February, large fires and ferocious weather

The Croatian word for February is veljača and is derived from old Slavic roots relating to changing or shifting, often referring to the moody, unstable weather of the month. And certainly this month has lived up to its reputation with a heady mix of rain, wind, cold, fog, and then the occasional promisingly sunny day.

What have we achieved over the past few weeks? 

In my case, I have moved on from walls for the time being and have been doing some spring cleaning. Remember the tree surgery from last month? I followed this up by clearing the ancient brambles from the driveway. I disposed of all the spiky, mean vegetation cuttings, as well as a pile of rotting woodchip cupboards, with the best fire so far this year. 

It was so good that I grabbed a book and a beer and sat there warming myself for a few hours.

Boško has been busy with scaffolding, buying new wooden planks and improvising with the metal poles. At least that is stable. All we need now is dry, windy weather for the soaked concrete, and he can start glueing stiropol to the external walls. We need to get it sealed as we are fed up with scooping out the many litres of water that collects upstairs.

To counteract my own moody, unstable state of mind, I went to the local garden centre to see what they had in the way of happy stability. I dream of cyclamen emerging from the woody mulch around the front gates. In what is probably an overhasty endeavour, I picked up four mixed pots of these flowers and planted them around the base of my hornbeam.

Then the weather suddenly went from rainy to frosty to ferocious. Even as I waited for my luxury lift to the village in my limousine*, the thunder-clouds turned mean and devoured the top of Kozjak mountain. Large icy plops of rain fell, as my cyclamen and I huddled under cover outside Zoo City. How very February. Let’s hope they recover when the weather is in a better mood.

Other Valentine’s Day purchases included a variety of seeds. When I was small,  I was given an area of stony ground and told I could plant little rockery plants. Night scented stock, alyssum, and small alpine flowers emerged happily from this unpromising part of the garden. With this experience in mind, I bought a pack of mixed small flowers for rock gardens.

To keep them company, I have also got marigolds, nasturtiums and sunflowers. Last year I tried to use pots and seedlings, but I want to be more assertive and chaotic this year. Taking flowers and just sprinkling them randomly about. These seeds are more than just seeds; they are actually evidence of brighter times to come.


*The bright orange and grey Staklo Dom truck that Boško uses for work.