Today I did my tax return. It is not particularly complicated and the on-line submission is relatively straightforward, especially if you are paying attention and not distracted by someone blithering on in the background. The figures involved are rather petty, I am computer literate and love a good spreadsheet, but all the same it took me most of the day. The result wasn’t to my liking, but then I doubt it seldom is. Anyway it is done and well before time. I could get used to the role of Head Swot. Mind you I haven’t actually paid it yet, they will have to wait for that. The money is much safer in my bank account, who knows what the government are planning on spending it on. I’m guessing it won’t be “peace, love and understanding”. But less of such doldrums.
Now I feel frazzled. I need some florific respite.
This callistemon, or bottlebrush, enjoyed the weather this week rather more than the gardener. As it comes from Australia, whose climate is considerably far removed from North Devon, it must have thought “about time, some decent temperatures!”. Mind you, it didn’t do much in the blistering heat, except perhaps a bit of photosynthesising, oh yes, and producing these incredible flaming flowers.
Off The Edge Gardening 
A nice sunny photo with lots of red in it. Have you tried counting the petals? And this reminds me they still owe me £280 from a couple of years ago. The interest is probably about 2p on top of that. I shall be kind and sent them a cheery bunch of Urtica Dioica along with my re-request for payment.
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You must get that money back, think of the plants you could buy with it!
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What a dandy word florific is! The former owner of our house had planted a row of bottle brush alongside a fence. It looked just OK, but a passing neighbor frequently implored us to “Take it out!” I guess she didn’t like it either.
Good girl to get the dreary job ofo taxes out of the way.
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That must have been a very dramatic sight! Each to his own though, I suppose we crave the exotic here in the dreary UK.
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We, too, inherited a row of bottlebrush from the former owners of our house. It gets more comments and questions from visitors than any other plant in the garden. I think it’s a serious impediment to deer hoping to enter that part of the garden. The heat wave has reached us this weekend – 30 degrees C. in Victoria, BC. That’s pretty hot for us.
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Life in tandem again! Hope you are keeping cool x
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Not really. I’m traipsing through open private gardens as part of the Hardy Plants Group Study weekend. I’m wearing a hat and smearing myself with sunscreen. Drinking lots of water. Hope you’re doing the same.
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I commiserate, Mr TT does some work and I do his Tax Return and it is OK until we have to ring the Tax Office, 42 minutes on the phone is the record, most of that waiting for an advisor!
That bottlebrush is lovely, one of the houses we viewed when moving down here had, as its star attraction in the estate agent’s blub, ‘A Magnificent Bottlebrush in the back garden’!!
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Luckily I didn’t have to call them for anything, I did do quite a bit of searching on their website and eventually found what I was looking for.
Funny to mention the bottlebrush, diverting your attention from something else perhaps ….. 🙂
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Well done for doing the tax early; and good there’s time to enjoy the bottlebrush!
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Now that we have the interminable drizzle can we get back to the Australian heat please?
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I am lucky , Irene does my tax return, although I do have to spend time ‘sorting’ out the receipts. Should become easier now I have retired.👍
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Will she do mine too, if I ask very nicely 🙂
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