AN UNEXPECTED GUEST - Sept 2013

Possibly the last barbecue of the year, and Will discovered a new drinking partner!

Good things come to those who wait!! 

(Remember the advert?)

Next blog - Another unexpected guest

IS THE SUMMER OVER? - Aug/Sept 2013

Summer view of the cottage

There was a time many years ago as I waited for the school bus on those damp, misty September mornings with an Autumn chill in the air when it suddenly hit me in the pit of my stomach, that those hot, hazy Summer days were over. 

Then many years later, not quite so many years ago, as I drove to work on those damp, misty September mornings with an Autumn chill in the air, a huge blow in the pit of my stomach served to remind me that those hot, hazy Summer days were over. 

Despite never following football, I also remember a time when the start of the football season indicated that Summer had ended. That no longer seems to apply as football appears to only have a 2 week holiday :(

Now, here in Wales, overlooking the sea under blue skies, continuing to work outside in the garden, I feel a sense of Summer invincibility. It could go on forever - or at least a lot longer. But no - something hit me in the pit of my stomach . . 

. . . a pungent smell in the air. Goats! 

Face Off

Caught in the act - eating hawthorn

They must have cleared the mountains of vegetation and started to make their way back to the lowlands as is their lifestyle at the end of each Summer. As we had no Summer last year, they never went up the mountain. It's been great to have a goat-free garden for a few months. Now they're back with a vengeance, signifying the end of my hot, hazy Summer days and probably the end of life for many plants in my garden.

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So how have we spent our last few days of Summer?

Well . . . let's start with the obvious ...

. . . sheep chasing!


We've been studying beach life during walks. 

We spent the best part of a day trying to keep up with a 3 year old as she climbed 'our' mountain. Picking bilberries proved a great distraction . . . for me.

Sadly for me, she has put an end to me thinking of myself as a hero, for being able to climb it!

'We' have been shifting and relocating fences and gateposts. It's hard to admit to our age-related lack of strength and fitness, but hey, why worry when there are resources we can use on site? 

Enter big strong son and Beastie with a tow rope. 

Gizmo clearly thinks his hot, hazy Summer days are not over!

Next blog - An Unexpected Guest.

PESTS - Aug 2013

As you know by now, much of my Spring/Summer has been consumed by weeding nettles with limbs suffering from the consequences. Have I won the battle? No! Nettles continue to invade every part of our land. 

Having admitted defeat, I decided to use a chemical weedkiller on them. Then just as I was pouring the liquid over a large patch, I realised that particular bunch was disappearing in front of my very eyes - not due to the weedkiller, but due to hundreds of black caterpillars chewing their way through the leaves. (Red Admirals and Peacocks I believe).

I consider most weeds to be likable, attractive plants and am not a fan of weedkillers, least of all chemical ones. So here I have the perfect solution - caterpillars eat the nettles, nettles die, Red Admiral and Peacock butterflies take their place ... But too late, I had already sprayed them. So I hastily removed the sprayed caterpillars, washed them and placed them on other unsprayed nettles. I hoped they were pleased, but 10 minutes later they had all evacuated the new nettles and appeared to have disappeared for good. A few days later, they were back in abundance having taken up residency on a different patch of unsprayed nettles close to the ones I had already sprayed. What was wrong with the new home I had found them? Clearly those particular nettles did not live up to expectations!

Thanks to all those of you who have suggested nettle recipes, however, where I accept that nettles make excellent caterpillar fodder, I have yet to be sold the idea that they are put on this Earth for human consumption. Meanwhile, the Beast grows on . . .

. . . and is now about 7 feet tall! Where are the caterpillars when you need them?

Will came across a news item stating that nurseries are starting to sell nettles & dandelions to provide for demand by people wanting natural habitats in their gardens. Perhaps I should start a 'Pick Your Own ...'

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We considered leaving our field of bracken as a natural habitat but as it has quite literally taken over and is likely to invade the farmer's fields too, so we decided to destroy that too. There is a very small window of time when bracken can be sprayed, so under the guidance of our friendly farmer and using his loaned spraying equipment, Will has spent the last few days, morning til night, bracken spraying. At last the deed is done, but we won't know the results until next Spring when it does or doesn't grow back.

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We have managed to keep most sheep out of the garden for a good few weeks. That is, except one. Larry is a very determined lamb who continually finds a way into the garden the minute our backs are turned. When discovered, he disappears into the bracken, emerging a few seconds later, bleating for it's mother in the farmer's field. As we exit the field, we turn around and there's Larry again, munching OUR grass. So Will has once again sheep-proofed all our fences. We have since discovered this may not have been necessary as I understand Larry is due to disappear for good over the next week or so. 

So next time you are tucking into a good piece of Welsh lamb, watch carefully, as it might jump off your plate the split second your eyes are averted!

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Rabbits are supposed to cause a lot of damage to plants and especially young trees. We have plenty of rabbits here, but fortunately we also have 3 excellent rabbit hunters. I shall refrain from adding the photo of Gizmo half way through a rabbit lunch. So hopefully, once the bracken has gone, I should safely be able to start growing my woodland.

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The cats are on mole No 7, but they still can't catch squirrels. We moved our bird feeder to a better location and now the squirrel baffler works. They have learnt the feeders are now out of reach, so hang around underneath waiting for bits to fall onto the grass below. I hung up the 'Tilt'n'Spin Squirrel Repeller' with a peanut feeder beneath it in the hope that I could watch pesky squirrels flying off in all directions. I think they must have learnt their fate away from human sight, because we have yet to see a squirrel go anywhere near it.

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The cats, especially Gizmo continue to get more than their fair share of tics, which we are now experts at spotting and removing, but they seem to get bigger as the Summer progresses. Yesterday's tic was the size of a peanut!!

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Why were slugs ever put on this Earth? At least snails have pretty shells which can be used as handles when removing them from plants and slinging them over the border!. If the sheep and goats don't eat my plants then the slugs and snails do. Top of my Christmas list? The book: "50 Ways to Kill a Slug" selling on Amazon for £4.00!

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Apparently the collective noun for spiders is a'cluster'. This is far too a gentle term for hundreds of spiders gathering on the house walls. Surely a word such as 'Hitchcock' would be far more appropriate - 'A Hitchcock of spiders'?  They are an absolute menace. Why? Because I hate then nearly as much as slugs. At least with slugs I have time to move before they decide to crawl up my arm. I will not open any windows for fear of making their route inside easier. If you get too close to these particular spiders (now what daft person would do that?) they suddenly wake up and speedily dart in all directions like something from a nightmare in a Hitchcock movie. (Sarah, if you are reading, - note to self: 'Do NOT visit during mid August'!)

Next blog - Is the Summer over?