Tag: patio

A Beautiful Irony

Having been kept awake most of the night by the function of my catheter, I have decided to explain something about it. The purpose is to enable a free flow of urine in the affected body. I will spare my readers a scan of the explicit colourful drawing we are given; those more squeamish may wish to pass the following paragraph completely.

A plastic tube is inserted into the urethra travelling to the bladder. This remains in place until the medics are satisfied that there is a free flow devoid of blood clots. It is the stinging resulting from the passing of these clots that disturbed my night’s sleep; there has not been much of this during the day. The liquid is collected in an attached plastic bag the content of which requires regular emptying and flushing away. If successful my catheter is due to be removed in two days time.

By coincidence Ronan and Harvey of Tom Sutton Heating visited by appointment this morning having brought a machine for flushing out a blockage in pipes carrying water from the boiler. As I sat with my (concealed) catheter bag attached to my leg, it was impossible to ignore the beautiful irony of this juxtaposition.

Shelly visited this afternoon bringing love, care, well wishes, and enjoyable conversation.

Later Nick Hayter visited to touch up areas of painting on our west end gable wall which he had not been able to reach while the scaffolding was in place. We also took the opportunity of a pleasant catch up.

Today Jackie completed her tidying of the patio after yesterday’s gusting winds.

Readers may have wondered what were the strips of wood in this picture from yesterday.

They were bought to conceal the peeling blue paint on the butler sinks. I was much steadier stepping out to photograph this before dinner.

This evening we dined on Ashleigh battered cod and garden peas.

Current Condition

Early on this unusually increasingly cloudy morning, clad in my dressing gown, in silence save for the sough of the unusually warm rushing winds, wandered around the garden with the idea of using the diluted light for photography.

When admiring yesterday’s further clearance work by Martin I had

noticed the amount of blooms gracing Lady Emma Hamilton, and determined to come back today with my camera.

More roses, in the Rose Garden

and elsewhere, are clinging on to summer

in this season of dahlias and

Japanese anemones.

I also admired pink petunias, white myrtle and marguerites, pale lilac crinum lilies, yellow St John’s wort, and red/purple fuchsia Magellanica.

Some areas, like the Pond Bed, the entrance to the Back Drive, and the patio, contain their own range of blooms.

As usual, all the images bear titles in the galleries.

When Jackie noticed me pointing in her direction while she was

working on the patio she hid behind an owl.

By lunchtime the Head Gardener had finished clearing the patio and its surroundings, including refurbishing the Butler sinks. The wind, though now much cooler, persisted in blowing down the pot planted on the water fountain – she had already righted it 5 times before I set it on the ground.

I have chosen to display these blooms in location and current condition.

Jackie rarely uses a recipe and is sometimes reluctant to apply a name to a dish she serves for dinner. So it was today; it was certainly a delicious minced beef sauce containing chillies, onions and stuff on a bed of pasta which probably has a name – it was one of those where you can stick the prongs of your fork into the tubes making it easier to manage than spaghetti. I drank more of the Merlot with mine.

Drinks On Patio

After a momentous yesterday this was one for resting. I spent much of it almost finishing The Nibelungenlied, which I will review tomorrow.

This evening the weather was so temperate that for the first time this year we enjoyed our evening drinks on the patio.

Jackie produced this first gallery;

I produced this one.

We then dined on Jackie’s wholesome cottage pie with firm carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, with which I finished my Uco Valley Malbec 2023.

Fashions Change

The sun greeted Martin this morning as he was able to make a start on preparing the patio for repaving.

Anyone familiar with this area will know that the current sections of squared blocks, intermittently separated by such as the red tiles and troughs of slate chips and a gravel, unevenly balanced, because, as Martin discovered there is only a thin layer of sandy aggregate lying on top of soil beneath them.

First our helpful gardener dug out the loose material, with which he filled a wheelbarrow,

then, with several trips, wheeled it to a temporary location behind the shed.

Next, he tackled the pond in an old cistern, perhaps an example of our predecessors’ repurposing. Until we first cleaned it out it had been a thriving kindergarten for mosquitos. Having removed the surrounding concrete blocks ready for another trip with the wheelbarrow,

he transferred the murky water to a bucket from which he could tip it away. This enabled him to manhandle the heavy container and transport it out of the way.

No doubt probably 50 years ago someone thought the layout we inherited was a work of art. Tastes and fashions change.

I made good headway during the afternoon on John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath”.

This afternoon we dined on Hordle Chinese Take Away’s excellent fare with which I drank more of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Jackie finished the Sauvignon Blanc.

As You Like It

For the last few days, beset by brisk breezes, Jackie has continued planting

pots on and around the patio. This has involved removing spent plants and compost, replenishment with new soil, and selecting arrangements.

After lunch I posted https://derrickjknight.com/2022/05/26/a-knights-tale-135-time-for-celebration/

Later, I finished rereading

The play needs no introduction from me – I was prompted to read it as directed by Theophile Gautier in his novel Mademoiselle de Maupin.

Peter Brook’s knowledgeable introduction enlightens us about the whole business of theatre direction as well as about this particular work.

Here I present Salvador Dali’s designs for décor and costumes.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s wholesome cottage pie with crunchy carrots and firm Brussels sprouts, followed by strawberries and cream, with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank Alturo Mendoza Malbec 2021.

We Still Have Some Colour

This morning I posted https://derrickjknight.com/2021/09/10/a-knights-tale-31-mugging-more/

When shopping at Lidl yesterday Jackie discovered quite a number of empty shelves. In the central aisles she did find some flat-pack ones that she would like for the garden. She found them so easy to assemble and returned for more today.

