Twelve Weeks to Go

Exactly twelve weeks to go today, but who's counting?

I've spent any spare time over the last few days either tackling the weeds in my neglected garden, or decorating my older sons' room. Both were in a shocking state. The weather here has been incredibly, record-breakingly dry and this has put me off addressing the state of the garden. My soil is clay and without moisture it is unyeilding. Consequently the weeds have been doing their thing of thriving where all else fails.

I've also chosen exactly the worst possible weather in which to grow a new lawn. The area is already unfavourable, being the site of a former driveway so very dry and stony. After two sowings and as much watering as I've had time for (i.e. not much) it's patchy and resentful.

Yesterday I found the time to work on the area closest to the house. Here's a shot taken through my study window on a misty morning:

Luckily for me, the further end of my garden isn't so easily distinguished in a photo, but it's considerably weedier! The poppies aren't the worst of it by any means. The far end, where a slide is just visible, is my 'wild' area. It's pretty successful at that. We've got frogs (no pond, though!?), a hedgehog, blackbirds nesting in a large wild rose bush, grasshoppers and meadow-inhabiting butterflies. However, the area has got seriously out of hand and needs addressing. There's a pile of brushwood that needs burning off, too, but I have to wait for this pesky wind to drop. The last time I lit a fire on a blustery day I set light to the garden.

 Although weeding the garden is my least favourite job, I do on the whole enjoy gardening. Decorating my sons' bedroom, on the other had, has not been at all enjoyable. About six years ago I gave into their demands to decorate it the colour they wanted (never, NEVER do this). As we'll be renting our house out I have had to return to my fundamental error and somehow transform deep purple walls into a more bland, inoffensive, light shade. So I and my middle son (the eldest is away at university - on purpose I think) wallpapered and painted the walls. Of course this made the skirting board look bad, so I painted that yesterday. Now I've noticed this has made the door look bad..........