Gardening

[crfriend]

I was under the gun today about getting the last of the heavy lifting on Sapphire's Garden done. It was in the upper 70s today -- fine for hard outdoor work -- but tomorrow and the day after are slated to be in the mid- to upper- 90s (F, of course). Too, Sapphire needed her truck this evening, so the pressure was on from that angle as well. So the pressure was on, and I rose to it.

The truck-bed is completely empty again, the entire contents (again) having been spread on the footpaths and all the supporting woodwork used to stabilise the trellis-arch during concrete curing has been removed and replaced with smaller bits to keep the bents from getting destabilised. The area under the arch has also been filled with mulch.

I mentioned what my afternoon was going to consist of and a couple of the 20-something studs at work looked at me like I had two heads (the look of utter disbelief). Punks. If anything, my performance with the mulch was vastly more efficient and quicker than it was yesterday; I seem to have unwittingly solved some efficiency issues and I'm not quite as tired as I was last night. The time to empty the truck, do the carpentry for the arch, and grade the paths was under two hours start to finish. I'm a little sore, to be sure, but at least I don't have to work on it in high temperatures. And now I'm relaxing with a Stone Brewery "Arrogant Bastard Ale" -- good stuff, and a proper reward for a job well done.

I'll toss up some imagery when I get the right computers booted up. Shots taken include one of Sapphire's truck full of mulch (and one empty) and a few of the finished pathways. The mounds of dirt are still standing unshapen, but that's Sapphire's problem. She did do some weeding (and planted a morning glory where it can climb the trellis-arch), and what's done looks quite nice indeed.

[sapphire]

The garden looks good. Lots of weeding around the edges for me to do, but very little will happen today. We're in for a heat wave. Already 87 and climbing up to 94. This is heatstroke weather for me. Make sure everyone has fresh clean water, then I think I'll go to the movies to grab some air conditioning. Maybe when the garden is in shade, I'll get some planting done.

[Kirbstone]

Great work in such heat. Our weather forecast for tomorrow, the longest day of the year (Summer Solstace) is rain, 100% cloud cover, 52 degrees overnight, just 62 degrees tomorrow. But that's just par for the course. Who'd want to live and garden here? My MM just got all the lawns & paths mown with her Ferrari just before the rain started this evening, which was fortunate.

We're invited to a wedding down the country on Co. Tipperary on Friday and the forecast is equally dire. I expect they'll be taking their photographs indoors, poor things. That's the glorious Irish high Summer for you!

T.

[Kirbstone]

Pete,

This is my second attempt to post admiring your handiwork. Around this forum you're the modelling King, that's for sure. I see though, that you have some useful help there near the hopper waggons, but I now see that the idle-looking bloke is just a kid oggling at that simply gorgeous steam loco.

Your front garden I dare say socks it to the neighbours. You set the Bar rather high for them to emulate. Hanging baskets as well! Lovely. I know a guy right in the town where I work who keeps his front garden like you do. Sickens me. I must hand you an offer you can't refuse.....a free fortnight in my ditto pulling and exterminating the 6-foot-high thistles & nettles!

T.

[mugman]

I think I might just pass on the weeding mission. I have enough problems with bindweed coming in from next door every year. My parents were both very keen gardeners and I keep the front garden as a sort of reminder of their green fingered abilities. If they're looking down I hope I do them proud. Actually it is the best front garden in the street, at the moment, but the new neighbour next door used to own a horticultural nursery so there could be serious competition to come!

The modelmaking is a much longer established passion. I recently started a personal website so I can go into some detail with the ins and outs of how I go about using the cast cement system. Unfortunately the moulds are now quite expensive which naturally puts people off. They are available in the UK from just one dealer, and in the States and Germany. I think there might also be an Australian agent as well, but have lost track of the product spread.There have been some very attractive creations though which made it all worth while...and I have probably the world's largest collection of product at my disposal. The moral of the story is that if there isn't something available on the market which you desperately need, produce it yourself! Much of the website is still under construction as I'm only using new photos as they become available, but it's here: http://www.mrjigstones.webs.com

Pete

[crfriend]

I promised I'd put some imagery of the garden up when I got the piccies slurped from the digi-cam, and here's what the raised-bed garden-to-be looks like from the window at the landing on our stairs:

GardenFromAbove.jpg

And, just to give an idea of how much mulch-moving I had to do, here's one truckful of the stuff:

FullofMulch.jpg

It took two full loads. Here's roughly the same angle after I emptied it (note the ride height difference):

AnEmptyBed.jpg

[sapphire]

Hopefully, later in the day when the garden is in shade, I'll get some growie things in.

Isn't Carl's work just gorgeous???

[mugman]

It's looking quite organized Carl. Always good to step back and admire one's hard slog, followed by a hot shower and a glass of something ice cool. Or maybe that's just me .

Pete

[Kirbstone]

Pete, You've got my gardening style off to a T. Nice comfortable seat to relax into & admire the day's work, cool drink to hand. Nothing like a little reward at the end of the day.
Carl, your combined work is exquisite and doubtless later on you will reap the rewards. The Dodge coped well with the load, and as a vehicle is just the ticket.

