COUCHES AND COLOURS

The phone is dead, the mobile reception is poor and anyway I was out in the garden mowing uphill. I am a bit wary of slopes with the sit on mower, especially side on, but straight up and down seems ok and the more I can do sitting down the better my couch potatoes will grow.

Speaking of potatoes - they have flower typical of the Solanums -

Colourful and beautiful?

Yesterday, with the rain coming, I mowed the lawns and then cleared out, cleaned and reorganised the shed. The day before I had been ditch digging, and stream digging and back aching and belly-aching.

I have been growing some oriental poppies from seed so these have been potted on and I went around the garden collecting trees from 6 inches to four feet tall to take to Orcop Hill for my daughter and her husband. They are pruned and potted.
Having attacked the blackcurrant bushes I made ten bundles of ten cuttings for R's coffee morning, and made another load of blackcurrant jam.

We are eating Victoria plums - so juicy straight off the tree - yum! They are so sweet (a bit like me!)(and sickly?)

Have you ever truly looked into the heart of a flower - this is a rose backlit by the sun.

Many flowers at this time of year are, like in the spring, yellow like this helianthemum. They can get out of hand though - eight feet tall and spreading by underground runners.

And then there is orange like this day lily, also out of hand.

So much to do and so many potatoes in my couch!
My cousin J sent me copies of family silhouettes today and I was glad to see that the older ancestors fed themselves well, some too well. Few were shadows of themselves - Oh! Ha Ha!
In fact the one of Great Great Great Grandfather Robert's double chin just looks too familiar.

Enough - back to the couch and a can o' lager and salted cashews.

Now it is another day and I am still couched - the heavens have opened and water is cascading over the gutters. Do not think I will dig the stream at the moment.

Did you see fantasy land in Russia with the 20 G strings? Putin posing and puttin' himself about, Cameron Churchilling and Obama trying to bring up the cavalry.
Look lads, come up to The Nook, I'll put on the kettle and we can have a chat in the scent of sweet peas and a juicy Victoria plum off the tree.
As for Assad - as said - sad.