The garden bites back.

Having been told we'd be having a beautiful Saturday I vowed to be up and about in the garden early and I'm pleased to say that I had a productive day. From scrubbing the conservatory rood with a long handled brush whilst teetering on a step ladder to digging over the pastel border it was a joy to be out in the sunshine. My favourite of all things though was hacking back the overgrown confier boundary between ours and next door's garden. It's only three conifers but they have bulked up and because we have no decent ladder had been left unchecked for over a year. Now was the time to 'nip them in the bud' and ensure the tops didn't develop thicker trunks which would have resulted in a bigger job.
As it was Luke and I spent an enjoyable hour giving them a short back and sides. We took up to three foot out of the top and lightly trimmed back the rest of it. I made a little dippy in the middle of the top so that if we had settling snow next winter it wouldn't splay out the edges as much and spoil it's shape. I suggested (tongue in cheek) that we shape it into a train but in reality we just wanted it tidy and straight.
It took it's toll though and whilst halfway up a ladder with Luke keeping it steady as I leaned into the mass to get the ever elusive stalks I was victim to quite a few needle scratches. In fact this morning I got a pin to remove THIRTY little pine needles from my hands. The sillliest thing I did was to pour some vinegar over my burning arms (in the hope that it would neutralise any infection from dirty lacerations. Wow, did that sting?! It was like having boiling water poured on me. What possessed me to do it in the first place I don't know but should you ever want to feel absolutely wide awake I would recommend it. Youch!

Here are the photos of my endeavours up the ladder. The first one soaked me and the second one left me with all those cuts and scratches. It's not always a friendly place, the garden.