Shreddies

 I am fortunate enough to have a garden shredder. It always surprises and amazes me how quickly the shredded material breaks down into the ground. Particularly compared to un-shredded branches. 

For the first time, instead of putting the twigs and prunings straight into the compost bin, I shredded them first. And goodness what a difference, it has already started to compost so rapidly. I will do this from now on.

When I looked in the compost bin it was so busy with woodlice - there always seems so many in the garden, worms, snails, slugs and occasionally a slow worm.

UFO spotted

 Looking up into the sky today we saw a mysterious object, It moved very slowly across the blue sky and was very bright.

It gave off a lot of radiation which we could sense on our skin.

It has disappeared now but we will look again tomorrow to see if it returns.

Hay up

 It's that time of year for hay fever sufferer's.

Whilst I now get problems earlier in the year - I have read that birch trees can cause these issues at that time of the year, it was around this time that I used to get real problems.

Particularly when sitting my exams. I can remember during one exam that my eyes were watering so much that I stopped writing for a while and had to sit with my head back before I could go on. Dreadful.

Painting

 Am I alone in enjoying painting room? I like painting the walls best but also ceilings. It is always satisfying because I can paint a large area quite quickly and it makes so much difference to a room.

My tools of choice are good quality brushes and I now use mini rollers rather than the standard larger rollers. I find that they make far less mess but still cover the areas quickly.

The modern water based gloss paints are so much easier too. And they don't seem to yellow like the old oil based paints always did - regardless of make and quality.

The ivy league

 It was a day to do some gardening - namely weeding.

This is the year of the bindweed. What an annoying plant it is. Unless you get out every piece of root it will simply re-grow. 

Brambles are a real nuisance too. One part of the garden had a monster bramble about eight metres long. It had grown rapidly and was a beggar to remove. Its thorns were vicious.

Finally English ivy. What a nuisance this is. Its ability to cling and root itself in cracks is what makes it so difficult to get at. It makes everything so dull and is so smothering.

A day out

 We went to Bristol today.

Cabot circus seems to be thriving but Broadmead and the Galleries are a shadow of their former selves. No BHS, no Debenhams, no M&S and others. It does look sad. 

Still, for a day out there were plenty of shops to go in and buy from.

Apart from the internet shopping, it surely cannot help shops when there is an idiotic Clean Air Zone charge, parking charges and exorbitant rents. Well done the dimwits for killing town and city centres.

Springing along

 Time to redecorate.

One of the jobs that I enjoy doing myself is decorating. I like painting the walls - not so much the ceiling as it is extra hard work. But it is really satisfying to repaint a room. It really does make it look so much fresher and brighter.