well, OK, not strictly speaking a jungle. Mid-June and everything's growing like mad. The garden and weeds alike are thriving, and it's a challenge to keep on top of it all... and so, I don't. I do what I can, when I can, time and weather allowing.
I've tidied the background border of the rampant nettles, buttercups and goose-grass sticky willie or whatever you call it - that stuff that spreads and is sticky with little balls which I assume are the seed packages... I can't get into it other than with a rake, so it was a bit slap-dash, but now there's room for the rest to fill in and hopefully splash some colour about.
The grass needs mowing every week, it's having space to put the mown grass that's the issue. My two compost bins are full, and I also have a 'green' bin which the binmen take fortnightly. But that's not usually enough, and sometimes there's a trip to the tip, or, if I feeling lazy, then I may tip it on the derelict plot next door to us.... which is, of course, another thing.
The house was demolished back in March....
.... and has subsequently been levelled. The space between our house and our previous next-door-but-one neighbours', and our now next-door-but-space neighbours, has been levelled, and exactly nothing has happened since.
Now, you'll be surprised to learn that I don't know much about property developers(!), but, I would have thought that having demolished the house would have signified the impending start to the project of building the 18 or so houses on the field behind us. Apparently not. According to our now next-door-but-space neighbours, they've spoken to the developers, who have a lot of other projects going on in Swindon (home of the Magic Roundabout!), and they've not enough people available to start here before December at the soonest. The concern now is that the developers will watch the market, and possibly sell the plot to other developers - at a loss or profit? who can say? Well, it doesn't make much sense to me, but like I said, what do I know about it?
In the interim, and unsurprisingly, in it's wild and untended state, it's a jungle out there - the grass is overgrown with the usual suspects of nettles, bramble, sticky willie, and the rest. My hollyhocks which I seeded over our end boundary in the pre-jungle growth (guerrilla gardening!) are doing their best and are taller than me already, so I strimmed round them to give them spreading space. 'Every little helps' as the saying goes.
And it's a jungle on the footpath to Letcombe - which is normal for this time of the year, but is becoming an assault course if cycling with the dog and Tom, or on my 'get fit before fifty' run out either by myself, or with the 'JogWantage' group I joined in May. Ha ha! You didn't expect that one did you? I've done the jogging thing on and off over the years, but have usually fallen at the child-minding hurdle. This year I've managed full attendance on Wednesdays mainly because Tom's older and if he doesn't come with me to the field to play on his bike, then I'm less stressy about leaving him at home (with older sister, on strict instructions not to fight!) for 45mins or so.
So, the footpath is disappearing either side, with the heavy headed cow parsley intermingled with bramble, nettles, dock, grasses and buttercups, ivy, bindweed, scabious, oilseed rape which has self-seeded and is doing very well thank you, poppies, red and purple, and the occasional overhanging branch, one of which has fallen onto the high hedge on the opposite side, bridging the path and making you duck your head when cycling. If it falls any further they'll have to get a chainsaw and remove it, it's a real hazard.
The running's better than I remember, and I'm feeling fairly good about it. I'm not going to break any records, but all I want to do is get fitter and stay committed to it. So, yesterday in a fit of madness, I ran the 5K 'parkrun' in Abingdon. Well, when I say ran, steady plod would be more like it... I came in 209th and although I was a 'ghost runner' as I'd not pre-registered, we think my time was around 36.5 minutes. More importantly, I enjoyed it, and am looking forward to doing it again. I've now registered so next time I can get an official time. Parkruns are a global organisation/movement, and are free to enter and are usually on Saturday morning at 9am from what I understand - here's a link if you're interested.... http://www.parkrun.org.uk/
Umm, don't look too closely at the photo - unfit mum of 48, nearly 49 - needing to lose some pounds, better than some, but definitely room for improvement! Hence my 'fit for fifty' mantra, slowly, slowly catchee monkey as they say. Slowly slowly, fit for fifty, as I say.
Keeping it real! Kat. :)
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| We moved this rose bush 5 yrs ago and it's thriving, usually flowers twice - nice! |
The grass needs mowing every week, it's having space to put the mown grass that's the issue. My two compost bins are full, and I also have a 'green' bin which the binmen take fortnightly. But that's not usually enough, and sometimes there's a trip to the tip, or, if I feeling lazy, then I may tip it on the derelict plot next door to us.... which is, of course, another thing.
The house was demolished back in March....
.... and has subsequently been levelled. The space between our house and our previous next-door-but-one neighbours', and our now next-door-but-space neighbours, has been levelled, and exactly nothing has happened since.
Now, you'll be surprised to learn that I don't know much about property developers(!), but, I would have thought that having demolished the house would have signified the impending start to the project of building the 18 or so houses on the field behind us. Apparently not. According to our now next-door-but-space neighbours, they've spoken to the developers, who have a lot of other projects going on in Swindon (home of the Magic Roundabout!), and they've not enough people available to start here before December at the soonest. The concern now is that the developers will watch the market, and possibly sell the plot to other developers - at a loss or profit? who can say? Well, it doesn't make much sense to me, but like I said, what do I know about it?
In the interim, and unsurprisingly, in it's wild and untended state, it's a jungle out there - the grass is overgrown with the usual suspects of nettles, bramble, sticky willie, and the rest. My hollyhocks which I seeded over our end boundary in the pre-jungle growth (guerrilla gardening!) are doing their best and are taller than me already, so I strimmed round them to give them spreading space. 'Every little helps' as the saying goes.
And it's a jungle on the footpath to Letcombe - which is normal for this time of the year, but is becoming an assault course if cycling with the dog and Tom, or on my 'get fit before fifty' run out either by myself, or with the 'JogWantage' group I joined in May. Ha ha! You didn't expect that one did you? I've done the jogging thing on and off over the years, but have usually fallen at the child-minding hurdle. This year I've managed full attendance on Wednesdays mainly because Tom's older and if he doesn't come with me to the field to play on his bike, then I'm less stressy about leaving him at home (with older sister, on strict instructions not to fight!) for 45mins or so.
So, the footpath is disappearing either side, with the heavy headed cow parsley intermingled with bramble, nettles, dock, grasses and buttercups, ivy, bindweed, scabious, oilseed rape which has self-seeded and is doing very well thank you, poppies, red and purple, and the occasional overhanging branch, one of which has fallen onto the high hedge on the opposite side, bridging the path and making you duck your head when cycling. If it falls any further they'll have to get a chainsaw and remove it, it's a real hazard.
The running's better than I remember, and I'm feeling fairly good about it. I'm not going to break any records, but all I want to do is get fitter and stay committed to it. So, yesterday in a fit of madness, I ran the 5K 'parkrun' in Abingdon. Well, when I say ran, steady plod would be more like it... I came in 209th and although I was a 'ghost runner' as I'd not pre-registered, we think my time was around 36.5 minutes. More importantly, I enjoyed it, and am looking forward to doing it again. I've now registered so next time I can get an official time. Parkruns are a global organisation/movement, and are free to enter and are usually on Saturday morning at 9am from what I understand - here's a link if you're interested.... http://www.parkrun.org.uk/
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| me in action - don't know why I was doing 'jazz hands'... |
Keeping it real! Kat. :)
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