Wednesday 9 May 2012

Rainy days, and Sundays

So May has been with us for a week now, issuing in the idea of summer but with none of the traditional accoutrement's of the season. Warm weather has been lost somewhere between the UK and the arctic, while drought has been signified by the deluge and flooding that we've had ever since the hose pipe ban was announced a month ago. An announcement by the way, that had me purchasing water butts by the lorry load meaning the side of the extension now looks like an oil refinery. All this to preserve my precious plants from being parched even though they are now looking more like they could do with a towel and a sun bed.


There's a saying that goes 'it's great weather for ducks' which I can confirm is true and add to that 'for geese too', as there are great honking flocks of them noisily strutting their stuff on the many ponds that have appeared in the meadow opposite.


Other wildlife that are enjoying the daily downpours are the slugs and snails, slimy assassins that have proven to be immune to the nematodes, coffee grounds, and any other treatment I've used to keep them at bay this year and are now in competition with the rabbits to see who can be first to nosh every weary waterlogged plant down to the ground.


These particular young furry felons spend their days flaunting their fur coats against this unseasonal cold, caring not a jot as I bang on the window at them, instead simply staring back at me with their big doe eyes and bits of my beautiful garden hanging from the sides of their mouths, giving them the appearance of old fashioned country bumpkins.


They have also chosen to diversify their already expansive diet and eat my lupins, aquilegias, crocosmias, in fact anything they fancy. This feasting has forced me to take the drastic action of surrounding everything in green mesh and this coupled with the multitude of land mine like slug traps dotting the borders, means the gardens starting to resemble some sort of floral prison camp.


Not all the fauna are fairing as well as the aforementioned, usually there is a reassuring buzz in the air by this time as bees busy themselves among the blooms, but now they are silent and those that have dared to venture out and survived the daily bombing of raindrops are to be found sleepy and sad on the green but flowerless flora. I heard that they are starving at the moment because the rain is preventing them from leaving their hives which is hard to imagine a more sorrowful story.


The other creature that is not fairing so well is me, bad weather and bad news battle to bereft me of any  hope of a sunny disposition. This is usually my favourite time of the year when the light nights lift my mood and the garden gifts me with happiness but as the rain and temperature keeps falling, suspending the garden in frozen flowerless green, it becomes difficult not to let ones mood become as soggy as the surroundings.


Anyway sometimes we are so sad we forget to see and actually the gardens not just green, its luminescent, the rivers running fast and deep and the ponds and pits that were dry and desolate a few months ago are full to the brim with water and life so things aren't so bad.


I'm still escaping to Spain next week though for some sun.

13 comments:

  1. Does the rain in Spain stay mainly on the plain? The rain around our immediate environs makes me question the sanity of the planners responsible for the pipeline that is streaking across Lincolnshire to take water from Covenham Reservoir to Boston and beyond. Had they simply dug an open ditch instead of burying a pipeline it would have filled any new soutern reservoir that they cared to build ... moreover, we might have floated baskets of captive crop-eating rabbits and slugs down it; forced relocation at zero cost.

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    1. Sorry I have replied to this once but for some reason it didn't publish. So here's trying again

      I hope the rain stays away from Spain altogether while I'm there to be honest.

      I agree about the pipe surely it would be nearly as simple to dig a hole nearer Boston, but saying that we could maybe bypass the whole lot and use the pond that's appeared in the meadow opposite

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  2. Beautiful writing as usual (: I'm one of those people who thrive on sunshine, just seeing the sun makes me feel good and empowered for the rest of the day, so the rain's been really dampening my mood these past couple of weeks. That second-last paragraph was helpful, things really aren't that bad I guess. That last paragraph though, PFFT JEALOUS.

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    1. Thank you so much.

      I know what you mean about the weather, but someone told me the other day in knowledgable but not provable way, that wet Spring means a dry Summer, I'm not sure I believe it but I'm willing to hope

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  3. Rabbits have been making holes all over our lawn. Theyve not helped themselves to an greenery yet though. Hope the sunshine in Spain helps brighten things up for you.

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    1. Thanks very much.

      Your lawns probably better than mine, maybe I should make the grassy areas a bit more pleasant for the bunnies in the hope they leave the plants alone.

      I'm so panicking that the sun isn't going to shine in Spain either but if it does hopefully I can bring some back for everyone to share.

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  4. Enjoy yourself in Spain, me duck!

    So it's your fault we haven't been able to buy more rain butts. It has been so dull, cold and damp - no wonder we all feel flat and in need of sun. Unfortunately the cats keep bringing baby rabbits home. I managed to rescue one (thinking about my vegetables, I must confess) and couldn't believe how loudly it screamed at me when I picked it up to put it back into the field...mind you, it was rivalled by the racket the cat made at being denied her snack.

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    1. I'm a bit squeamish so don't know how I'd handle the whole cats and baby rabbits thing.
      A few years ago I was using the mower on the verge and I ran over a baby rabbit by accident which made me yell a lot louder than the poor little thing and made me high tail it away from the murder scene leaving the mower and corpse behind.

      Holly's not much good at keeping the bunnies away, she just watches them go about their business, but strangely won't tolerate the pigeon that lands in the back garden.

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  5. Touchwood, rabbits are the one thing I’m not plagued with...perhaps they don’t like to hop all the way up to the top of the hill! The squirrels, though, are loving munching on the flowers and as for the slugs and snails-I think they just think my garden is one big smorgasbord...

    Have a lovely and sunny holiday and hope you return with your batteries fully charged!!

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  6. Thank you,

    My only slight worry about going away is that i may come back to no plants at all, but hey ho

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  7. We had a week of rain here in Massachusetts as well. This week looks to be a beauty though. Have a wonderful vacation.

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  8. Well hopefully your holiday and yesterday's party cheered you up. Your garden, as seen on Pear Tree Log, looks idyllic and I'm quite envious. We are lucky enough to have a rabbit proof fence down at our plot, but unfortunately, this doesn't stop the voles who tunnel under anything we value and eat everything we like - grrrr!

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  9. I hope your weather has improved as June arrived.

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