Articles by Mickey fez

Happy St Georges Day my fellow English folk if you are still on the shores or scattered throughout the world. Have a beer for good old George the dragon slayer,I will be tonight. Another fine sunny day here but tonight and tomorrow we are forecast rain. Some rain water on the newly planted stuff will do them good and hopefully fill my rain barrel. I had a job to do indoors today after a few days in the garden. My little workshop is between the kitchen door and the external door to the alcove…

I finished strimming the smaller area of garden in the back today. It was as easy as it is going to be with getting it done at regular intervals thanks to the good weather and a back that is not playing up at the moment. I did it in two sessions with a smoke and coffee break in between. We are due rain late tomorrow and Friday so the timing was good. I took a couple of snaps of the tulips that appeared yesterday,they are in full bloom now and look rather pretty. The garden is far from pretty b…

Yesterday was another lovely day so I set to and mowed the back grass,now I am getting it trimmed at regular intervals it was just a matter of following the mower round no effort needed. Today I decided to carry on the good work so I strimmed the larger part of the grass and cleared the weeds from the front rose bed. I had some bedding plants to go in. Jenny suggested, Petunia and Begonia as giving good coverage,but I couldn't get the Begonia so bought Fuchsia instead so I have them in contain…

These are snaps from the bottom of the big climb I didn't take any of the 2 miles odd it took to get here. Feel free to ignore if you find them boring if not Click here

After the gain the pain. Three days of gardening shifting furniture and the big climb took it's toll as I knew it would. Last night the niggles started getting steadily worse. This morning a full on back attack hasn't happened but care is needed today so no strolling to town and certainly no work in the garden. Why do I do these things when I know they will hurt? well the alternative is giving in and I don't give in easily. I enjoy the days like yesterday and will carry on doing so long as this…

After a lovely afternoon yesterday got me moving to cut the front grass I thought with the work on the room shift as well today would be a rest day. The day dawned cloudless so a trip to mother's was on the cards. I decided to started walking and see how far it took me without any sign of back trouble. I was surprised when I arrived at the bottom of the big climb in good fettle. So I tackled it,I was blowing a little when I got to the summit but a short rest and I was ready for the descent,no ea…

Things have been pretty quiet around here. The weather has finally improved after a few rainy days, so things will get busier. I haven't been idle during the bad weather I drilled holes in the bottom of the oblong plant boxes and attached wooden runners underneath to give them ground clearance and generally tidied my workshop up. With the weather improving now,it is much warmer I was able to leave the window into the garden open until around 10:30 last night giving the cats free range to clatte…

With heavy rain forecast for today I decided to take a trip to town yesterday morning. Saturday is not a good day for shopping but an early start made the trip pleasant, just enough people to chat to without the hordes hustling and bustling. I bought a few bargains and after lunch spent a nice afternoon watching sport. The weather forecast was correct,after a few days of nice weather I awoke to lashing rain and strong winds this morning so I went to breakfast feeling a little smug at outsmartin…

Yesterday with the weather holding I decided to cut and strim the front grass,all went well and the job was done and tools cleaned and stowed in under 2 hours. So by lunchtime I could have the restful day I promised myself. This all well until after dinner when at a loose end I potted some herbs seeds for the kitchen window. Mint, Thyme ,Rocket ,Coriander ,Parsley and Basil. Together with the Rosemary I have in the garden this should cover a lot of dishes. My back while not aching was a litt…

After three days of staring at a grey wall of mist today the sun returned,not full blown sun is was hazy but sun all the same. I decided it would be a good day for grass cutting,the front which is in the shade a lot was still damp but by early afternoon the back was dry. I started on the larger section and finished it with no back problems,so I had a break. The other side is all strimmer work so great care had to be taken. I finished it with no problems,things were looking good. A long coffee br…

After the lovely sunny day yesterday today we are down with a bump.A thick swirling sea mist was the sight that met my eyes this morning GGRRRR. After seeing all wonderful colours in Jenny's garden I took a look at my pots. We are around a month behind her in the growing season and it shows. Here are a few more shots of my feeble garden,time should help Click here

A bright sunny morning here so I made my mind up about going to town or not,tomorrow the rain might return. I set off walking and very pleasant it was. I arrived at my first stop and picked up my pipe fodder then on to my to usual shops before heading for the bus and the return journey. There was a bus at the stop and I staggered on just in time and was whisked home again. I spent £15 in the two shops and went home with two large bags and my backpack full,pretty good going. Ellen had been busy…

Like much of the UK we have had a day of gale force winds and heavy rain sweeping down the Irish Sea from Scotland. We also had 3 savage ear pinging hailstorms. Needless to say I have been cabined up but put the time to good use. I emptied my larder cupboard,cleaned the shelves down and restacked it in an orederly fashion,it does become a bit of a jumble after a while. I also set to making a nice meal for us,just the thing for Ellen when she came home cold and wet. We had free range chicken b…

Today we had a nice sunny start so I decided to try my wash outside on the whirly for drying and it worked nicely. The northerly wind has shift to the west and the biting wind has stopped. The clothes slowly turning on the whirly and the clothes wafting in a nice breeze was a good sight,I do like clothes dried outside. Another bonus is a was able to shed my rugby trousers and thick fleece in favour of cargo pants and a lighter fleece,spring has arrived. With our weather being so temperamental i…

When I was hanging up the phone after talking to Jenny last night I noticed rain drops on the window which meant the rain forecast for the weekend arrived early. I awoke to a rainy cold windy morning, very different from the last couple of day. I have a rest day planned so it doesn't matter much. The change in weather meant the decision to rake the grass up yesterday instead of today turned out to be the right one. That was a stroke good luck,what wasn't good luck was the fact that after clea…

After 2 busy days I gave myself a rest day yesterday. With the sun still shining today and rain due in the next couple of days I was off to give the grass it's first run with the mower. The strimmer has done a good job clearing the rough stuff and I had the front done in under an hour,after a break I decided to carry on with the back.An hour and a half later it was all done. After a lunch break I decided to rake the front and see how my back got on and it held up well so after a coffee it was…

Today dawned with high clouds and a little sun and with my old body in good fettle after yesterday's excertions I decided to take a slow stroll over the bridge to Aldi and have a look see at their meat offers. I got some good bargains. Diced beef, lean minced beef, 2 turkey breast steaks, 4 pork chops,and 4 lamp chops all for £13:98 which equates to the main ingrediants of 7 meals each for Ellen and me. The products are all fresh and have the red tractor logo on the packs which is proof that th…

I had an easy day yesterday to be well rested for the garden this morning. Feeling good I started on the front grass. With last back end being so wet I missed the last two trims of the year so it was a mini jungle out there. The mower was no good so I depended on the strimmer. Taking my time I started on the larger side and finished with no problems. I took a break before finishing off on the smaller section. A job well done. I had a break for grub and started on the back garden,this needed tac…