Rick's b.log - 2020/05/22
It is the 21st of November 2024 You are 18.118.146.180, pleased to meet you!

Knocking the front of the potager into shape

So today I woke at 9am after a reasonable sleep, got up an hour later, threw some tea into the hatch, and then went out and took a look.

This was how it looked. Grass, some brambles, many many nettles, and those horrible sticky cleavers binding everything together.

I decided that this really needed a second mug of tea.

Then I grabbed the trusty bramble scythe and set about smacking the weeds down to ground level. About halfway in, something growled at me, so I responded by making wider swings with the scythe and adding in pretty much every dumb yell that I've heard on Kung Fu movies (the benefit of not having neighbours!). Whatever it was (a deer?) got the message and hurried off in the other direction. I knew it wasn't going to be much of a problem as there was no track so whatever it was had an escape route. Cornering in a wild animal is a different proposition, you don't want to be doing that!

I reached the far end, so it was about a third cut down.

Thankfully it is grey and dreary today, I was hot but since it was only around 20°C it was just inconvenient. Yesterday topped 27°C and it really got a bit too much. I didn't do anything yesterday other than hide under the tree, and was in watching Netflix by 9pm (don't bother with Starship Troopers Traitor of Mars, it's dumb).

Another hour the weeds were all razed to the ground.

But, you know, there's no kill like overkill. Time to bring out Some Pig and ensure that the weeds are in no doubt whatsoever about their fate.

It looks more impressive from the other side...

This done, I ought to be able to keep this area under control now with Marte. There's still more to do. The part beyond the wall is a mess, along the edge of the woodshed, and the ancient pear tree died when Mom did so I'll need to remove it. Maybe a place to put my Bramley apple? But, little by little. This isn't the only thing that needsdone around here. Only a couple of hundred things!

It looks as if it might rain soon, so I'll get this written and uploaded (QuickEdit makes it so much simpler than before) and then I think it'll be time for fish and chips and... of course... time to put the kettle on!

Writing

Anyway, when I mention I'm outside to write something, this is what I mean.

Your comments:

David Pilling, 23rd May 2020, 03:42

Hey you have "sticky willy" (cleaver) there. Used to be   joke to stick some to kids backs at school.