Thursday, September 10, 2009
“Are you part Egyptian?” Head Gardner, John, asked us first thing this morning. “Looks like the pyramids!” Of course he was referring to our extension of the “muck pile” along the garden wall (see yesterday’s photos). What a compliment. We were so proud.
Sunshine today. We were able to shed one layer of clothing. Silage being cut all across the midlands.
I tended to the horses, then spent most of the next hour cleaning up a mistakenly dumped load of dry, mown grass, on a paved area near the north side horse pasture. I nearly filled the wide bucket on the front of the teleporter with all the debris. I must say, it looked like a clean floor when I was through with the shovel, rake, and broom. Plus, I shed another layer of clothing in the process.
After properly mucking out the filly’s stall, the teleporter bucket was full to the brim and ready to be dumped. Next, I headed to the walled gardens for more creative grass building in the glorious sunshine. The weather was delightfully warm with no rain in sight. It’s shorts and tee shirt weather today for some, but we didn‘t pack any.
I helped Kevin add another two feet in height to the “grass creation” today. I don’t know its proper name and they don’t have anything like it in England, where John’s from, so he doesn’t know the name for this creation either.
You cannot tell from the photos, but this creation protrudes out from the wall at least three feet. It is constructed by taking the cut turf (what we call sod, the top layer of grass from the lawn, or proposed garden bed) and stacking the pieces upon itself in layers to make the four outer walls, then filling in the middle with dirt and cut turf as you go up. And don’t forget to ramp the side end, to get the wheelbarrow up to the top of the heap as you go! It is quite a creative feat of engineering and the whole thing will be used in the future to amend the soil. Sort of an attractive compost pile, if you will.
After lunch Kevin and I were collected by Greg, a longtime friend of our landowner, for a personal, in depth, tour of his Farm Safari Park, about fifteen minutes away. More to tell later. Please see photos.
Hours later, back at the manor house, choosing to spend time relaxing instead of cooking, for dinner we ate toast with damson jelly and a bowl of Kellogg’s Frosties. We know them as Frosted Flakes . . . . They’re grrrrrrrrreat!!!!
Another great day.
“Are you part Egyptian?” Head Gardner, John, asked us first thing this morning. “Looks like the pyramids!” Of course he was referring to our extension of the “muck pile” along the garden wall (see yesterday’s photos). What a compliment. We were so proud.
Sunshine today. We were able to shed one layer of clothing. Silage being cut all across the midlands.
I tended to the horses, then spent most of the next hour cleaning up a mistakenly dumped load of dry, mown grass, on a paved area near the north side horse pasture. I nearly filled the wide bucket on the front of the teleporter with all the debris. I must say, it looked like a clean floor when I was through with the shovel, rake, and broom. Plus, I shed another layer of clothing in the process.
After properly mucking out the filly’s stall, the teleporter bucket was full to the brim and ready to be dumped. Next, I headed to the walled gardens for more creative grass building in the glorious sunshine. The weather was delightfully warm with no rain in sight. It’s shorts and tee shirt weather today for some, but we didn‘t pack any.
I helped Kevin add another two feet in height to the “grass creation” today. I don’t know its proper name and they don’t have anything like it in England, where John’s from, so he doesn’t know the name for this creation either.
You cannot tell from the photos, but this creation protrudes out from the wall at least three feet. It is constructed by taking the cut turf (what we call sod, the top layer of grass from the lawn, or proposed garden bed) and stacking the pieces upon itself in layers to make the four outer walls, then filling in the middle with dirt and cut turf as you go up. And don’t forget to ramp the side end, to get the wheelbarrow up to the top of the heap as you go! It is quite a creative feat of engineering and the whole thing will be used in the future to amend the soil. Sort of an attractive compost pile, if you will.
After lunch Kevin and I were collected by Greg, a longtime friend of our landowner, for a personal, in depth, tour of his Farm Safari Park, about fifteen minutes away. More to tell later. Please see photos.
Hours later, back at the manor house, choosing to spend time relaxing instead of cooking, for dinner we ate toast with damson jelly and a bowl of Kellogg’s Frosties. We know them as Frosted Flakes . . . . They’re grrrrrrrrreat!!!!
Another great day.
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