I'd had one of those nights when at about 2.30 the eyes opened then the brain woke up and that was it. No amount of me trying to persuade my head to stop wittering would end the mental debating society enthusiastically discussing the pros and mostly cons of having a shady garden. So I gave up, joined in and pottered off downstairs.
Having waved Himself off to work, I dragged myself back upstairs and decided that I would go back to sleep - something I very rarely do. I was so tired I fell asleep instantly only to be woken up by my phone. It was the tree surgeon - 'are you home? We can be there in half an hour'........
When I originally spoke to the company they said would get in contact when they could do the tree - to which I said that would be fine, never did I think I would only get 30 minutes notice!
You have never seen me leap out of bed so fast, the dog thought this was a brilliant new game and joined in as I hopped around the room, toothbrush in mouth, one foot in a sock as I kept an eye on the clock. Rushing downstairs I went straight out, there were plants that needed rescuing and access to the tree to be cleared!
It wasn't until the tree team turned up that I actually began to feel awake and offered them a brew. I am now sitting inside and I can hear the crunch and thud of a tree being brought down to size - I think tonight is going to be an early one .... yawn!
However, it does mean more sunlight in the garden and that can't be bad!
I am with you on the sleep thing - getting to sleep is my problem at the moment! I don't think we are alone in this - it seems to be a problem all round. While it's sad to see a tree be cut down, sometimes it has to happen and there are benefits in letting more light in. I love the picture of you rushing to get sorted and Willow thinking it's a new game!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes
Ellie
Sleep wise - we naturally (as early humans) used to have two sleeps, with a gap in the middle around 2 - 3 am then as we began to have artificial light, this lessened and then became forgotten. So as a human - we naturally would wake at that time, but that does not help when, at 3am you know you are getting up for work in a few hours haha
DeleteI agree with losing a tree, but this one had outlasted it's welcome and all our other native ones around will benefit from it's rather greedy behaviour!
We too have a shady garden with trees at the bottom which we only have ourselves to blame for. We did have about 4 metres taken off them this year so I am hoping for a bit more light under the canopy. The only thing that really seems to grown there is violets … which do look nice though we weren’t very happy to find they’d all self seeded into the new grass that we’d seeded this year 😀
ReplyDeleteViolets! Now why didn't I think about them, they would give a lovely trickle of colour beneath the trees!
DeleteYes this tree is our fault, it was planted 20 odd years ago and I thought it was a seedling of a pretty ornamental cherry tree and it turns out it was a behemoth of a wild bird cherry! The cherries were small and the birds ate them before we got to see them, the leaf fall in autumn swamped the whole of the back garden and it swallowed several months of sunlight each year. Sadly I am glad to see it go.
I love your description of a sleepless night - brilliant. You seem to have had one of those days as well . . . .
ReplyDeleteInterested in what you say above about the two sleeps as that is how I sleep. Was it a long gap they had between the two sleeps or a short one? I don't know how best to deal with my tendency.
The two sleeps is actually called biphasic sleep have a look at this link
Deletehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20220107-the-lost-medieval-habit-of-biphasic-sleep
As for me, before I had heard of biphasic sleep, I thought I was an insomniac but on realising that unfortunately waking midway through the night is/was normal, it made sense.
I used a combination of yoga and mindful practises to get to sleep. They take a bit of practice but, on the whole they work for me.
Thank you, Kate. That's so helpful. I'll check out the link.
DeleteOne of those nights. I’ve had a number of them lately. It is a good idea to get up rather than toss and turn. A nap later in the day helps too.
ReplyDeleteI agree, sometimes the act getting up helps break the busy-ness of a wide awake brain followed by a mug of herbal tea makes such a difference 😊
DeleteThese things always happen in clusters! Good to have the treework over and done with.
ReplyDeleteSleep is a strange thing. You need enough exercise...but not too much! The non stop brain doesn't help, does it.