Catching pests

I have several fruit trees which I love very dearly: two old, old cherries; two apples; two walnuts; hundreds of plum trees; a crab-apple; a fig; four peach trees; a pear tree, and a quince. And probably some more I’ve forgotten.

However, with this year’s bumper blossom and potential fruit, the ants are out in force and it’s been driving me wild watching their little ant armies race up and down the tree trunks. I mean, what are they even doing??! Apparently, they’re potentially bringing all kinds of nasty infestations to my dear trees.

So, I decided it had to stop.

I’m not a fan of killing things with pesticides and I didn’t really fancy giving the tree a hose down with something to stop all the anty festivities, so I thought I would buy some sticky tape. Apparently, this works in a similar fashion to flypaper, that odious but useful stuff that enables me to live in a buzz-free zone without zapping the bastards with Raid every so often.

Anyway, I bought myself an organic, environmentally-friendly tree tape to stop the ant processions. I should have known it would be a disaster. Anything involving me and glue is a disaster. It was inevitable.

Imagine, if you will, a cross Mancunian with strips of tree tape hanging from each of her limbs. It got stuck to my hands, stuck to my hair, stuck to my face.

It gets worse.

The glue is kind of waterproof, so I was left, once I’d pulled off the sticky tape, with a clingy, gluey residue that soap and water and even white spirit find nigh-on impossible to remove.

Not only that, I soon worked out the problem with the tape. The bark isn’t flat, so there are bumps and channels underneath it, which any crafty ant will be able to figure out. You kind of secure it with elastic, but it loosens as you are tying the knot in it and so you are left with something that may or may not make the blindest bit of difference.

I’d be interested to hear from anyone who uses this and whether or not you think it makes a difference.

Of course, a part of me thinks ants are clever and will crawl underneath it in tunnels. Or eat into the bark or something. Another part of me watched them avoid running on to it this evening and come to a dead-end. They run on to the paper a little and then decide not to bother and run off.

So far, though, the only thing to get stuck to the paper is me.

Hopefully, it won’t stop all the other healthy things that come and feast on the bugs that the ants are herding. I just saw a photograph of an ant biting a ladybird’s legs and it was nasty. Those ants are not nice creatures. They remind me of the Morlocks in The Time Machine. 

I do wish I’d watched this guy first.

I’m going to be fascinated to see if the ants make little bridges. If my tape doesn’t work, I’ll be trying this guy’s method with the elastic tape and the paste. Tomorrow, I’ll be looking for little anty bridges. Those little beggars better have found something else to feast on, and it better not be my seeds or seedling.

Grrr.

Gardening is a constant battle against creatures. But trying to pick something that encourages the good beasts and discourages the bad beasts is hard work. Mostly, I don’t mind a bit of damage, and companion planting and rotation seems to be working so far, but there’s little I can plant to stop the ant march.

All I need to do now is wait for all this glue to come off me. Maybe I should just go and roll about in the garden and see what I can attract?

Up and at ‘em

Surprisingly, the only thing that seems like it’s growing at the moment is grass. My baby plants are doing well though, but I’ve not planted many out yet. I’m far too afraid of frost, since there was one only 8 days ago. I suspect this week will see a lot more going in, especially when it’s a bank holiday week as well. I’m pretty sure there will not be another frost, since we are only eleven days away from the last frosts recorded in France.

Yesterday, I put in another row of red onions and some Swiss chard.

The ‘brassica’ bed has now got cauliflower, kale, Swiss chard and onions in it. Today, I’m going to put another row of onions in and then the Savoy cabbage and red cabbage. There are two rows of kale down now – I figure if I have too much, I can always give it to my kale-mad friends. It’s like a kind of kale fetish round here. I guess it’s a superfood with lots of positive habits concerning your insides. It’s also great as part of a detox diet.

In the main root crop bed, the beetroot are beginning to show their first leaves and the Brussels sprouts that Marcus transplanted are doing fine. I pickled a lot of beetroot last year and the vinegar was sharp enough to set your teeth on edge. I need some more gentle vinegar this year. I think I used cider vinegar, but it is so harsh it makes me cry when I eat them.

The baby leeks still look like small blades of accidental grass. There’s kale in there too that was transplanted. The other seeds and onion sets haven’t put in an appearance yet, but I guess they will soon. It’s been damp and warm – the best combination.

