Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Gone fishin’

Image via Wylio
…or at least gardening. Here in Mid-Wales summer arrived overnight yesterday and I can’t afford to waste it indoors. One of the downsides to our peripatetic lifestyle is trying to keep three gardens in some kind of order and this hasn't been helped  by the cold and wet weather we’ve had for so long. Suddenly the mid-day temperature has leapt from below 10C to above 20 (50F to 70 for my transatlantic readers) and I've shed several layers of clothing at a stroke. Even better, the five-day weather forecast shows more of the same on the way, so the gardening tools are out and the weeds better brace themselves for imminent destruction. I’ll catch up when I’m too tired to pull a weed or push a mower, but until then I’ll leave you to savour this gem from the immortal Porgy and Bess.




49 comments:

  1. Dear Perpetua - wonderful isn't it, but everything is growing like topsy. H and I had to retire to the shade yesterday.
    I just love your photo, absolutely wonderful. I would be very proud of it if it was mine.

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    1. Sadly the photo isn't mine, Rosemary, but a stock image from a free photo site. I've just edited my post to put the credit under the photo instead of at the bottom of the page. It's gorgeous, as is the weather, so I'm off outside to make the most of it. Luckily I have a shady part of the garden to work in when it gets too hot ion the sun. :-)

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  2. The bindweed is rampant in my garden this year. I hate using weed killer but it such a bugger to control.

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    1. It's couch grass, goose-grass and dandelions that are making the take-over bid here, Sarah. All hard work, especially as we have a small pond for the wildlife, so I can't use weedkiller too close to it. Ah, well, back to the fray....

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  3. Have fun in the garden Perpetua. Of course you must take advantage of good weather. Our days are becoming colder and when I get up every morning we have white frosts. Brrr....

    Sue

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    1. Thanks, Sue, I enjoy weeding, as at least you can see where you've been, even if, as with housework, the effects don't last. :-)

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  4. Hello Perpetua:
    Well, we are delighted to read that the sun is shining on Blighty at last. So yes, make the most of it but do not overdo it....that is always the danger.

    What a wonderful image you show at the start of this post. It so reminds us of our early mornings in the garden in Herefordshire. You have captured the magical light wonderfully well.

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    1. It started to shine on Monday afternoon, Jane and Lance and hasn't stopped since. :-) Even better is the row of little sun symbols in the five-day weather forecast. I'll be careful, but it's SO good to be outdoors at last.

      I wish I could take credit for the beautiful photo, but alas it was found in an image source on the internet.

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  5. You be careful in that broiling heat now...drink lots of water. :)

    Thwarted once again by US copyright laws on the vid.

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    1. Got it now...fabulous.

      I grew up with Sam Cooke's version.

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    2. I know, I know, EF - 70F+ is barely warm enough to take your sweater off by Southern standards, but to us up north it's summer heat. :-) Glad you liked the video. I think it's a superb version.

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    3. I'm in no position to talk tough. The one night I spent in Wales I thought I was gonna freeze to death.

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    4. Yes, you have to be rugged to survive here. :-) Lots of layers is the answer. Why do you think I knit so many socks?

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  6. You really picked a beautiful photo and a beautiful song, Perpetua. Enjoy your digging and weeding and planting - shame we can't have 'smelloblogs' as I love the scents that rise from weeding! Axxx

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    1. Aren't they both wonderful, Annie? Not much planting going on at the moment, still pulling or digging up the weeds which are rampant after 6 weeks away in Scotland!

      I know just what you mean about the scents from weeding. The gravel round the pond has been invaded by Herb Robert which has a very distinctive scent which not everyone likes, but which to me is very nostalgic of childhood.

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    2. Do you need any help, Big Sis? Our gardens are pretty much under control for now, so we could spare an afternnon to lend you a hand. We will be back in Witney and Herts on Saturday and Sunday, but we have nothing much planned for Thursday and Friday. Send me an e-mail to my yahoo account if you'd like us to come up

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    3. That is a kind and generous offer, Baby Sis and I may well take you up on it. Will be in touch.

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  7. You really have to seize the moment when the garden takes off in the warm days or panthers start emerging from its depths...
    Just be careful of your back!

