SUNDAY IN THE ORCHARD

At last, not just a dry sunny day but a dry sunny day when I had no baking of any other household chores to do. Five minutes after breakfast I was out in the sunshine with my tools ,Twiggy and Robin,a large bottle of squash and a very happy heart .

My poor kitchen garden had never looked so neglected ,after weeks of rain the pathways were overgrown and my first task was to strim them.

Strimming is becoming increasingly difficult for me and although my machine is a small one it still feels very heavy to me ,next year I mean to buy a harness for it so that the weigh will be spread more evenly. Quite apart from my infirmities strimming is a slow business for me as I always try to check for frogs ,toads and other small creatures which might be roosting at the edges of the pathways

I was very relieved and very tired by the time the job was done as the wet weather had encouraged the grass to grow long and lush,it was damned hard work,but satisfying as it gives an instant look of tidiness.

Tying in the rampant new growth of the Japanese Wine berry I observed that unlike most of this years fruit bush this year should be a bumper harvest,the small bright red fruits are sweet and make excellent decorations for cakes and puddings.

Blackberries are also forming in good quantities and my hopes are high although without apples making jelly will be difficult. Weeds had taken liberties in my absence and I set about them with a will pulling them up and carting them to the compost heap ready to be chopped up and mixed in.

Bindweed is a menace and we have more than our fair share of the obnoxious plant which will,if allowed strangle the life out of other plants,however its flower is so pretty that I always put a few canes in at the end of the garden up which they can climb and produce their remarkable white trumpet shaped flowers without causing any damage. Of course there are always those who unnoticed begin to twist around my roses and runner beans and I am ruthless in the destruction of these marauders.

Finally I harvested some courgettes and peas and a bowl of Tay berries before a short rest on the wooden swing seat at the bottom of the garden the better to admire  my handiworK.
Finding myself once again having to contemplate the loss of this lovely old garden is almost unbearable but we neat them once and we can beat them again,in the meantime the gardening goes on as if nothing was wrong.

All too soon it was time to tidy away my tools and have a shower before dinner,I knew I was grubby but until I saw the look on Pa's face I had no idea just how grubby I was.......I headed for the shower as a matter of urgency.

Dinner, a simple stir fry of vegetables and noodles with prawns took very little time to make and I was happy that this was so as by that time I was feeling very tired and sore.

My bedroom has a window with looks across the orchard,tonight that window is open and in a little while I shall take my bed time drink and sit he window seat watching the foxes the badgers,the hedgehogs and the bats take possession for the dark hours.

If sleep does not come I shall wrap myself in a rug,make a coffee and spend the night among my garden friends whose doings are fascinating and whose presence in our garden is its crown.