I had one of these HORRIBLE things dangling in my compost bin. I dont want to be speciesist, but I just dont like the way it looks! Its no good telling me its a lizard not a snake, it looks like a snake and it HORRIBLE. Apparently they are protected, I wouldn’t kill anything, in any case, unless it was attacking me or something, I just want it to move house! They are supposed to be good for the garden as they eat slugs! Its biggest predator is the cat, apparently. Well, I have three! My son in law has promised to move it for me tomorrow! UGH!
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Trying to find the time
Since I have moved in I have been so busy I have hardly had time for any of my interests. However things are slowly improving. I am getting some ex bats at the end of the month, four in all. The slaughter date is the 29th of May. What a horrible term, it will be the luck of the draw whether each chicken lives or dies! I hope to get a couple more chickens next year, perhaps some blue egg layers to ring the changes.
On the bee front, I am bereft! My only colony moved out last summer at the same time as I was moving house! I felt so depressed! I simply cannot afford the £140 being asked for a nuke, I have set up a couple of baits in the garden and live in hope! I read that bees are attracted to lemon grass oil so am regularly putting some drops by the entrance. Trouble is there seem hardly any bees around here. My neighbour has some bumble bees in his garden but honey bees are in very short supply. I can always go out swarm catching but have the most terrible fear of heights, I get vertigo changing the lightbulb!
Most of my time recently has been trying to get the garden sorted. I have planted several strandard roses and some clematis. Its taken my since January just to knit one sock!
On the self sufficiency/natural dyeing front I havent spun any yarn for ages. However someone mentioned to me that the apple tree I have been given for firewood may yield some interesting colours. On top of that, I notice the elderflowers are out! Its a question of what I can fit in!
Belle of Woking
I had one of these in my last house.
I was attracted to it as I lived in Woking. Now Woking has a reputation for being ideal for Rhododendrons and Clematis as it had Jackmans nursery, famous for Rhododendrons in Victorian times. They used to transport them by road by cart to London.
I was so fond of it I want to plant one in my new garden. Surfing the net I was very surprised to hear that it is considered difficult to grow. It was rather lanky but had two show of flowers each year. My garden was always rather neglected. The only care this poor plant got was a part share of rose feed designed for the rose which also shared the arch, and a very occasional water. Which goes to show that it must be about the soil and the fact the roots were protected ( by weeds!) .
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk/clematis/clematis%20belle%20of%20woking.htm
No cider this year!
I very much doubt I will find the time and the equipment this year! I have two apple trees in my garden and have started to at least dry some of the apples. I wont be able to do any preserving either, I have no idea where my preserving pan has gone!
The good news is that I have a hazelnut tree in the back garden and it has quite a few nuts. Last year I collected wild nuts but these seem much larger so it may be a more commercial variety.
I have a proper fireplace so spent the day sawing wood.I really could do with a chain saw but am reliably informed that I won’t be able to handle it as it has too much of a kick. I have got a little Black and Decker Scorpion, that helps a lot, but the vibration makes my arm ache after half an hour! I hate having to ask for help, so if anyone has any bright ideas as to how I can cope with sawing tree trunks let me know! Bear in mind I am a grandmother!
One thing I do hope to do over the next few days is go mushrooming again, having survived the ones I collected last year!
My new neighbours seem barmy!
Apparently they had a long running feud with the previous occupants that they owned half their drive! This is despite the fact that the Land Registry clearly shows that they don’t. When I arrived I kept finding things moved about it took me a while to twig that they were coming on my property and moving things around when I was out! So when I delivered my cards to say hallo to everyone in the street they got a letter from me threatening litigation! Card, card, litigation, card……………………………
I have posted up some question on a forum called legalbanter, and very helpful they were too.
Apart from that it seems very quiet. My main aim now if to get the damproofing done asap and get enough firewood ( free) for the winter..I am lucky that I live fairly near the army ranges, which helps, plus I have managed to get some from freecycle.
I have stuck a very large pot out the front and planted a corkscrew willow and some red mini cyclamens to give some instant colour. Now my friend was quick to point out that they have very different watering requirements. I have left the cyclamen in pots, I am hoping that it will help give them dryer conditions. They DO look nice, but knowing my luck will be dead within a fortnight!