The potatoes have now all but broken through the soil and I’m going to earth them up today. In the bean patch, I’ve been putting lettuce seedlings in but the beans are a little disappointing this year. Funny that last year was such a bumper crop. It was so cold so long that even the broad beans didn’t fancy it. The runner beans I started off in pots however… wow! They’ll be ready to go out in the next couple of days. I staked them already and they are HHHHYYYYYUUUUGGGGE. I’ve made hazel trellises for them to grow up, but I seriously forgot how massive they get. I’ve got some hazel and willow that I’ve coppiced and I’m planning on building a couple of raised beds with them. I stole had an idea that will mean I can use more portable beds to house all the big things that take up a lot of space. I’ve also got to get a handle on some weed suppressant – I spend far too long on everything besides the vegetable plots.

A lot of the raised beds on the internet are just not very big. They’re more like big planters. That seems like too small a space to me. I need B-I-G! Today I’m going to plan out a quick bed and have done. It’s getting a bit crowded around there, but I need somewhere near the water, because there’s nothing worse than trekking miles up the garden with a watering can, like Jean de Florette. In fact, I’ve had a good idea as I’m writing and I will see how I get on with it.

Today, I’ll also be putting down some more seed – parsnip this time – and planting up my geraniums. I had cuttings from last year and I’ve put them all in pink pots. Nothing says summer to me like geraniums. It’s a lot cooler today, so I should be able to get more done. I did a bit on the big patch that’s going to have all the summer crops – tomatoes, aubergines and peppers – but I need to crack on with it.

Hope your day is as productive as I need mine to be!

Caught beneath the landslide

By way of another Manchester band (well, I’m on a roll and it would be rude not to…) today’s Much Love Monday is brought to you with the laid-back Manc swagger of Oasis with Champagne Supernova. 

This is the sound of post-Smiths Manchester, where we’d all stopped the ironic sarcasm of The Smiths, the shoe-gazing of the Inspiral Carpets, the drug-fuelled craziness of the Happy Mondays and seriously believed we were the best in the world. My sister and I went to see Oasis in about 1996 at the old Manchester City stadium… I think you’d be hard-pushed to find a band who had bigger egos or more self-confidence. Sometimes, we all need a little bolshy self-confidence to get us through a Monday. Amazing to have gone from Morrissey and his epic ode to shyness and coyness, right the way through to Liam Gallagher’s overwhelming lip-curling arrogance. I seem to recall he had a hissy fit back in 1996 and Noel had to sing a few of the songs. I could be wrong. My memory is appalling.

So, what do I have Much Love for this Monday, apart from the wonderful phrase ‘champagne supernova’?

Sadly for me, my divine helpxrs have gone on to a nearby vegetarian spa. I’ve been up past the place a couple of times, and drop Living Poitou-Charentes off there. It’s an amazing place and the owner is a complete inspiration. You know how you just meet people and you wish they had a blog and you’re really sad that they don’t? I wish Nikki did. I’d be an avid reader and she’d have about a million regular readers. Her place is 27 acres (I know… mine is just a small garden at an acre!) and she has turned it from a kind of ruin to a tranquil haven. She’s just one of those people who you spend some time with and you feel a hit of energy. I love friends like that. Funnily, about a couple of miles away is another lady who would also make a great blogger and also makes me feel like I need to get productive and creative. Neither of these ladies ever seem stressed or uptight… the life is good over Cellefrouin way, obviously!

Much Love, then, to Marcus and Shannon, who have put up with my weird English habits, my love of caffeine and my terrible swearing. I wish I were 20 and travelling around Europe. I think I might never have settled down. Ironically, given my current lifestyle, I wanted nothing more to be in employment and to be ‘adult’ when I was around that age. I wanted a regular pay-cheque and a reliable job. In the end, it was a great decision because it gave me skills that allow me to live out here.

I took Marcus and Shannon into the big city of Angoulême on Saturday night (for anyone who knows Angoulême, you know this is a joke, because my French friends call it ‘une ville morte’ or a dead-town) which is a shame because it was totally beautiful. The bars around Les Halles and up through the old town make it a fairly laid-back, mucho-relaxed kind of place and we went for big walks around the ramparts after filling up at the Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet. I guess that’s the nice bit of helpx and schemes like that – you end up with friends. It does make it awfully hard to let them go, though.

The next helpxr is arriving in two weeks, which gives me a little breathing space. I’m such a solitary odd-bod. I would be quite happy never to see or speak to anybody. Is that weird?