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    1. Carpe diem is my motto, Fly! I've given up on our Wild Wood where there are badgers if nothing fiercer, but I do like to be able to get to the house doors unimpeded. :-) Luckily my back is fine, but my knees suffer if I kneel to weed. Sigh....

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  8. Great song. Just about to get outside and tackle some more mowing and strimming.....

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    1. My favourite version other than the film itself, Antoinette. I've had a nice sit-down and am about to cut another swathe through the uninvited guests.

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  9. I know what you mean on all counts, Perpetua. The garden here has already been tackled, although there remains quite a lot to do, and the French garden (where, I gather, it may be raining) is due for a blitz in a couple of weeks' time. Unfortunately, work is currently getting in the way of any serious gardening here, but I'm sure that, as the weather is forecast to remain good until the weekend, we'll get to it!

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    1. I thought you would, CB. We don't have any kind of a proper garden here, just a patch of mown field we call a lawn, some shrubs and trees and the bit round the pond near the kitchen door where I've been concentrating my efforts so far. It's all a bit wild, but the birds and other wildlife enjoy it and in France we have an orchard grazed by young cattle when we're not there. :-)

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  10. You are keeping up three gardens? My!
    Do share them.

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    1. It would be more accurate to say we're failing to keep up 3 gardens, Rosaria. In Scotland we get someone to mow the grass for us in our absence, but elsewhere it's up to us and it certainly keeps us fitter than we would otherwise be. You might enjoy this post about DH's idea of good gardening:

      http://perpetually-in-transit.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/wild-wood.html

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  11. I went back and read all your posts. I enjoyed your meeting with The Broad. It was the same for us last week when we met two bloggy friends in New York for a second time – just like we had known them for years.
    Your pictures of Scotland were gorgeous – I have always wished to make a visit there so I enjoyed your trip a lot. I listened to the videos of Kathleen Ferrier – such a wonderful voice, so rich and full of feeling.
    Belated congratulation on your 44th wedding anniversary. We will be celebrating our 45th in less than a month – we may still go back to San Francisco this year (where we were married.)
    Then you met two more bloggers! Living on a remote island like this must be so totally different – and peaceful. I had not heard of Orkney and loved all the pictures and info you gave. It was fascinating.
    Congratulations on your 100th post! Isn’t blogging great! As I grow older I enjoy gardens more and more. We have too much shade and pine trees to have a proper garden but we have planters. Visiting gardens is a great pleasure – last week we went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden where there is a rose garden with 5,000 rose bushes – most of them in bloom. I took more than 450 pictures!

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    1. My goodness, what a marathon catch-up session you must have had, Vagabonde! Thank you for reading and commenting with such care. Like you I love sharing the travels I'm lucky enough to be able to make and I enjoy the travels of others in turn. I'm so glad you took the time to listen to the clips of Kathleen Ferrier. She is one of my favourite singers and I love keeping people aware of her wonderful voice.

      I'm not sure my patches of ground deserve to be dignified with the name of garden, as they don't get enough time and attention to look really cared for. But we are fortunate to have trees and grass and some flowers wherever we are, though the roses are nowhere near flowering yet. Perhaps after this present warm weather....?

      Happy 45th anniversary when it arrives. :-)

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  12. Ah summertime, how I love it. Except right now here it's bucketing down, the rain drops as big as hailstones. But I know within ten minutes or so, the rain will disappear, the sun will come out and a rainbow will wrap itself around my mountains. Still, I sometimes wish I had a garden to weed...but my little 'garden in pots' on my lanai will have to do for now. Happy weeding Perpetua!

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    1. That's the beauty of tropical rain, Astrid, as I remember from my one holiday in Barbados - it can be very heavy but stop as suddenly as it started. Sometimes I would swap my rough gardening for a bit of looking after pots, but I enjoy it really. I bet your flowers are beautiful and luxuriant. :-)

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  13. I hope you are still enjoying all the garden jobs Perpetua. I cant imagine how you manage to keep on top of 3 gardens. My Hebden Bridge pocket hanky garden takes no work, having created it last year to be very very easy. However, the work in the French garden will never be complete, a real work in progress, but hopefully one that will look ok at every stage of development. I love the P & B extract...brilliantly soulfully moody, and makes you feel warm and lazy. J.

