Dirt under the nails

cabbage moved upNow this feels good. I’m actually making time for a spot of gardening at last.  We are having too much fun entertaining house guests and hiding from the heat.

But this morning I went up to the potting shed to do some work.

Two of the small seedling pots had fallen over onto the floor. It could have been the ferocious gusty southerly wind we have been experiencing.

But I also suspect accidental feline inattention.  It takes quite a leap for Artur to reach the potting shed tables and with a bit of a slipperly scrabble on the lino, he often misses. So I suspect he tried to leap up onto the table – and head towards his favourite snooze spot. And brought down a few pots instead. cat baffle

He did look at me rather attentively when I came in. But maybe that was because he was sleeping on the chaise longue and hoped I wouldn’t sit on him.

No fear of that. I had the joyous task of potting on.

And then once each pot of just germinated seedlings was sorted into individual cells, I placed wooden skewers in each tray to act as a cat baffle.  A nice cool and slightly damp perch with a breeze from an open window? Cat bliss.  So hopefully he will keep off long enough for these seedlings to turn into plants.

lavender to harvestThe other fun was to harvest more lavender.  I have banks of the stuff and want to get in as much now before they become too dessicated in the heat.

And I realised it was even more fun that deadheading roses.

You just sit down comfortably and get out the little snippers and chop away.

I have filled trugs and trugs of lavender flowers. And they are all drying on the work table here in my office. So that’s why I feel so soporific.

If I do an hour or so each day I ought to have  enough for this year’s lavender bags at the Christmas Fare. bitterfly

One of the best things is getting up so closely to all the bees and butterflies that are feasting on the lavender as well.  Most of the time I just have to brush them aside so I can cut the tallest flowers. But these wonderful butterflied hang on and you have to wait until they’ve had their feed.

And speaking of soporific, time to get back to studying. A few hours a day of that and my head is ready to explode.