A bit of a pickle

This week's post comes to you despite the Twenty First Century problem of a broken laptop when the price of computers is at an all-time high.

So I'll be short this week while I work around my technical limitations.

On Monday, I unloaded the compost bin onto a recently-weeded garden bed. I'm down to only two garden beds left to clear, and a couple of paths to complete before the entire garden is ready for the new season.

On Tuesday, I finally processed and winnowed my sunflower seeds with the help of new spring winds.

When Wednesday rolled around, Richard and I woke up feeling motivated. We popped out early to find a couple of pongas to fill gaps in our garden edging. It's a job which had been lingering at about 85% complete for yonks.

We found and transported the final few. Then it was up to me to rake up a bit of mulch, get everything in place, and trim them to the right lengths.

It's amazing to think about where the garden is now, compared to where we began. I'm so proud of it.

On Thursday, I processed all my peanut seeds. That means all my seed stock is done and ready for planting as their turn rolls up on the planting calendar this year.

Friday was grocery shopping day. I had also been prompted earlier in the week to see when the New Zealand Blood Service would be nearby. Turns out, they were here this week, so I gave a bag of blood while I was out.

As a reward, I let myself loose at a second-hand book store, and my favourite plant shop. At the book store, I picked up a book on tree nuts, and one on scented gardens.

And at Plant Zone Direct, I found both a new finger lime and an almond tree in the clearance section.

On Saturday, Richard and I headed out to The Sinking Gully (shown top of page). Richard used the weed eater to clear planting spots, while I followed behind, planting trees and giant sedges. Again, it's another job which is so close to being done.

Still, while progress has been slower than we'd like, we were delighted to see new growth appearing on our poplar poles.

Ko-Fi supporters of that project will be hearing from me with another update next week.

An appeal

I know times are tough for a lot of people right now, so this message is only for people who genuinely have something to spare.

This problem really feels like mine to solve, and I will. I am looking at a refurbished model and either way, this is a temporary problem.

But it has been painful to produce today's blog post on a temperamental tablet.

I am in the process of saving for a replacement laptop, and it seems like a good idea to allow people to help, if they want to.

So if you value what I do here and have something to give, any koha to the following bank account will be very gratefully received.

K Jenkins, 02-1220-0001528-002

Alternatively, a percentage of all Garden Guide and Kat's Nip sales are being sent to that account. So if you've purchased a copy of Kat's Garden Guide, you've contributed already. If you haven't, the link is live in the shop.

I will remove this message once the need has been met and/or I meet my own savings goal.

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