Sunshine and secateurs

I’ve just given in. There’s no point hiding.   So despite it being a nippy minus 10C outside, I decided to do a spot of gardening. Thick puffa jacket, hat with flaps, heavy duty gloves, gritted teeth and off I went.

I have been looking at my calender and I realised that I will be away for the rest of the month.   And if things heat up then I will be so far behind that the winter chores will have to give way to the spring chores.   And there won’t be enough hours in the day to get it all done.

So out came the secateurs and all the eragrostis grasses got their haircut.   They are tough plants and they will just have to tough out another hard cold week of very cold weather.

I did the ones in the calabert garden and then the dozens on the steep bank. Aided and abetted by one elderly Artur who thought it great fun to play with the huge long grass fronds.   Actually the poor vole didn’t think him so elderly when he stalked, caught and ate him earlier. I will spare you a photo of that rather gruesome morning sport.   But it did mean he was happy to follow me about the garden and not beg for food.

Annoyingly, he has settled into the potting shed in his favourite box this afternoon. So the door is open just enough for him to get out.   And for very cold air to come in and attack my poor plants.   Cats versus plants. A dilemma. I just have to remember to bundle up later and go up and see if he’s still there.

Jean Daniel has been away for the weekend (I was on horse feeding duty) so maybe if there’s a prospect of a warmish fire in the kitchen at his own home he might slink off and I can shut the door.

These aren’t really gardening reflections. But still, it did consume a bit of my day.

The other big job for the day was to prune the huge vines in the courtyard that we use as shade cover for our oak table.   That definitely had to be done now as they bleed when the sap rises and it’s a very distressing sight.

The whole job took about an hour and I had to come in and reheat with tea half way through.

And that was about the sum of the day.   Loads of wood carried in to both fires. A spot of rugby to watch on tv, a trip down to the train station and back… And suddenly it’s night. And the temperature is dropping again.