Friday 24 April 2015

Distracted and Drifting …

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I do try to concentrate on one job at a time – I really do.  The trouble is – I get easily distracted – the garden is like a magnet to me.  I stand in the kitchen with the back door open and watch the sparrows bobbing about on the terrace collecting sticks, feathers and moss for their nest building – squabbling and twittering, taking sips of water from the pond – and I forget I am supposed to be washing the dishes.

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Or I find myself cloud watching and drift out in to the garden for a better view and before I know it I am planting out my tomatoes in the greenhouse – and suddenly remember that I was in the middle of sorting out the laundry and about to start the ironing.

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It is a perennial problem of mine – getting distracted and drifting when I should be concentrating on the job in hand.  Chores do get done – just not the ones I was supposed to be doing.

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But I take solace in the fact that I am getting to know my little space a bit better every day - mentally noting everything that is going on around me - perhaps watching the newly hatched tadpoles skittering around the edges of the wildlife pond – being drawn outside at every opportunity – the housework will still be there when I have finished wandering.

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And look – we have finished our Bug Hotel at last – collecting bits and bobs to fill it – cones, shells, drainage pipes filled with bamboo canes, sticks and hay – now let’s hope the insects appreciate a lovely new home and move in soon.

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Purpose is the great divider that separates those who are simply living, from those who are truly alive. ~ Alex Rogers

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The longer you drift – the more you will learn.

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I guess when it comes down to it I am just a flaneur – one who strolls round aimlessly but enjoyably, observing life and their surroundings.

‘Til next time.

Elaine

p.s. If you want to see what is going on in the veg garden pop over to A Woman of the Soil for the latest post.

68 comments:

  1. The Bug Hotel is brilliant Elaine! Definitely 5 star!

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    1. I have the ideas and husband has the job of interpreting them - I'm dead chuffed with it I have to say.

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  2. Welcome to my world Elaine.......it is the pisces in us :)

    Love the bug hotel....of course there will be takers.
    If I was a bug I would be first in the queue.
    Beautiful colour combinations in the first image......so Spring.

    Waiting for weekend rain....hope it arrives, the garden needs it.

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    1. Hi Cheryl
      I reckon you're right - I have always been a bit of a dreamer and was always getting told off at school for staring out of the window during lessons - too late to change now.

      We had a drop of rain last night - not enough to make any difference unfortunately!

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  3. Your garden looks beautiful. Unfortunately my whole garden is one huge 'bug hotel'; of the nuisance type.

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    1. Ha! I get my share of unwanted bugs too unfortunately.

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  4. I love the bug hotel..love it! As for the message...I am like you, start one thing and get distracted, walk into one room and forget what I was doing in the next. ;-) Oh well... Your garden looks absolutely lovely. Enjoyed the photos as well.

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    1. Thanks Bren. I know exactly what you mean - perhaps it's an age thing!

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  5. A lovely post and wonderful pictures. I think that many gardeners get just as distracted as you do, and I'm definitely a 'flaneur'! Flighty xx

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    1. Thanks Flighty. Yes - the garden is certainly a distraction all right - nice to know there are plenty of flaneurs out there.

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  6. Dear Elaine,
    Your garden is a paradise. So lush and green and flowers, all colors of the rainbow.
    I have never seen a bug hotel.. its very interesting.
    As the years pass by, I find myself wandering around ! often leaving something I am doing to go outside.
    A lovely post..
    wishing you a happy weekend in your beautiful garden.
    val

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    1. Dear Val,
      Thank you for your kind comments - we are having lovely weather at the moment - just right for wandering in the garden. Have a good week my dear.

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  7. In the square montage that you have posted can you tell me what plant is on the top right hand of the square, the one with the reddy orange flowers?

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    1. Hi
      Thanks for visiting - the flower in the picture is a Chaenemeles or ornamental quince.

