Omnibus Edition

The clue is in the title. It means we haven't been doing anything "interesting" but are concious that we haven't reported in lately.

We now have two ol' boys in the household with heart trouble. We knew Yoda had a heart murmur but as he was coughing a lot (reminiscent of John before his heart problem was diagnosed) we took him to the vet. He's now on medication for the rest of his life although his condition is not too bad. Consequently the old boys go off for a medicinal walk every morning. However in the last couple of days Yoda has decided that he does not need to walk as far as John and he puts all four feet on the ground and refuses to go any further. Us girls (Cleo, Diana and me) are fine.

The "little" plants are alive but I cannot say they are romping away. It is a little demoralising to see geraniums coming into the shops in full flower. In France most plants are sold in flower. Still we will have to persevere and I'll let you know when I plant them out (in September??)

We bought a new car a couple of weeks ago, you will recall our mechanical problems on the return journey from the UK. However John has a problem .... no not with the car but the pigeons that roost on it at night. He is currently in that phase when you have a new car that you have to look after it ( I am confident it will pass, it always has before). Today he is on mark nine of his anti-pigeon strategy, a  series of strings  suspended over the car from the house to the trees with bits of string hanging down.

 He's also fitted a plastic bag over the wing mirror where one bird sits and poos.  Watch this space.

I hesitate to mention the weather in view of the awful situation in the UK at present but our weather is very unsettled and we just dont seem to be able to make any headway in the garden. Whatever the weather, it is not right for us gardeners.

Phase 2

The production line continued a pace yesterday, however it had to move indoors because of the sub-zero temperatures. Nevermind we had supervision, Yoda downstairs whilst Cleo checked the situation on the landing. ( She really does not like the new stairs - she can not understand why anyone would install treads with holes a size too big for cats feet. She doesn't realise it was a dastardly plan!!)

Now all they've got to do is GROW.

They've Arrived!!

At least a week late!! I spent all last week tracking the parcel and "chuntering" that they would inevitably be dead on arrival as it took a whole week from despatch to delivery. In truth John and I had another bout of our flu/cold which put us in bed again and the plants would have been neglected if they had arrived.

I needn't have worried however as they were in very good condition when we unpacked them. The instructions said that they should be allowed to acclimatise for 2 to 3 hours before potting on. So we began the process after lunch. We knew that we would have to develop a "factory line" type system but it involved a number of false starts.

1)  Fill Pots

2)  Water Pots

3)  Ease Tiny Plants from Growing Tray

We started on the geraniums and as their cotyledons ( first seed leaves) were withering I decided it would be best to cut these off before planting to try to prevent mold forming.

4)  Plant seedlings

 Some of the more observant of you (smart arses) will have noticed that the above aren't geraniums.  We had some grasses as well.
5) Transfer to Trays and Move To Landing

6) John collapses having had more than enough exercise for one day. (No photo available!)
                                                                       
We've done 170 only 550 to go!!

Time for a Short Cut

Frosty mornings and bright sunny days means Spring is just around the corner and Madam Gardener decreed that the roses up the 'Rose Arbour' desperately needed pruning.  So, a busy afternoon's work!

Now that we're both 'on form' (or there abouts) we hope that we can care for the roses this year.

This wasn't the only thing that needed pruning however.

Time for Yoda to renew his aquaintance with 'Elegance Canine', the dog beauty parlour.

When we all came home, Cleo didn't recognise Yoda; she thought he was a strange new cat!!!