One fir tree down...

It has been decided that the Conifers in the Visitors Garden are getting too big.  I do agree that one of them is getting dangerous, not just in height but is pulling up the slabs with its roots.
We are also having to have a container built, wire cage, storage space, whatever almost!!  So the garden is going to be changed.


The entrance to the garden has a conifer on each side, one with a small Yew growing at the base.

I cut back all the plants at the base of these trees not long ago and now we have a much wider and neater entrance to the garden.








The beautiful Yew bush has had a good 'haircut' and is now trim and square ....ish.  The Senecio has also been trimmed, right back now that it has finished flowering.


Then came the news ...... one of the Conifers is being taken down, the whole area is going to be a storage cage.

No problems there as I had been warned in advance but I had wanted to be there to take a few cuttings from the Yew.



I rushed over to the gardens, hoping to be there in time to retrieve a few cuttings ... but no such luck.  The Yew was the first to come out of the ground, followed swiftly by the fir tree, concrete and all the 'logs' border.

The poor Conifer tree still stood but no longer proud ..... bedraggled is more than like!!!
Its branches were piled up high and underneath it all .... the poor old Yew.


On my next visit to the gardens, there was not a trace of the border, slabs had been removed and there was a nice pile of sand and gravel in there.
The hole is all that remains of the small border garden.


On my next visit, the iron strengtheners had been laid over the rubble base.  

The wooden surround had been set up ready for the concrete mix to be poured....


..... and now the cage stands proud.  
I have been unable to come for a week, so much has changed, so quickly. 

The cage is finished and the storage facilities for the inside are being made in the workshop.


Something heartwarming was also in the garden, part of the scaffolding tower  ...... being used!  

My BIL would by so very pleased to see this.

And here is the final shot of the cage ....


..... a new 'planting' in the garden!!  lol



I might just have to 'find' myself a pot of two in which to plant some climbers....

..... then again I could make some Steampunk ornaments.....

.... any more ideas?

New Floor in the Chicken Ranch

PJ decided to change the floor covering in the Chicken Ranch as it was getting rather dirty.  The new flooring arrived and PJ organised some help, our dear friend Roger 1, and on the morning of fitting they started work.

We're free!!!

 

Now listen .... this is what we're going to do..

The chickens were let out of the pen ..... PJ opened the door and let them walk free. They showed no fright at all, one of the white ones went out and then the rest just followed.

We watchd them for a while and PJ went and gave them a stroke but they weren't bothered.

House moved

The hutch was dismantled and placed outside on the lawn, followed by the feeder and the water pot.

All the old floor covering was cleared up and bagged as it will be recycled onto the front garden later in the year.

The hens just continued to rummage round the garden.

Into the brush .....

Do you think he can see us?

It was quite fascinating to watch them scratching, chatting, scratching ..... 

During this time I stayed inside the house, making cakes and marmalade.  

Work in progress!

Posh flooring

I popped out now and again with cups of tea, coffees, biscuits ..... you know ...... the Domestic Goddess thing!!!


After lunch, it was time to lay the new floor.  PJ wants a better 'fox proof' netting to be laid over the weed control membrane so the wire was cut and fixed down.

Then the bags of the new flooring were brought in and stacked ready.

Roger1 had to leave now, so PJ continued on his own.
He brought the hutch into the ranch and started to assemble it.


The hens had not declared they had laid - no loud cackling etc - so we wondered what would happen now.

Sure enough, into the hutch came two of the hens and into the hutch they ran!!!

Two eggs later, PJ entered to empty the bags and rake out the chippings.

New inside steps were placed down and the paving slab moved to the side so that the feeder is now over to the left, which will give the hens more space to scratch, chatter, scratch etc.

We left the chickens to carry on doing what they were doing as they seemed perfectily happy.

At sunset PJ went out to see how they were, found that they had all come inside the ranch and gone to bed!!

I am thinking that as they are so well behaved .... they can wander round my garden another time ....

Visitor's Garden thoughts

Back in July, PJ cleared all the side of the 'Sleeper Garden', removed bushes that had been there for years, seemed a shame but there is, at some point, going to be a new building, or Bothy, going there so the land had to be cleared.  
I potted up the herbs and placed them over at the side of the Signal Box garden, where they appear to be growing on well.
In the meantime ....


....... a small Marigold started to show some leaves.... just a couple of them...

..... during my visit today, I noticed that the Marigold has grown into a fine plant, flowering well.  

Who says they need fertiliser, compost etc!!!

I would think that with this sort of tenacity, some time ago this plant would have been a weed!!!





I noticed this pretty little pansy growing well, this soil may be poor, ash, and smoke but these plants seem to be loving it!!!



There must've been some Crocosmia corms left in the soil as we now have a few green leaves showing through  ......


Of course, Mother Nature always claims back her land ....
..... the grass and euphobias have also started to appear in another spot .....


