Sunday 9 March 2014

A SUNNY DAY WORKING AT THE GARDEN..

Yeah. Yippee. The weather forecast was correct! For here, in deepest Knightsbridge, it was a sunny day.

WE were slow getting up, for WE were late going to bed last night as WE watched two programmes back-to-back on television about the Tsunami in Japan.

"Scary" was a word that a survivor used, WE can say WE were extremely scared and shocked by the ferocity and power of the water and WE were just watching live footage that some very brave people has shot as it happened right in front of them.

The earth quake that caused this disaster was of a magnitude that was immense.. and it caused the Japanese coastal shore line to drop by a metre.. the word scary is not 'quite' strong enough to describe the terror.

So WE were not 'up and at them' at the normal time. But hey, it was Sunday, there was no panic stations!

SHE was carrying a huge amount of stuff out to the garden, lots of chitted early potatoes, bags of onion and shallot sets, all heavy, lumpy stuff and as I travel in quite a large cage, it was easier for HER if I stayed at home.. boring for ME but I have toys, water and lots of yumyum and the radio. Plus I can catch up on a missed doze or two.

Before I knew it, because I had been asleep on door pole, key was doing unlock in front door and there SHE was. 

Looking a bit tired and a little sad.. oh dear.. WE ate supper and then SHE told ME about it.. 

I have been going to the gardens all MY life with HER so back in 2005, I met a friend of HERS called Jack, he was another plot gardener, he had two beautiful Longdogs called Mia and Dizzy and an extremely nice wife called Ros. 

Jack developed cancer in his right eye. WE did not see him for a long, long time, then he came with Ros to the garden last Spring and everything seemed to be ok.

But SHE learnt, from Ros today, that it had not been ok, for the cancer suddenly spread to his liver and he died last September. Mia had died in the early summer last year just before her master and Dizzy died last month.

Poor, poor Ros. Luckily she has two lovely grown-up children who, although themselves grieving for the loss of their father, have been wonderful and extremely supportive to their lovely mum.

WE are off to the garden tomorrow.. if it is rainy, SHE has more than enough work to do tidying and reclaiming HER 'Shack' as rat and mouse have been treating it as their winter abode. 

SHE has to scrub it out every Spring, as they can and do squeeze their way in through the smallest hole, so Jeyes Fluid and a scrubbing brush will do the disinfecting bit and SHE will bring home to chuck away things that they have munched on.

If it is sunny like today, SHE will finish weeding the asparagus bed, SHE did one and a half rows this afternoon, only four and a half to do!

And finish planting all the onions, shallots and all of the potatoes. First crop potatoes are important as they are so delicious.

There is a big space which had black plastic laid on it last autumn, the grass will have died back, it needs to be dug up and turned over and then covered up again for another month, that way the weeds will be killed off as well, it will be a French Bean bed. SHE starts them off at home, then plants them out.

There are masses and masses of Roses to hard prune, blackberries to cut right back to the ground, old autumn raspberry canes to dig up and out, they are SHE wants to build the Solar house. 

Half a plot went berserk and rogue last autumn, a very norty blackberry turned into a beastly briar, it will take a solid week to do this, for it has to be cut down and then the far reaching roots have to be dug out by hand.

There is lots and lots and lots of work to do, 8,000 sq feet of land to do! Hopefully, WE are now in for a period of fine weather.

SHE worked today in a short sleeved t.shirt and work boots and, if the weather continues like today, SHE will soon be gardening in a sleeveless t.shirt and slip-on shoes again.

I will loll in shaded sunlight, blow MY ref's whistle and send lots of encouraging grow-faster thoughts down to the asparagus.. for I truly lurve asparagus, don't YOU?

No pilates class or gym will be / are necessary if the weather holds and gardening is done, four hours every day, makes HER fit, trim and tanned.

People, who don't know about the garden, always say "Goodness me, where have you been to get such a tan?".. 

Yes Dear Readers, it is two-toned-toes-time again!

GeeGee Parrot.
March 9th, 2014.

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