Before the attack

Along the wall, an overgrown, enormous rambling rose, a rugosa rose on the other side of it, a ribes smothered in honeysuckle - actually, they're all smothered in honeysuckle, you can have too much of a good thing. And half a dozen little current bushes. And the plan is to cut, prune, clear, dig. They haven't been touched for at least 10 years.

Later - I got half way through when I heard a lot of chirping, looked all around, above, couldn't see anything, and then a wee beak and then head and then bird emerged from a narrow gap in the wall at about knee height and flew into the birch tree behind me. Damn. I checked the rose so carefully before starting to make sure there wasn't a nest in it, and blow me if there isn't one in the wall behind it. I think it's a blue tit. So now I've stopped work so that they can go back to their nest and take care of their young, and I just hope I haven't scared them off for good.

What a nuisance - I want to get on with clearing the bed! And they're thinking, What a nuisance - we want to get on with bringing up our babies.