Just returned from the Moulin after half term week. It's a good time of year to catch up with the garden jobs. Tom laid hedges on the drive, to replace the Box which so sadly seems to have been wiped out by blight. We have instead now a fine hazel and ash hedge, laid at about 3 foot. Hopefully with the Spring rain, it will be bushy and thick for the summer.
We ticked off the pruning too including all the fruit trees (cherry, peach, pear, apple and fig), and the hazels. The hazel produces fantastic fencing poles, and we have started to extend the hazel hedge by the sawmill to create an arc around the barbecue and table area.
Having perhaps stupidly decided to leave some areas wild, we were facing neck high brambles along the sawmill banks. I took the strimmer into Motoculture in Ruffec (Tom's favourite ever shop in the world on account of the many shiny chainsaws/mowers/gadgets) and they fixed on a large metal attachment for the 'ronce'. Four hours later - they were all on the ground. I am hoping it will act as a mulch and deter growth for the Spring.
Indie managed to cut her paw quite badly before we left London, and was confined to a tether. So we put up the table in the garden (quite unusual for February) where we ate, and the girls set up base for drawing, reading, and also a 1000 piece jigsaw! Living the dream.
(And yes - I did swim in the Leet too)