Firstly, congratulations to Sooz ‘cos she’s the one I chose to receive the Calendar of Quilts.  I had to choose from a row of grapes and wasn’t really sure what was going on because I ate them all, but it was important which one I chose first apparently – strange creatures, humans!

There’s been a lot of barking up at the house today, and over the past few days.  Usually just after lunch, Belle tells me that a chap in shorts and a brightly coloured top, with a big red bag, marches up to the front door.  He does it just to wake Misty up from her slumbers because no sooner has he walked down the path than he walks back up again. Then Mother Duck the rushes to the front door to collect packages and envelopes.  Sometimes she sighs and mutters but over the past few days she often squeaks with excitement as she opens a package.  Today, Belle tells me that a present from *C* arrived – a beautiful fountain pen.  Lucky Mother Duck!

Everything in my garden’s been in a right old state for 2 days.  This is how it looked yesterday morning …

the back garden, yesterday morning – overgrown with ivy and weeds

then a chap arrived with this big yellow thing and a load of equipment and tools

and now it’s all tidy – see me, on the right having a little sit down?

I had to stay up on the top patio, out of the way of Andy and his team of fellas who worked so hard for 2 days and have transformed the back garden.  It’s nothing to what’s happened out at the front though …

front of house

look at how full that skip is!

they used over 2 bags of pea shingle

and now it looks like this!

~~~ *** ~~~ WOW ~~~ *** ~~~

It’s all been very exciting and lots of Mother Duck’s friends have been around to say hello to me – and probably to see the garden too! J1 (my big brother duck) turned up with his enormous boots and I think there are lots more plans in Mother Duck’s head about what he can help with in the garden. I expect I’ll have to move ‘sharpish’ if he’s coming in my direction!

MD fairly squeaked with excitement yesterday afternoon, after the fellas had left.  She was down by the old apple tree where one of Storm’s horseshoe’s always hangs and you’ll never guess – there’s MISTLETOE growing in the apple tree!!!!!

“Mistletoe was once strongly associated with luck – and many of the older traditions and legends can be interpreted as suggesting it has some sort of protective role. The popular kissing custom has, today, rather eclipsed many of these older traditions – but 100 years ago more customs may have still thrived. The location of the fighting in northern France and Belgium may have helped as French-speaking areas, even today, still hold on to the custom of mistletoe for luck – a ‘Porte Bonheur’.” Jonathon’s Mistletoe Diary

We’re all hoping that 2015 will be a good year – for the garden, for our family of ducks and for collie dogs!

Have a lovely weekend.

Flora Puddleduck   x