A cracking start ...

The new year has started at breakneck speed. After a dismal early summer the weather gods finally relented and we have recently been bathed in endless sunshine. Lulled into a false sense of security by the seemingly endless rain we endured in spring, we watered the garden aggressively and focussed in particular on trying to improve our lawn. The results were promising and the more the garden glowed, the more we watered. We were particularly pleased with our new winter-planted roses which started to give hints of what might be to come next season.

Tess of the D'Urbervilles

The Lady of Shallot

It will come as no surprise that our profligacy with water lead to disaster. I jumped in the shower the other night and nothing came out of the taps. Bemused, we thought perhaps a fuse had tripped and that our pump wasn't working, but alas, a few tentative raps on our rainwater tank confirmed the truth of the matter - the tank was empty! Regular readers of the blog will recall that one of our very first moves when we stayed here for six months in the second half of 2020 was to install two extra water tanks behind the shed (see "Storm und drang ...", published 12 October 2020). We have therefore been able to replenish the main tank somewhat and have also changed our behaviour rather drastically. We are now convinced that even more storage will be required if we are to maintain our garden in dry spells!

The first major project of the new year was to put the finishing touches on our al fresco dining area. This task required us first to enlarge a couple of existing garden beds to create a nice flow between the garden and the eating area. Stage 2 required us to build an additional garden bed on the river (eastern) side of the dining area to mirror the one already established on the shed (western) side. Sounds easy enough, but even marking out the new beds at Stage 1 proved too much for Knut. 

A happy puppy in a cooling bath

Stage 1 successful

Stage two of the process was a bit more complex. We built a retaining wall out of Tas Oak sleepers, sorted out the drainage and then backfilled the new bed with gravel, wood chip, compost and top it off with yet more mulch. It was a pretty labour intensive task but it should look beautiful when the new beds at the front are all planted up.

The retaining wall with ag pipe for drainage

Knut assisting with the backfill

Project complete

The next project we tackled was to build some steps onto the island behind the cottage. It broke my heart but first I had to deconstruct the rock wall that I had so painstakingly built in 2020. We then put in 3 sandstone steps - each of which weighed 100 kgs! We were more than a little destroyed after finishing the job, but we are extremely happy with the end product. 

Pepper marks the spot

Are you sure that step is level?

The sandstone stairs

So, in short, the new year has really got off to a flying start. Like the gluttons for punishment that we are, our Christmas presents have just been delivered - two monstrous machines, a mulcher/chipper and a log splitter. We now have to assemble the machines and put them to work. Watch this space ...

Did someone say more work?