THE RELUCTANT GARDENER!

My wife Joy is a marvellous gardener and as this is one of her main interests she is a wee bit reluctant to dilute her pleasure by employing me as an assistant meaning she would spend less time about her pleasure - additionally Joy points out with some justification that "you don't know what to do" True, I have not been an avid gardener thoughout my life but now that I have more time; gardening seems an acceptable junction for age to meet activity, so having my lack of knowlege referred to grates a trifle and I am prone to point out something along the lines of "there was a time when I didn't know the alphabet but I know most of it off by heart now" This rarely cuts much ice. However I am sometimes called upon to perform those tasks that require a bit of heft and muscle, and so get to hold my head up and feel that "I have done my bit" and I notice that a little bit of chest-beating always improves a man's self-esteem!

Today provides just such an opportunity, we have a fine specimen of a blue flowering bush, or is it a tree? can't remember it's name but it begins with a "C" growing in the front of the house by the window and that's the problem, it is now very well established and is making a decent attempt to get through the window and into our lounge so it will have to go. Joy is over in Keswick and will be returning in a day or two so I will be able to demonstrate that I have been doing more than keeping my nose in a book or a pint glass! Fortunately, the tree has a small root ball with a couple of deep tap roots so it was not too hard to get out. I cut off the main branches before tackling the trunk and roots and all this took a couple of hours to complete, the bigger task is reducing it to pieces small enough to be removed by the Council's fornightly garden waste collection, I have two days to get it finished and this time I must take care with the secateurs! Last time I did a job like this I took the top off my left index finger and finished up in the emergency department of James Cook Hospital, maybe Joy has a point after all. The picture shows the tree exturpated and reduced to twigdom about to set off on it's final journey. Sorted!