Oh dear, this bench is falling apart
Sat on for years
Worn away
Crumbling and split,
No resort
But to buy new slats.
Cast iron still strong.
Hold together
And you will be new….
To be our support again.
Old bench
Tag: Garden
Hubby digging
Fork in hand, pulling up weeds, tweed overcoat on, wearing a deerstalker hat, and enjoying a showery morning at Shelton allotments. No sketching challenge today, but we later met with some friends at a social distance so I got my sketch pad out again while enjoying a pleasant coffee in a Portuguese cafe. My nerves were a bit jangly after two seperate meetings with people so I wore a mask on both occasions and gloves when I was weeding. It’s hard to think the world might be going back to normal even though covid 19 is still here.
Acorns
My hubby keeps collecting seeds and nuts at the moment. His plan is to put them in pots and try and grow them, then pass them on to friends? But what if no-one wants them? I do not need any more trees in our garden. We have two oak saplings already, a twenty five year old walnut tree which is sixty foot high, a willow tree, a pear, two or three apples, a sycamore, a mountain Ash, an Ash tree. Also a eucalyptus, three leylandii, plus others and lots of bushes. But no, he’s not satisfied. The garden is where two houses used to stand, there isn’t enough space for more plants.
Ladybird poppies
Beautiful
Red andcblack
Flowering
Like a ladybird.
Unfurled petals
Paper thin
Rouched and rouged
Strong red
Fluffy centres
Waiting for a bee
Or a hover fly.
You are beautiful x
Green man?
My morning glory plants are doing well. Not flowering yet though. They are in lots of places, but I particularly like the ones in this ceramic head I made years ago. It’s survived for about twenty or thirty years as has the female one further on up the yard… I’m not sure what colours will be on the plant. Looking forward to it.
Pears
The pears are growing big on the tree and starting to weigh the crown down. Soon they will be ripe. I hope they are ready before their weight snaps the tree! At the moment it’s held up with a block of wood.
Gardening is learning. Finding out how to support plants when they need it. I’ve been told the tree has black spot, but it survives. And is covered in pears.
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Cat in garden
This is the cat statue I showed on this page yesterday, in situ in the garden. I’m afraid the plants have dried out a bit and wilted in this heat. I might put some new pots in front of the cat.
I think the lilies are being munched by lily beetles. They are big and bright red. They don’t have spots like ladybirds. I’m hoping they don’t do to much damage. You are supposed to squash them but I can’t do that.
Anyway, thanks to my friend again for making Esher cat. He is a real friendly face in the garden.
International cat day
This is the cat sculpture my friend from Sculpted Steel made for me from a sketch I drew. It’s lovely and she just shared her photo for international cat day. It cost quite a bit but it was worth every penny. It now lives in my garden with plants growing through and round it. I am very grateful to my friend for creating it for me. She is a brilliant blacksmith.
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Birds in the garden
We had a lovely chart in the ‘i’ paper with ots of bird a you can expect to see in your garden. Of the thirty or so species illustrated, I think we get about half visiting our garden. They are Blackbirds, Blue tits, Robins, Song Thrushes, Great tits, Coal tits, a Jay, House sparrows, Woodpigeon, Collared doves, Feral pigeons, Wrens and Magpies. We probably have other species but sometimes it’s hard to identify them. Hubby told me he saw a Nightjar a couple of weeks ago but there has been no sign of it since. The best thing is seeing chick’s being raised. Baby Wrens and Robins, we also have nesting Blue tits and Blackbirds. It means we don’t cut the hedge till late in the year. But I’d rather have a scruffy hedge and happy birds.
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Friends bean and tomato plants.
Visited a friend who has some bean plants growing and some tomato plants.
I was jealous, my tomatoes only have a couple of fruits on them. And we don’t have any beans. But I admire her ability to grow them. It’s good to go out and visit people at a distance. It’s better than sitti g in my house. I still wear a mask even if I’m outside. That made it hard to have a glass of elderflower cordial so I relented because I was thirsty and we kept a good six feet apart. Now I’m back home in the cool. It was 36° C in places today. The hottest August day since 2003, and it’s forecast to get hotter!
Mallaband-Brown 