The Big Autumn Cutback

Although I stayed up late to look at the seemingly UK-wide show of the Northern Lights (and take some not-very-outstanding photos), I was up a bit earlier this morning. I felt a little better than yesterday, and have only needed one dose of ibuprofen all day, so perhaps there’s a small hope of being Covid-free for my birthday.

Ben and Ivan, the gardeners, arrived at about twenty to nine armed with an array of ladders, petrol cutters, rakes and brooms ready for the annual big autumn cutback. After about three-and-a-half hours of hard work they took away masses of greenery, and the garden now looks much tidier and slightly less overwhelming (though I still have a huge amount of work to do myself to get it back up to scratch). I had a wander around after lunch and surprisingly there were a few rosebuds about, which may still bloom. There wasn’t much else of interest left at this time of year, and after all the trimming and cutting, but the Acer leaves - which still haven’t yet turned to their full autumnal fieriness - were beautifully backlit by the bright sunlight.