Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Gardening sucks lemons

Especially when SE water digs up all my polished river pebbles, bluestone chips, concrete surround of the water meter and buries the hose in the diggings while her next door who had the leak has it all neatened up.
 My fault but I can't go out in the heat so I've been waiting for a cool day to get into that corner and fix everything. I did pick the hose up while waiting for the taxi yesterday and put it on the hose reel which is when I realised how much of it was buried. And they chipped the ear off my concrete pig. So I haven't found much of the concrete surround but I can't say anything because that could have been the fencer or SE water because with my dodgy memory I can't think whether it was still there after the fence but I'm sure it was.
 When the ex left, my first foray into the garden was to uncover the water meter, I used the concrete that used to be on the gully trap (so it is over 30 years old and fragile) then put bluestone chips around to stop the weeds. Now that was a task in itself, I'd fill a bucket with chips and sand and sieve out the sand and I did this so many times until I had enough. Then every pension day I'd buy a bag of polished river pebbles and put them on top. It was very satisfying to see the reader just flip the top instead of digging to China.
Now I have a new meter which they put in without notifying me which is below ground level so I'm out raking dirt and pebbles before Eric the Mower takes his eye out and finding my precious river rocks. I was not a happy camper and honestly I can't be bothered going through the crap with SE water complaints.
 I nearly fell over so many times because I can't kneel so it's all bending from the hips and does the head go woozy after 30 mins of that. So I have half a bucket of pebbles and bluestone around the water meter, several homeless spiders and a one eared pig.
The concrete pig, I know you're wondering.  Count Creepula's brilliant idea to buy a concrete animal corresponding to the current Chinese New Year animal went on for quite a few years and then I inherited my mother's concrete collection of gnomes and assorted beings so the yard is a minefield when the grass grows long.  Fortunately Eric the Mower knows where they're all hidden.



4 comments:

Ann ODyne said...

old garden gnomes are officially Collectibles now, so bless Eric's good work.
Please don't make your knees be carrying buckets of heavy stuff.
I suppose Creepula had to stop when he got to my Year Of the Rat. not too many statues of rats.
x x
(pls tell Kath I can't come over as her dog in the snow upsets me - I can see the thumbnail in AOD's sidebar. poor cold Millie paws)

Elephant's Child said...

Even though gardening is an obsession I so hear you about the knees/hips/spinning out caper. Sigh. Also about waiting for cooler weather. Take care of yourself.

JahTeh said...

Annie O, I did suggest we take up a collection to buy a set of doggie Ugg boots for Millie.
You're right about the knees, getting out of bed this morning was a real adventure up the pain pathway. And stupid me didn't remember I have a camera now so I could have filmed the mess and had evidence for SE Water.


EC, gardening is far from an obsession with me. There are things out there that I'm happy to let live but if they land on me, it's heart attack time. I do love your liliums.

River said...

When I read about the concrete pig I thought first about our lovely bronze piggies in Rundle Mall, then thought that now it's the year of the dragon maybe I should get a concrete dragon, since I'm a dragon lady myself. Then remembered I already have one.....I use it as a doorstop.