No TV, Just Life: Nasturtiums taking over

The kittens are one week old today! To celebrate their birthday, I weighed each one – they each weigh over 200gr, so all is well. Mommy trilled at them half the night, which puzzled me awake at first as it continued for an unprecedented length of time.

Work was … work.

Back at home, after checking on the Minis and a quick chat with my neighbour, I got busy in the garden. It’s been a sunny day, so the ground isn’t soaking wet and it’s Wednesday – they’ll collect the drum tomorrow. So I pulled all the dead Bromeliad flowers out and filled the drum with that. When I first moved in, in May last year, those three clusters were full of dead flowers. I pulled them out and they rewarded me by flowering for the first time in years (according to the neighbours)! They don’t need much attention – but they do need their dead flowers removed. Once a year. That’s all.

Once I start in the garden, I get carried away – I usually only stop when heavy rain or lack of daylight force me. So I started cleaning out the weeds in our rockery. Only the really big ones – at first. Then I trimmed some of the more exuberant Tecoma – they are crawling all over the ground instead of growing upwards. They’re supposed to form a hedge, not a lawn! When I’d cleared all the easy, big stuff, I moved on to the Nasturtiums. First picking up the grass cuttings from the Garden Disservice by the handful – the beds are completely covered with them! Then I tended to what’s left of the Nasturtiums – don’t get me started! On closer inspection, my fears proved correct: in an effort to hide the destruction, the severed strands were removed. I didn’t have the heart to look inside the sliced bag – but my guess would be that’s where they ended. Well, I trimmed all the leaved which died as a result.

At one point the neighbours tom came to visit. At first I thought he was 'supervising' me, as he used to before Silver arrived - but then he just sprayed my Cornflowers and stalked off! Hrmph! On an uplifting note, I found a nice big, ripe pod of peas (they grow far, far away from the sprayed Cornflowers)! They were delicious! And then it got too dark, so I went inside.

Dinner was simple: re-heating what I had cooked last night. Also delicious! Good news, though: the photos are ready for publishing! Here they are:

First the kittens, one by one - when they were 1 day old
This is Patches - looks like a Guinea Pig!

Part one of the twins

These two seem to be twins! I can't tell them apart

This one and Patches were the first born

Sleeping alone

Usually they all squish together to sleep

What a mess, eh? It's mostly Dandelion leaves strewn about
every which way. I'll have to pick them up this weekend.

Remember I mentioned a flower that
seems to bloom only a few hours
every morning? This is it!

Stunning colouration of this Nasturtium!

New Phlox - I think.

Aren't these captivating? Such variety in colour and shape!

These are flowering everywhere, in three colour-sets.

Cornflower - one of the 'typical' colour variety

Here's a less typically coloure cornflower.

And a pink cornflower! Notice how
a few petals have not quite unfolded, yet?
In the centre?

And a lavender cornflower!

The most extraordinary Cornflower colouring so far!

Yep ... still waiting for this to open

I hat trimmed this Nasturtium back not so long ago - remember?
Instead of taking the hint, it exploded in an
extravagance of fiery red flowers!
Oh, and more leaves ... which I trimmed again tonight hehe