We went to a huge bric-a-brac jumble sale thing yesterday – seriously the biggest I’d ever been to. I’ve scored some totally hot stuff to help celebrate Eurovision – or at least get us in the mood. I almost gave myself a hernia trying to reign in the tears of joy. I also scored some less usual varities of heirloom tomatoes at a troc for plants – and at 80 cents a pop, I am pretty pleased with myself. Going to Nikki’s also gave me some more ideas for raised beds. Sylvie and I share a love of the old tyre and I’m well jealous of her raised beds – but Nikki’s are a bit more manageable in that they don’t involve spirit levels and tape measures. I’m chronically rubbish with tape measures and spirit levels. It’s given me some ideas about how I can do some quick-and-dirty raised beds for all of those curcurbits that love to crawl all over the place. This year, I have melon, squash and pumpkin, along with cucumbers and gherkins, and not a one of those things likes to stay in one spot.

I think that’s the nicest thing about having an extra pair of hands – being able to plan and undertake projects that you wouldn’t have got round to otherwise.

Anyway, enjoy Oasis and hopefully you find as much inspiration from the people around you as I do from the people around me. It is definitely one of the perks of living out here – finding so many like-minded ladies and gentlemen. Seeing previously-ruined houses restored and renovated in interesting and unusual ways is also a massive bonus. Maybe one day my house will inspire someone too. I’m off to work on my garden. Glorious day and glorious weather for planting!

And then the rains came…

Or, at least I hope they do. It’s been dry around here and we are much in need of a few showers for the garden.

It’s beginning to look like a proper potager again – it always amazes me how it can go from weeds or bare soil to great big plants in such a short period of time. It’s really quite wonderful.  It’s amazing that it can look so empty and then be so full just a few short weeks later.

Things are beginning to move on into the garden. The kale, Brussels sprouts, leeks broccoli and cauliflower have all gone outside in the last week, waiting for a right good soaking I hope. The potatoes are beginning to appear, so I’ll be earthing them up soon, and my latest sowings of broad beans and peas are showing. Some lettuces have gone out already and I built a new bed for the clematis I picked up a few weeks ago. It’s going to be a really simple bed, and as the bottom is shady and the top is sunny (which I believe just might work for the clematis) I’m going to see if I can’t find some hostas.

I had both a variegated and a simple hosta back in the UK, and they did really well considering they are possibly a slug’s favourite meal. I’m hoping it will be okay here for them too, tucked up against the wall. There are lots of maidenhair spleenwort ferns that have taken up residence in the wall – actually a very handsome wall, if I do say so myself. On the top, there are some sempervivum that have practically taken over an old oil can and a couple of dishes.

So I dug about 50 cm down and put in a border, planted up the clematis and put in some lilies a friend gave me. I’d put in some pansies as well, but the chickens came and had a real scrape around with them before I could run back with the netting. I’ve also planted some Asclepias tuberosa, or butterfly milkweed. I might move that though, because it doesn’t really go with what I had in mind.

I’d figured I’d have a couple of hostas and some ox-eye daisies. I was quite looking forward to some subtlety, especially after yesterday’s post. And what have I gone and done? I’ve planted orange flowers. Not exactly subtle, now, is it?

Maybe it’ll end up a little show-off corner.

As to what else is in and what else is up…

• Gardener’s Delight tomatoes
• Super Marmande tomatoes
• Alicante tomatoes
• Super Roma tomatoes
• cauliflower ‘merveille de quatre saisons’
• musselburgh leeks
• Autumn Giant leeks
• kale
• sweet banana pepper
• Rachel’s cauliflower seeds that I can’t remember the name of
• cheap aubergines
• expensive aubergines
• savoy cabbage
• oak-leaf lettuce
• red lettuce
• brussels sprouts
• basil
• red cabbage
• Webbs lettuce
• tabasco pepper
• poppies
• broccoli
• cucumber
• more lettuce
• pumpkins
• courgettes
• Reine Marguerite
• sunflowers
• soucis
• cornichons
• prairie fire pepper
• more Gardeners World tomatoes
• runner beans
• normal courgettes
• round courgettes
• coriander
• cosmos
• scabiosa
• broccoli Romanesco

I am very glad I didn’t plant out my tomatoes though – there was a frost this morning. That’s almost the end of April and there’s been a frost. It’s a good two weeks later than last year. All my ratatouille vegetables are still inside, keeping warm in the lean-to.

