, blue tit, coal tit, wren (x2), robin, crow, wood pigeon, dunnock and goldfinch.

I have mostly emptied the compost bin and as I was emptying it, I noticed lots of tiny yellow maggots in one place in the compost. I stopped to have the obligatory break and a robin who had been watching me closely, swooped down and helped him/herself to an unexpected but I guess welcome meal. The compost was full of works which are now hopefully working on the borders with the new compost.

The grass has had its winter treatment, the buddleia davidii has been pruned to stop damage from wind rock and the roses have had the same. Leaves have been cleaned from the gutters and ponds and the pond pumps have had their last clean of the year. I keep the water falls running all winter to provide running water, surface movement and oxygen for the fish. It also makes sure there is a hole in any ice that forms. We've just started to have one or two light frosts, enough to ensure I have to clean the car windscreen in the mornings.  

The advent calendars are now being used with 3 choccies eaten. I bought my lads one each as I try to most years and this year a friend bought me one too with a Thomas the Tank Engine theme.  I have to say I was tickled by this choice of calendar theme because once as a parent of young children, we used to watch Thomas and his friends on television and on video every day. I could once name all the engines - not now I don't suppose.

Advent calendars come from the nineteenth century in Germany when Lutherans would count the days down to Christmas Day by chalking off the days on the door beginning on the 1st December. The first printed advent calendar hails from Germany in the first years of the twentieth century.

Whilst the calendars are largely made for children these days (including the odd adult like me), advent events including the lighting of candles can still be found in some churches.

I've already been on one Christmas evening dinner with my lovely psychic/philosophy group at a Chinese restaurant. We had a banquet, something I've never done before and tasted a wide variety of foods and I was quite brave and mostly used chopsticks although in the end, the fork became handy.

I see that the snows have already been causing some problems in Scotland, last year, we had widespread snow which caused us a lot of disruption. We are now, at last beginning to see more traditional cold weather with daytime temperatures tomorrow predicted at 5 degrees Celsius - this follows the second mildest British autumn on record (MET Office: September to November). 

Chat soon

Ta-ra

Blank Canvas

What a lovely pleasant day today. It's been sunny and, for the time of year, quite warm. I managed to have lunch with an old friend, Ian, at a local Italian restaurant and it's great to catch up. Friends are so important.

Today is the first time I've had a look at the new fence because when it was finished yesterday, I arrived home after dark and couldn't see much. It looks good but there will be a lot of work in the spring to start to build up colour and life to work with the new fence. After a request - here's a pic of just part of the new fence.

The flowers are now in the compost after being bitten by the frost and are now contributing towards making the soil rich for next year's flowers and plants.

Thank you to all those fellow bloggers who made some comments on yesterday's blog on the issue of Gaddafi.

Chat soon

Ta-ra

Garden in Need of TLC

I hope you've all had a good week. Work is busy as always   and plenty happening to interest the brain. On a night time my interests have kept me busy with a psychic circle on Tuesday which I ran on behalf of my tutor who was visiting relatives and had a lovely annual dinner on Thursday for the East Riding County FA of which I am one of their directors (of marketing and communication.)

Now my poor garden has been in disarray all week. The longest fence which abuts the road was just about knackered.   It consisted of wooden panelling, most of which has been there at least 20 years and although I've replaced a couple of panels, the wooden posts were becoming rotten and it was only the extensive ivy that was keeping it up. We employed a local man and his two worker to rip the old out and replace the new with concrete posts and tanalised wooden planks. They worked very hard indeed all week in very cold conditions.

The new fence has a ten year guarantee and next spring, I'll be able to paint it with wood preservative before I pick plants to trail along it. Perhaps some roses, clematis and other climbers - any suggestions (no ivy allowed)?

Now this isn't particularly a subject for a light hearted ordinary man's blog but I have been witnessing, along with the rest of the world, an endless showing of the bloody body of Muammar Gaddafi being towed around Libya. Now between you and I, I have had the dubious role of having seen and witnessed some of the most unpleasant things mankind could imagine over the last 36 years in my former life in public service. Most people wouldn't see it once in a lifetime.

However there is need for debate over the graphic and gratuitous showing of these distressing images. For example, my son was at work eating his lunch when the images were broadcast at lunchtime. He found them distressing and highly unpleasant. He's 24. How many children and other sensitive vulnerable people will have witnessed these images which, in truth, could have been shown (if it were necessary) with great discretion and only very late at night to an adult audience. 

The ordinary Joe doesn't need to see graphic photo of a mutilated and bloody body to a) prove Gaddafi is dead - because the Libyan NTC have said so b) to understand the message that dictators will end up summarily executed as he clearly was and c)  to underpin the joy of most (but not all) Libyans at the news.

I'm just pleased they can start to rebuild and hope that tribal differences don't get in the way of what will be a difficult few years for Libya.

Times move on - I know. But we, the public, have always relied on the media to be self censors. In my former life as a press officer, I was never worried about the media taking photographs of bodies being recovered or scenes of carnage or road accidents where there were still people trapped or the like because I had faith that no news editor of any pedigree would ever show them to the public - they never did on my watch. It's insensitive, undignified and unnecessary and the public would rail against it. It satisfies of course morbid curiosity and a minority who revel in seeing such images, but they are the tiny minority in truth.

