When gardening is a pain.

Hope you're feeling better and back in the garden soon

What a nasty surprise, you poor soul. Hope you are soon better. its a good time of year for moving nettles too as there's less top to sting you! You're fortunate in having a dry spell.We have had hardly any days without rain for what seems like ages. Two of my fuchsias are coming into leaf - I shouted at them to stop but don't suppose they heard me...
Love your aconite.

Sorry to hear about your back, SBG, but I hope you will get over it very soon & can get back to your lovely garden as well as your normal daily life. :)

Hope you will be out in the garden again soon and that by then you will be feeling much better.
Lovely to see aconites, unfortunately they don't do well in our garden but I did see lots at the garden centre today so that was nice.

Hi Eileen, I've just commented on your photo of the nettles, you should have saved a few to use for your pain, they're useful for muscle and joint pain, eczema, arthritis, gout, and anemia, and several others, I always have a few behind the bottom shed, Derek.

These days when I garden I find a way to do the task at hand while sitting down. Although it may take longer to do I no longer go through those episodes where I feel like someone shot me in the back while returning to the house.

Nothing worse than a bad back to stop, I hope you can get your socks on. This is a weird January, who would think we'd be gardening at all.

I hope your back will be better soon. It's maddening when the weather is suitable for gardening but we can't do any. I feel as if it's a waste of time.
I'm glad you were able to clear some of the nettles.

Oh groan, that sounds sore. I feel for you SBG. On a happier note, the Blackbirds are a huge success aren't they? We have a family of bluetits and it makes me happy to see them because I know we helped them to successfully rear their young. I'm not as observant as you regarding ages and numbers, but there are at least six of them and its lovely to see. We have two nesting boxes up now and a teapot one for a Robin. I have some old teapots in the cupboard from the open days, so I hope to get them up as well. They make excellent nesting 'rooms'! Actually, you've reminded me we have a swallows nesting box to put up before the spring. I am hoping to have them nesting on the back of the garage. I do hope you get some pain relief soon . :)

As a 'back' sufferer I totally sympathise with you Sbg Derek is right nettles are good for pain etc . I use to dry the leaves in the microwave once dried crush them keep them in a jam jar and make them into a tea , if anyone tries this please be very very careful, dry them by the second as they quickly explode into flames as a good friend found out :o(

Thanks for all the support. My back is much better and I am able to move about without too much discomfort.
I wasn't bending when weeding as the bed was chest height so I could dig with out bending, but I know what you mean Loosestife. I tend to dig soil then kneel to hand weed the lumps.

I love seeing which birds are doing what and the female blackbird mum has a damaged wing so she is easy to spot and the dad has a white fleck on the back of his head. Again easy to spot.

I can dress myself now Dawn, though the first 2 days daughter had to put socks on and off for me and tie my shoelaces. The trip to Nottingham to drop daughter off yesterday wasn't the most comfortable but the back does feel better today. So hopefully it will be sorted tomorrow or Wed .

Sorry to hear of your bad back. Just when your time is your own, something stops you in your tracks. Glad you are feeling better. Pace yourself, take more time just to look and admire those beautiful creations of nature.

to add to my 'feeling sorry for myself ' state I had to go to the dentist today and I am now minus a wisdom tooth. :o( .

I have been watching the blue tits on the nut feeder so at least that has been a lift.

Sbg - I can empathise - I had a wisdom tooth removed about three years ago

Hope you are back to your old self soon.

I hope you feel better soon too, back ache and tooth extraction are an unhappy pairing! It has been so mild so far this Winter some birds around here have been spotted preparing to nest, I hope yours have continued to entertain you with their activity too, such a good distraction from the negatives in our lives. :-)

Well I had a 3mile walk around the North Cave Wetlands [Yorkshire wildlife trust] and saw a bittern [my first] as well as lots of teal, shovellers and lapwings. There were lots of finches and tits too.

my back feels ok but I'm not risking any gardening. Though I have been in the greenhouse opening my plant delivery from Kevock gardens.
They are so well packed and a delight to open.

Glad to hear your back is so much better, SBG! :)

Glad to read that you are recovering Seaburn, it hasn't stopped raining for any length of time here since it started last September, definitely count the days on one hand, I honestly cannot ever remember an autumn/winter as wet or as mild as this one, never thought I'd say this but I so wish for what used to be known as a normal winter...

Pleased to read that you are now on the mend, it’s done so easily isn’t it? and then to add insult to injury having a wisdom tooth removed...... ouch!
Lovely to have so many blackbirds in the garden, we have a couple who seem to come and go.