Once the rain has given my seedlings a good watering, I am going to plant out the rest of the cabbages and broccoli, and put in a line of turnips. Then, finally, I’ll be able to plant up the big patch. It feels like most things are in, or in a position to go in when the weather is right.

At the weekend, I went looking for two kiwi plants for my friend Rachel. It was her birthday. She is a keen gardener as I am, and she has very good taste. We tend to like the same kind of plants I think. I found a nursery in Montbron that is possibly just as good as some of the nurseries I went to back home. I used to drive out to Lady Green garden centre between Southport and Liverpool – I picked up a lot of great plants there, as I did at Crocus. I wish I knew if there was an equivalent of Crocus here. They do lots of specimin plants and perennials that are harder to find in your average garden centre (which is why I loved Lady Green) although the queen of garden centres was Bents, out off the East Lancs road.

I did kind of wonder if the pepinière in Montbron would have a website, and they do! I love this place. It’s small, but they have things I’ve never seen anywhere else in France, like witch hazel. Not only do they have a great website, especially for France, they also have a great English version too! Bonus. That is so infrequent. I write things sometimes that require research, and you wouldn’t believe the number of French websites aimed at tourists that have the worst Franglish. Including, I must add, some of the top-rated places in the region. If they don’t have Franglish, they have nothing at all. That made me even more impressed by the pepinière in Montbron. Not only did they have the best plants I’ve seen, but they have a great website that doesn’t make sounds when you press things and doesn’t rely on flash and has an excellent translation – not that they need to, or, indeed, should.

It also has little show gardens, a bit like Chelsea. I like the fact that the owner is obviously a real plant lover. It makes a change because most of the nurseries round here are chains and they really don’t seem to care much about their plants. It shows when a nursery really loves their plants. You can see it in everything they do.

Ask me, I won’t say no, how could I?

Today’s MLM is brought to you by the final band in my Manchester Top Three. It’s The Smiths with ‘Ask’.

You might think The Smiths to be an inappropriate choice for Much Love Monday, given the general melancholia of their lyrics – Girlfriend in a Coma, Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want, Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me – but with Johnny Marr’s jangly guitar, Morrissey could – and did – sing about the Moors Murders, making it sound as inoffensive as a bunny rabbit in ribbons.

I picked this one, though it was not my first choice. My first choice was “Girlfriend in a Coma” from “Strangeways, here we come” which shared rank in 1986 and 1987 with my Talking Heads obsession and my love of Depeche Mode. It will forever remind me of the old trains into Manchester and spending days roaming round Afflecks Palace looking at old Levi 501s and coveting old College Jackets à la Ferris Bueller.

Between Morrissey, Ferris Bueller and Duckie in Pretty in Pink, I had a serious quiff fetish.

I can’t begin to tell you how much I loved Ferris, Duckie and John Bender. I heard a rumour that Bender in Futurama got his name from John Bender in The Breakfast Club. John Bender, it must be said, did not have a quiff, but I liked him anyway.

I think these people all gave me a certain desire to be a little different from the usual crowd. Morrissey very rightly says that shyness is nice, but shyness will stop you from doing all the things in life you’d like to.

I love that I am not shy. If I were shy, I would never have done so very many things like…

1. Mooned 29,000,000 people from the top of Roppongi Hills Tower in Tokyo. 

Okay. I can’t be sure they were all looking. Or that they could see that far up.

2. Delivered training for 2,000 delegates in the Emirates stadium.

3. Wandered around Morocco on my own.

4. Had a drink bought for me by Seamus Heaney, Irish poet with twinkly eyes.

5. Patted Patrick Stewart’s head.

6. Offered to buy outrageous bass guitarist TM Stevens an iced tea.

7. Patted more authors than I can count.

8. Talked my way into more writing and teaching gigs than I can count.

9. Been told to be more humble on a performance review.

10. Aced the performance review anyway.

Some of these are kind of stupid, some of them are very stupid and others were just fun. But there’s not a one of them I regret. I often say to myself “I don’t want to be on my death bed thinking ‘I never did …’” and that’s my excuse for not being at all shy.

Sometimes, chatting to people gets you amazing things. A guy let me climb up a tower in Casablanca, even though it wasn’t open to the public, and I got the most amazing view ever. An old man in Japan took me to see his moss garden.

I also like to say “when will I ever see these people again?” as an excuse for doing crazy things and not caring for the consequences. Or, “It’d be rude not to!”

