Jubilee Gallows for a Hammock

In between watching all the festivities and hanging red, white & blue around the garden; the folk at PTC celebrated part of the Jubilee Weekend by constructing some gallows (as they were christened!) to accommodate the 'Draycott' hammock.  With my new found skills using a router, I was able to make (vaguely) useful contributions whilst the clever stuff was left to a certain Chris Genever.  One end is the old pine tree and the other is a  telegraph pole which was sunk into the border.  The cross member and bracing are pine which, due to meteorological constraints, still await preservative.  In the meantime we can confirm that it has been voted the most convenient and comfortable seat in the whole garden!  Should we feel like a change, we can hang our little stripy canvas seat from the centre eye.  Now all we need is summer!

Empty Nests

All our robins have now fledged and there has been much agitation and activity in the process.  The parents having been constantly calling to their fledglings who have chosen the worst day to leave!  We have rain and gales and the temperatures have plummeted.  Fingers crossed they survive!

The last to leave home

Watchful parent

1st glimpse of the outside world

Robins Galore!

Mr. Robin

Robin residences to let

Instead of showing interest in a high rise robin development our robins have chosen other nesting spots around the garden.  We have 3 nests - one under the garage window, one in the log store and one in a flower pot behind the studio.  There are 5 babies in one - we can't see inside the other nests but all parents are rushing back and forth all day feeding their broods.  They don't show any fear and have loved finding lots of grubs in the logs on the drive - sometimes perching just inches away from where we've been working and even on the wheelbarrow between loads.

There's 5 mouths to feed in here

Waiting for the next meal

Sitting in an orchard

Kays restored seat

Following Sunday's painting with a lot of green paint, Kay's (now very smart) seat was given a new wooden roof - courtesy of Chris Genever.  This of course meant another tin of green paint and much trauma in amongst the thorns of the three surrounding Berberis with only a paint brush for defence!  The scars seem worthwhile and I even found 5 minutes to sit on it after finding its cushions.  It's like sitting in Rob's manicured orchard and with the scent of the apple blossom of 24000 apple trees...........................mmmm, need I say more?

... Bulmer's orchards from the seat

Views of Martley Hillside &...

Logging

Who could say no to an oak tree when the opportunity arose?  Despite nearly 4 tons of pavers on the drive at the time of delivery, room just had to be found and another third was dropped in the adjacent field (courtesy of Rob Holloway).  Sunday (under the heat of the sun!) was spent splitting and lugging but, on this occasion, not by our blogger who was just as busy getting the garden ready for an imminent visit from garden inspectors at the N.G.S..  Logging fell to Ian, Al and Chris and some very big toys.  If I was totally honest, I'd have to admit that it was good to have a tractor ticking away on the drive at PTC working.  Memories from the old days I guess.

https://picasaweb.google.com/100788191989823327785/LoggingChrisIanSOak

Undeterred and in blistering heat of the greenhouse, plants overwintered were single handedly lugged out.  I had help with the lemon but couldn't interrupt logging further so just had to plough on with all the others.  After the freezing cold spring, tomatoes were still in their pots instead of being in their final planting places.  I certainly chose a bad day for greenhouse work - the tomatoes were planted out and never had a G&T tasted so good!

Farewell to the pavers

Time for the pavers to go and leave us some space on the drive - thanks to a nice buyer on EBay.  It was the nearest we'd ever had such a big lorry quite so close!  Now all we need is Chris and Ian on Sunday to log and split their famous oak tree!

No - they didn't all fall!

'This week I have been mainly.........'

.......trying to keep warm in the garden!!  This has to be one of the coldest, windiest and wettest May for many a year.  The wind has been particularly damaging to trees and shrubs with their canopies of new and soft growth.  The thrashing gusts have torn off many leaves and the heavy rain and hail has just sliced through them.  There have been days when the leaf fall has looked more like autumn.  Potatoes have needed frost protection in the form of upturned flower pots.  Even egg production has been down in the cold wet weather!  We put down a few more tons of wood chip so that their run is a mud free zone.

As it's coming round to the 'Shed of the Year Competition' time, I've been glad to work out of the cold and give The Studio its annual spring clean.  Voting starts on 20th May - that's this month and we need all the votes we can get.

Gardening advice for May 2012 is: never have the house exterior painted!  The Wisteria is trying so hard to bloom and the decorators have had to unfetter it and/or paint around it.  As if the sparrows eating all the flower buds wasn't bad enough!  Thank goodness neither sparrows nor decorators have interfered with the Wisterias on the Tool Shed or the Studio.

Following the death of a dear friend, I have inherited some garden seating and a metal arbour.  Sunday afternoon was spent painting a wooden swing seat a rather classy shade of Old English Green which has totally transformed it.  There were those (who shall remain nameless) who took some persuading as they firmly believed that I was bringing home a load of old tat and that it should have been carted down to the bonfire!  Well, OK it did look tatty and neglected but that's cos it was.  It just need some imagination and some TLC - in this case; Tender Love & Cuprinol!  It came with a canopy and cushions so, if summer ever comes, it might even see some use!

From this....

...to this in a single afternoon.