Cool gardening!

I woke to the alarm, but turned over - it's lovely and cold outside, snuggle weather! I found the purple fluffy toy under the duvet with me, I wonder which Mip brought me that?

I put on my black, woolly poncho for my outside coffee - mippies are staying close, though. When I went inside to dress for gardening ... Mewthos was outside the bedroom window! Ai, ai, ai! That's big doggie garden! I had to go outside and drag him back under the fence again - how does he get there?

The ground is still lovely and wet, so I placed the white Geranium, the one from the rockery, next to the bench under the tree, where I had cleared a spot. My 'ground cover' will have to battle my landlords 'ground cover' - lets see who wins! A Vieruurtjie had also grown in the pot, entangled with the Geranium roots, so out in the garden the pair of them went! I meant to use that pot for the Radish, but I see there's stuff growing in it, still, so I've just added some more potting soil and left it.

Rose's little succulent pot is also overflowing again. I'm afraid the one plant - the autumn red carpet ones - didn't make it, so I planted more where they had died. Next to the path.

Phew! It's half past one and I'm kaput! With the ground so lovely and soft after yesterdays rain, I couldn't let the opportunity pass - I pulled that tall grass! I was even able to pull a lot of that tough stuff, which wouldn't budge last weekend. I think I filled about four or five wheelbarrows - I've lost count. But I made a crap load of progress! Now, there's only the one corner left to do. I wanted to finish that today, but my body said "Are you insane? Do you still want to be able to move anytime next week?" At least, what's left, is out of my line of sight. I no longer see it when I'm sitting outside - everything in my sight is clean!

I'm tempted to throw some Cosmos seeds where I've been working today - the ground is now all soft and full of holes - the Cosmos will do well. The one growing in the corner, next to the Vieruurtjie, is doing very well indeed! I'm just thinking - if I do throw seeds there, Cosmos will grow and throw more seeds ... do I really want that whole place covered in Cosmos? I will need space for all my vegetables, too - and I still have all those spekboom to plant!

My landlord came to look where he could install a light switch, outside, so that I can have light when I get home after dark - which will happen soon. I showed him my solar LED light, which I had bought for PE - and that'll save him trying to find a place for a light switch, and will work beautifully, since it has a motion sensor! So the light will come on, as I get out of the car! Perfect solution!

Well, the long-sleeve didn't last very long. I'm back in the sleeveless top - I'm happy to report that temperatures are below 30 Celsius, though. Only about 25 or 26, which I can bear.

Mippies jumped on my back again and again today. Mewthos mostly, but Lady Jane also made herself comfy on my back, while I was bent over pulling out grass. 

The Zucchini don't seem to like their new home, they're looking a bit flat. The Beans are also drooping a little - I've watered them, since they are now in the shade. Let's hope they recover. The Vieruurtjie I took out this morning is also drooping quite sadly ... it's still in the sun, it'll get water when it's in the shade. The Geranium, on the other hand, is doing well!

I've just re-potted the cucumbers - my, oh my! I seem to have been a bit over enthusiastic with the seeds - or pessimistic? Take your pick! Anyway, I've got 24 cucumber seedlings growing! Compared to 6 Zucchini, 6 Butternut and 8 Bush Beans. I've had to spread them over two pots.

The Zucchini seem to be recovering, most of them, at any rate. I keep watering - ha ha, until I get mushrooms joining them again!

I've done some damage to my middle finger on my right hand - I think it's where the thorn went under the nail. I use my hands to make holes for the seedlings - I think I should start using the Glupsh! Ha Ha Ha - I wonder how Glupsh would glupsh in this hard ground here?

Who or what is a Glupsh? Well, a while back the owner of the B&B where I stayed, when I first came to PE to look for a place to stay, came to see my garden in PE. We talked, and - obviously - weeds were mentioned. He said that they're easy to get rid of, just use on of those long, deep tools, push that into the ground under the root and then 'glupsh' they come out! Easy Peasy! Rose and I just looked at each other, but said nothing - though we had a good laugh about it afterwards! So now you know about Glupsh.

Our gardener likes to use that tool - Rose has one which forks and bends at the end. I've never taken to it - though I had gotten one myself and tried it. Before the Glupsh!

I think tomorrow I should re-pot the Watermelon - they look as numerous as the cucumber! What was I thinking? Sigh. Maybe I should also re-pot the Broad Beans, I have only two, they can live with some Peas. Boy, have I got a lot of Peas growing! Yeah, I know, I did sow them in too many pots. They should maybe move tomorrow as well - that would mean that I could use one of the smaller, green pots for Radish. It had only the Bush Beans and Peas - so, if I re-pot Peas tomorrow, that would free a pot.

This morning it was still overcast, then the sun came out and now there are a couple of clouds again, giving one the hope for rain ... rain would be good!

Cor, but my bum muscles are sore! Or, if you want to be posh, upper thigh muscles - just at the back. It's from all that bending over and stretching to grab those grass roots then pulling them out.

Of course, now that the tall grass is gone, the shorter grass is calling me - the ones mixed with that ground cover. I've cleaned some of the areas, but only a little. It wasn't quite so important while that tall grass was laughing at me. There's still that corner of tall grass ...

Yeah, well, I went back out and started working on the last of the tall grass. What can I say? No, I didn't finish, but I reduced it visibly.

I tidied up, packed everything away and called in my mippies - no trouble from any of them! They enjoyed their treats and came to help me with my dinner ... the eating help, that is. Poor Ziva! Mewthos and Lady just steal whatever she's eating, right out of her mouth! I have to give each of them a treat to keep them busy, so that Ziva can get hers! Same thing later, when I filled their Whiskas bowl! Mewthos and Lady were hogging it, so poor Ziva couldn't get her head in - so I filled her bowl with Whiskas, too!

And then I had a lovely, hot bath! Oh was that delightful! And now I'm tired ... I wonder why? Ha Ha!