Well, busy for me anyway.
Been doing some work in the garden – tidying up dead daffodil leaves, clearing a weedy messy old bit of earth and planted it up with two lamiums (deadnettles) and a Japanese painted fern, and thinking a lot about colours for decorating the lounge (walls, carpet …)
The decorator is calling round tomorrow to talk about colours which is helpful, because although I do have an idea of the colours I’d like, confirmation from somebody who does it for a living is always good.
Finished watching Friends. Love that series. Ten years! it’s so good. Started on Schitts Creek, which is just so damn funny. Also rewatched Colin From Accounts (BBC iPlayer), which is funny and bitter-sweet. For drama, we’re rewatching War and Peace. I read the book (and hated the style – why use one, or no, adjectives, when three will do? every damn time?) but the adaptation is lovely. Some very good people in there.
Also started watching Call My Agent (Dix Pour Cent is the French title) which is enjoyable but I don’t actually like very many of the characters.
So tomorrow I start packing up stuff I don’t want to go into storage for the decorating – glassware and stuff we need to keep in the house – and that’s quite exciting.
The first lot of photos show: a hydrangea I thought had died, some sempervivums doing very well, a bud on my eight year old rose bush (one of the 20 just coming out), the wisteria, some alchemilla mollis (Lady’s Mantle) and a heuchera – the colour combination is lovely, but much more by luck than judgement!
So the next lot of photos shows hubby’s engineering designs intended to keep the squirrels and bigger birds, like magpies and starlings, away from the bird seed; the new solar powered cat repeller (it makes clicking sounds that cats/foxes don’t like) and the two wooden nest boxes, which are both occupied, and very busy. It’s just so sweet to watch the little birds pop their heads out and then back in again, out and in again before daring to brave the tree/feeder. In the very last picture you can see the engineering design that didn’t keep out the blasted squirrel – they’re so persistent and clever!
loonyfeminist 
Laughing about your squirrels. We installed a baffle to keep the squirrels off the feeders, but they figured it out the next day. Your garden is looking lovely!
Thank you!
Thank you! this is my favourite time of year – apart from autumn. Squirrels. The bane of our lives.
Busy sounds like an understatement. It beats idleness and sloth, no? 🙂 ‘Tis the season and all. This place is a mess with projects in almost every room and outdoors, but nothing like what you’re doing. Your flora is beautiful. I’m learning a lot from your posts–flowers and plants that are new to me are always exciting.
The squirrels always win. I removed our bird feeders. The little critters bring acorns from the tree in the front yard, bury them, and now I’m having to pull up baby oaks. They’re eating the neighbor’s tomatoes and will devour the boy’s lone sunflower plant. I don’t have the heart to tell him. They and the birds will eat or ruin every fig–the tree is loaded this year. Is a good thing I don’t like golden figs or I’d be in the fray for the fruit too 🙂