The AWOL Stories – Part 1

I’ve been AWOL I know!  Sorry!!!!  Things have been totally wacky here weather-wise that it’s been pure confusion since Easter.  I’ll have to give the story in parts, because there’s a lot of story to give.  So here goes part 1!

A few weeks ago I was bawling ‘Merry Christmas’ to my friends.  Everybody laughed, they saw the joke immediately.  Yes it was basically mid-April, but just look at the weather we had in our part of Scotland!  I mean this was 4 inches of soft, fluffy, sticky snow – and it wasn’t just one day.  It was an entire week!  And yes, I did make snowballs. I didn’t have the right gloves on for a snowman though, and to be fair I couldn’t be bothered.  I wanted the sun.

What basically happened, for an entire week is that loads of sticky snow would fall, then it would get melted by the sun, then loads more would fall.  My poor flowers – the tulips tried bravely, as did the daffys.  The daffys are hardier though, and well they’re not my absolute favourite flower as tulips are, so I’ll admit I was more concerned about my tulips.  They drooped and hung their heads at every smothering of snow, and then stoutly held themselves as mightily as they could when the snow had melted.  Days of this kind of boot camp had to have taken a toll on my lovelies, but they eventually recovered after a week or so.

Then that fateful Monday dawned bright and beautiful.  It was the second week after Easter with cloudless skies, not even a whisper of a breeze, and the sun was beating down hard.  The beauty of being this far north in Scotland is that even though it was only 3֯c outside, the sun was so powerfully close that it felt balmy.  After I’d done my chores I’ll admit that I took my folding camping chair out to the back of the house, to the edge of the house garden (as opposed to the croft boundary) and sat outside enjoying the heat.  Sure I was in my wellies and had a jacket on, but I didn’t have multiple layers on as I usually do.  Sweatpants, socks, wellies, my pyjama top and an outdoor, padded farmer’s shirt/ coat – a big padded flannel shirt basically.  And there I was, soaking in the balmy sun, feeling happy and warm in 3֯ weather. Don’t judge me for still having my pj top on – it’s rural, farming life and I work from home!!!!

Now, don’t assume I’m a cold weather native like those loons that go about in shorts and tees in the middle of winter – I’m not.  I’m a transplant up here, this North, and I love the warm weather.  But the conditions today, with zero wind (I could jump for joy at that!), were perfect for sitting outside after my household chores were done.

And, to be totally honest I was thinking of all of you when I was enjoying my cuppa in the balmy, loveliness of the morning.  I was thinking that I really needed to tell you about all of the projects I had planned for the year.  It’s quite a list, but I have to be honest with you – some of them have rolled over from last year.  But that’s okay, last year was such a funky year that I actually did projects I had no inkling of even acknowledging!  Funny how that happens. 

So here’s the list (in no particular order):  tidy front hedging area and install a weed management solution, tidy rockery on driveway, tidy rockery by stone steps in garden, weed and feed rose hedge, weed and maintain ground cover on rubble heap, weed and install weed management solution under tree hedge, weed cluster of flower beds, install pipe in field ditch and sow lawn over it, weed front corner flower bed, divide and transplant seedlings, sow sunflower seeds, tidy stone wall planter at stone steps, tidy and find solution for area at tree trunk base, transplant rhubarb plant, make corner stone wall planter at driveway, plant potatoes, plant carrots and onions, plant turnips, clear brush and weeds from around hubby’s workshop, tend to outdoor potted plants – repot, feed etc., find irrigation system for front garden, divide my ever faithful amaryllis as well as other indoor plants… and I’m going to stop there. Do you remember what happened last year when I told you about my list?

Who on earth told me to create 3 rockery areas 4 years ago when I moved to this croft?! Anyway, it’s a relatively new garden and this year the work is really transitioning from redefining and establishing the areas of the land to making those already defined areas low maintenance.

I’ll tell you what though, it sounds like a lot (and well, yes it is) but that super balmy Monday I started on the seedling division and the weeding of the front hedge area.  I hadn’t planned to, but the weather was just too good not to be outside.  And up here, with the uber-fickle nature of the weather gods, one really has to grab the good days when they come!