Nest Building

Beak filled with strings of
grass and clumps of fresh green moss;
nest building blackbird.

Hosepipe

Watering
the garden.
Thankfully hosepipe ban
not in my area
yet!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
We have had some rain recently, for which we are thankful, but by no means enough and the threat of a hosepipe ban has not gone away! I am trying not to be too wasteful with the water and only watering the necessary areas - vegetables, fruit trees and bushes and the flower borders. The lawn area has greened up nicely with the rain that we have had but I never water that anyway - grass has great powers of recovery after drought.

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Cold

Cold
and crunchy
beneath my feet,
grass white-coated, icy.
Frost.

Garden

Garden
for wildlife;
plants, grass, trees
and so-called weeds.
Haven.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

This somewhat vague and brief description of my own garden came to me  shortly after viewing the launch video of the show house on a new development of about 9 properties in the process of being built on land previously occupied by a garage and fuel station across the way from me alongside the main road into our small town.

The video extolled the virtues of the obviously well built, very modern and luxurious property with its small garden, which the video claimed (ignoring the fact that is it beside the main road and overlooked by the properties at a higher level at the back) was wonderfully private and which you could see through some of the windows, with its beautifully uniform and green Astro Turf ‘lawn’ covering the entire garden area (apart from the patio for al fresco dining). The Estate Agent slipped in the name ‘Astro Turf’ as if it were a feature to recommend the property. Yes, Astro Turf, and the best of it is that the development, on land that once was Claremont Garage, is to be called Claremont Gardens.

Now maybe I’m behind the times here but to me Astro Turf does not constitute a garden, no wildlife of any sort will be attracted there, not even bees and butterflies. They might as well have concreted the whole thing over. I only hope whoever buys the place will rip it all up and plant a real garden – I know I would.

Out There

Out there, beyond my window glass,
buzzing around the bushes,
a score or more of bees
are having a field day,
and golden dandelions
flourish in the lush
roadside grass the Council
has not been to cut this year.

Is It Time?

Gentle snowdrops raise their heads
to peep through frost-rimed grass,
petals tightly furled for warmth.
“Is it time?” they ask.

Rain Dance

Brown and scorched the grass,
relentless the heat and drought.
Time for a rain dance.

Fragrances

Heady fragrances;
new-mown grass and oil seed rape.
Sneezing – A-ti-shoo!

Melting

Snow
slowly melting,
green grass peeping.
Chance of White Christmas
fading.

Strange Things

What strange things some people do.
Yesterday a lady I do not know
was plucking handfuls of grass
from the roadside verge
and stuffing it into a plastic bag.

Politeness got the better of curiosity —
I did not stop to ask but walked on by
as if it was nothing out of the ordinary
while pondering what explanation
might have emerged.