Where does the time go?

Gentle Reader ~~~ It has been so long since I last made an entry.  I do not know where the time goes, but it does, and today I wrote these few lines ~~~ 

Spring is nearly spent
And Summer’s nearly here
How quickly days are moving by
We’re half way through the year

Trees in full leaf and flowers bloom
With colours full of brightening cheer
The cuckoo soon will change her tune
We’re half way through the year

In Summer’s heat we’ll wilt and wither
As to the beach we all draw near
Cooled with an ice cream treat to eat
We’re half way through the year

Soon Autumn days will be upon us
Bringing cooler weather
Leaves will turn and bonfires burn
We’re over half way through the year

Then Winter frosts descend upon us
With weather cold and grey and drear
The days have gone so quickly by
We’re welcoming a brand New Year

Over the winter, which was horrendous and I will not dwell on it for it is in the past and we can only hope not to see such a winter for many years to come, I did much thinking about my garden, and how I need to make it work for me.  This summer I am starting to put some changes in to practice but they are still being tweaked and will take time, maybe a couple of years or more, so I must be patient.   First and foremost are changes that will make the garden easier to maintain and work with in case my back gives on me again as it did for eight weeks last year.  I am planning a pretty seating area, in a shaded north facing aspect so I can sit comfortably.  The rockery is to be flattened and replaced with grasses and Japanese wind anemones.  A paved area at the side of the house is being readied for lined raised beds which will be used for salad vegetables and maybe strawberries.  All the borders around the lawn are to be widened giving less grass to mow, and the trees in the centre of the lawn cut down so that I can mow back and forth instead of steering around them.  I'm sure I've got more ideas and changes, but this will give you an idea that the whole garden is in a state of change.

Here are a few photographs to share, for although I have not been here I have still been taking photographs ~~~

A deadly predator ~~~ a sparrowhawk swooped in one grey day in winter 

Apple blossom time ~~~

Mother blackbird gathering nesting material ~~~

Wild ferns growing in a shady corner ~~~

Osteospermums bright and beautiful in the spring sunshine ~~~

A Great Tit stopped by and sat on the stone frog's head ~~~

Apple tree bark with unusual markings ~~~

Shudder ~~~ a spider's nest full of baby spiderlings ~~~

A beautiful double daffodil in a bouquet of flowers picked fresh ~~~

A full moon shines down on the Garden in The Shire ~~~

Until next time ~~~

~~~A Gardener's Work Is Never Done~~~