There is something rather sad that as spring arrives, so we must be confined to house. Today, early morning a white world of ice, the car windows thickly encrusted with ice. A couple of fire engines have just gone past noisily, early morning fire, or more shocking a car accident.
People have not been social distancing over the weekend, but strayed out to the coasts and forests to enjoy the weather. They may well regret it, NHS staff are pleading with us to stay put and so we should.
Half a dozen of us also worked together yesterday to plant the trees on the large piece of wasteland that skirts the river. Brought our own tools, dug holes, fixed stakes and ties. And so.......
On F/B the BBC has been putting out funny little stories of animals in an effort to cheer us up I presume, the one thing you learn about wild animals confined in zoos is their ability to be affectionate.
I forgot to praise Rod on Saturday who after mowing the lawn also took all the large branches from the dead bush I had cut down. It was a privet I think and the scouring wind that blew down both paths by the side of the house, plus the rain of course, must have killed it. He also offered to bring his drill to mend our gate. These gates have always been a total disaster but I put up with them.
Gardening brought out the pleasures of spring as I cut down dead stems, the plants coming to life underneath, small leaves unfurling, a rosemary in flower and a bright yellow bush of what I think might be some kind of forsythia. A childhood favourite is flowering redcurrant, something I loved as a child, its cats pee smell so strong but now I can hardly smell it.
West Wales being such a high rainfall area, everything grows here like mad. Out flowering currant is now about 9ft high. I've been meaning to cut it back for the last few years, but it doesn't half look good at the moment!
ReplyDeleteYes these early flowering shrubs shock us into spring. Shame that the flowering currant and forsythia have to sit around for the rest of the year in slightly dull green.
ReplyDeleteNice cheery post to start the week off Thelma so thanks for that. Yes, when I was a child we had a lot of flowering currant bushes - I think they self seeded but they were everywhere and, as you say, an overwhelming smell of cat pee. There are a few out on the estate and I pass them on my daily walk - I smell them long before I get to them. The cloud has dispersed here and the sun is out - lovely.
ReplyDeleteI remember that tom cat smell too! They were a favourite in municipal plantings on the estates which were built on our side of town.
ReplyDeleteI too have been out in the garden - Tam has been making kindling from the twiggy bits of the ash trees we had taken down and I have dug the grass out of my rhubarb strip (well, rhubarb and escapee Raspberries really!)
It was lovely to sit in the sunshine, listening to the birds today .
I grew up with current bushes, too, and come summer, current jelly. The grands didn't mind picking, but stripping wasn't their cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteI tend to make jelly with my blackcurrants and red currants Joanne, 100 % stripping is not always needed.
ReplyDeleteIt does feel a bit galling doesn't it, this sudden improvement in the weather. My neighbour tells me we are forecast snow soon.......I am glad to have a garden that I can go and be in, to enjoy this spring like weather.
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