Cutting Back

Matching panel was very positive and brought huge relief as panel were happy to recommend the match. It has lifted an enormous weight from my shoulders and now, knowing who is going to be my child has freed me from the uncertainty of the whole process and allowed me to concentrate on getting everything ready for their arrival.

Finishing up all of my work commitments is obviously a priority and I am going to feel quite a tug leaving my class part way through the year. However, this is the point in my life where my priority shifts from work, to home life and it has been a long time coming.

Getting things ready at home is progressing well and honestly, my child could move in tonight and we would cope just fine. There is still a list of stuff to buy and a couple of small jobs still to do but on the whole it's done.

As for the cutting back, that was today's theme. Wicket went to yet another new groomer, who turned out to be great (and local). He looks super cute in his shortest cut to date. He should make a good first impression with my child in a few weeks.

The garden also had some major cutting back in the form of some major tree surgery. My great willows, planted as saplings 12 years ago and now taller than the house, had a 30% reduction and trim in order to let more light into the garden and make them safe. This should allow me to reseed the lawn after a damp and shady year which resulted in a large mud patch. Hopefully, this summer I will have a lawn for toddler and Wicket to play on.

Of Transformations...

It seems like a lifetime ago that my garden looked like this. It has been through dozens of transformations in the 10 years that I have lived in my flat. Below is a little photo-log of the early days, as well as the latest transformation in the shape of a vegetable patch. Please click on an image for a larger view.

 

Spring is in the Air

Watering my pots today, I couldn't resist taking a few snaps of my pansies. The spray from the hose gave them all an irresistible dusting of jewels.

My Little Wildlife Sanctuary

I recently had a visit from a council tree surgeon regarding the big Leylandii trees overhanging my garden. He concluded the trees were fine and healthy, so I'll have to live with them. However he was also quite taken with my garden. He liked the willows and commented the garden was 'lovely and a haven for wildlife'. A few days later he was proved right. This beautiful bird sat in my largest willow for long enough for us to see it, exclaim, run up the stairs for a camera, take a photo and watch it some more. I'm not yet convinced of the species of bird. We think it might be a sparrow hawk, but I welcome other suggestions!

Garden Restructuring

It is very useful having your own Ground Force team, and mine are the best going! Mum and dad came to visit for a special garden weeding and planting week. This ended up being, as always, a much bigger job. We ended up hacking back the honeysuckle (4 birds nests hidden inside and all saved for a display in my classroom), creating a completely new bed and turfing over an unsuccessful one.

I bought a lot of plants to give summer colour and mum and dad bought me a lot more for my birthday coming up. These have made a stunning difference and the garden is now full of colour - something it desperately needed.

It was a hard but very rewarding week and the garden looks fantastic. To top it all the weather was perfect, great all week and poured on Saturday, watering in the plants beautifully!