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    2. You have solved a mystery for me because I put a pip/stone from a plant into a little plant pot to see if it would come up. I thought it was a blackthorn sloe pip because I had collected a lot when I made sloe gin but I also picked a funny shaped fruit up from a plant laying on the ground from a Gardena few blocks away. The leaves seemed like the shape from a sloe but then the blossom came out orangey red which I knew was not sloe. Thankyou I will put up a picture of the bush plant soon on my blog

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  8. I think the bug hotel is fantastic.

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    1. Thanks Sue - I think it worked out really well.

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  9. What an amazing bug hotel ... brilliant.

    Love ALL your photo's.

    Have a great weekend

    All the best Jan

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  10. The bug hotel is a wonderful idea. I'm sure the bugs will be queuing up to stay there!

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    1. Thanks. I do hope we get plenty of visitors.

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  11. Your multi storey Bug Hotel and your colourful flowers are lovely - I too keep finding myself being distracted these days so much so that I nearly set the kitchen and myself on fire yesterday - it has left a dreadful smell in the house. I must remind myself to tackle only one task at a time.

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    1. Rosemary just had to leave a note to say I did exactly the same thing last night because my mind was on the seedlings in our sunroom.

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    2. Thank goodness we both lived to tell the tale. It wasn't until much later that the full horror of what had nearly happened dawned on me.

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    3. Thanks Rosemary. Oh my goodness sounds like it could have been a disaster - thank goodness you weren't burnt. Note to self - concentrate on what you are doing when you are in the kitchen.

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  12. I set up a home for bugs last year. Nowhere near as beautiful as yours but it was a rather last minute idea. I watched it from my window all winter delighting in the knowledge my buggy friends were safely housed. I am sure you will enjoy yours just as much,

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    1. I don't suppose we will see much action - insects are sneaky creatures - but at least I feel that we have done our bit in giving them a helping hand.

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  13. That bug hotel is AWESOME!! I need to make one with my beans!!! It looks like an art installation! And yes drifting...I have that thing too! I will be doing one thing in the garden and soon I am off watching and doing something completely different in another area of the garden. Maybe we gardeners all share a bit of that! Your blooms are amazing Elaine! Just beautiful!!! Happy drifting my friend! Nicole xoxo

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    1. Thanks Nicole. Yes, it would be an ideal project for your beans to get involved in. Happy drifting to you too.

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  14. I find the problem with being in my garden is that I keep noting the jobs that need doing and it detracts from my enjoyment of the result of the many jobs done. So I do the jobs, but with a sorry sense of a failure to prioritise.

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    1. Dear Mise
      The list of jobs to get done is neverending isn't it - I just muddle my way through and eventually find that everything gets done whether I worry about it or not.

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  15. It's not a bad way to be ... when I say I'm a wanderer I mean something closer to what you describe here than I do to globe-trotter. Gardens are the best places to be distracted in!

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    1. The best way to be - just wander and see where the path takes you.

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  16. I'm the same too Elaine - my head teacher once likened my concentration span to a butterfly ie always flitting! I thought at the time and still do that that was a rather nice way of putting it. Your new bug hotel certainly looks like a five star des res for the creatures passing through your garden.

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    1. I'm glad I'm not the only one with a minute attention span. Always been a problem - always will be I reckon - hey ho!

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  17. Wit so many lovely plants flowering I'm not surprised you get distracted! Having said that, I'm exactly the same....it's rather lovely to just drift and potter!
    I do love that image with the blossom and shadow, how arty!
    Housework can CERTAINLY wait....That bug hotel is utterly inspired, I have an urge to make one just like it, did you come up with the design
    Flaneur....now that is a rather lovely word!xxx

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    1. Thanks Dina. I always love your comments on my posts. Yes I came up with the idea - it started with an old milk crate at the bottom then husband built a frame round it - it took ages to find enough stuff to fill it but we got there eventually. I like the word flaneur too.

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  18. Guess I am a flaneur too. Love the bug hotel and garden.

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    1. It seems that there are plenty of us flaneurs about - nice to know.

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  19. It's all to easy to get distracted by the outside world at this time of year. The bug hotel is wonderful and I love the word flaneur:)

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    1. I know - I can hardly keep indoors at the moment with there being so much to do outside - I really must buckle down to some housework one of these days - ha!

