WAITING

As the years pass I think I look more like my father, then this morning I looked up from the sink in the bathroom at the mirror, at my reflection, and thought no, I look more like Sloth out of The Goonies!

It rains and rains. There is really nothing I can do much in the garden as it is so wet. There are big bags of slate clippings waiting to go on the paths and another of topsoil. They are waiting for the gardener to shift them. The mower is waiting to be serviced. The broken branches are waiting to be cleared. The gateman has started on mending the electric gate but waiting for that to be finished which it has been at last.

We do have first daffodils and the pulmonaria is flowering, but no camellias yet. There are many other flowers out.

The birds are consuming a whole feeder full of sunflower seed every day. 

Finally we have a day with a little sunshine. I investigate the whereabouts of our rabbit hole. Two fat bunnies feeding on the banking this morning. Found only one burrow but I bet they have a back door.

This afternoon we are beset by a loony bluetit tapping on the tall Westmorland window by the stairs. Presumably having a go at its own image.

And just when we think there is spring in the air it is Jane Morgan weather again (1958).

We will have floods and unlike the song Mother Earth’s arms are already saturated.

So a better morning, a blackbird singing and a greater spotted woodpecker hammering on one of our trees.

There is colour from the shrubs - quince, skimmia, clematis armandii, hazel and the stems on the maple.

The moss is lush with the mild damp weather and the parsley still thrives.  And the snowdrops still carpet the wood.

I shall pick up sticks I say but get a shovel full of disapproval. Someone wants the garden to be spick and span not ignored and wild and messy and I am getting to creaky to do it. No names mentioned but the asparagus bed looks a lot better now.

The heron comes but only when the trail camera is elsewhere so all I have are hen pheasants and a grey squirrel.

NON GARDENING

 It has been a while and all I have done in the garden is blow leaves around.

We have been away to the south and whilst we were there storm Debi came visiting, flooding most of the local low lying land and cutting off the electricity for a time.

SO wet it is better to stay off the garden, the gardener did not come and now we have a nasty cold so we are very cheerful!

I sleep on my side most of the time and is very annoying to have long ear lobes - they get squashed and twisted at night - this has nothing to do with gardening but I have to talk about something and the rest of the world is a mess.

So before the storm it was about autumn leaf colour -

I know, gather them up, put them in bin bags and make leaf mould but it is raining again and anyway the storm has blown off all the leaves and it is four o'clock and getting dark.

Before we left I set up the trail camera - but forgot to switch it on. However I did get these two videos before that. The badger below is a frequent visitor as are rabbits - but brown and white? There has been some breeding like rabbits going on with a pet animal I think.

The leaves are all off the cercidiphyllum (toffee tree) but I cannot smell the leaves - perhaps need some of that elusive factor called the sun?

Autumn draws to a close too early and the dark days are with us - the house is besieged by ladybirds seeking a place to hibernate - not a bad idea with weather like this -

GETTING TRENCH FOOT

In fact storm Agnes which will amuse my sister as it is her first name though she never uses it. In fact she is Mrs Agnes Brown and I am sure she wishes she had got copyright on her name before someone in Ireland had the idea of pinching it.

So sodden everywhere, no mowing, gardener scraped moss and liverwort off the hoggin path today, last damsons picked and the badger has been back.

From the trail camera by the bird feeders. It showed the usual rabbits and pheasants and other birds (and a r*t actually trying to climb the cherry.) Do not tell R. She hates them.

The storm came and missed us, going up over Scotland, just a lot (more) rain.

My cousin H came today with her friend M and taking them around our neglected patch made we see it through other eyes. Never mind, just call it a wild garden. Too much for me now I have to admit. And R has plans afoot perhaps to reduce workload?

That was yesterday so a dry day today and out with the mower only to find it is so wet I cannot get the machine back up to the house from the lower garden. In the end manage a long way around. Much of the garden unmowable. 

The council are rebuilding the road in the village so getting out and in is a long way around too.

And now it is tomorrow and raining again. At least it fills the water bin - the council garden waste bin - as we recycle all it has another use.

So to fruit and pears and apples aplenty.

One big one we took yesterday to P along with some pears.

And there are contrasts like the dying ash tree over the far wall and the rose A and P gave us that lover the trellis by the shed.

And we have light coloured flowers to dispel the gloomy clouds - 

Japanese anemones above and Anthemis below. R and I both want more Anthemis - they have flowered well this year.

But one cannot escape the approach of autumn - Virginia creeper on one of the sheds colouring up and Sedum spectabile coming into flower.

Parsley is still doing okay as are the yellows in the back bed where R would like a load of topiary.

And it is still raining and weighing down the poor Annabelle and Sunflowers,

R upstairs on her bed, warm and writing, time to make her a cup of tea.

SEPTEMBER SONG

 Not the old 78 of The Goons but here we are again at the back end of the year, nights drawing in and the odd bird beginning to sing post moult.

Where to start - some garden views - 

The white birches at the far end,

The clearing in the top corner,

The pond and shed.

The path to the veg beds and the far garden.

 In the darkness behind the top shed above the path to the pond I discovered a surprise - a big rabbit hole. So I stuffed it with old poles but they will have another way out or two I have not yet found.

C came and noted how many butterflies we have compared to his home in Oxford - another sad thought on the demise of the insect world. Our rampant buddleias do help.

Elsewhere there are warm colours in the garden, a sunflower, peculiarly dark nasturtium and bright dahlias.

There are gentler plants too - flowers on the hostas (and not too many holes in the leaves), the widespread seeded wild angelica and wild carrot in the lower garden. 

R brings the garden into the house and this brightens up a dull day with colour.

And there are birds but mainly pigeons - here one has flattened itself against the big living room window leaving the familiar white shadow (can a shadow be white?).

So I am plummed out and the damsons are arriving too. And we have still not used up last year's fruit from the freezer - the wildlife will have a feast.