Have scythe, will travel!

My new shed

 At the beginning of July my friend, Karen, and I went shed shopping, as she wanted a new shed too. After the disastrous experience with my on-line shed purchase, I decided to ‘shop local’ and as there was a highly recommended timber yard near Frome, off we went. The builders had put down a concrete base suitable for an 8’ x 6’ shed and I thought I would buy another apex shed but when I saw the ‘Sunflower’ potting shed I completely changed my mind! With our sheds duly ordered we sat back to await delivery, quoted as being 3 – 5 weeks. I’d opted to have my shed erected by their contractor rather than try to round up help of my own, but Karen and Ade were going to self-erect theirs.

The finished shed - exterior

On 13^th August at 7.30am, on a day predicted to be one of the hottest of the year so far, the sheds were delivered and the contractor and his 14-year-old son got straight to work. There was much sawing and banging from the bottom of the garden and by 10.15am my shed was up and finished! I couldn’t believe how quickly it had all gone together. Since then, I have put in shelving under the potting bench and a long shelf up high on the opposite wall plus tool hanging brackets on the wall opposite the door. I love my new shed and aim to spend quite a bit of time in there once the weather cools off a bit.

The finished shed - interior

During the incredibly hot, dry summer I have been battling an infestation of red mite in my chicken house. They are horrible, blood-sucking parasites that hide in the cracks and crevices in a hen house during the day and then feast on the chickens at night! I had tried pretty much every treatment available to me and still they multiplied. I suspected that the death of one of my young hens was due to acute anaemia and so I closed up the hen house and made a temporary outdoor perch in the secure, covered chicken run. The hens took to this arrangement remarkably well, even laying their eggs in the cardboard box I’d supplied as a temporary laying box. I think they quite enjoyed camping out while it was so hot! Knowing that the good weather would not last I ordered a new plastic hen house, manufactured in this country from waste farm plastics (silage wrap, etc) and much less likely to harbour red mite than the wooden house I’d had previously. After a couple of days of having to be put to bed after dark, the girls have got the hang of the new house and seem to be happy with their new accommodation.

The new chicken house arrives

New chicken house in position

The remains of the old chicken house!

Right at the beginning of August Jeni asked if I would like to go away for a couple of days to Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds. Her ulterior motive was that they had won an online auction for a couple of stools for their new kitchen breakfast bar and they were at an auction house in Moreton and needed to be collected, but I thought it would be lovely to stay in an hotel overnight, have a nice evening meal and then go on to Hidcote Manor to visit the gardens on the Saturday, so readily agreed.

Our hotel in Moreton

Hotel bedroom

Hidcote Manor gardens were interesting although, owing to the ongoing drought and their policy of only occasional watering, a lot of the plants were past their best. Jeni took many photos of plants that were coping best with the dry conditions to add to her portfolio of work for her Garden Design Diploma, which is now nearing an end. Although she has been struggling with her fibromyalgia throughout the course, I am very proud of her determination to keep going and do her best with each project.

This tree was home to wild honey bees

The 'hive' entrance

A week later I was back on the road again and heading north to Sheffield to stay with my sister and brother-in-law for a few days. Lynda had half jokingly asked if I could bring my scythe to cut her wild flower meadow aka the lawn, so I loaded up the scythe and sharpening tools, packed a few clothing essentials and off I went! I broke my journey at a hotel near Coventry which was not quite as lovely as the previous week’s one, but did do a very nice evening meal. Breakfast was not very inspiring but I knew Lynda and Paul would feed me very well when I got there, so a coffee and a croissant was quite sufficient! My brother, Richard, was also there over the weekend and we all went for a lovely walk along the river in Calver, where they used to live, before stopping off for a restorative drink at the pub.

The Family - Rich, Paul, Lynda & Victoria

The next day we went to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Doncaster, which is a lovely place to visit, if you’re in the vicinity. There are many permanent displays by the likes of Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore but also an indoor space for visiting exhibitions. The one on display at the moment is of modern Native American art and was very interesting – I particularly liked the ceramic figures. In a decommissioned chapel there was an installation made of sheep’s wool, which actually looked quite menacing with its multiple ‘feet’ made from hand shears.

Flowing wool sculpture

Terracotta figure

Terracotta mother & child

Lynda and Paul looked after their grandsons on Monday and Tuesday and we took them on an open top bus ride from Calver to Castleton and back, hopping off at Hathersage for lunch and a play in the park. The following day we went to Manor Lodge Park in Sheffield, the scene of Mary Queen of Scots’ incarceration for many years. The boys got busy with interactive games based on codes and secret messages and then played in the park area while we sat in the shade and drank tea – all very civilised!

The view from the top of the bus

Having scythed the lawn so that the mower could cope with the residue, I repacked my car and headed homeward. I decided to do the whole journey in one go with a couple of comfort stops along the way, so it took me about 6 hours to get home, but was quite an easy drive once I’d negotiated the M1 and M69 and got back on the Fosse Way. It felt good to be back on the road again – I still miss my WWOOFing days!

The lawn - before ...

... and after!