See… Morrissey was right.

I can’t think when this lack of shyness descended upon me. At 11, I was still shy. I didn’t backchat teachers; I was put in the wrong classroom on my first day of secondary school and I was MORTIFIED.

But, out of that tiny pre-teen, too scared to tell the teacher to to speak in class, well, THIS appeared.

If you’ve never flashed an island by being carried off by an unfamiliar Greek man with a porno beard, I’d recommend it.

I would like to point out that I am TRYING to cover my modesty.

I would also like to point out that this particular bout of anti-shy came straight out of a glass.

Generally, I like to think my anti-shyness and my whole silliness has taken me to some amazing places I would never have been otherwise. Largely, it’s the people who I’ve met that are most of the reward. Secondly, it’s its own type of fame. One day, I hope to end up like Bob in the following joke…

“

A guy named Joe was in a bar drinking with another guy named Bob. Bob turns to Joe and tells him, “I am the most popular guy in the world. I bet you $100 that if you pick any person in the world they will know me.” Joe thinks this is a good bet and he accepts, picking the president. They go of to the White house and George opens the door and says, “Bob! How are ya Buddy!” and they play a couple of holes of golf.

After golf Joe turns to Bob and says, “Ok that was a fluke. Double or nothing- The Queen of England.” When they arrive, the Queen opens the door exclaiming “Bob! I haven’t see you in ages!” and they have tea and crumpets.

After crumpets, Joe says, “Ok Bob, I bet you don’t know this last guy; lets try the Pope.” They fly off to the Vatican but the Popes security won’t let Joe through to see the Pope. Bob tells him that its ok, he’ll go up on stage with the Pope when he makes his daily speech and then Joe will know that Bob knows the Pope.

Joe goes into the crowd and waits for the Pope to appear and he finally does- with Bob at his side! All of a sudden, there is a great commotion and Bob jumps off the stage and runs through the crowd to where apparently Joe had collapsed of shock! When he comes to Bob asks Joe what happened. And Joe said,

“Well, even after seeing you up there with the pope, I was still skeptical of you, but I just couldn’t take it any more when the guy next to me said, ‘Hey who’s that guy up there with Bob’!”

Anyway, enjoy The Smiths, remember to say yes as often as you can, never be shy and have a good Monday!

On Writing

There is not a day when I don’t write. So when my favourite minimalism blogger, Leo Babauta, wrote his latest post on writing, I thought I would share it with you.

I simply cannot remember a time when I didn’t write. From my earliest endeavours right through to computer days, I’ve always written. It’s how I draw. It’s how I create. It’s how I capture the world and it’s how I remember things.

I should say now that I have an appalling memory for events and emotions. I have a great factual memory. If it’s a silly little fact, like the fact that the unicorn is the national animal of Scotland or that Jaco Pastorius’ birthday is December 1st, then it’s embedded in my brain til kingdom come. But as for events, they might as well not have happened to me if I don’t write or take photographs in connection to them.

This blog initially started simply as a way to keep in touch with relatives. Then it became an aide-memoire for me, so I can recall what I’ve done and where I’ve been. It’s nothing more than the outpourings of whatever is on my mind that day, be it Carson Daly or Michael Gove. Some days I record what I’ve planted – mainly because that’s a habit I’ve had for the last two years, so I can keep track of everything that I’ve done. It’s nice to see the journey of a thing, from seed to food.

As Leo says, writing is reflection. It may surprise you to know that when I’ve taken multiple intelligences tests to find out my strengths, they are not linguistic as you might expect, but intra- and inter-personal. I write to reflect and I write to share. I read for the same reasons. It’s a curiousity about myself and about others that is behind it all. Seamus Heaney wrote in Personal Helicon:

I rhyme

to see myself, to set the darkness echoing.

I think that is the most powerful image I have of why I write too. To see myself. Narcissus-like, as Heaney says.

p.s. He was MOST impressed that I could recite this poem ad hoc in the bar at the Swan in Stratford. I’m sure he had no idea, when he went to see Julius Caesar, that some crazy woman would recite him his own poems. He liked that it was my favourite.

But I read to find connections, to see into others. To understand myself better. I never knew until I read A Suitable Boy, for example, that I was an incurable romantic.

