"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it."

greenbee

Mowing is done, and I've recovered on the sofa with a drink so now need to have a think about what to eat. I might load the DW while I think about it.

It's funny how mowing somehow always makes the garden look so much better. The lawn is a mess - mostly weeds or dips where weeds have been killed. Lots of moss and different grass where part has obviously been returfed at some point. At some point (when I've finished rearranging the entire garden) I might think about returfing the part I want to keep as formal lawn. 

redofromstart

Yes I always think how much better the whole thing looks for 15 minutes effort. 15 minutes of weeding is invisible. 

greenbee

This takes a bit more than 15 minutes, but it definitely has an impact. Deadheading is another under-rated activity. Not that I'll be doing anymore of that for a while...

redofromstart

15 minutes of me gently reminding them that I don't ask for a lot and the lawn really does need cutting....

Cheery_Daff

My mum always reckoned if you hoovered the floor, you could get away with the room being a bit of a mess - I think of mowing as the garden equivalent 😂

greenbee

Agree - mowing is basically outdoor housework. 

greenbee

Cooking done for my mum and taken over. Had lunch there and filled her garden waste bins and put the bins out.

Home, painted the rest of the side of the shed (after cutting down the perennial peas and taking off the plastic mesh they climb up). It's all had two coats, some has had three, and it was absorbing the paint quickly so I think it was all dry before the rain started. I've used 2l of paint, and have 2l left. As the discounted price on the 1l tins is still available, I've ordered another 2l. That should do the whole of the shed with 3-4 coats - hopefully I can get the back done soon as we need to install the rainwater harvesting system over the winter. The small shed can be done with the remains of forest green that was left behind if there's enough. If not, it will be done with whatever is cheap! (It's out of sight by the compost bins).

Deadheading done along one border (despite a bit of nervousness using secateurs!) and some of next door's rambling rector hacked back. There's lots more deadheading and pruning to do, but I was concentrating on filling the garden waste bins, so took the trug out and then hacked back the shrubs growing behind the bins. Probably not the right time (or way!) to prune them, but they're hugely leggy having been against the hedge. They also need thinning, but at least I've made a start. 

Frozen pizza for supper tonight as I'm shattered. I really should do some ironing, but that's going to have to wait.

Cats spend at least an hour of my gardening time shut in the garage - I had no idea they were in there, so it's lucky I went to put something away. They have such quiet voices I wouldn't have heard them. One is now in, the other is outside in the rain for some reason. 

Recycling bin goes out with the garden waste tomorrow night, so need to poke around and see what else I can put in there to fill it up. 

greenbee

Managed to top up the garden waste and recycling. As the morning was sunny I spent the time I was waiting for someone to pick up the last bit of a wardrobe doing some deadheading and harvesting seed from the sweet peas. Once she'd been I tidied the garage and put some cardboard out, as well as (finally) remembering to put the veg boxes out to be collected with tomorrow's delivery. And then decided to take a chance and slap another coat of paint on the front and side of the shed. Next sunny day I'll clean the back of the shed, take the downpipes off and paint it. Then it'll be ready to create a hard standing for the water tanks and set up the irrigation system.

Just about got the DW emptied and filter cleaned by the time I'd had lunch. After work as it was still light and nice outside I did the last of the dead-heading (for now), cut back the old leaves on the courgette plants, cut down the dwarf bean plants (missed lots of beans, but the plants were so tiny it was hard to find the beans on them), and also picked up a whole lot of windfall apples (apples are horrid and scabby, so the tree will go if it doesn't do better next year) and bunged it all in the compost bin.

Ironing isn't done, but I have cooked and have a portion to freeze. 

Tomorrow's weather doesn't look great, so I should probably catch up on paperwork. And maybe do the ironing....

greenbee

Oil was delivered at the crack of dawn... not long after the cats had been out and come back in bringing a dead shrew with them. So I had to go out again to dispose of it, much to their disgust.

Fermented food delivery also done (kefir, yogurt, water kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, kimchi) and put away. That lot should last a while. I also had a seeds and pulses delivery last week which all needs decanting into the freshly-washed glass jars to avoid any risk of vermin contamination. 

It rained overnight so is damp outside. More rain due later. Overcast, so not much electricity being generated, but the ironing needs to be done, so I just need to get on with it (avoiding peak rate). Battery topped up last night - it was set to 70% but seems to have gone slightly over, and there's enough light at the moment that it's topping up at the moment (and heating the water). So no excuse not to get on with it. 

Kitchen needs a bit of a blitz, and I need to do something about the fact that I tend to waste my evenings lying on the sofa poking around the internet. I either need to do my personal paperwork/tidying up, read something, or do some of the mountains of work reading that I need to do. If I use the time for work (on the sofa, not in the office) then I can make the most of daylight hours to do outside stuff or even leave the house!

greenbee

Day off today, although I may need to do a bit of work at some point. My mum and a cousin (who is staying with her) are coming over at some point and we’re off out for lunch. Gardener/handyman will be here soon and there’s a lot to do - not least check the drains again, as when the bath was emptying last night the shower in a different bathroom (further way from the septic tank) burped furiously. There is also compost for him to mix so he and I can then both use it to mulch (him on the flowerbeds he is weeding, me on the veg plot as I weed and clear and think about sowing and planting), and maybe raspberry frames to put up this afternoon. Oh yes, and shelves to start putting up in the small shed so I can tidy the greenhouse.

Freezing this morning (literally, we have frost) - cats selfishly chose to sleep downstairs and make the most of the residual warmth from the fire. I could have done with the extra body warmth! I need to investigate the greenhouse and see whether the tomato plants have made it - if not they need to be stripped and cut down and the soil dumped in the compost heap. Any remaining tomatoes will come in and hopefully ripen so they can be processed and frozen. 

Heating kicked in on pre=heat at 5am - the old master bedroom and bathroom are lovely and warm… my bedroom less so. But I don’t think that will tempt me to move back in there. Maybe I’ll use it occasionally if it’s really cold. I did put a couple of towel rails on cheap rate electricity for an hour (my bathroom has not other heating), and that’s something I can always do more of.

cats have been out and come back. 

Time to get on and get stuff done as the gardener has arrived!