It got so cold and wet and windy that we ran away for 2 weeks to Madeira. After our d.and v. bugs at New Year we were both a bit low so we opted for a couple of weeks with some warmth and an inside toilet. Lovely walking and gardens saw us both inspired when we returned.
We heard tales of hurricanes and snow while we were away but ignored them. Nothing we could do about it from Madeira! There had indeed been snow but the house had withstood the fierce winds and the inside had dried out considerably, which was encouraging.
Inspired by all the colourful plants in Madeira, and the appearance of a bank of snowdrops, Suse was keen to push on with the garden, clearing the upper part of the site and getting paths organised. However, we returned to some glorious weather, at first cloudy but mild and then blue, sunny but cold and John went up on the midfloor to start the long first floor walls.
Not complaining. The view from the bedroom window up the garden is going to be great and I have been able to test the tai chi practice space on the landing, although not with my sword!
The good weather continued after John’s successful Carnethy run with Emily and Richard. Suse planted more fruit trees (apples and damsons) and Ali came back to finish covering the veg. garden in dung. We are trying to work out what sort of equipment we will need to manage the garden and woodland in future.
We also started negotiations about the windows and doors. It was pointed out that sliding doors are a bit of maintenance headache with the tracks filling up with grit. Another benefit of outward opening doors is that they can both open together, giving a nice, wide opening. Also, they have significantly better u-values as you can get a better closure. We almost decided to change to these but then discovered that they can only be 2m wide so we would have had a lot of patching in the openings we have already built or fixed panes. It was just going to be silly. However, we are reducing the number of glazing bars to maintain a good u-value.
With David from next door, we managed to complete a housebuilding project in an hour. The house in question is for owls and we have put it in the oak tree. David reckons we should have tawny owls in it very soon as this is the time they look for nests. We also put up a small box for tits which needless to say was much more straightforward. The two cedar trees have been swarming with siskins (a type of finch) for the last few days and they have been making such a racket. The plan is to get up some more boxes but we’ll need to be quick because you can sense that the birds are starting to react to the longer days and the marginally better weather.
Having completed the long first floor walls we are off to Ecobuild, to make sure we don’t miss any tricks. When we come back, we will have to shift the scaffolding to let us tackle the really scary gable walls. These are going to be tricky to get right and we are going to have to work out a way of putting the ridge beam in at the right height and building the walls and rafters underneath it!
What’s the link between orienteers and damson trees? I’d never heard of damson trees -I don’t think anyone grows damsons in Holland- until ten years ago, when Beryl Offley showed me hers. And in the mean time I met noboddy else who had them.
any birds in the bird box?
Damsons are regarded as old-fashioned even here, Ton, but we want to try different fruit trees to see what will work here. I don’t think they are peculiar to orienteers!
As for birds in the bird boxes, not so far. We can hear the owls but aren’t sure where they are nesting.