Hairless heap

Reader, I bottled it.  I just couldn't bring myself to say,  "could you sweep that up and put it in a bag for me?"

Spent the afternoon post-cut doing more strawberry bed clearing and planting a few shallots.  And trying to remove the couch grass sprouting through the otherwise-bare ground in places: it's as offensive to me as a pubic hair on a bar of soap, and I just can't help tugging it (the grass, not the pube).

Taking advice from the Christopher Lloyd classic  I got for Christmas, I also started mulching my blackcurrant bushes with a layer of newspaper (the Guardian, natch) plus some compost. It looks darned ugly, for the moment, but if it cuts down on the trips to the tap this summer, it's all to the good.