Pond Liner Pierced

The water in the pond has been getting lower and lower.

So low in fact that we decided there must be a leak.

We were not wrong.

The wild life has always been so good in this pond which we created around 2012.

Newts, frogs, grass snakes, pond skaters, water snails, dragonflies, damselflies.

Its all here.

We were going to leave it until the autumn but things were getting a bit drastic.

The hot weather did not help.

I was not looking forward to it, as it would involve a lot of work.

You can imagine our surprise when we found Anne had begun the job on her own, on one of the hottest days of the year so far.

All the plants had been removed and were stored in all kinds of

containers.

When Anne got lower she found the culprit. One of the pond plants .... a rather troublesome one at that .... had pierced the pond liner.

Now the pond liner is VERY thick so it is most surprising.

Today I sat on the log and went through the plants with a tooth comb.

I teased out over-grown roots, cut away dead leaves, rescued dopey newts and generally cleaned the plants up.

Anne had already discarded a lot, ensuring that she saved two of each variety.

She did the brunt of the work.

We now await the new liner. The pond still has a good depth of water in it and has shading to protect the creatures still there.

I will post another blog entry on the next stage.

Strange Tale of the Runner Beans

Two days ago I was in a sundress toasting in the garden. Today its been back to three layers including a fleece and thick socks.

The truth is it was so darned cold that we came home from Freshwinds an hour earlier than usual.

I had taken a tray of perenniels to put in the flowerbeds and I had hoped to get in the last dahlias but I did neither.

I labelled a few tomatoes.

We had a teabreak!! Inside. 

Did the watering.

Took a few pictures for this blog entry.

And came home.

And here is the strange tale of the runner beans.

We have had a lot of trouble getting our runner beans to germinate. They have been rotting off.

Steve decided to sow some straight into the beds in the polytunnel, not expecting much.

Lo and behold every single one has come up.

We don`t understand it.

They get lots of care at home. Perhaps neglect is the answer.

 

The raised bed is coming along with turnips, beetroot and carrots.

 

Elsewhere around the garden there is plenty of colour.

 And the sweetpeas are really starting to move.

I left them protected due to high winds and a cold night coming up.

 Bring back the warm days!

 

 

Lock-Down Craft

I can`t honestly say that I have done any extra craft over the lock-down period but I have had a big project which is now completed.

My first idea was to knit some squares for WI so I have made them some multi-coloured ones.

Then I decided to make a lap blanket.

 

When I had enough, I began to crochet round each one in black but when I sewed them together they looked a bit "bubbly."

In the end I sewed the squares together and did a chainstitch on top. I lined it with a fleece blanket and gave it a shell edging.

It still has a slightly bubbled look but what I really like is its weight and that it moulds over your lap.

Another project has been to make laundry bags for my sister in law Julia`s nursing team.

When their shift is finished, they place the scrubs/uniform into the laundry bags and wash. It is less handling.

As some of you know I usually have an honesty shop at the garden in the Wool Barn. This year everything is different.

I have a lot of craft!!!

Amongst it all, I had ten small teddies.

I decided to sell them on our village facebook page to raise money for NHS Charities Together.

They were all accounted for by the end of the first evening.

People have collected them, sealed in dated zip bags, from our doorstep, with the money posted through the letterbox.

They went past my target of £50 up to £75.

I was very pleased.

I was particularly happy to hear where the little bears would be going, many to grandchildren from grandparents unable to meet up.

Now its facemasks.

More about that at a later date.