It’s cold, around zero, but there is no snow.
There is snow visible on the tops south of here, but none here, and we are at a similar height.
The gritter has been past twice, which is amusing as, (a) we are not officially on a gritted route, and (b) the same lane hasn’t been swept by the council since at least 2018.
This morning there was 30-40cm of snow forecast here for tonight, but the area is shrinking on the TV weather maps now. We’ve given the hens a wooden plank just in case as we’ve found they won’t go up their usual metal ladder to bed if it’s too cold, or covered in snow.
Having now cleared most of the boxes that have previously resided in the living room, Mr BW has been talking to removal companies to see if we can get a good price on a partial removal (everything from upstairs, most of which has to be lowered out over the top of the balcony, plus the dressers from downstairs, the old plough, and as many of the remaining boxes as can fit in) in a couple of weeks time (no date set yet) and the quotes are much better than they were last year – I guess any work at any price is better than no work at all in the slow housing market down south.
Because I postponed tomorrow’s grocery delivery in case of snow (I don’t have the energy or inclination to push them out this year), I suspect there won’t be any snow. Famous last words…
Month: March 2023
For those of you who think we should be having a break from projects, these are the piles of wood and soil at the top of the orchard, left over from the building works:
The soil needs shifting. The wood needs chopping. If anyone with big muscles fancies a holiday, all tools and full board provided, do let me know.
I often forget to tell you how things turn out. Sorry, you must ask.
This is how the Billies were reinforced, using wood sheeting left over from the ‘blocking off’ during the building work (and no, still no news on the missing documentation, so still no final payment made: even Mr BW has lost patience and given up being Mr Nice Guy and sent Very Strongly Worded emails).
Wood glue and lots of extra screws were then applied in appropriate places. Solid as a rock. Thanks to those of you who pointed out how unstable they would otherwise be.
We’ve now had a change of heart about what is going to live in them. Lots of carrying things up and down stairs. Mr BW continues to sort out all the boxes currently quartered in the living room, and to strip paint off a pine blanket box he painted some 20-odd years ago, and I countinue to try to knit money out of thin air. Interesting times.
I continue to believe that Northerners lie to Southerners about the climate in order to keep them away. While it was – 5.2°C in The Big Greenhouse last night (luckily all that matters is covered in layers of horticultural fleece), we didn’t have snow, despite the clear skies and the Lenten Full Moon. At Coven Sud there was a sprinkling. It was also dark down there tonight a good 20 minutes before it was dark up here. I’m sure that this shouldn’t be so, this early in the year.
Who has snow?
Me: I’m soooo tired. I just want to stay in bed all day. You must be tired too, after all the things you’ve done this week?
Mr BW: I am a bit… but we’ve got loads that needs doing outside before it gets cold and snowy tomorrow…
Me: Even God rested on the seventh day!!!
So, that’s asters moved to the orchard (they’d taken over a border but will be a useful late pollen source near the b33s), new early-pollen plants planted nearby, a dozen new small hellebores planted, the greenhouse swept out, a new white camelia (thank you Aldi) potted, all the pots of bulbs moved from their summer and winter storage area to the spring display areas, lots more seeds planted inside (the new atrium will soon be full of seedlings, and then the windowsills – there is one benefit to having two foot thick stone walls – very deep sunny windowsills), all the remaining used plant pots washed out, lots of things cut back (but not those that would suffer from the week’s predicted cold spell), some precocious plants protected from frost just-in-case, hens cleaned out and new woodchip put down, and the new bags of seed compost moved into the greenhouse to stop them from freezing.
Now, a question for the gardeners amongst you.
There are very few plant nurseries or even garden centres near here, and those there are only stock a very limited selection of plants. There is only one person locally who sells their surplus plants from the gate, and we are too far from the big garden shows/plant sales to make a day trip feasible. I am therefore having to rely on buying particular plants and shrubs that I want from online sources.
I have had some very poor quality plants, or plants that turn out to have been mislabelled (66 white pelargonium plug plants that turned out to be pale pink after I’d spent 2 months nurturing them last year), and it is clear that even when you think you are buying from a specialist nursery, their stock is often bought in from elsewhere.
Mostly I’ve had a good response when I have complained (refund or replacement), but I’d really rather buy from better suppliers, who grow their own plants, and use reliable next-day couriers.
Any recommendations?
It is now hailing, the temperature is dropping and Johnnie Walker is about to start.
I obviously qualified for a couple of hours off for good behaviour this week.
First few stems of rhubarb for dessert tonight. Must be the earliest ever.
And Mr BW says the pied wagtails are back.
It’s another of those lovely dates. 2.3.23
Mr BW has worked so hard that I let him have a Malteasters Bunny before Easter.
We now have:
A finished cloakroom – the huge mirror removed from the old cloakroom that was demolished, that spent 8 months balanced precariously against the big radiator in the craft room, and somehow avoided annihilation on multiple occasions, has been rehung.
A big coir mat in the atrium (we live in Roman Country, so can use this word unpretentiously).
We had a big coir mat inside the entrance of Coven Sud, but it was never quite big enough. This is nearly eight square metres, but is totally in keeping with the space. And it has a lovely oak edge, held down while it was drying by some of the leftover stone blocks placed on leftover cardboard, because the blocks were too grubby to actually be inside.
A utility room again! It has shelves, a(n outdoor, working) coat rack made from a beautiful piece of oak plank left over from the new door thresholds, and the old aluminium hanging pegs (think, school coat pegs) recycled from the old entrance blob (probably of 1974 vintage we think),
a ceiling hanging rack that belonged to Mr BW’s Nan festooned with ‘S’ hanging hooks forged by Mr BW, and a temporary work surface made of the rough wood sheet repurposed from the boarding off of most of the house while the building work was being done. If we ever sell Coven Sud (*deep sigh*) and are solvent again, we will be putting in Corian sinks and worktops, and unit fronts. The washing machine, delivered on the day we moved in, nearly three years ago (how is that even possible?) has reached its final resting place: its fifth. The other four have been two in the original garage (now the craft room), one in the original cloakroom, and one in the completed craft room.
The last window blind hung. 5 metres up, 2.40m square. You might be able to work out why it took so long.
This post useless without pictures. Yeah, I know, but better a naked post than no post? Maybe tomorrow…