She bought another four packs. There are now three alongside and one behind the Head Gardener’s shed. One is inside the building, but in too narrow a space for me to photograph.

I carried out so much dead heading that I needed to tour the garden to assure myself that we still have some colour.

These are a few views that are identified in the gallery, which can be accessed with a click on any one.

This evening we dined on succulent steaks on a bed of peppers and leeks; fried potatoes; crunchy carrots and cauliflower; tender spinach and runner beans, and meaty gravy, with which Jackie finished the Pinot Grigio and I dram more of the Dao.

A Clean Sweep

It seems that we can be reasonably confident that the weather will improve from today, which has remained hot and sunny.

On the strength of that, yesterday evening Jackie righted the garden furniture and swept the patio and the path between the kitchen wall and the Pond Bed.

Today I carried out the same operation on other paving and brick paths. Perhaps I will rake the gravel tomorrow.

Later this afternoon I posted https://derrickjknight.com/2021/08/10/julie-andrews/

This evening we dined on succulent roast chicken and pork chipolatas; sage and onion stuffing; crisp Yorkshire pudding; boiled potatoes; crunchy carrots and cauliflower; tender mange touts and runner beans, with which Jackie drank more of the rosé and I finished the Comté Tolosan rouge.

Damage Report

As I sit drafting this post bright sun shines, speeding clouds scud; wild wind howls along Christchurch Road sweeping through the garden, rustling the kitchen door curtain and setting tinkling charms jingling.

We are now into our third consecutive day/night of fierce breezes. Tentatively I ventured out to survey the damage and was able to report to the Head Gardener that she was in for a pleasant surprise.

Even the patio chairs had stayed upright, while its planting, and that of the Pond Bed, remained intact. Bigifying the third picture in this gallery will show that the whirling ladybird with the white wings enjoys full gyration whereas her red-winged sister has been somewhat restrained by an amorous verbena bonariensis.

Other views of the Pond Bed are equally encouraging. Dahlias remain strong and a solitary bee was attracted by the hibiscus;

Japanese anemones feature there and elsewhere. The Brick Path in the second picture here needs no current sweeping, although that is not a task we will undertake until the wind drops.

A few trugs have been blown about, although this bright green one remained static whilst being photographed from two separate angles. The first of these two pictures shows an empty brick plinth with the pot that should stand on it having been blown down. The container is a bit chipped and the planting spoiled, but it will no doubt recover.

Of the very few other broken plants we have this pretty, elegant, gladiolus, and the unfortunate Mum in a Million.

The tall red climbing rose in the Oval Bed has bowed enough for me to photograph it head on;

The yellow crocosmia has also dropped a little, but remains intact.

Rose Alan Titchmarsh has drooped a little and a stem of Super Elfin has come adrift from the Gothic arch where

a somewhat aged Doctor Ruppel remains in place.

The weeping birch, the copper beech, and the cordyline Australis, although swaying somewhat, are not shedding too many twigs.

White begonias shaded by the wisteria, and similarly hued petunias in the rose garden still have all their petals.

This final triptych shows the Oval Bed pictured earlier from the corner of Margery’s Bed; nicotiana sylvestris towering over the rest of the Dead End Path planting; and a small owl toppled beside the Shady Path.

All in all we are getting off surprisingly lightly.

This evening we dined on baked gammon; crisp roast potatoes, the sweet variety being soft-centred; piquant cauliflower cheese; crunchy carrots; and tender cabbage, with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank Saint-Chinian 2017.

Through The Window

Another day of steady rain

washing windswept windows;

greasing patio paving;

puddling paths;

pearling maple branches;

glazing garden views;

dowsing patient sparrows;

refreshing colourful camellias,

 

and pink prunus Autumnalis,

ensured a day of Hardy reading and through-the-window photography.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s spicy chicken curry and savoury rice followed by baklavas with which I drank more of the Cabernet Sauvignon.

 

 

Sweeping Up

Today Jackie was mostly refurbishing and tidying pots and hanging basket plantings.

She has completed the Shady Path where all is now well, except for

windburn on this white lobelia;

and on this yellow tree peony whose healthy seed pods offer optimism for next year.

Beyond this small triangular bed before the wisteria arbour

Mrs Knight continued her work on the greenhouse area.

The life of the sweet peas on the kitchen corner could not be extended, but the tomato plant over which the force of the winds had flung them, has survived.

It remains be seen whether this hydrangea in the patio will recover from its blisters.

After lunch the Head Gardener applied herself to stripping out dead parts of the patio’s potted plants and tidying the rest.

Nugget assisted her in sweeping up – the disturbed insects, that is. For those readers new to the “Where’s Nugget?” feature or whose robins are different from ours, notably lacking the distinguishing red breast, there follows

a selection of portraits of our little gardener’s friend.

Now, can you see “Where’s Nugget?” (5), from when he joined us later on the patio for drinks.

Soon after I had begun to draft this post, Jackie came inside complaining that her little companion was not letting her get anything done.

This evening we dined on coriander and garlic coated chicken kebabs; Jackie’s spicy omelette-topped savoury rice; and moist ratatouille with our own runner beans. The Culinary Queen drank Blue Moon and I drank more of the Garnacha Syrah.

I will now wait half an hour for the TV Channel 5 broadcast of the cricket highlights to finish so that I can watch my own recording advertisement-free.