Through a glass, darkly

These amazing Spring mornings are very distracting, calling us out when really we have Things That Need To Be Done. The sun dragged me from sleep on the dot of 7am, which was probably just as well because I had a rather overdue eye check-up at 10am. In my current slothful existence, 10am is early, especially if it involves getting properly dressed and putting my face on, and I wasn't home till 11, desperate for coffee and half-blinded by the sun in my dilated pupils. Interestingly, my sight has indeed improved recently in my weaker eye - to the extent that I could officially drive without my specs on, should I choose to do so (or forget, as I did a few weeks ago).

Frustrated by not being able to read or use the computer, I decided the remains of the perfect morning would be best used in walking somewhere lovely, somewhere that would be quieter in the morning than later. Benmore Gardens officially opened for the season this week, so we were able to see inside the building that used to house the excellent café but which is now just the ticket desk and the shop, open in the next stage of lockdown easing. What with my sunglasses and my mask, I looked like a bank robber - or that scary figure from the title sequence of The Terror ...

The gardens were peaceful and lovely as ever - a woodpecker doing his nut (as you might say) on the Chilean hillside and new growth everywhere. The gardeners have been busy laying down mulch from their store of cut-down trees and branches, and the air was filled with the warm scent of it. The photo above is from a view point not possible when the gardens are shut, showing the river much shrunk from the surging torrent of a few weeks back, and shows the contrasting greens of conifers , Giant Redwoods and other native trees.

By mid-afternoon I could see again, but was feeling increasingly nagged by a pain in the muscle at the top of my arm - the very one I'm being jagged in again next week. It took me some time to realise I'd been silly yesterday with the secateurs, when I'd tackled a couple of branches that really needed the pruning saw. Stupid, really.

Cheered at teatime by an unexpected FaceTime from #1 son the journo, showing me the makeover he's given his study and discussing the possibilities afforded by the relaxation of travel restrictions. And now I've just finished a Zoom Vestry meeting, and can't help reflecting on how much more relaxed and cheerful meetings are these days compared with the past. There are times I think I've been around here too long ...

But I'm not going to do anything about it. Except drink some tea.