FLOWER FRIDAY

Once more this morning, we were out in the green gym very early and have done an amazing amount of work.  The agenda today was to move the bricks from the back border so that Mr. HCB could rake the soil and combine it with the path that had been running through between the back and front borders, ready for when the man comes to lay the gravel in a couple of weeks’ time.

Mr. HCB raked while I moved the bricks - very slowly, because I could only carry two at a time.  It was a long and laborious job but “slow and steady” got the job done.  Then I decided that I would move some of the bricks over to the other side of the pond so that I could reinstate my “log pile” for the insects and various bugs, so “slow and steady” did that job too.  Our friend, Gill, who kindly does an Aldi shop for us each week, brought our groceries before she and her husband go away next Monday for a few days, so it was good to stop and chat to her for a while.

There wasn’t much chatting between Mr. HCB and me because we were so intent on what we were doing, but partway through the morning, it was evident that Lynn and Mike were also out in their garden, so having sat down for a cuppa, their faces appeared at the gate between our houses and they asked if they could come and join us, which they did, so that whiled away another half an hour.  

After that, I got to work on the log pile, but not before I had taken a couple of shots of the Helenium, which is looking very good; it is quite tall and is gently swaying in the wind and still has lots of flowers, but I preferred the one that is past its best, which is my Blip for Flower Friday.

I have put in a collage as an extra so that you can see how we are getting on with the preparation work.  The top left shows the bricks still in situ, the top right is a view from the other end with the bricks removed, the bottom right is my log pile for the bugs and the bottom left shows the area that Mr. HCB has raked.  I have to say that we never really intended doing all this work - it just sort of happened and one thing led to another!

I worked out that if an average brick weighs 5lbs, having shifted about 200 bricks, that makes a total weight of 1,000lbs together with lots of other stones I moved whilst making the log pile so I probably shifted the best part of half a ton of bricks and stones - not bad for an old ‘un!  

Mr. HCB has now gone back out after lunch with an axe to try and chip some more off the cherry tree stump, so that will keep him out of mischief for a while.  I may go out when I have finished this, just to make some noises and tell him how well he’s doing - after all, he did congratulate me on all the bricks I moved, so fair’s fair! I did go out and have put another photograph in as an extra - Mr. HCB says it is much harder than he thought but he doesn't give up easily! 

I’m not even going to mention the new regulation that come into force as from next week - suffice to say we will not be going far from home for a while - apart from which, we have plenty to do in the garden so we won't have much time to sit around and mope!

“We generate fears while we sit. 
     We overcome them by action. 
          Fear is nature’s way of warning us 
               to get busy.”
Dr. Henry Link – Clinical Psychologist

P.S.  Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments, stars and hearts for my Emperor Dragonfly yesterday - which rose too the dizzy heights of the top row of the Popular page.