With exams looming, Mum is off "to school" today to find out all about what they entail, calling in on Diamond on the way home for a cup of tea. We stay home with Dad who's of a mind to blitz the garden of its shagginess and piles of fallen (Paulownia) leaves. He is leppin' around with secateurs pruning all 4 apple trees, the two plums, the quince, the damson, the cherry and the greengage, producing a mountain of prunings which need to go through the shredder.
He rakes up any amount of big, crisp, dry Paulownia leaves, also for the compost, and a good 2 rubbish bags worth of the sword-like, sharp edged "cabbage palm" (Corylinus australis) leaves, which are no good for the compost as they never ever break down. Next it's hands and knees for a bit of trowelling out ground elder and finally a rake around and tidy up.
Finally we can go for a walk (H and I again - Meg's still a bit delicate), down to the boat yard where Dad wants to see if his favourite barge, the SB Greta is "home" yet. Owner Steve Norris uses it for charters through the Summer, based in Whitstable fishing harbour, but in the winter she holes up here, de-rigged and safe under her poly-tunnel round till about Easter, while she gets re-fettled. We didn't get to go out in her this Summer, never quite getting round to it, but I expect he had a good season - he's definitely had the weather for it.
As I write this Mum is rebelling. Trying to be good and stick to the dietary fare since we all returned from narrow boating like bloaters, she pleads that she can't be bothered tonight to eke out yay grams of this and that, so she's nipped off in the car to buy something soul-food-ish, calorific, delicious and rebellious.
Go Mum!
Deefski
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