Old John's Country File 

Old John's Country File.

Yesterday, Sunday, I could not believe how lovely the day was when I opened the curtains; there was hardly a cloud in the sky and, as the day wore on, the weather seemed to get better all the time. 

It was like a summer’s day but in autumnal conditions.  The temperatures were high and the sun was so strong I felt the need to find sanctuary on our garden seat, erected under the thick leaved Camellia shrub, to keep out of the sun. 

Under the shrub, sitting in a thin opened necked summer shirt, it was cool, pleasant, and so peaceful.  I sat quiet and was rewarded by the sight of birds plucking at seeds, on the ‘feeding station’, only feet away from where I was sitting.  Collard Doves and sparrows were the main feeders but a cheeky Robin came close to me before realising I was there.

Camellias are wonderful shrubs to sit under for they are thick and compact and block out much of the sun.  They take very little looking after but they are prone to flower browning if they get frost on them.  This year, to make sure the flowers, when they open early next year, do not get frost damaged, I have modified an old net to throw over the early flowers. 

The net is thin, of a tight weave, and is light but very strong.  Just in case it is snowing, when I put the net on the Camellia, as was the case last year, I have sewn string guy lines into the material so I can quickly fasten the material down and hopefully go back in the house before getting too cold. 

You may think all this work is a waste of time but the time spent on this task is very rewarding, once the material can be moved the beautiful flowers will open untarnished by the cold and harsh weather conditions. 

When the shrub has finished flowering all it needs is clipping to make sure the shape you want is kept.  Finally, about now, it is well worth soaking the base of the shrub for the extra water helps to bring on the buds that are already forming.              

To one side of me, Starlings were ferocious in their attempts to pluck off the Elder berries, and to my left, I could here dry brown leaves falling to the ground like confetti on a wedding day. 

As the sun cascaded through the falling leaves, it appeared, if only for a brief moment, to slow down the rate of fall as the leaves gently drifted, sometimes from side to side, towards the now brown carpet of dead leaves on the floor.

Children and proud parents were in the park to try out the children’s swings and slides and some teenage children were having a ‘whale of a time’ kicking up the fallen leaves.

From time to time, I left my peaceful seating arrangement, for I soon stiffen up these days, and when I walked into the sun it felt as though I was walking into a blanket of heat so it was not long before I moved back into my prime cool place in the shade.

While in this seat, reading and catching up with my daily 200 words a day diary, something I have been doing now since 1976, a small trainer air plane passed over, as it has done many times before, and I marvelled at the thought that the pilot and co-pilot must be able to see for miles.  My guess is that the Buzzard, that passed over earlier, would be able to see just as far as the people in the plane.

My wife, once a dark and dusky maiden, can take the sun whenever she likes and tans to a lovely brown; as for me, unless I am fully sun blocked, I am best out of the strong  sun.  From time to time, as I lifted my nose out of a book or the diary, I glanced over to my wife as she soaked up the sun to get her quota of vitamin B before the harshness of the winter comes our way.    

Due to only living in a home with a proper garden, for the past two or three years, sitting out in the fresh air is still a bit of a novelty for us but I hope we never tire of it. 

House Martins are still feeding round the houses and we were blessed with a sighting of a Buzzard, as it flew over my head at a height that was hard to determine as there were no indicators to give me a height reading, but one thing is for sure, the bird was very high.  I could here Goldfinch calling but I could not see any.   

At about 7 p.m., after cleaning my leather shoes, until I could see my face through them, the temperatures dropped alarmingly and I felt the need to go back indoors but, while looking out of the French type windows, over the garden, more birds came to feed. Shortly afterwards, the sun dropped below the horizon and it was time to close the curtains.

Today, Monday, after going to bed at about 10-p.m.last night, I awoke at about 6 a.m. with the intentions of taking full advantage of the good weather and going out for an early morning walk. 

I was wasting my time for, when I opened the curtains, the good weather had vanished.  The skies were grey, it was raining, and it was wintry cold.  In fact, as the day wore on, the weather did not improve and, if anything, the weather became worse for the day light was more like the light we expect at dusk.

No two days are alike these days.

By for now,

John.