Of course I LOVE having a garden but there is so much to learn everyday. When I came back from my brilliant long weekend at Meeshy Moo’s my basil and dill were drowned, although the parsley and coriander had gone mental! And to think that I was worried about drought conditions before I left. Nearly all my apple blossoms were on the lawn due to high winds. Boo, now I’ve got hardly any apples growing. Apple leafs all over the lawn. Every day. That need to be raked every day, good job I love it. Apparently apple trees are among the first to lose their leafs. The following morning there were 3 curious mounds of earth on the lawn. I thought it was that damn cat at first and investigated with a stick. There was a pile of loose earth in a mound and loads of little white things that were moving and looked liked maggots. Yuck, anthills. No one wants them on their lawn. Daddy said to get rid, as they would be in the house next. So, after consulting the secretary (as she like to be known) at work and the tinernet, I decided that hot water was the best policy. As Mummy said “they don’t like that”. Bro advised not to use too much as they are such clever blighters that they build a u-bend. They’ve cleared off to someone else now. I watched them scattering around the garden with eggs in their pincers. I spent the next couple of nights worrying that they would storm the bedroom.
I also discovered that the pesky cat was getting a lot nearer to my chicks, were by this time singing really loudly. Watching the Mum and Dad take turns going into the bird box feeding with worms and slugs was a joy to me. So you can imagine my codenamed fury when I came home from work the next day to find my bird box on the floor. It was dark, so the chicks would have been quiet anyway and the parents were in their own nest for the night. I didn’t know if they were dead or alive. All I knew was that I hated the cat. I texted hewhocanbenamednowthatimoverhim for advice. He’s a bigger twitcher than me. He advised me to replace the box with the minimum of fuss and hope that the parents returned to feed in the morning. I did as I was told and tied the box to the tree as an extra measure. Thank God I did as after a sleepless night, I discovered that my chicks were alive but also found the pesky cat in the tree trying to knock it down again with it’s paw. Grrrrrrr. That night I concocted an invention. I cut holes in 2 cardboard boxes and put one around the trunk and one around a low branch so that the cat couldn’t get up again.
By this time it was the weekend so I was able to be on sentry duty all day Saturday and Sunday. The cat knew to stay away. To my dismay I discovered that they were now a one-parent family. I discovered feathers on the lawn and next thing the cat turns up with a bell on it’s collar. It must have surprised it’s owner with a present that they couldn’t stomach. Still at least the chicks were alive. They’ve flown the bird box now and I’m a bit gutted that I missed it. Mummy and daddy told me about a nest full of wrens who lined up on their wall and flew off one by one. I would have loved to see something like that.
Other stuff: the grass seed that I put down in patches has taken; my potatoes have gone mental with flowers at least a foot and a half over their barrel; I planted 6 tomato plants during the week; in the evening my garden smells of beautiful lavender; my wall hanging wall pots are blooming with purple pansies and purple geraniums, among other things. And a tip, weeds are best left to get a couple of inches long, no more though, as they are easier to pull out.
The best thing that I’ve discovered in the garden is that I am going to be able to watch amazing sunsets come August-September. I love it.
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