DEVOID OF . . .

Not strictly true - of ideas I mean - I have lots of garden ideas but most of them would break the bank. Some parts of the garden are OK like the wood - well OKish - and the beds around the house. But the bottom garden needs a-sorting out. And all this without creating yet more work.

Jungle someone cries, let it become a jungle (Or tropical rainforest (except we are definitely not tropical, nor a forest, the rain fits though)).

Then I thought of goats! We could just fence off the bits we like and keep goats - they would east everything - or pigs!! 

This is Pig, from the productive end.

Now pigs would turn over every turf, snout plough the place.  But I remember from my youth the distinctive aroma of pigs, let alone the pong of a billy goat. Once, in Suffolk, we went to a small farm zoo place and in the bottom pen was a lovely looking goat. I patted it and it stayed with me all the rest of the day, no matter how I scrubbed my hands.

Then I thought of concrete - really non green - grey actually and weed free. I could stroll around my concrete wasteland and think of all the work in the garden I would not have to do. In the winter, where the slopes are I could wait for a hard frost and spray it all with water. The water would freeze and then out with the tin tray - wheeeeeeee! We could use it as a skateboard park in the summer and . . . . enough.

So now why have I a lovely picture of the winter view from the house in my blog.

Ah! Memories of how winters were before the endless rain - frost and snow and mist, cloud free clear days of delight.

I know it is not too late for the hand of Mr J Frost to fall upon our garden but the garden plants seem to think winter is done and spring is already here. Bulbs are through, snowdrops, quince, hellebore and so on are flowering. I noticed that lesser celandine (the weed) is well into leaf and the Magnolia stellata is in rampant bud.

You know, doing these blogs is tiring - I think I will just go and have a little lie down - back soon.

Right, now I feel better, cup of tea and a piece of fruit - I shall fade away with this diet - (is that not the idea?) - you forget the title of this blog - devoid of . . .

Just occasionally, this January, the sun has had the affrontery to stick its feeble head through the clouds and this has lit up the garden. The hydrangeas have not yet been pruned and the backlit heads are lovely.

R has been weeding the small banking below the house and I have been shovelling - you know what. It was supposed to rain more today but we had a window of opportunity and took it.

So, to conclude, let me show you another picture from last year - this one of the big sycamore. Ah! Memories - it has gone prematurely dark and is raining on my window again.