Life is getting good Pt2...

These are pictures from Pat's, one of the long border, the other of some of the buds sprouting through the earth. This time of year makes my heart soar. Just to tidy the borders and while clearing the old leaves and dead bits you come across life re-affirming itself in the persona of buds... 

This is what it looks like in the summer:

Just be happy!

Life is getting better!

Just picked up another garden contract - 2 acres just over the border into Bucks, about 5 minutes away. My week is now nearly full up - will keep back some hours for those "odd-jobs" here and there though - so it's pretty good stuff.


Thing is, only one of my regular client's was picked up through advertising, all the other others are word of mouth and the only one I picked up from an advert is a friend of a friend anyway (small world in Tring & the surrounding villages!) I only have one paid for ad now, in a shop window in a posh village down the road from here (it's the village currently being used for the "supernatural thriller" Marchlands on ITV1). The below garden is in said village, lovely place, 2 great pubs, but they have far too many Morris Dancers for me to feel totally safe there! 

Yes, it's a fake sky but it's mildly convincing. This is the garden I am putting a lawn in where the herbs currently are in the middle bed. Also, I have cleared a plot for veggies, excellent!


Anyway, off to clear out the old Volvo so I can put the tools back for tomorrow morning at the new garden.


Happy smiling!

Pathway to heaven...

Ah well, perhaps that's a bit over the top, but I am enjoying cementing the old slabs back in place. Five hours work so far; another five tomorrow and cracked it - well hopefully not cracked too much, if at all!

I have been on Twitter since just before Christmas and have been sharing this blog on there and on Facebook ever since. I now have over a hundred followers on Twitter, but don't get it still. How does it work? Is it actually useful or is it just another exercise in ego? Am I shooting myself in the foot here by voicing my misgivings? Whatever, I would love someone to explain the reasons for being on Twitter. I just cancelled my Linked-in Account, basically because there are too many peopl from my former corporate life on there (shiver) and am on Facebook only because I have several friends in quite a few different countries around the world - it's lovely to keep in touch and have a luagh with them (very occasionally some of us even meet in real life, blow me down!!!!)

Is this virtual world we frequent just a big ego boost?

Happy cementing!

Our garden over the past few days...

We've had a day of tidying and clearing leaves today, except for the 2 hours between 16.00 & 18.00 GMT. These 2 hours were an absolute waste of time, as was my football team.


This is our garden sound from the last few days. 


http://www.mediacollege.com/downloads/sound-effects/weather/wind-howl-01.wav

Back to normal tomorrow I hope - if I have over come my despondency...


Happy whatever...

THIS is brilliant!

Not that  I'm blowing me own trumpet or nothing, but the attached is a little video of my blocked hose the other day at Pat's place. It took me ages to clear it out, but I think you may agree with me it was worth it just to see the ice snake. I love the sound effects, courtesy of iMovie on the iMac.


Happy unbunging!

Today we have no fence...

"The answer my friend is blowing in the wind." 


The fence, which was an accident waiting to happen, is no more. Well, slight exaggeration as one panel survived - I actually couldn't be bothered to take it down as it was getting dark and the wind was blowing in amongst places I forgot I had. The pictures below show the devastation said wind left behind - we have told our neighbours that we are going to leave it down as it is easier to spy on them now.


It did set me to thinking, "Blimey, what must it be like to live through a proper wind like they get in Cuba or Florida or elsewhere in the Caribbean or Queensland indeed?" To have to actually nail things down must be astonishing, '...whoops there goes me shed!' 'Whoops there goes me barbecue!" Or even, "Whoops there goes me bike/car/dog!" I am not making light of this situation, far from it, but as I was dragging the fence panels across the garden last night I had to battle against the wind and I nearly took off hanging from the bottom of one of them. Makes me glad we put the umbrella away every winter - mind you, cheap travel a la Mary Poppins would be available I guess.

"Just blew in from the windy city..."

I prefer our garden furniture

The rhododendron is called Rodney, after
Rod Stewart

The buddleia, right hand corner, is called Buddy Rich*

RIP

This panel is not dead, it's resting

*I lied, who the hell would name a plant after a drummer?


So anyway, yet another job to do around the house. This one will probably take me some time as I don't like being fenced in, know what I'm saying?


"Give me land, lots of land, 'neath the starry skies above, don't fence me in!"


Happy panelling!

Hey kids!

Here we go again! Some pics from the other day at Pat's. One of the paths was in a bit of a state - loads of roots pushing the slabs out of the way - and I have taken it upon myself to tidy them up. As with all jobs like this, it grew and grew as I went along and I ended up re-doing a good half of it.

Next week, weather permitting - and it was beautiful here again today by the way! - I shall cement the slabs in and, as they say, Bob is your uncle. Who exactly is that Bob, 'cos he's got a lot of nieces and nephews. I like to think it's someone like Bob Newhart or, for the terminally morose, Bob Dylan. Maybe it's Bob Marley for the laid back and Bob Hope for the hopeless. Bob Hoskins for the cocker-knees. Bob Flowerdew for us gardeners. Bob Woodward for the inquisitive...


Happy Bobbing!


Oh, here's a picture of the steps going down to the bottom of Pat's garden, it's the area I call Dingley Dell. I'd love to put a pond in there, but it's surrounded by trees and could be a bugger in Autumn.

The steps were completely green, as on the
right and were treacherous, which, as I have said
before, is entirely ridiculous for an accident
prone fella like me!

Started working with Helen today, a garden designer who found me on Twitter with the help of my brother-in-law, George. Should have taken some pics because it was a helluva job, removing an enormous root that had intertwined itself around some concrete. Took about five hours all told, with a little break to go get my trusty log splitter - it was five minutes up the road from me. I like jobs like that, bit of hard graft and sweat and it looks great at the end. Oh yeah and getting dirty, there's always the getting dirty!

Happy grubbiness!