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    1. The simple answer is that I don't really, Janice. I sometimes feel like the little boy with his finger in the hole trying to prevent a flood. :-) But it's good exercise and I can always stop and look at the view instead of the weeds..... What I've seen of your French garden so far looks gorgeous.

      Glad you enjoyed the clip - such a good version of a wonderful classic.

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  14. Happy gardening, Perpetua. There is an oft used phrase "make hay while the sun shines". I'm out the door to do the same in a minute or two (or a blog or two). Enjoy the good weather - and I've enjoyed this music, so sweet and lasting.

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    1. It's a marvellous song, Penny and I never tire of listening to it. Hope you enjoyed your gardening. From the pictures on your blog, your garden is a much more finished product than mine, but they don't stay like that without plenty of hard work.

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  15. What a voice - Adele , eat your heart out.

    I've been wrapped in work which is frustrating, but at least the sun has arrived.

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    1. She's always been one of my greatest favourites, Mark. Sorry work is so all-consuming. do hope it lets up enough for you to enjoy and not just notice the sun. That said we're shrouded in mist this morning!

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  16. I have trouble keeping one garden going...so you're amazing! Lovely music! What a nice interlude for me to join you! Debra

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    1. You're very welcome. Debra. It's always fun to listen to other people's choices. Actually I have trouble keeping one garden going, so three is a lost battle from the start! Don't forget, you're still working, whereas my time is now my own.

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  17. No plug-in for me but I'm definitely sweltering in the garden too!

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    1. Sorry you can't hear it, Friko - a marvellous version of 'Summertime' by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.

      It's been very sticky weather here today after the morning's thick mist and there's lots more sunshine to come over the weekend. I do hope this isn't all our summer at once....

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  18. I love that song...thanks for brightening my day. Not keen on gardening though. I do try to get enthusiastic, really, but it doesn't work. I water everything and I gaze at the garden when it's looking it's best, but that's it I'm afraid. :-(

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    1. Wonderful, isn't it, Ayak, and so beautifully sung here. I'm not sure I'd call myself a proper gardener either, not like my mother who practically lived for her garden, but I quite enjoy doing the rough work when the weather's good. You're lucky to have Mr A who seems to enjoy working in the garden. DH's talents lie in other directions....:-)

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  19. Dear Perpetua, Ella and Louie--who could ask for more on this lovely day here in Missouri? Thank you.
    And may those weeds cringe before your fortitude! Peace.

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    1. You're very welcome, Dee. Perfect listening when the summer sun is shining as it has been for us both. Not sure about the weeds cringing, but I'm certainly creaking a bit now..... :-)

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  20. Summer in Wales did rather arrive all of a sudden didn't it. Don't know about your bit but in my bit temps were pushing 30 degrees on Thursday and Friday. Enjoy your gardening while the weather is so good x

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    1. We didn't know what had hit us, Annie! We're sheltered by the hill from the easterly breeze and though I didn't measure them, I'm guessing our temperatures were much the same. Phew! I found myself wanting to work only in the shade....

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  21. What a perfect post. Lovely photo and one of the most wonderful songs ever.

    Nice.

    Enjoy the gardening - one of my fave activities.

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    1. Thanks, roughseas, glad you enjoyed it. I think it's a fantastic version. The gardening gave way to a bit of furniture shifting today, so now a different lot of muscles are complaining. :-) But at least I can see where I've been and the rain hasn't arrived yet.....

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  22. Hello Perpetua - enjoy the fine weather while it lasts. I gather that rain is on the way in a few days time, arriving in true British style for the Diamond Jubilee this coming weekend :-)

    With reference to gardens - it is this time of year when I regret not having one to sit out in and enjoy the sunshine. But equally, it is nice to no longer have the impossible task of trying to maintain the massive one we had back in Oxfordshire.

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    1. Oh, I've definitely been doing just that, Ricky. :-) Of course the weather is due to change by next week. It's the postponed half-term, the two older grandsons are coming to stay and the longer-term forecast is now saying it will rain here all week from Monday afternoon onwards. Sigh.... If only they could have been here this week as usual.

      I can imagine that you must miss having a garden, but at least in Prague there are wonderful big parks to stroll and sit in, with someone else having all the work of maintenance.

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I welcome your comments and will always try to respond to them. Thank you for reading.