Sunshine at last!

Looking across the (very wet) lower lawn.

After what seems like weeks and weeks of dark leaden skies and incessant rain, yesterday saw sunshine and an opportunity to do some garden jobs. Dead fern fronds and last year's Hellebore leaves were cut down. Some fern fronds were heaped on an Arum lily to keep off the frost and everything else composted.  Never has grass looked so long and lush in January but now we have normal frosty temperatures, it should stop growing. Rudolph has joined the rest of his herd in the Aspen Grove and all the Christmas lights were taken down. We even moved a Weeping Willow to the Fernery Path where it will (in time) replace a misshapen old Acer which has reverted and eventually the old Pear tree as well as provide some shade for the Fernery itself.  A few more photos of PTC in January can be seen HERE! I did have a little play with some HDR shots - it's soooooooo addictive!

A very wet winter garden!

The (very soggy) Lower Lawn

Still no opportunity to do any garden work despite a rare dry start to the day. One hardly dares tip toe across the lawn and this HDR image was taken standing firmly on the stone well path.  On a dry day, I would have raised the cutting height on the mower and topped the grass but their is no chance.  We're just not used to grass growing through the winter months. Still; we're promised a cold snap as the jet stream is shifting. This should at least slow down or even halt growth and who knows? It may even dry up! Here's hoping!!

Cracking Good Figures!

Yes, we found 6 one morning!

(Clockwise from left)
Winifred, Fiona, Cicely & Henny Penny (RIP!)

As it's too wet for gardening so, here are some eggsellent statistics for 2015!  If I was doing a proper breakdown, I would have remembered to include the cost of their, layers mash, pellets and mixed corn but I forgot to keep a record. I guess they would have eaten no more than 3 bags of each and they're all around £9 each.  This means that our girls pay for themselves and we're well in pocket with surplus profit buying vegetable seeds.  These girls live in their own spacious bamboo garden ( see living with hens ) with their own property portfolio!  As well as their medieval style pole house, they have their own day shelter, and a conservatory with an additional house and nest box. To say noting of a swing and preening perch. The pole house was purchased but everything else has been made here by us.  We used concrete reinforcing mesh as fencing and dug it in to about 18" to keep out Monsieur Le Reynard.  This was all done about 5 years ago so any cost has long since been forgotten and in any case, it was such fun to do! Different hybrids lay eggs of differing colours so we know eggsactly who's laying (and who isn't!)

Water Water Everywhere!

The lane outside the garden at the bottom of the bank

To say rain stopped play is a bit of an under statement!  The garden is just so saturated, it's impossible to work even from the edges of the lawns.  The super mild weather has meant that grass has continued to grown with absolutely NO hope of running a mower over it. Laugherne Brook down in the dip is across the lane and meanwhile the Hellebores are in bloom with no opportunity to trim off last year's leaves or cut down the ferns. All in all, the garden looks impossibly untidy and there's no consolation in realising that this won't be the only garden in this sodden situation! Sigh!

Under the 'Kissletoe!"

Rudolph is born!

Chris has got reindeer making off to a fine art. The idea started with me drawing one on the back of an envelope about 5 years ago.  Since then, Chris has streamlined production and Rudolph only took half an hour to build.  The prototype took most of one Saturday as I recall!  This just has to be a good use of Leylandii conifer which were topped 2 years ago and make up his head and body.  His legs and antlers are Hazel.  He now stands at the gate welcoming or rather poking his tongue out at visitors and passers by over the Christmas period. These are very popular locally and Chris has been selling them - two sizes: large and small!! Funny how a scribbled design has grown over the years.

Rudolph is finished

It's nuts to decorate!

The world's most difficult tree to decorate has to be a contorted Hazel (Corylus Avellana Contorta) or Corkscrew Hazel.  It's all twists and tangles everywhere!  However, I managed to hang some oversized baubles on it having given up on the idea of lights!  I reckoned if I got lights on it, I'd NEVER be able to untangle them without breaking off all the twig tips and catkins which are already forming.  This tree does bear good crops of nuts - usually gobbled up by the dreaded grey squirrels.  Anyway, at night, it's uplit and, it does look a little more Christmassy.