Busy day today - during the week, my neighbour cut his hedge - it's sort of Christmas tree like, but hedge shaped, and about 7 feet tall by 20 feet long. He cut his side, and the top, and then stopped. So I came home to all the cuttings from the top of the hedge in my garden, and my side untouched (I should point out that the boundary is a fence, and the hedge is on his side of the fence). I'm not sure about the legal responsibilities here, so I thought that, rather than just picking up the cuttings, I might as well do my side as well. So, I steeled myself against the possibility of spiders landing on me, and off I went. Oof, I think my arms will be sore tomorrow - I don't have an electric trimmer thingy, just a pair of slightly rusted garden shears. You know the way you see some people with a dodgy haircut and wonder if it's a DIY job? Well, that's kind of what my side of the hedge looks like... And, since its autumn, the bits falling on me were soaking wet too :-(

And then (well, after a bit more pruning of garden areas to fill the green bin), I decided to wash the car. My god, it'd be sooooo much easier with a hosepipe. As it was, I washed with one bucket of hot soapy water, and rinsed with 4 buckets of cold water. Half of which ended up all over me (damn splashback). And I thought I might as well wash the downstairs windows while I was about it - cue more splashback. I swear, by the time I went back into the house I looked like I used to when I'd been to swimming lessons as a kid - you know, those ones where you had to rescue a brick from the bottom of the pool while you were wearing your pyjamas (I had to borrow some, I was a nightie girl)...

It's times like this that make me think of my dad. The man could paint a wall, and the only other place there'd be any paint would be the very tip of the brush. Me? Well obviously it's all over the brush, as I'll have dropped it in the tin of paint at least twice, all up my arms where I've leant on a wet bit of wall, and all over my clothes, hair and face where I've overloaded the brush and it's splashed. Similarly, he could wash the car without looking like he'd been out in a storm afterwards...

I do actually have a hosepipe - a put-it-together-yourself hose and reel from Argos. I've put it together as per the instructions, but I can't figure out how to attach it to the tap, since it's 3 feet off the ground (I suspect I need to cut a bit from the end of the hose). My brain just doesn't work that way, so I might need help!

Anyway, I spotted this tree at the other end of the cul-de-sac whilst I was soaking myself next to the car. I know the colours aren't unusual at this time of year, but I never tire of the beauty of nature in autumn.