Dorset lifestyle
Moved into the Square for a few weeks to let the other paddocks rest, there’s more grass and they’ll probably have access to the Avenue during the day, Jago and Elton investigated the hay in the rack before it was put up in the shelter. Laid a few more mud mats and a load of compost. Started filling the gaps in the front hedge with the nibbled donkey sticks, it’ll take a while to make a difference and stop passing dogs from running in to the garden. A cloudy start to a cold, sunny day.
The last of the half dozen sown last year, it had a few slugs and snails in the outer leaves, but there was lots left to make tasty leek and potato soup. There are a few carrots left in the same bed, will lift those this week. Part of the hedge laneside has fallen, it was laid a long time ago and it’s roots had rotted, cleared part of the bank so the last of the willow rods can be planted along that stretch. A colder, cloudy day with light winds.
The Field Maples in the meadow strip should be well rooted by now and the Beech hedge is doing it’s best to keep it’s leaves in the wind so have planted a few Poplar rods between the Maples to provide screening and shade. The rods are eight foot long, two feet of which is in the ground and the hole packed with compost from the heap. A sunny, warmer day with light winds.
Exploring the small paddock before joining the rest of the flock, Elton is nearly as tall as his grey fleeced Mother. The ash trees are still looking ok, will let standard trees grow out of the hedge, probably field maple and beech, just in case they need replacing. A piece of paneling has come off the side of the shelter, will replace it with another one. Picked blackcurrants, redcurrants and rhubarb. A warm sunny day with light winds.
Finished emptying half the compost heap and turned the rest ready for planting the courgettes and pumpkins, over 500 trees and hedging plants have had a mulch in the last couple of months. Mowed the meadow strip and took the top off the buttercups in the bottom paddock, there should be enough space for the grass cuttings to be interspersed with layers of donkey poo, mulch for next year! Cut the last wood in the pile under the oak stump so the blue polythene cover can be removed and the pallets put to a different use. A fine sunny day with light winds.
Starting to thicken out in places, the hornbeam is doing well with the beech following on later. Would be good to let the sheep in to eat the grass but they’d eat the hedge as well so that’s not an option. Moved a couple of barrowloads from the compost heap to help feed the hedge and retain water when it rains – promised for a week’s time. Gathered together all the logs for splitting, watered the raised beds and the seeds in the greenhouse. The runner bean seeds are up, not sure what happened to the French beans so have sown them again. A sunny day with a cold wind from the east.
Limping in the paddock this morning so rugby tackled and upended, four feet cleaned and trimmed and an dose of purple spray applied to each one. Still limping this afternoon, may take a couple of days to cure, she’s started shedding her fleece. Watered the hedge early, in the shade the hose was filled with ice, melted ok in the sun. Released the fresh green leaves sprouting on the young hedge plants, if they stay in the rabbit proof plastic wraps they overheat, turn brown and fall off. A very warm spring day with blue skies and sunshine with a bright orange sunset.