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  20. I fully subscribe to the idea of a life lived as a flaneur, maybe not practical, but always interesting.

    And a Bug Hotel!! I hope it meets their expectations and is packed with residents.

    Ms Soup

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  21. Your bug hotel is stunning more like a penthouse than a hotel... I did ask for a little rain on Saturday so I could get on with some house work and would not be drawn out side... wish granted
    Amanda xx

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    1. Thanks Amanda. Lucky you - we only had a drop of rain nothing worth shouting about - so it's back to the watering can.

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  22. Then I must be a flaneur too. Cloud watching is a favourite pastime... they're like magnificent fluffy sculptures that float across the sky and a perfect indicator of the weather ahead.
    Your garden is a treasure, lush and inviting. I think I have a few Canadian bugs that would love to visit your new hotel accommodations...
    Do you know what variety those beautiful white daffodils are?
    Susan x

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    1. Oh I spend a lot of time looking at the sky - far too much time some might say - it is just so interesting up there in the blue. Sadly the daffodil bulbs were in a mixed bag - I love them for their delicate almost fragile blooms. Have a lovely week Susan.

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  23. Ah Elaine, Wouldn't I love to wander with you. Well, I have gues, virtually. I do like your wiht daffodils with the red tulips. It is hard to get much done surrounded with such temptation.

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    1. Hi Anne
      My garden is quite small so a wander would only take about ten minutes - nevertheless at the moment there is plenty to see and temptation is always out there.

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  24. Dear Elaine, with such a beautiful garden as yours one doesn't need any excuse to be distracted from household chores or whatsoever - into the outside. Spring is short (here lilac and chestnuts start flowering - a few days before you ouldn't even see buds). So: use every minute! Enjoy!

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    1. Thank you Britta very kind of you to say so. Soon all the spring bulbs will be over and yes the lilacs aren't far off blooming - the year goes so fast that we must try to be aware of everything as it happens so that we don't miss anything.

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  25. My favourite poem starts 'I meant to do my work today, but a brown bird sang in the apple tree......'

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    1. I meant to do my work today—
      But a brown bird sang in the apple tree,
      And a butterfly flitted across the field,
      And all the leaves were calling me.

      And the wind went sighing over the land,
      Tossing the grasses to and fro,
      And a rainbow held out its shining hand—
      So what could I do but laugh and go

      That just about says it all doesn't it. Thanks for the reminder about the poem Freda.

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  26. Or 'Hang spring cleaning!' as Mole said. I was passing by the computer on the way to the laundry basket and look what happened. I was distracted by your post. My bug hotel has fallen into disrepair. I must tidy it up.

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    1. I'm with Mole on this one. Sorry about the distraction.

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  27. I am glad to hear I am not the only one who gets sidetracked. The garden seems to be the place where I always lose my focus. I'll start doing one thing only to notice another thing that needs doing. I drop the first and move to the second often leaving the first undone. I chastise myself, but never seem to be able to mend my ways.
    I have wanted to make a bug hotel for a while now and hope to finally get to it this year. I love the design and mix of all the materials you have used. What insects are the pine cones to encourage?

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    1. I know exactly what you mean Jennifer - same here. I'm hoping ladybirds will take up residence in the winter but anything is welcome.

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  28. Dear Elaine- I think there is a name for your distraction and drifting disease. It is "Spring Fever" . I know because I have it as well. Your photos of your flowers and garden just made my symptoms worse.😃! Thank you for sharing. Hugs!

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    1. Ha! Spring Fever is exactly what I am suffering from. Sorry about making your symptoms worse - can't be helped I'm afraid.

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  29. The bug hotel looks super! What a great job and it will bring so much pleasure to worthwhile garden insects.

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  30. It's like the phrase "All who wander are not lost". I am much like that myself, always drifting off mentally to some other place. Love the bug hotel. It looks very cozy. If I were a bug, I'd move in. :o)

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  31. I think distraction is a common ailment amongst us gardeners! Lovely images and I too adore your bug hotel.

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    1. Too true Anne - albeit a nice distraction.

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