A ticking off

Now I usually devote this blog to garden related tasks.  But I thought I would start with Artur.  Poor Mr Floppy, he is poorly.

He is usually snoozing, but yesterday he took to his favourite (new) box very early in the day.

And when I went up just after lunch with a cup of tea to sort some pots for seed sowing he came straight over to me and demanded a lap.

And he stayed purring and unmoving for ages. Hmm. That’s not like him.

So I had a good check and yep. Two ticks. One right in the corner of his eye which he patiently waited for me to pull out. But the other was under his chin and was more embedded.  I couldn’t manage the trick of looping a bit of dental floss around it and squeezing to remove the whole parasite. It was in too difficult a spot.

So I just had to give it a big tug.  Out it came.  And I didn’t get lacerated by a semi wild cat while I did it. So you can tell he wasn’t his usual self.

I’ll have to keep an eye on him over the next few days. I suspect he will be floppy and wan.

Right, medical report over, on with the gardening.

I have removed the last of the miscanthus from the shade garden bank.  This is part of the redesign suggested by Andrew last autumn.

It is now clear and ready for me to plant it up with thyme to continue the theme of green.  The miscanthus have gone to join the rest of the huge hedge down one terrace lower on the pool garden bank.

And the pool bank also had a bit of work. I am gradually planting it up with more eragrostis grasses which I grow from seed. So it’s a long process.

But I want to have a bank of these sturdy drought tolerant grasses rather than weeds. It’s a very challenging steep slope. But I’ll get there.

I planted half a dozen of the new grasses, and moved three large established grasses which were on the edge of the path towards the potting shed.  I can put the new ones in a more congenial environment for a year and then transplant them a year later.  But when one is about to turn 50 these Year Later projects seem a bit youthful and reckless.

I have been creating this garden and relandscaping the whole area around the houses for almost seven years now.  The time has raced by, but I am ambitious to get it looking even better faster.

So small grasses go in and I have to try and remember to water and nurture them in their steep slope final positions and get them bulking up.

And on that note, it’s Friday, time for a beer.