Donkeys` Teabreak

The weather has been utterly lovely. Temperatures have been getting up into the high teens. We`ve been out in t.shirts and shorts working. We`ve seen butterflies, bees and even ants today.

Celandines and primroses are out in the lane.

Today at the farm, the farrier was there to shoe the horses. Everyone was sitting in the sunshine outside the stables.

I set to on one of the flower beds. I started it in the autumn so the worst of the clearing was over. But the back edge needed a new wooden edge so I got that in place. Then the rabbit wire had to be more secure. The soil was turning over very well. Trowelling was quite a pleasure. I did not finish however.

I am pleased to say that the bed is a blank canvas apart from some spurges that need a better position.

This afternoon I chose quite a few plants from home which I have earmarked for this space.

The next bed along is up for the same

working over.

Steve was busy spreading the last of the manure and Paula cleaned up the gladioli corms ready for planting later. And she watered in some verbena boniarensis plants I`d put in earlier.

We sat outside in glorious sunshine for our teabreak.

The donkeys joined us.

Luckily Paula shared her apple otherwise we wouldn`t have had anything to give them.

Anyway they were a very welcome sight.

 The red knobs of rhubarb are showing.

And the pink willow is flowering.

All in all a  lovely visit.

Orchard Tales

We tend to prune our apple trees in January but January just seemed to fly by. Before we knew it we were well into February, probably due to the changes we have been making in our living room. They took much longer than planned.

All of that is coming together. The finishing touches are just being done.

So now the gardening starts in earnest.

Signs of spring are all around, in the birdsong, the daffodils opening, the camellias in flower, the daytime temperature and the lengthening days.

On the way to the garden yesterday, laden with old carpet rolls and bags of clay for cobbing, in glorious sunshine, a colony of seagulls was wheeling round the fields with sunlight flashing on their white chests. I wonder what brought them inland.

I pruned two and a half apple trees. The topmost branches need the long arm pruner.

I have been doing our own apple tree at home and can`t help but be mindful of my Mum who pruned with long arms all day. They are quite heavy and unwieldy. 

One fairly large branch has been rubbing on its post and gone unnoticed.The wound was almost halfway across the branch so I had to cut it out. The rest was all very straightforward.

As I prune off the watershoots, I take out any crossing branches to let more light and air into the centres.

The next job was to clear under and round the trunks.

Each tree has a skirt of carpeting covered in chipped bark and a tube of chicken wire to deter rabbits.

The damson had growth coming from below the graft so I sawed that off and on several I had to literally yank out nettle roots.

What a very successful plant nettles are, roots travelling underground and the ability to seed as well. 

Here is the orchard in February 2019.

Here it is in February 2011 when Steve and I were walking round deciding whether we wanted to create the garden.

Here it is in autumn 2011 when we had cleared a HUGE pile of weeds, with much help from Tim and his tractor, and decided to have a mini-orchard.

What changes we have seen.

I got home in time for lunch after a very satisfying morning.

 

 

And my winter project is complete.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eau de Bonfire.

The weather has been delightful.

We`ve had teabreaks and lunches sitting outside.

I`ve seen bees and a single butterfly.

We had a lovely visit to Freshwinds Garden on Tuesday.

I decided to clear the gooseberry bushes as they don`t do very well.

They were riddled with nettles and chickweed but

the soil was turning over beautifully.

I`ve saved two to try in pots at home.

 We noticed the side of the barn has been removed.

It looks very different.

I neatened up the edges of the path.

Paula joined us and after a teabreak in the glorious sunshine, she set to clearing the shrubby bed.

Steve spread more manure and replaced some of the posts holding up rabbit wire.

There are so many jobs to do.

This one needs to be soon. Pruning.

The pink helleborus looked beautiful in the sunshine but I don`t think I`ve quite captured it.

 The pond is incredibly full.

At home the crocus were fully open.

 And I picked my first large bunch of snowdrops.

We`ve spent today demolishing the last of our fence at home, ready to be replaced at the weekend.

We produced the most fantastic amount of waste .... far too much for the brown bin.

So this evening we went back out at 5 and had a whopping bonfire.

Amazingly we got rid of the whole lot.

Oh it was a romantic Valentine Day, smelling of smoke after all the hard work but at least the stars were out and we were working by moonlight in the end.

 

 

 

 

Lap Quilts and Stuff

My goodness its ages since I last did a blog entry.

 Where did January go?

We have been totally immersed in decorating our living room. It hasn`t been done for years. There was lots to do ... new skirting board and picture rail, new sofas and a complete new lighting system, as well as a new design for the fireplace.

We ripped out all the storage and like the space so much, we won`t be putting it back.

The problem now is to re-home the contents of the 12 drawers. 

I have been working on that one today. 

Its just "stuff."

I have managed to get all my sewing cotton into two drawers.

It took some doing but I am well satisfied.

To make this space I`ve gone through bags of loose trimmings.

I`ve collected a bag of collage bits for the nephews` school.

When I was a lttle girl I would have loved to be given this bag. 

We were always desperate for fabrics and trimmings which may account for my hoards of stuff.

I have two other projects on the go.

One is in collaboration with my brother Jamie.

He has done a tremendous amount of family history research on our ancestors. Now we are bringing the facts about my Grandad together and I am writing one of my family booklets.

, with a lot of help from him.

So far I am really enjoying it and I hope the family will too.

 

The other is a lap quilt probably for me.

I have knitted chevron squares for quite a few weeks now and I`m sewing it up as I go along.

It is 15 squares by 19 and just needs to be a bit bigger before I stop.

Its a great way to use up oddments of wool.

 

Earlier in January I made a set of bunting for Tim and Anne`s new grand-daughter, Poppy.

And I made an elephant cushion for my friend`s birthday.

 We haven`t ventured into either garden for any work as such but I notice the snowdrops are showing and on sunny days 

the crocus are out. 

We are off for some early sunshine at the end of the month which I hope will bring our decorating to a full stop.