Digging for Britain and learning to dig insects

After the car was written off last week, we decided it was safer to stay close to home. 

I have started taking photos on my daily walks with the vintage Pentax, but will obviously have to wait to finish the film (I'm naturally more choosy about my shots when each one costs money) and for processing before I can share them.  I've had plenty of tips from the Instagram photography community and am encouraged by the photos shared by other Pentax Me Super owners.    

Ladybird

 In the meantime, I've been taking macro   photos of insects in the garden.  I think   I'm getting the bug!

Lacewing

Wasp

Incy Wincy

Expecting a cold and gloomy weekend, we were surprised at the vitamin D-boosting weather conditions on Good Friday and had an impromptu family get together (two households) in the garden with tea and hot cross buns.  Here's Lotte claiming the new pink lounger.  Two hours out of the packaging and already covered in paw prints!

As is usually the case when I attempt to relax in the garden, the bits that bother me start screaming at me.  

We planted a honeysuckle a few years ago behind the box hedge (or what's left of it) that provides a safety barrier between the sloping garden and the patio below.  Access steps are at the left of this photo.  I'm adopting the term "lazy gardening" as I think that quite often applies to us.  Digging in our garden is always constantly thwarted by the spade twanging off some enormous boulder or tree root and so we tend to follow the path of least resistance - literally - and plant things in the most accommodating spot vaguely near to where we originally planned.  Hence this honeysuckle is way off centre and for the last year has been working its way around a bamboo cane, forcing into an awkward and unsightly angle, jutting into the sky.  I finally decided to attach another flexible cane to it, bent it over and with a few cable ties and a little coaxing, we now have a honeysuckle arch of sorts.

Honeysuckle

I also finally got around to repainting the aluminium bistro table and chairs.  The Hammerite paint colours on offer in many stores is pretty limited.  I'm always looking for ways to bring colour into the garden and brightly painted garden furniture is an obvious one.  This is "Raspberry Sorbet" a specially mixed Hammerite paint Ebay purchase.  The RHS book in the photo was my Mother's Day present and has been a great source of information for the next project, a wildlife pond.

After a pretty busy day, we had differing ideas of how to spend the early part of the evening.  Gareth fancied a walk.  I was leaning more towards making a start on the pond.  Any potential debate was interrupted by a phone call from my Mom.  Forty minutes later and I discovered that Gareth had been digging for Britain.  It did cross my mind that that hole was intended for me, but he seemed to be quite pleased with his progress.  Again, that nagging thought...

I'm hoping that the next photo of the pond will include dragonflies hovering in the frame.  The replacement Gunnera Manicata arrives next week, along with a couple of aerating plants.  My shopping list now includes Lily Pads, Brooklime, Frogbit and Yellow Flag Irises.  We don't have a water butt, so I'm thinking we will have to fill the pond and leave it for a week or so to fully dechlorinate before adding any plant life, but more research required on this.

This was our view just as we finished work last night; Gareth treading down the "beach" area of the pond, me wrapping fleece around some of the new, tender plants, given the ongoing threat of sub zero temperatures.

This morning, I was the first up and after being blinded by the sun when opening the curtains, I decided to take my breakfast into the garden.  

The tulips are almost ready to flower.  I have no idea what they are as I threw away the packets.  I obviously carefully selected them at the time, but with my goldfish memory, they will be a nice surprise.  I'm guessing they were dramatic and contrasting colours.  Fingers crossed.

The seven dwarves and their chaperone were chilling under the Monkey Puzzle tree.

I moved some of the garden furniture around yesterday and decided that this little shady nook, half way up, is the perfect reading/beer drinking spot.  This is where you will find me later today, head buried in a book (the Victorian chiller "The Corset") or, depending on how the day goes, the pond. :-) 

Now, how to find the warmest spot in the garden on a sunny Easter morning?  Look for a puddle of fur.  Chances are it will be an elongated cat, maximising the surface area exposed to the heat of the sun.  

For some reason, Lotte doesn't want to know us inside the house.  Houses are for food and sleep.  But as soon as I join her in the garden, she becomes a totally different character; excited, playful and part dog - she chases sticks and stones!  This morning though, we both enjoyed a few moments of calm.

Happy Easter!