Wow, no wind, no rain, no cloudy weather (well, perhaps a bit of that). So a good day for gardening. Have weeded yet another stretch of hedge and then focussed on getting the tank rings in order. Now all the run-to-seed plants have been hauled out, along with their accompanying weeds and what is left is looking fairly thin on the ground i have to say.

Vera called in while i was hard at work and delivered a little pot for me. I bought its other half at the garage sale thinking it would be a nice little vase for some small thing. But they then told me it was a salt shaker and that they had the pepper shaker somewhere around and would give it to Vera when they found it (she being friends with the person who was having the sale). It took several garbled messages though to sort out who it was that Vera was to be delivering it to, but eventually found me.

While weeding that area I did find that some of the strawberries are now setting fruit, so may get a bowl of fruit in the not too distant future. I also discovered that the rosemary cuttings i had made last year seem to have taken nicely. So I now have four rosemary plants, not one. The main plant had thickened up considerably and was sending off shoots in all directions, so I have now removed some of those also and have about 10 rosemary bushes waiting to sprout. At this rate I should manage a hedge in about five more years, lol.

I have had a few pot-windfalls lately so have plenty to be getting along with, and some larger ones for when the grafted tomatoes need to move on (fairly soon, I suspect) as I have not yet managed to build those two raised beds that have been on the list for a while now.

The chooks loved some of the stuff I threw into their run as a result of the weeding and the geese were happy too. I even managed to slip some milkweed into the hen with her chicken so they had a bit of variety from the chick crumble.

It does look like more rain tonight though, so I imagine the grass will be nice and wet once more...

We got a good dump of rain this morning - a bit over half and inch! The gutters were awash. So the garden is looking distinctly greener and the grass will probably put on another ten inches of growth before it dries off enough to attack with the mower. The one remaining savoy cabbage seems to be forming a heart, and the butter lettuces are most certainly doing so, so I will have some fresh greens to go with dinner.

Needless to say, with that sort of weather indoor activity dominated today and so all the tomato seedlings have been potted up to decent sized pots and the honey-frames now have wax in them at last.

Now all I need is some bees.

Dog and cats confined themselves to indoor activities also - I have not seen the cats spend so much time indoors for quite a while. And the fire has been getting a workout all day. Was running a bit low on wood so cut a few more bits to keep us going.

Dinner tonight is mexican meatballs (courtesy of the IGA) and I will probably make up a tomato-based sauce to go with them and boil up some pasta I think.

I decided to have a lazy day today in view of yesterday's exertions and excitements so have basically spent the day reading, apart from a brief break to cut some wood. Am down to the last few logs now, and no intention of buying any till the shed is stabilised and ready to receive it, so I guess I will need to hope for warmer weather soonish.

There is an iris in the front garden that has just started to reveal its petals through the tip of the calyx. They are almost black. Am looking forward to finding out what colour it will be when open as I am fairly sure black irises don't exist. I can but wait and see.

Have also reactivated my order for the bees, and have finally managed to contact the second fencing contractor who says he will be up 'some time this week'. I think I will get in touch with the third chap as well as backup.

Chooks seem far more placid since they were separated from the geese, and they are having a lovely time perching on the two hutches that I have yet to remove from their run (safely on the far side of the run for next door). And despite spending their time huddled up there and bickering among themselves, not a one has popped over the (rather lower) fence between their run and that occupied by the geese. Fascinating.

Four eggs much to my surprise today, and a hen sitting on the nest when I went to collect them. I seriously doubt she is broody, so maybe she was laying another egg?

hmmmmmmmm well it started off wet, so I decided I should finally go to Hobart for that trip I have been deferring for over a week, to buy my new work boots. I had done a lot of research and concluded that the best options would be Taipans or Steel Blues, so went to the one shop that stocks both and was duly impressed with their comfort and style. Sadly, most trade shops do not carry my size as not too many men wear size 5 boots. So, while they offered to order them in, I decided to try a few more outlets. Well. No. Not a single one had boots in my size - of any brand. So no new boots for me.

Then I went and visited my friend who is still on sick leave and we had a good old chat and a glass of orange juice (by this time it was getting pretty warm and muggy) and to to Eastlands to pay some bills, get some cat food, then Cambridge Park for more boot options - but still no success. I will phone the first outlet and get them to order some in to collect on my next trip to the big smoke.

While I was at Eastlands, buzzing around, I realised I was having pains in my chest, so I decided I would get them checked out at Bayfield Clinic. Their advice? Go to the hospital. My response, but I am alone and will have to drive myself. Theirs? Well, that is the advice we give everyone with chest pains, so you just drive into the Royal and let them know what is going on.

I concluded that they really were not that bad, and that driving back into Hobart would not be a good idea, so came home instead. Now what sort of silly advice is it to a potential heart attack person to drive across the bridge, into the busiest intersections in Hobart (with lots of pedestrian traffic) and find a park in all that lot before tottering off to the hospital. All they had to do was check my pulse!! Not impressed at all - might write to the Mercury.

Anyway, I concluded I have drunk too much tea of late so have bought some herbal teas instead and will see if that eases up the general sense of tension I have been experiencing. Humidity does not help in the least - not least because i can not light the fire tonight so will have to heat something up in the microwave for dinner - bother.

Not much done today - too grey, foggy and overcast this morning. Too windy this afternoon. But i caught up on some housework and lit the fire with some wood I cut and am presently waiting for my dinner to be ready. All indoors once more - Smidgen seems to have decided extended daylight hours mean extended curfew, so just turned up this minute. Still. He is home safe now and I can relax.

More sewing today. And about 3 mm rain all in one dump.

Still haven't heard from the other fencer, but the first one has already provided his quote. Have not dared to open it yet - I am deeply afraid at the potential cost of over 100 metres of fencing frankly.

That aside, I have spent the day up at Carolines with the quilters and have generally had a good time. I felt a little subdued again today and am beginning to think I should probably see the doctor - may not be owt to do with next door, perhaps I am coming down with something.

Speaking of next door, she was over the road again today but the visit does not seem to have sweetened her temper. I was actually driving straight past, en route to Oatlands, but the train was at the crossing so drove past planning to wave, but she averted her face, then when I pulled up for the train satisfied herself with a number of dark and threatening looks, clearly visible from the rear view, and marched once more into her yard. I find it hard to understand how you could keep a temper up for this long I have to say.

The chicken is growing well and he and his mum seem to have almost finished the first serving of chick crumbs and spend their day scratching the bedding from one end of the shed to the other. Kneeling down to clear out the straw from the water and feed dishes is of course fraught with risk, with the geese looming up behind me pretending to threaten me.

The hens seem to be all in good health - I do a head count every time I go down there these days. And I once again got three lovely eggs. Not a huge number from seven hens - but more than I can eat daily so will have a couple of dozen to dispose of soon.

Made some progress on the longstitch again, but have run into a problem with the instructions so will need to email Semco for advice as to how many of the stranded threads I should be using in certain parts of the pattern. Two or three seem likely to get lost in the tapestry wool, given the orientation of the particular stitching area.