Windy.

It has been a breezy day, sunny for most of the time if a bit chilly with none of the promised rain. The garden flowers are changing from the springtime yellows of the daffodils. primroses, celandines, king-cups and keria to the summer pinks. There are still the azaleas to come in shades of orange but most of the garden planting is pinks, purples and whites though the little pond plants are mainly whites and yellows.

I decided that I had to be brave and  check and clean the drains properly so that was my first task of the day. If I hadn't poured those chemicals in yesterday it would have been simple, if a bit unpleasant, to scoop out the leaves and stones that were part of the problem. Instead I used 2 sticks to carefully get out the leaves and then after rinsing with lots of water and soap I pulled out the stones that had fallen down the drain. I gave everything a good clean so I have the satisfaction of knowing that the job has been done properly.

Then it was back to cleaning the paving slabs. I got the whole area at the front of the house done and then I washed the big granite 'eggs'. After that I thought I should clean up the big stones from the raised bed. But why stop at the big stones? So I tried my best to clean up all my beach pebbles. As the algae washed off the stones, or sadly not, I really regretted that I had not found time to do this more often over the years. Each stone had been chosen for its shape and colour and it was sad to see the beautiful greys and browns blemished by splotches of the dark algae. Having cleaned the stones I couldn't just put them back on the messy gravel so down came the leaf vac and I cleared up most of the dry leaves from the raised bed. I'll have to finish off by hand but then I can put the stones back and enjoy their beauty especially when it rains.