It was an early rise for us. We were heading to Glasgow for Scamp to have some tests done. The taxi was booked for 9am but at about 8:45am she got a text to say that the test had to be cancelled because the required equipment had not arrived from Holland and a new appointment would be generated. That left us with a whole day to fill and a morning to calm down!
The way we filled the time was to do some shopping and have an early lunch. Then we started into the garden. I began moving the pots that edge the front garden and then cut the edges with the Flymo. I knew Scamp had a special method for cutting the grass, so once I had cleared the edges, I handed over control to Scamp and started putting things back into the places I thought they should go. Most of them I got right, but I knew that Scamp would correct my mistakes after I’d finished.
While Scamp was correcting mistakes and finishing the mowing, I spotted a little bright red insect on what was left of one of the Fritillaries. Scamp had beheaded the plants last week to ensure that none of the strength would go in to the seed heads. That was when I read on Wikipedia how much damage the red beetles did. According to Wikipedia, it’s Red Lily Beetle and it eats the leaves, stem, buds, and flowers, of lilies, fritillaries and other members of the family Liliaceae. It lays its eggs most often on Lilium and Fritillaria species.
This one won’t be doing any more damage, but it got PoD.
By the time we’d completed the shopping, cut the front grass, replaced the pots in their proper places, and done some insect research, it was well into the afternoon, so we downed tools and stopped to have a beer in the sun. We also made plans to repair the dilapidated fence between us and our new neighbours. I’d been promising it for years now and always managed to give it wide berth. Maybe this year I need to start working at it.
Fish Risotto cooked in the oven was tonight’s dinner. It should have been made with smoked fish, but I thought it would be ok with unsmoked. Yet again, I was wrong! It was ok, but just ok.
As the sun was going down I remembered I’d told Scamp I’d water the garden. I finally got the connections made and did get not only our garden, but our next door neighbours’ garden watered too. By the time I was finished the air was becoming decidedly cool.
Tomorrow I’m intending meeting Alex for a photo-walk. Scamp has even more gardening on her list on her To Do list.