We are home again. The first week dragged by, with us in a comatose state, due to jet lag and exhaustion. The hours and hours spent walking in Singapore, plus the long journey back to Heathrow, fourteen hours in all, finished us off. Altogether it was a fantastic trip, very busy, but great to spend time with family and friends in New Zealand and Australia.
It was lovely to be in our own bed again, and initially the weather was quite reasonable, to the point where it was a pleasure to sit in the conservatory, enjoying the late winter sun. But now it is cold, about six degrees, grey and drizzly. Oh for some warm Adelaide weather. Not too hot though, temperatures in the high twenties or low thirties would be perfect. Roll on summer time here.
Onto the garden, grass, weeds and evergreen shrubs have been growing merrily, due to a relatively mild winter. Plenty of work ahead.
The mole has been busy, cleaning out its tunnels. Three piles of dirt and stones on this patch of grass. Usually moles dig deep into the ground during the cold of winter. Not this year.
The fruit garden, bare twigs and weeds galore.
A few daffodils are opening up in the tub. A good sign that spring will be here soon. I think they have made an early appearance this year.
The hydranga, still with its dead flower heads on it, all ready to prune. I read in a gardening book that it is best to leave the flower heads on over winter, in order to protect the new buds. I am not sure if this is correct advice or not, but the bush is always covered in blooms, except for the year I pruned it, drastically I must admit, in October.
Ah, the hedge, now without its leaves. I left the job of lowering the height, until I returned from the trip, as it was too difficult to see the branches in October. Too many leaves.
Well, I have managed to reduce the height of the hedge by half, and cleared out some of the growth. No doubt it will grow again rapidly but at least I will be able to trim the top of it, without dangerously balancing on a ladder. I think our neighbours will be much happier with the tidy up.
Birthday time. Emma and Donna have always celebrated their birthday together on the 5th February ever since Emma was born forty years ago. But this year they were apart, Emma here, and Donna in Australia, which was very sad for them. And I must say very strange for us, as we usually have a dinner here for them both, and their families. This year it was only Emma, Steve, Jackson and Isabel, and their dogs, Bobbi and Jezzie. Jeff, the lizard, missed out, as he was asleep at home in his avarium.
We had a lovely meal, and a wonderful extravagant cake, bought by Steve from Fortnum and Mason. Luxury.
I hope the video, of us singing happy birthday, as Emma blows out her candles, uploads okay.
Happy 40th birthday, Emma. And a happy birthday to you, too, Donna.
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