Today I took advantage of the lack of rain  And I did two gardening jobs. The first one was a hedge. I gave quite a modest quote for it but did not cost the time for picking up all the laurel leaves that I cut. Cutting time was about 15 min and tidying up time was about 30 min. The trouble was that I was competing with wind which undid most of my brushing work. The second job was removing a cactus. Cactus has the ability to jam up any chainsaw  offered up to it because it  consists of very soft wood a bit like wet sawdust. You can use it for about 10 min then you have to clean out the chainsaw.

The first client I went to had a husband who was suffering from Alzheimer’s and had been banned from using garden equipment for the last year. He was taken to a day centre every week day. The second client also had a husband who was suffering from Alzheimer’s. He was in the living room, feet up on a recliner chair, watching TV for hour after hour.  I don’t think most of us can imagine what it’s like to be looking after someone seven days a week 365  days a for let us say say five years. You actually don’t have a life. Your services may be needed at any time. The second lady said that she would love to do the garden but she hasn’t got the time or the energy. You cannot just say for the next two hours my husband has to look after himself because that’s not the way things work. He may suddenly need the toilet for example. I hope I do not go this way and would rather pass away suddenly.

Bangladesh have won their cricket match in Somerset today. Luckily they had sunshine, for tomorrow we have another inundation of rain with storms forecast.

I went to see a new client this afternoon with my working colleague Oliver. She was a diminutive lady but very much all there mentally and I would say an academic. She was born in South Africa and has many memories of that country. She also lived in  Namibia.  She wanted the whole garden done front and back and gave me specific instructions about each plant for which she had the Latin name at the end of her tongue. I will take the job because I think the garden deserves it. I also have a soft spot for anyone with a South African accent. I do miss going there a lot though with my current sensitivity to electromagnetic fields, it is very unlikely that I will be able to sustain the 12 hour journey especially if the plane has Wi-Fi.

I shall no doubt wake tomorrow not with the patter of tiny feet but the incessant patter of rain on the window.