Ironing? It can go hang...

I've come to two conclusions - that you can only be who you are. And that life's too short. Some people are cat people, some are dog people. Which doesn't, of course, preclude the possibility of switching camps - I used to be firmly of the cat persuasion and now, to be frank, I really don't like them at all and can almost see myself having a dog one day....as soon as they invent one that doesn't wee or poo.

Similarly, I am most definitely a garden person not a house person. I've tried - I really have - to be conscientious about housework. Whereas I used to work on the basis that the ironing got done when the pile was about the same height as me (and I'm 5 foot four (ish) I now manage to do at least some of it at least once a week (ish).

But on days like today, well, there is simply no contest. Yes, the paintwork in the hallway needs some radical touching up. Yes, there's always more laundry to do (and honestly, how may pairs of pants and socks does one family of four need?) And yes, the windows need cleaning again. And I guess pasta and pesto for the third time in a week is probably pushing it, even for my pasto and pesto addicted sons. 

But....the garden is growing, glowing, sprouting and shouting at me. Things need weeding, planting, tidying, planning, moving and admiring. I can't stay out of it. The sun is shining and it is properly warm... and these precious days must be soaked up, relished and savoured because you never know when the Jet Stream will bugger off southwards like it did last year and hey presto, the summer's over before it even properly began. 

Life, then, is simply too short to be hunkering down over an ironing board, scrubbing lime scale or hoovering stairs. Or slaving over emails and accounts and to do lists. There are, occasionally, days when these things have to be put in their proper place. The dust can gather, the emails can wait, and the laundry can go hang....I'm off out to plant some lettuces.

Wood Anemones, growing in the glade

My new tulips. Stupidly I have lost the labels but they are really buttery and opulent and I need to get some more!

Pheasant's Eye narcissus, long lasting, scented, and joyous.

Doronicum 'Little Leo', planted in the glade last year. Like tiny suns.

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