Making the most of the sunshine

Spent this afternoon dividing my time between gardening and conker collecting.  For those of you who've never done the latter I suggest arming yourself with a carrier bag (rucksack in my case) and seeking out your nearest Horse Chestnut tree as soon as possible.  Conker collecting is my 'go-to' activity at this time of year if I need to clear my head or just want to do something mindless but satisfying at the same time.  I put a day sack on my back and off I went down the field, over a couple of fallen trees, through some nettle patches and there they were.  I filled the sack with those still in their shells then brought them home to sit in the sun on the patio and split them open.  I really don't think there's a more satisfying activity than prising the shiny brown nuts from those prickly shells.  I have no idea what I'm going to do with them and any suggestions will be gratefully received but for now I'm just going to sit and gaze at them letting tranquility wash over me (or pile them up and knock them down over and over if the tranquility gets too much).  As for the gardening, a couple of days ago I met up with a friend for coffee and lunch spending the time between the two wandering around the most beautiful garden which is in the process of being restored.  When we were leaving I bought a plant knowing exactly where I was going to put it.  Today I took it to the place I had in mind and dug the hole.  Luckily I then looked at the instruction card attached to it and discovered it will grow to approximately four times the size I originally thought so I carefully filled in that hole and dug one elsewhere.  I'm sure it will look amazing but it'll definitely be different to how I imagined it when I bought it.  This gardening lark, I'm finding, is a little more complicated that I thought.


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Comments

Unknown said…
Another good post, Jane.
I like collecting conkers too! It always reminds me of the song that the boys sang at primary school for harvest festival. I was trying to find the lyrics just in case you don't know it and came acros this YouTube video: https://youtu.be/N2xzhUXYN0k
You'll get the idea. Lot of talk at work about how conkers keep out the spiders that come inside. Try it! Or maybe the nearly six year old would like to play a game?
Unknown said…
My mother in law put them in drawers to fend off moths from her woolies.
Jane said…
I love that song but find it odd that having worked with children for over 20 years I've never heard it before. You'll be pleased to know it brought the biggest smile to my face. Also am sure the nearly 6 year old will find a use for them. Last year he and Ash rigged up a system using rope, bricks and sections of drain pipe and then spent a happy few hours dropping conkers down the pipe to see which went fastest. And as for spiders and moths, those ideas are inspired. thank you.