Like Lockdown!

Today reminded me of lockdown.  I did not set foot outside the garden so slobbed around in scruffers all day and I wasn't actually sure what day it was until John put the football on the TV later in the afternoon.  I think because it is the big bank holiday weekend we didn't want to venture out with the great unwashed seeing how easy it had been for Lakis to catch Covid.  We have video called to check all is ok at 2B - that reminded us of lockdown too!

I was actually up at 5.00am to feed the cats who had, in fairness, been good right up until that point.  It must have been a chilly night because Charlie came and slept on the end of the bed but covering my feet which meant it felt a million degrees and he is such a lump to move.  He slept there blissfully ignorant of the discomfort he was causing.  At 5.00am the sun is just beginning to put in an appearance (if we don't have a rolling mist) and the colours are amazing.  You could be forgiven for thinking that there is a massive fire over in the hills.  In fact one night there was exactly that when a fire raged around the Argaka Reservoir - it could be seen for miles and the devastation was huge.

In my unenforced lock-down I decided to spend time in the garden until it became too hot to do so.  Our peace garden needed a tidy up.  I had noticed that the wooden shelf that the 'lanterns' sit on was at a jaunty angle and needed some repair.  The plants either side needed a haircut and there was some dead heading to do and general tidying.  Hadge's rose has started to flower for a second time so hopefully will put on a lovely display for when John's mum is here.

'Up Top' I gave the clock vine a tidy up and took away any dead flowers because they tend to blow across and block the drain for the guttering.  It is good to see we have some colour.  My cousin Julie, in the UK, is struggling with her garden due to the drought.  We are very similar with our love of gardens - hers is/was a spectacular cottage garden filled with beautiful flowers.  I brought a penstemon back with me once which she had grown - sadly it did not last here.  I suggested that maybe, if drought was to be more common in the UK now, she should try some of the plants which flower here in my garden and which I do not water - I only water what is in pots.  I have suggested Lantana and Solanum and, if she has room, a clock vine.  All can be cut back and controlled to suit a small garden, in fact the Solanum flower so much better after a good hard pruning, Lantana the same.

This has appeared in the garden, it is vigorous and I suspected it might be a weed but because it is quite pretty and attracts the bees I have left it alone.  I posted a picture of it on one of the gardening websites and the consensus is that it is a watermelon plant and must have come from an errant pip!  I shall leave it to see what it does as I remember George and Pam had one which appeared one year and they eventually got a fruit from it!

I have been trying some new techniques with watercolour and ink to produce birthday cards so when it was too hot to be outside I sat in the relative cool at my desk to have a play - I am thinking that we might have a go at this when John and Stan go off to play golf.  I have done a card for Nicky's Mum's 80th and the others will go in a drawer for when I next need one.

I had shoved some pork neck steaks into the slow cooker with cider, onion and apples - I didn't have any sage (I lost mine after too vigorous a prune) so substituted with oregano which I do have.  It bubbled away all day so was super tender and falling to bits by the time we came to eat it and it was delicious - the flavour of the oregano came through and was lovely.  

We watched Man U being thrashed 4-0 this evening and suspected that this might cause Lakis to have a relapse!