Rick, Nicky and Claire in NZ

 I know talking about the weather can be boring, but I just have to give it a mention this week because it has been a little bit gobsmacking. It was still dark on Monday morning when we were having our first cuppa of the day. The showers started, then turned to rain and developed into a cool dull day. We were wearing longs with an extra top layer, and it felt like autumn was starting to get into its stride. Tuesday stared cool but with a clearer sky. The forecast high for the day was 28º, and oh so wrong as it hit 32º mid-afternoon with gorgeous blue skies and blazing sun. Wednesday started dry, but by late afternoon the temperature had dropped and water was coming through the holes in the sky again. The rain ceased sometime during Thursday night, but Thursday was sufficiently dull to warrant having the fairy lights on all day. The rain returned on Friday morning along with a gale - very Piglet ears weather, but it was dry again by the end of the afternoon. The weekend has been bet...

 We now have a completely weed free garden!! We were watching the final episode of David Attenborough’s “Green Planet” on Monday night and he was explaining how he does not think weeds should be referred to as such. They are plants like any other, and should be thought of as pioneering plants. Which is great, because in one fell swoop we no longer have any weeds. There is quite a bit of pioneering going on though! With another week of dry, and mainly warm sunny weather, we have again spent much of our time in the garden. Nicky has continued planting and has finished the week with digging out pioneers, and planting the south west corner of the back garden: I have completed Phase Two of holesome digging for the retaining wall: I haven’t dug out right to the western end by the fence as I am not quite sure how the structure of the wall is going to work out around the curve of the path at that end. I also see it being the most complicated section to construct, so I’m going to start at t...

The southerly breeze that greeted us this morning suggested that autumn is just round the corner. Today has still been warm and sunny, though cooler than earlier in the week. It’s been like summer again, with hot sun filled days and no rain. As a result, we have maintained our routine of working in the garden at the beginning and end of the day. Nicky has continued with planting and garden bed construction, while I have had a holesome time digging the trench for building the retaining wall. This is physically quite challenging so I am now having an “alternative activity day” on Wednesdays and resting over the weekend. This week’s alternate activity was washing the windows. I have also had quite a bit of MacOnSite work, and got my domain transferred to a different host. I had a FaceTime chat with Jancis on Tuesday evening, while Nicky was at her first Vestry meeting. She had also been to Life Group and made a beef and marrow casserole for some unwell parishioners and ourselves. Nicky we...

 Even though it is now officially autumn, we have finished the week with some lovely weather. I have noticed that the daylight hours are getting fewer, especially in the mornings when having our first cuppa of the day. This was the view that greeted me as I walked out of the front door on Wednesday morning to go and do the shopping Our week has again been dominated by the garden, but punctuated with some other events. Nicky has continued planting and spreading bark, and bought some more plants from Frances. I have completed “Phase 1” of the retaining wall digging - the 1 metre deep trench where the poles and planks will be when it is finished. I have now moved onto “Phase 2”, which is widening the trench to give me space to construct the wall and set up the drainage. The spoil that is coming out from this digging is going beside the shed, as most of it will be going back from whence it came. After Life Group on Tuesday, Nicky called into the drive-through “pancake facility” at Chri...