...... who knows we may even have a new lawn for a while!

Lazy, Hazy days of Summer

We had a real stay at home and do nothing day .......


......With a beautiful sea view outside, we decided we would take advantage of it and watch the view .... 


....so we saw the Ferry off on its travels .... Plymouth we think .....

......couldn't quite make out what this rather large ship was carrying ..... I guessed containers or trucks but PJ thought it couldn't be containers as they weren't stacked high enough!!.....


...don't think we'll ever know .....

.... some brave person found a hot air spiral, spending some time just sailing back and forth over the cliff top .....

...... there was a session of this ...... really was too hot for this type of work, the noise was awful but the sweet smell of cut grass was enjoyable ......


..... we spotted several small boats, different sail formations but very pretty as they sailed past ....




.... I managed to finish a few ATCs .... in between the crocheting....

.... and eating .... 
....and drinking ...... 
speaking of which ...... 

....PJ found a new wine glass while we were out yesterday so he spent the day reading his books and testing out his glass!!

Well wouldn't you??

Then, as we were trying to decide what to have for our evening meal .......
... the Ferry made its return journey past the window .......

..... we settled for the crab in a salad - easy when made with tomatoes and eggs brought from home.......




..... and as the sun set in the west ........... red sails ..... almost calls for a song .....

Torquay & wine & crabs!

We had hoped to visit our friend today but she has been taken poorly so our plans were changed.

We decided to go into Torquay and check out the charity shops there for books and wool.

As we had missed the bus and didn't want to wait for another hour, we decided to order a taxi and reach the ferry across the bay that little bit quicker.

Our journey was very smooth, and the boat docked a wee bit closer to the town so that was less distance to walk.  

As we walked round the harbour we noticed this big fella.......

We travelled up the hill to the shops at the top and slowly worked our way back down.  It was a fruitless journey so we decided to stop and have lunch, just a sandwich and takeaway coffee.  We stopped at Warrens Bakery, bought a pasty, sandwich and two coffees.  The staff were so friendly and PJ said the pasty was delicious and I can vouch for the sandwich!!!!

We continued our journey down the hill to the main road where the named shops lined the road.  PJ bought his books from Smith's and I popped into Poundland.  

Well, I had a lovely shock inside ....all the wool was reduced in price!!!  

Bearing in mind my little blankets .... I think it is time to stock up with wool!!!

I bought lots of balls of wool, several shades of pastel colours but my favourite was the white wool, it has just a sparkle in it of silver.

We sat outside at Shiraz which is right on the quayside, and had one or two drinks, then went inside for a meal.  
They serve ample portions of lovely food, no wonder they are so popular.

Web photo

While we sat outside, I ordered a fresh crab from the stand in the harbour, the lady dressed it and brought it across to our table in a cute brown paper carrier bag.  

Delicious!!  Can't wait to try it.

We travelled back to Brixham on the local bus, inside as my knee is still hurting a bit from all the standing and walking around on the Open Day, but we did find another two rhinos. 
I have some walking poles with me and, although they draw a few looks, they have helped me enormously.  I don't do the Nordic Walk but use them as one uses crutches, and then fold them up and put them away after use.  Marvellous things!  I have certainly walked up and down a few hills using them!!


After we came home we watched a film starring Maggie Smith.  I thought this was based on a very funny book I read some time ago but it was based on a different one, quite sombre in places but enjoyable.

We sat with the curtains open and the passing ships could be seen out at sea .... in the distance .... and as the day closed they changed to small lights bobbing out in the darkness ........

On the road again....

We started out with rain and it stayed with us all day .....
We transferred the chickens out to their hotel in the rain but were they bothered .... not at all!!
I felt quite let down as I thought they would create as they were put into their travel boxes .....silence!
I thought they would run around when they went into their Bird & Breakfast .... no! 
They just started scratting around and eating their food as though they were at home!!
Ah! Well!  We were off to the seaside so at least they were happy.
We came down here to visit friends but it also means we get to do a bit of sightseeing as well.

We travelled into the local town to buy a new jumper for PJ as I had shrunk his old one!!  After buying his jumper  we had a look round the shops and even managed to pick up a couple of crafting magazines from Harbour News - the best newsagents in town! (according to the owner!).  I noticed this building as we walked down the high street, haven't noticed this on our previous visits.

We didn't stay in town long as the sun shone and it became very warm ..... 

.........not good for me so we came back to the chalet and sat outside for awhile .......

We have a different chalet this year but it is the same beautiful view .....

......and the same old birds flying around.

As we are further along in the line of chalets this year we have access to this view of the bay, we often wondered why people stopped to look over the bushes just here!

....... another visitor flew round investigating the various tables and deckings outside.

We have met several folks this year, everyone seems much more friendly this year, our first day has been really pleasant.