Sunny and I sit in the garden just listening. Birdsong including the mew of a far-away buzzard, and a woodpecker is down in Coronation Wood; the rumble of the wonderful machine which is washing my clothes as I sit here with a cup of coffee; several really big bees buzz by, and a dog is barking somewhere in the village. The tractor rushes past. A faint tannoy message drifts, distorted, across the water from the military base on the other side of the loch, reminding me...
But the garden needs me and I need the garden. Gardening is one of the few things I do inot thinking of somehting else at the same time.
It's a mess! I get pen and paper and walk round identifying what needs done first under my formula for not being overwhelmed. I set a time limit for each of four tasks:
1. An ongoing job. That will be cleaning out the greenhouse. Some progress wil be made.
2 A rescue job. Thee is always a rescue job! That will be to clear away the dead foliage on the hakonechloa before it blows all over the place.
3 A start and finish job. Clean out the wintner rubbish from the water dishes and fill with fresh water. Satisfying to finish somehting.
4 A job I just want to do for the pleasure of it. That will be tidying around the wine red lupins I grew from seed last year for my daughter's garden, ready for her to lift when she has the ground prepared. Beautiful healthy young plants.
I don't have much influence on the world stage, but I can and will make this garden a haven of peace and beauty.
Surprisingly thick ice on the water dishes in the morning, and surprisingly warm sunshine in the afternoon.
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