Apples

Mowed the front lawn yesterday. Sounds fairly straightforward but it wasn't that simple. Before firing the mower into life I had to rake loads of fallen apples into piles at the garden edge. Took ages. And the wasps didn't exactly help matters either.

Seems to be a bumper year for apples. The tree down the bottom and the one round the side by the woodshed are so laden with apples that their branches are nearly touching the ground. Never known such a crop in the six summers that I've been out here. And they're big and tasty too; unlike apples from previous years that have always been a bit small and acidic. But what to do with them all? (Why has the type size changed? Hate computers. Just figured it out: it's swapped from Georgia to Times. Must remember to swap it back again.) Well, if I knew how to do it, I'd make gallons of apple juice. Or even cider. But, as I don't have the know-how, the equipment and the necessary enthusiasm, I guess they'll just rot away in the grass. Or get eaten by wasps. Seems such a waste but there you go, c'est la vie. Maybe I'll stick a dozen of the best ones in a bowl on the kitchen table and have the occasional nibble. Good idea.

While mowing the lawn I noticed a few more flowery things had appeared in the flower beds. Well, I call them flower beds but they're more like weed beds with the occasional flower poking through. Georgie'd have a fit if she was out here. Maybe I'll do a spot of weeding this afternoon. Anyway, took some snaps 'cos I know Georgie likes to know if her efforts at weeding, digging and planting have been worthwhile.

Having mowed the front lawn, I then set about the 'car park' lawn. Bit tricky there due to the constant comings and goings of a billion wasps who've set up home in a hole in the ground by the side of the house. Consequently, I haven't cut the grass in the wasp nest area for months. Looks a bit scruffy but no way am I risking certain death by venturing too close to those vicious, nasty, aggressive, horrid wee chappies.

Then I set about the grassy area by the woodshed. Or nearly did. Instead, I set about pushing a few of the stacked logs back into position. The whole stack seemed to be leaning forwards. Then I went at them with a five feet long axe, tapping them back. Instead of improving things, I seemed to have made matters worse. Eventually the whole stack toppled forward and I made a mad dash for safety. Spent the next hour and a half re-stacking. Now much better. Far more stable. Job done. However, didn't manage to cut the grass or rake up the apples. Some other day maybe.