Today’s winds have dropped to 20 m.p.h.
When opening the gate for Aaron this morning I checked on the storm damage.
There really wasn’t much more than I had noticed yesterday. The downpipe to the water butt on the corner of the kitchen wall had become unstuck; a few extra pots had fallen; the sweet peas had been further loosened; quite a few smaller branches had been ripped off the beech and birch trees; some of the ornamental poplar branches were broken; just one rose stem had been torn; many plants have lost stems; and there was a certain amount of wind burn on one side of the winter flowering cherry and elsewhere, such as various fuchsias.
Aaron began the work of tidying up.
He gathered and bagged up many of the fallen branches and leaves;
trimmed the ornamental poplar, removing the broken branches;
and righted the fallen containers ready for Jackie to replace at her leisure. He observed that the morning had gone very quickly. He likes to be busy.
Bob of Lovewillbringustogether’s Weblog has recently suggested a regular feature of “Where’s Nugget” inviting readers to find our little robin. That, of course, depended on his surviving the storm and returning unscathed. I am happy to report that I heard his gentle chirp as he followed Aaron around.
He nipped up onto a chair for a chat, then flitted off into the Rose Garden.
I admit that the first “Where’s Nugget” puzzle is a little difficult.
The red scented sweet peas may have been blown awry, but there are plenty of clinging seed pods which benefited from an early shower,
and its desiccated leaves provide perfect camouflage for our Meadow Brown butterflies.
These dahlias
and the agapanthuses may have bowed to the elements, but, like the rest of the garden, they have fared far better than expected.
Bees, flies, and crickets have come out to play and to work again,
The Rose Garden has remained virtually unscathed,
and one lily kept its head in the front.
Other flowers, like these cosmoses, dahlias, and rudbeckia are wondering what all the fuss was about.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s succulent beef and mushroom pie in short crust pastry; new potatoes; roasted sweet potato and parsnip; and crunchy carrots, cauliflower, and cabbage; with piquant cauliflower cheese, with which she finished the Austrian white wine and I drank Doom Bar.