Gardening

The theme of the week has been catching up and keeping busy and today has been no exception. I took Juno to the woods before breakfast and then started on bits and pieces in the garden starting with the pond which has become overgrown with grass and reeds limiting the amount of water in the pond, especially open water. I took out a huge amount of the material at one end of the pond, the deep end, and have left it by the side of the pond for the little animals to be able to find their way back into the weater over the next few days.

The shallower end of the pond has become marshy, a perfect carpet for emergent amphibians and for the spiders and moths which seem to love the damp. 

From there I filled the bird feeders and oepned up the new ladder which I ordered after seeing an advert in the RHS magazine. It has an extra leg in the front which increases the stability of the ladder and means I don't have to lean into the hedge anymore. That matters even more when the hedges are full of brambles and hawthorn, the prickles being vicious in many places. I am very pleased with them with a major feature being the fact all three legs can be adjusted to ensure that even on steps, the ladder palform is stable. That is reassuring as I do often over stretch and put  myself at risk.

I did the hedge at the side of the back garden first and the new ladder was perfect. What a difference. Having cleared the cuttings, I then mowed the lawn again, this time with the intention of sweeping up the sharp leftovers from the lawn, the bits which just lie in the grass waiting to stab anyone passing by.

Juno and I then did a run, just over 3.5 miles with an aditional half mile of walking as warm down leaving us both tired out.

There was still time for some more hedge trimming but I did get to watch a bit of football too. I took a photo of the lavender as it is full of bees and has been for weeks now. Such a lovely sight from the kitchen window.

Shropshire tomorrow. 4 hours of driving I think and Juno's first time at Lyepole.