Keeping Fit

We have just been reflecting on our day and John is exhausted and I am delighted that after my energetic day I was able to climb the hill (with the dog) behind us much more easily than normal.
John has spent the day moving rocks, a frequent pastime round here. Initially he was clearing up the winter garbage from behind the ruin, followed by a spell on the digger moving beams and an enormous rock two thirds of a metre cubed (just to give you some idea of it's size). After lunch we had a little tree planting interlude. We rescued a ginko tree from the courtyard before the builders started work and it has been in an old dustbin ever since awaiting a suitable home. Well we decided that the" island bed/pile of rocks" in the back garden was the place for it. Whilst I gathered manure and soil, John "dug" a hole three feet deep literally by hand.

Having accomplished the planting, back to moving rocks. This time we were searching for large flat stones to use as stepping stones up my iris walk. By 5 o'clock the 20 or so were in place so John started to move more rocks from one side of the ruin to the other. Yes this is not the first time he has done this, but this time after moving them he set up his Bonsai display and I think it looks fabulous. It is a shame that he left the majority of his collection in the UK, but that's life.

In between helping John, I have continued to plant up the serpentine bed. In addition I have had innumerable excursions into the back field to chase off the deer.( I love them yes, but all this planting puts a whole new perspective on their eating habits). We have particularly gormless deer 'chez nous'. I thought they were supposed to be afraid of people. We shout and wave at them and they eventually look up and you can see the coggs winding up in their brains to say "I think some one is shouting at me, never mind, I must finish this bit of luscious grass first before I bound a few metres away".





All this activity certainly keeps us fit!!