T.

[sapphire]

I am incredibly tickled by how this is turning out, the words just are not there to describe how happy this makes me!

Eventually, this is what will happen. We have 2 other arches. The wide one is as wide as the trellis and will be positioned at the back end of the central 4 ft path. Underneath the rear arch will be a concrete bench that we already have. Nice place to kick back with a tasty beverage and enjoy the view. The smaller arch fits the width of the central 3 ft path and will go there. There was another arch identical to that but it got mangled in a storm. Eventually, I'll buy another and place that opposte its mate.

Eventually, I'll round up some 2 x 10s and enclose the beds with barriers/retaining walls.

This morning, our neighbor, Roy and his son Cliff, hauled dog kennel panels back home from Tractor Supply. Those will enclose an area around that red coop for the Araucana. Hoping to plant some vining stuff on the right hand side to soften the view from the street and to provide the chix with tasty treats. Maybe hang some flower baskets to make it pretty.

Now all of this will ensure a constant flow of Arrogant Bastard Ale for Carl!

Did any of you notice that my truck is sapphire blue? It matches my engagement ring.

[crfriend]

Well, I've been continuing to exert myself over the past couple of weeks (between beers, work, and bobbing around on the Briny) and here's what the place looks like now.

sideyard.jpg

Sapphire has gotten a LOT of the plants in (for which I am thankful and proud of her), and more are waiting. I've tentatively placed the other arches (one of which is in need of some 'smithing), and have gotten the 200 square-foot chicken run (and one section of roof to keep hawks away) up. I've also relocated quite a lot of other detritus away, so the place is actually starting to look quite pretty.

Today, however, it's 90+ degrees in the shade and very humid, so not a lot is going to happen until things cool off a wee bit.

[Kirbstone]

Talking about exerting onesself between bobbing about on the Briny, I've just spent a long weekend doing just that.

In this wettest of summers we needed to get down to our 52nd parallel to control the growth of everything and perhaps in weather windows get a bit of sailing/fishing in as well.

Our weather fronts are marching past at 60mph carrying hours of wind & rain each, with brief calm/sunny interludes in between, so we alotted most of these to gardening, not of the creative kind, just the mowing/weeding/thinning/trimming kind. The others we used to get out on the bay in the sailing boat and find some good fishing.

To do this we followed the diving gannets and sure enough came across more than enough mackerel to satisfy our immediate needs in short bouts of fishing. Then we hauled lines in and had a short but jolly good sail in & around the little islands nearby before hauling our floating pleasure unit on her trolley up the beach above the next high tide.

Rs Scimitar on B'skelligs beach, Aug.2012.jpg

This pic incidentally has Carrauntuohil, Ireland's highest peak at 3414 ft. directly above the red dinghy, 28 miles East.

The directive from MM this time was 'Never mind the roses, just chop the lot!'.....so topiary it wasn't! To illustrate just how wet it has been this year, we normally park the MM's VW. Camper on a little level lawn up by the back door, off the concrete drive. She sank into it just by her own weight and I had to rock her back & forth on the gear just to get her forward out of her own ruts and onto the drive. Subsequently I had to squidge back the displaced lawn into the ruts, flattening as I did so and hoping it'll all grow back normal again so it can be mown.

Rs Kinnard Aug 2010, Road..jpg

Our last day, Sunday promised a manacing force 9 laden with heavy rain and by 9am it was already blowing force 5/6, so we just packed the boat up and stuffed her into her shed until the next time. Shame. Following a serious gastronomic destruction of grilled mackerel for lunch, The wind blew us speedily the 200+ miles NE. back home.


T.

[Jack Williams]

Had a great time digging out the pesky snowdrop bulbs out of the mud of the winter garden last week. (see photos on "Jack Track"!) The spring bulbs will be in flower shortly. Photo when that occurs. Still some buttercup to get rid of though.
The Spring blossoms are beginning to appear now, the big plum tree almost over, magnolia starting up and small espalier plum almost fully flowering.

[pleated]

Following a serious gastronomic destruction of grilled mackerel for lunch, The wind blew us speedily the 200+ miles NW. back home.
T.

I imagine that meal would have that kind of effect, but how do you intend to get home from 200 miles NW out in the Atlantic?
(When you should have gone 100 miles NE?)

[Kirbstone]

Quite correct, Pleated. My mistake & I have edited it accordingly. 200 miles NW of Ballinskelligs would put you some 150 mi. W. of Galway, right in the middle of that famous sunset!!, and you wouldn't be getting there by road, either.

I was driving the No.2 daughter's Landcruiser diesel, stopped for fuel at Newcastle West and promptly put 40Eur worth of unleaded into it. How absent minded can you get! (My old Merc. is petrol). Best option then was to top it up with diesel and she very fortunately didn't miss a beat all the way home. Advice from our local garage man is just to keep topping her up with diesel and she'll burn off the diluted unleaded in no time. Lucky!

T.