Visitors gone

Work at Glyncoed is now completed. 

A bit of tidying up around the garden today. But also time to put the blackberry and elderberry wine into a demijohn. It now has to sit for SIX MONTHS!

Theses rather nice pink Michaelmas daisies have started to flower. 

Visitors again.

Helen, Steve, Immie and Jack 

Carving pumpkins - I know it is early but they were here and so were the pumpkins. 

And Jack wanted monkey bars so we improvised...

Good news and bad news....

The good news is that the hedges along the road edge have been cut by the contractor who cuts the farm hedges ( we slip him money for a pint )...

The bad news is that it means it is time to cut the leylandii hedges that hide the garage. 

Grass day.

Pictures of cut grass are not interesting so here are some butterflies. 

Autumn colours.

The trees have not started turning yet but there is still a mass of colour around the garden. 

My favourites at the moment are the various patches of Michaelmas daisies which are a magnet for all manner of bees, butterflies and other flyng things. 

Maintenance.

The wheels on the trailer were about to fall off as the plastic hubs had worn away so repairs were needed. 

And the blades on the mower were very blunt. Getting at them involved making a ramp so I could get under. 

When Neville needs to round up the sheep he has to build a fence behind the stable to trap them so I have erected a short section of fencing to make his life easier. 

Progress on the car park bed.

The rotavator makes it easier but not easy!

Beauty in unexpected places! I used the last of the chicken pooh on this bed so I had to clean up the blue tarpaulin that has been covering it for the last few years. Pressure washing the muck off produced a very acceptable abstract!

The visitors have gone so back to work.

First job was as washing machine repair man! A rubber hose was leaking but it is very easy to get spare parts thanks to Google!

A new flowerbed is needed to cope with all the cuttings that have turned into healthy plants. 

The location is at the far end of the car park so it will help brighten up a dull corner. 

Walking with Steve and Sally

We took them up to the top of the hill this morning...

Then after lunch we took them up to Llyn Brianne..

Visitors ......

I stand corrected...in my galoshes.

Technically speaking they are not galoshes as they are not overshoes but I wear them all the time anyway!

Galoshes (from French: galoches), also known as boat shoes, dickersons, or overshoes, are a type of rubber boot that is slipped over shoes to keep them from getting muddy or wet. The word galoshes might be used interchangeably with boot, especially a rubberized boot. Properly speaking, however, a galosh is an overshoe made of a weatherproof material to protect a more vulnerable shoe underneath and keep the foot warm and dry.

Downgraded.

My waders, that let in excessive quantities of water, have been downgraded to galoshes!

A grass day.

All day cutting the grass in glorious sunshine. 

Far too many courgettes. 

This herbaceous clematis is wonderful - it is thriving in e corner by the alpine house. 

A pond and ditch day.

I have been clearing the pond and ditches of the over exuberant growth. This has shown up some interesting signs of the wildlife. 

The moorhen, now a regular on the pond, has obviously been nesting on the island and has had several attempts at raising young. Sadly there are several broken eggshells, signs that a mammal has found them. We are hoping that the feathers are from nesting material and not signs that the moorhen has been taken too. 

Nest. 

Eggshells. 

Further down the ditch maybe the home of the culprit. 

The hole is three to four inches in diameter and has an obvious path down to the water. 

There is one possible paw print, about 3/4" across. I have put down some sand to try to get a better print. I will keep you updated!

The other thing that clearing the ditch showed up was a substantial leak in my waders!

Getting ready for the big celebrations tomorrow.

The marquee is up...

The cake has been made...

And I have bought a new suit....

because tomorrow is our silver wedding anniversary and we always make a big thing about our anniversaries. 

Not.

Finishing a job Steph started...

Many years ago Steph painted the pig sty black to try to hide it. Today I got around to finishing the job!

The summer house will disappear soon under the creeper so I thought I ought to get on with it. 

The pumpkins and butternut squashes are coming on...

Weeding and pruning.

Today has been a day of weeding all the flowerbeds. Gravel paths make excellent seed beds. This was the days collection of seedlings that will get potted up.

It was also time for the pruning of the apple trees.