The Hen Pen

More work on the Henclosure!  Today was spent digging out a trench for the new beech hedge which follows the curve of the mesh.  The beech trees were VERY kindly donated by Chris and dug up from his wood.  Hopefully it will soften and eventually hide most of the weldmesh panels.  Yes!  I KNOW it's a tad late in the season to be planting a hedge.  It's just that none of this work was anticipated prior to Monsieur Le Reynard's murderous visit!  I do need to paint the fence post finials without dripping paint on the new hedging plants.

The Henclosure

David's Gate

David Lane (of J.W. Lanes Ltd - Agricultural Engineers of Stanford bridge)  made a really lovely gate in a Victorian style and delivered it in person just in time to hang it this morning.  Lanes can always be relied upon for all things sensible and useful and  -at all times.  Chris now wants to lay some pretty bricks from the gate and around the House for Hens.

Other jobs involved lowering the hedge in front of the Banana Bench allowing views across to Woodbury and Abberley Clock Tower whilst seated.  It takes MUCH courage to cut a great chuck out of a mature hedge and this was very radical move (gulp)!  It just needs to green over now!

The Banana Bench

Original hedge height seen on right

Original  hedge height seen on left

Hopefully, it will  even thicken out.  From a seated position, half the vistas would have been obscured and we would have been left with a close-up view of a less than perfect and very old hedge.



It would be nice to find some pretty Victorian railings of a suitable height to disguise/obscure the rabbit netting.

Wall repairs

While fox defences were being built, the other Chris (Genever) and builder extraordinaire was also hard at work demolishing and rebuilding an unsafe retaining wall with no help from anyone.  And! Talking of curves - how well did he do??  It looks so much nicer than it did before and the addition of the clay drain pipe adds to its character as well as being so practical.  All ready for the Aubretia and pinks to trail over!

As if that wasn't clever enough, he also straightened the lamp post which did have quite a list.  This meant digging out and relaying all the granite sets around its base.  Another beautifully neat job.

Foxproof Fortifications for Fowls!

This is the last photo of Sandy before she was killed by a fox. What a pity Zach wasn't on guard duty when Monsieur Le Reyard came killling!

Since then, we have spent the better part of 5 days building foxproof fortifications for fowls! Trying to make fencing from 8' x 6' panels of weldmesh not look too much like a prison camp has been a bit of a challenge to say the least. However, we have managed to get some pretty elegant looking curves (if I do say so myself!) and the plan is to plant a wild beech hedge in front. In the meantime the 'house for hens' has been repainted inside and out and moved. It now nestles amongst the bamboos and looks the nicer for its move.  Lanes are making a (replica Victorian) entrance gate and we await electrification and  the arrival of pretty fence post finials.  I'm desperate to soften the look as much as is humanly possible and, when the beech hedge grows, not much of the mesh will be visible.

In the meantime, Al is making a new hatchway in the adjoining Hennery so the girls can come and go as they please.  It goes without saying that Chris has headed all major construction and brilliantly so!  We still  need to do a bit of replanting and move a couple of grasses and then lay some slabs in what has become known as the Hen Pen (that being shorter then Henclosure!)  Of course - now we have room for more hens..............

https://picasaweb.google.com/peartree.pam/FortificationsForFowls#

Fox Strike

Poor Sandy was attacked by a fox and died from her injuries.  On hearing the commotion we immediately rushed out.  It dropped her and ran. The fox was actually seen and - in the middle of the day!  Rather than die in vain, we ate her ourselves.  Work on fortifications begin tomorrow but, in future, free roaming chickens can't be quite so free.  What a shame!  She was the friendliest of the four and everybody's favourite.  Now we're down to 3, egg production is much reduced.

Wasps' Nest

Found in the attic!!

 Really glad no one was at home!!!

Unscheduled Projects!

Much project progress made but - all entirely unscheduled!  Chris had this idea to move the Banana Bench and create a little secret seating area behind the dead Ceonothus.  Then he thought it needed a brick foundation.  He brought the bricks and did the entire thing on his own (whilst we attended a wedding). It looked so lovely, we all thought it deserved a path leading to it!  This meant moving the newly planted rose and creating a little more privacy by moving the Berberis from the Top Lawn Border to screen the bench.  It meant more bricks, sand and cement and more unscheduled work.  Rain stopped play before we finished on Saturday so work continued yesterday and all is now finished.  The path winds around the Caryopteris passing Clarissa before stepping down onto the service path at the back of the border. Plants which had to be moved included Polyanthus which were divided and replanted either side of the path.  All we need now is time to sit on the bench and enjoy its views across to Woodbury & Abberley clock tower.



Below: The Banana Bench

DVD - Definitely Very Dead

We thought long and hard but, after close examination,both Acacias were pronounced dead along with a Eucalyptus, a Ceanothus.  Cause of death: winter temperatures of -15.  No use dwelling on matters - even tho it was 20' tall and flowered for the very first time last spring AND I'd grown it from seed brought back from Oz 6 years ago.  Dead is dead! so, down it came and the sky looks a little emptier on the top lawn!  Despite ferocious squalls which sent us running for shelter, other jobs included emptying the compost heap (well nearly a third of it!)and spreading it on the lower (and already weeded) border, pruning the Moyessii and doing the bottom hedge.  All this meant a massive and very thorny clear up at the end of the day. Al was in charge of the bonfire as we were supplying the fuel.  Chris had the idea of putting the FMJ rose support (which, for may years supported a Lady Hillingdon) in place of the relic of a Pyracantha, moving the yellow shrub rose from the Studio Border and moving the Banana Bench behind the Berberis.  He came within a whisker of severing an electric cable when plating the shrub rose!  Another 'Chris Idea' is to lay a brick foundation for the bench which has views over the hedge and across to Woodbury - mmm, nice!  The ideas then just kept coming - as always!  Possibly a stepping stone footpath leading from the lower lawn to the bench.............anyway, darkness fell so those ideas will have to wait for another day!