I can't believe that I've missed a whole year of posting! My humblest apologies to my reader...who I may well have lost by now! The time has flown and I suppose that much has been achieved, but it still feels like there is so much to do. The road to reviving the Old Rectory goes up and down - sometimes it's the best thing ever and sometimes it's frustrating - progress is slow and expenditure is frightening. But that's no excuse for failing to chart the journey.
So where are we? The latest news is that we've just had two more trees chopped down. The enormous conifer in the front garden had suffered during the winter snow. Branches had snapped under its weight. Some were hanging down into the garden but another was hanging into the Lane. We had to timber it into the Methodist Church - thankfully, missing the parked cars - only to find it was far too heavy for the two of us to drag from the Church back into the garden, which is only about 10 yards. Luckily, my now retired boss and his wife happened to come down the Lane and helped us to haul it in.
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| The Conifer: The View From Over the Road |
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| The Conifer: A Chunk Gone |
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| The Conifer: Almost Gone |
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| Lumberjack Ben in Action |
However, the damage had been done and the tree seemed to have lost its structure so more branches started to break. Our almost resident lumberjack appeared and advised us that it was time for it to go. A hard decision as it was home to wood pigeons and squirrels - and probably to no end of other birds and animals that we'd failed to spot. I hate destroying habitat and I hate losing trees but it had to be done or we risked serious damage to a car or, even worse, a person, if the branches snapped into the Lane.
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The Conifer: Totem Poles Left
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| Almost Gone |
The other tree was the sycamore alongside the Gin Terrace (pretentious, moi?). It must have taken root of its own accord and had then grown into a substantial tree, higher than the house and reaching across to rub its twigs against the bedroom window. Surely no one would have planted it so close to the wall and to the old pig sty (we think) where our gleaming new boilers now steam and pump away? It was too big, in the wrong place and our neighbour was complaining that it blocked her sun and gave everything a sticky layer in summer. According to our lumberjack, this dripping sap is caused by aphids. They feed off the fluids in the leaves and tender stems, then secrete a sticky fluid called honeydew.
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| Sycamore in Full Leaf |
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| Reduced to a Stump |
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| A Shower of Sawdust |
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| Removing the Remnants |
So, the decision was taken, permission sought and the trees came down, leaving a legacy of enough logs to keep us going for about five years, once they have seasoned, and enough wood chip to cover a few miles of paths.
And tree chopping is a great spectator sport! My mum spent the whole day sat by the window watching the trees disappear. It took a day and a half for the conifer and about a day for the sycamore. At one point, we had five lumberjacks in action! Then the stump buster arrived (remote controlled!) and the logging machine. All great entertainment!
With the conifer gone, it is amazing how much more light we have, even though it was to the north of the house and not blocking the sun. We have also gained a vast area of extra garden - enough to park three cars.
At the back of the house, I need to rethink what we do with the once shaded and fairly infertile garden beside the Gin Terrace. You may remember my grand plan of a lemon and lime garden. Which has now evolved into a garden of lemons, limes and botanicals for flavouring gin. Slightly stretching the analogy, my attention was caught by a cork tree when we recently visited Highgrove Gardens and I am doing my research as we speak.
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| Cork Tree (Quercus Suber) |