I had written a little more on the subject but I've deleted it because it is too deep politically and this is not the forum. Suffice to say that the west should now be happy that as Libya produces 2% of all the worlds oil output, the capacity is rising now to a quarter of former production levels and the oil industry infrastructure there is barely damaged by the troubles.

Plenty on this weekend - shopping, lunch with an old friend and garden restoration and winter preparation for the rest of it. Enjoy yours whatever you are doing.

Chat soon

Ta-ra

Hello Flower...

I hope everyone is well this Saturday which got off to a brilliant start with some big yellow thing in the sky - erm... the Sun! At last.

As is the custom here, welcome to new follower 'Morningaj.'

Apart from a bit of shopping to prepare for our week away in London for a break and to get the kids enough food in to feed an army, the day has been spent in the garden. I've also bought a pack of 'post-its' in bright fluorescent yellow to fix reminders throughout the house for the children: 'dishwasher,' 'hoover,' 'rubbish bin,' 'cat food,' 'this way to the washing machine,' etc.

The lawn has had it's first cut this morning and I've cheated a little really, I've cut it too short which I guess you should never really do especially at this time of the year, but it picked up all the rogue leaves, twigs, bits of other detritus to save me raking it all up. Still it looks okay for now. The compost bin produced three barrows of lovely rich stuff which is now in the borders and in the top of the pots.

The top of the fountain was damaged by the frost and snow this year and when my eldest lad and I came to clean it out ready for the spring, it was cracked and badly damaged. We put it back together and it's working okay, but the pond at the bottom is leaking so it has no fish in it at the moment. I can't decide whether or not to fill it with soil or repair it and put the fish back in. The problem is finding something to line the inside of the concrete section fountain pond with (liner is difficult) and was thinking along the lines of fibre glass. I can feel research coming on. These days you just 'Google' every conceivable problem.
 

The miniature daffs are in flower and the flowering blackcurrant is out. Some of the heather I planted last year has survived the snow and is in flower and the dicentra, 'bleeding heart' is about two feet high - the heart shaped flowers won't be far away now. The thing that seals springs arrival for me is the honey bees and midges that are out in force. The fish in the ponds are now eagerly feeding with wheatgerm even though the water is still cool.

A cuppa, while sat on the garden seat listening to a blue tit singing away in the tree just a few feet away was just dreamy in the warmish fresh air. The long tailed tits are just starting to appear along with the goldcrests, a sure sign of the birds returning for the spring entertainment. They are so funny to watch. The robins are around in pairs too.

The week has been a good one for a number of reasons, lots achieved at work and the first night of the healing group that I was invited to as a healer went off really well on Thursday night. I met a couple of retired ex work colleagues on Friday tea-time for a drink (non-alcoholic in my case, sadly) and a catch up for an hour at a local and a Tarot card reading I did on Friday night went really well with a positive and confirmed spirit link for the sitter and that rounded off the week.

So, I can hear my other half hoovering, getting the house ready for us going away so I best get the kettle on to make her a cuppa to keep her strength up so she can carry on with the domestic chores (so I can listen to the football on the Internet radio).

I'll keep you posted with what we get up to in the capital next week because I think the hotel has free wi-fi connections.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Chat soon

Ta-ra.

Christmas Rose

A bit of a horticultural day today; it's slightly less cold and the wind seems to have abated for now so a bit of a superficial tidy up of all the new twigs and branches that have landed on the grass.

The hellibore (above) is just flowering and I have some pale lime coloured hellibores with smaller pendulous flowers which are just peeping out and adding a bright splash of almost white/green in a still relatively dull coloured garden. The roses I have in two pots are into leaf with new shoots a couple of inches long already.

We bought a couple of house plants today to replace one which is long past its best which we haven't got rid of but now graces the greenhouse. The rest have been repotted, trimmed and tidied and there is a general feeling of a refreshing time in the immediate future.

My itinerent life is continuing next week with a course on the Freedom of Information Act which means two nights away in Cheshire, somewhere I visited many years ago and about which I can remember nothing of interest. Our hotel is in Crewe, a place I've never been I think and of course about which there are many music hall jokes to be told and songs to be sung. I'm sure it's nice, the hotel looks fabulous.

Oh! Mister Porter, what shall I do?
I want to go to Birmingham
And they're taking me on to Crewe.
Send me back to London
As quickly as you can
Oh! Mister Porter, what a silly girl I am.

This is a chorus of Oh! Mr Porter, a song written by Thomas Le Brunn, and composed by George Le Brunn from as far back at 1893. It's the story of Mary Ann who visits her Aunt in London and who got on the wrong train to get back to her home in Birmingham. Crewe is famed I guess for being a town with a major rail interchange hence why, as the main form of national transport in late Victorian times it would attract a lot of interest.

My thoughts this weekend will be with the people of Japan and other places in the Pacific who have suffered and will continue to suffer from the devasting effects of the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami. The pictures from the television have been both dramatic and almost surreal.

The power of the water captured by helicopter film is extraordinary and it takes some comprehension when you see whole houses being carried away on the tides of destruction and ships weighing many thousands of tonnes on shore; burning wreckage moving along with the detritus caught in the incoming tide miles in-land. I'm almost in tears writing this.

I'm just about to start reading this afternoon a new book which I am reading as part of a new 'book club' created and founded by fellow blogger Diane.

The Crow Road by Iain Banks, a Scottish writer of whom I know nothing has some rave reviews of the book which was adapted for television in late 1996.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Chat soon

Ta-ra.