THE VERY TRUSTING WELSH FOLK - May 2014

Will has a new toy. . .  a John Deere lawnmower - not one of those sit-on-jobbies (as much as he would have liked one, our money wouldn't stretch that far), a petrol powered one. He bought it and a strimmer from a local shop. There was a problem with spare parts for the strimmer. The shop told Will that he needn't pay for anything until the issue with the spare parts was sorted.

That was months ago. Since then, the mower has mowed several small lawn areas, a path across the big field up to our picnic bench and the whole of the smaller field, many times. 

It has also developed a damaged wheel! The culprit - a small roll of barbed wire hiding in the long grass curled up waiting to pounce on any unsuspecting John Deere lawnmower!

And we still haven't paid for it.

We bought a LOAD of fencing and gates from another place. We (ie Will & Richard) have nearly finished building one fence and tried hanging one of the gates.  

We still have a number of gates to put in place and several more fences to build. Despite us telling the supplier that it will take us months to complete this work, they won't take payment for it until the work is done in case we wish to return any unused pieces or wish to buy more. 

So, we have 2 machines to pay for PLUS a whole load of wood, and the lovely local trusting Welsh folk are in no hurry for payment!

In addition to this, we decided that we needed some tools, machines and eldest son to help with the outside work. 

So we hired a digger ...

a rotavator . . .

and a hole borer for putting in gate posts.

The son came free, but the tools, machines, etc. were to be paid for. No payment was required beforehand and the bill eventually appeared some weeks later. Despite having used a good amount of diesel, the rotavator fan-belt breaking, and  the caterpillar track becoming dislodged, the only cost was for the hire - nothing for damages or for diesel.

We needed a post basher to help get posts solidly into the ground. So we borrowed one from a neighbour, who subsequently realised he needed it for his fencing, so rather than ask for it back, he borrowed one from the farmer. The farmer then discovered some damaged fencing bordering on to us and needed a post basher to repair it, so he borrowed the neighbour's basher from us!

It's not hard to cope with the pace and style of life here.

Next blog - The Summer Solstice

INTERRUPTION - May 2014

I am just interrupting my stories with a couple of photos showing you how wonderful the bluebells have been this month on the hillsides along 'our' lane . . .

Next blog ... The very trusting Welsh folk

GARDEN PESTS . . . AGAIN! - May 2014

Well, we have done well with the sheep recently - they haven't been into the garden for several weeks now - even months maybe. The goats have gone back up the mountain to spend summer there. So the plants and flowers are starting to thrive!

. . . Or so we thought . . .

Every morning I get up to find my newly potted plants scattered around having been pulled up by the roots.

The work of goats? . . . No! 

Sheep? . . .No! . . . 

Birds? . . . No! 

Slugs? . . . No!

It's the work of squirrels which can be found foraging endlessly around the garden looking for bulbs to eat. I guess they have been uprooting my plants in search of bulbs. 

  

 

 

So the only plants which are left alone by the sheep & goats - bulb plants, are now being attacked by squirrels. 

So I have started collecting old barbecue grids or any other suitable object as a deterrent. Doesn't do much for appearance though! 

 

 

I have rejected the idea of using squirrel traps, but then yesterday I made a really sad discovery - my prize poppy which had been growing unexpectedly well, and was due to bloom in the next week or two, had lost its head. Some time later I discovered the head a few metres away. Clearly the work of those pesky squirrels having mistaken it for a nut?

 

They even appear to have tried framing my Welsh rugby supporter gnome!! 

Each morning I find him face down as if he's had a night on the town following a Wales-England rugby match. The squirrels are clearly hoping that he is the prime suspect, having destroyed the plants during a drunken binge. 

 

They push him to the ground in an attempt to reach the window bird feeder which is supposed to be inaccessible to squirrels, 5ft high on a wide pane of glass. Pah - no deterrent - they manage it easily & leave their muddy footprints up the glass. 

We have filled an old CD rack with fat balls - for the birds but our uninvited visitors help themselves and run off with whole fat balls. 

Maybe squirrel traps aren't such a bad idea after all!  

But as disastrous as it all sounds, to put things into perspective, our neighbours lost 9 of their chickens to the fox last night. and earlier in the year it deprived the farmer of 21 of his lambs. Now there's an unwelcome visitor if ever there was one which we haven't had the privilege of meeting . . . YET!

P.S. Guess who was back in the garden this morning? . . .

Where's that fox when you need him?

Next blog ... The very trusting Welsh folk