Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Of Frogs, Fun and Flowers..

The big excitement here is that I have had a visit from Mrs Frog, and my little pond is full of frogspawn! Perhaps it doesn't sound so exciting to you, but I'm thrilled. On Saturday when we were all going out for Mother's Day lunch, the Boyfriend's daughter said she had seen a frog in my pond, so we all had a look, but couldn't spot it again. She was obviously right, though, because there was the frogspawn this morning, looking like a large jelly with black spots. Not very inviting, and definitely not edible - unless you're a hungry fish. Luckily I have only one small fish left in the pond, so hopefully we will have lots of tadpoles who survive to become little frogs.

Today was freezing cold again, so Brighton BF and I set off for a lovely cosy day at Ikea. I am in desperate need of a chest of drawers in my bedroom, since I gave mine to Daughter when she moved. Consequently, all my clothes are in piles on the carpet, and because most of them are black, I have to go through everything every day to find what I want to wear. I also gave her the bookcase from my bedroom, so I have piles of books on the floor too. Combine this with the fact that Son's bed and mattress are propped against my bedroom wall until he can move into his flat, and you get a picture of complete chaos, which is not the most restful scenario for a bedroom. So the trip to Ikea was not so much an indulgence as a necessity. We managed to find lots of other things to buy too - but the main thing was getting the chest of drawers (flat-packed) into the car. Now all I have to do is get someone to help me to put it together. Anyway, the rest of the day was enjoyable, beginning with their lovely coffee and pastries (what diet?) and ending with a reviving cup of tea before setting off home. I didn't buy the bookcase (one thing at a time), so will probably have to go back again soon. Oh dear.. They did have some lovely standard lavender bushes, which were very tempting, but by then I was all spent out.

The other thing I keep forgetting to mention is that I have a gorgeous Japonica which is bursting into bloom in my garden. It is covered with tightly-curled coral buds which open into bright little bunches on bare stems - very uplifting - and almost everyone who walks past comments on it. It grows along the wall, like a hedge, and is quite a star. I have another smaller, white-flowered Japonica, called Jet Trail, which was given to me by my ex-Arundel (now in France) Best Friend about three years ago. This little darling starts to flower in January and just keeps on bursting more little buds every day. It's very pretty, and I have sat it in a large pot by the front door, so that I see it every time I go in or out.

Son appears to be having a great time skiing in Colorado - his photo on Facebook shows a perfect winter wonderland scene. His comment? "double black. first day. Yee-ha!"

8 comments:

family affairs said...

I'm quite sure skiing in Colorado is going to get him completely over his broken relationship (if he isn't already in another one!). I've just tagged you (whatever that means....). Lx

Marla said...

Gardens! Oh how I wish we saw signs of Spring here in Indiana. Nothing but snow and ice still. I don't know how much longer we can take it. ;)

the mother of this lot said...

Hope your grandson doesn't do what my Noise used to do - bring the frogs in to me as a present. Actually, she did that with slugs and snails too. Most kids bring buttercups.....

Maggie May said...

The Japonica sounds lovely. Good to see the sunlight shining on the shrubs.
It is sunny today but crisp!
The snowdrops are just finishing & daffodils etc are beginning to throw up buds. Lovely time of the year!

Donna said...

It's going to be fun watching the "babies" start hopping all about!lol..Glad Son is doing Fun things! Have a Happy day!

A Mother's Place is in the Wrong said...

Hi Lulu, yes, I think he's on the mend. I'll visit you to see what tagging is?? Hope it's not too difficult. M xx

Poor Marla, so lovely of you to visit, and I'd like to give you a little bit of Spring to take back to Indiana with you. M xx

Hi the mother - Grandson isn't here that often now they've moved, but I bet he'll cause as much chaos as possible in pondland when he is here! He does like picking my daffodils, head first, though.M xx

Hi Maggie May, yes it's just lovely - I'm so lucky to have masses of daffodils and narcissus, all different kinds, which were planted before I came here. I inherited the big Japonica too. M xx

Hi Donna, yes, I'm a bit worried about cutting the grass when they're hopping about - unluckily the pond is right next to the lawn!
I'm pleased about Son too - he's in the Colorado Mountains, which look lovely. M xx

aims said...

Of course we had snow yesterday..and it's gray today....

Double black first run! Wow!!

A Mother's Place is in the Wrong said...

HI aims - yes and your snow looks lovely too. We just don't seem to get any here any more. Son is obviously having the best time. M xx