My great-uncle Gerry grew it from seed. He liked to eat apples, must have eaten a particularly nice one on the day he decided to plant the pip and grow his own, which, they say, is a hard thing to do. But he had no knowledge that to propagate an apple tree from seed is … Continue reading Silver Apples of the Moon, Golden Apples of the Sun
It changes through life, the thing you turn to when the going gets tough; the thing you do to unwind and to clear your head. Some people go off and pound the streets, shove in their ear-pods (or not) and let the pavement absorb their problems with a brisk walk or a long run. And … Continue reading The Thing You Turn To
E.’s in a shed and M.’s in her bed and A. has put her makeup on especially for it. There is no money exchanged, no offers of, ‘do you want half of my scone?’ and there’s certainly no overhearing what the couple at the next table are talking about. Because at the virtual tea shop, … Continue reading Virtual Tea Room
Teeming it was, when I opened the lid. A sight to behold. But I’m jumping ahead too quickly, I must tell you what came before. Months ago, E. dug the plot over. He laid a fleece down and weighted each corner with a large heavy stone; said it would suppress the tenacious - now invasive … Continue reading Worms
Nine balls I found; lurking under hedges, behind the shed, deep under the straggly hydrangea, wedged by the oil tank, away up in the corner where the first of the rhubarb is waking. They hadn’t been breeding, I know this because they are all of a different species: a medicine ball – the oversized one … Continue reading Balls
I am of the generation where we ‘backed’ our books at the start of each new school year. Dog-eared and a bit tattered from use the year before (in fact, use over multiple years), a growing pile would be distributed by the teacher in September, leaning like the Tower of Pisa, in preparation for ten … Continue reading Change
Oh boy, are the roses ever good this year. They loved the prolonged blast of sun we had at the end of May and onto into June. Friends from Kent, York and Ireland all sent me photographs from their gardens: pink, yellow and white blooms, as full and buxom as Gina Lollobrigida. It made me … Continue reading It’s Been A Good Year For The Roses
The clocks have changed. We have well and truly tipped into a different time of year. Nature is slow to catch up with us this year, but it will, it will. The stretch in the day heralds a time for a change of schedule, more daylight allows us to rise out of our winter confinement, … Continue reading Clocks Change
This is the time of year for pruning apples trees; making sure they are not too leggy or spindly, lessening their susceptibility to disease. Had I been feeling more like myself last week, I’d have had a go at the big tree at home, it has too many limbs! Apparently you can prune them on … Continue reading Pruning
My Edinburgh Press 