I think it’s a common thing for many people who suffer from depression to feel, from time to time, a real sense of inwardly-directed hatred, frustration and anger. I know it was very hard for my CPN to get a grip on the fact that in actual fact, I quite like myself, despite myself, and enjoy watching myself grow and evolve as much as I do seeing it in other people. That sounds really conceited, but writing has always helped me be kind to myself, to be gentle, to be reflective and thoughtful. For a girl with a motormouth and motorfingers, you would think that I don’t listen much. Ironically, the reverse is true. I consume far more i a day than I could ever hope to produce in a year. Or even ten. I’ve always used writing as a way to slow down and to think. I like the way words spill out and take form, like making thoughts something permanent and corporeal rather than something fleeting and transient. It’s the slowness I like.

I believe in practice too. Shannon is quite amazed at what I write, indeed, that I write. Today, it was a couple of articles about the area, a translation of light fixtures, a blog or two, emails, an article for a teaching magazine and an article about Barcelona. I spend about two or three hours at least every day in writing. It’s how I find what I like and forge my own style. It’s as personal to me as my fingerprints, and it becomes more so as each day passes.

I like art, too, but I don’t practise as often as I should in order to develop and progress. Not only that, I am very narrow in my approach. I have my favourite things and I tend to do a lot of that. Writing is my creative outlet.

Believe it or not, I also have to spend time thinking of my audience and what they want to hear – and not just for the articles I write. I think blogs make you nicer as you try to avoid all the negativity and nastiness and bitchiness that can filter into your life, even if you try to keep it out. In the past few years, there have been times when I have wanted to name and shame all the villains in my life, but public writing is not a place for it. Not even if you are anonymous. There are people who my friends and I discuss, like a certain person I call Hatchet-Face, but blogs are by-and-large a much more pleasant, charming space.

The hardest thing is having content. That’s why this blog could never be a daily thing. I just don’t always have something to say. I know you probably think I’m the wordiest person on the planet, but some days I have nothing to say. Nothing at all. And so, I write nothing. It’s not a block of any kind, just a more kind of introspective day.

Leo gives advice for anyone starting off. I agree completely with his guidelines. Write as often as you can. Have a time for it. I have two times when I write – early mornings, when I’m fresh from sleep and the day is still quiet – or evenings, when I can reflect on things that happen during the day. I think it is the regularity that makes it a habit, as with all things.

Four cheeses and a sleepless night

I made a four-cheese quiche last night and I’m holding it responsible for my wacky night of sleep. Well, partly responsible. It was a good quiche, with blue cheese, goats’ cheese, mozzarella and Emmenthal. Much enjoyed.

But it troubled me later.

First I started with this dream where I was Carson Daly’s assistant. He tried it on with me and I let him. This gave me some trouble as he’s a bit of a man-child. Also, in my dream, he did a lot of lounging around in his underwear in undignified poses.

Then I was awake and could not get to sleep again. Something about that dream had disturbed me. I think it was Mr Daly himself, whom I have never found attractive. That and the lounging about in his underwear.

One of my chickens, Vera, had very purple wattle yesterday. They looked very swollen. I tried some internet research but as usual, I was informed that it could be anything from avian flu to a sting. The chicken could be dead by morning or might go on to live healthily. Who knows? I was so worried I almost got up in the middle of the night to check. I was wondering whether she would have died or if I’d have to put her out of her misery.

Then I was worrying about all the dead bees round my garden. There are a good few – maybe ten or so. I couldn’t work out what was killing them – pesticides in local fields maybe? – and I was worried about the poor bees.

Anyway, by the time I got back to sleep, it was time to wake up. So now I am tired and feel a bit hungover. I checked on Vera first thing – she was actually fine last night apart from her swollen purple wattle – and she was just as perky. I gave her a good feel-over and she seems fine. She ate her breakfast and hopped around the garden. Her wattle seemed less puffy and were red around the edges, but still the same.

Today, it is wet. Not as much as I’d like – the soil needs a really good soak – but better. It’s cooler too. That’s okay with me. It was 27°C here yesterday. Today we are pruning and maybe, if it rains enough, returning to weeding. I have resorted to plastic cups for things that need to go in. Definitely not enough plant pots! Still lots of things are inside as there are a couple of weather reports with low temperatures next week. I guess I could put them out if the soil gets damp enough, and put a cloche over them? I think I’d rather not risk it.

On the plus side, I’ve decided, in my late-night torment, where the clematis are going to go. Unfortunately, it will take some digging to get them in. It might even be a pick-axe job. We’ll see. Hopefully, I will get a better night’s sleep tonight.