A water flow problem

This year we have had some spells of very dry weather interspersed with longer spells of downpour. Much strain has been put on the guttering and F has had to do much maintenance.

The rain from the roof goes into the water butts via the downpipes but the water from the garage roof is channelled straight to the borders by a ‘Heath Robinson’ assemblage of guttering. The channel from the garage gutter, rests through a branches of an apple tree and then into the midst of the bay tree where water is able to pour out from the open end and into the border. We do not see this end of the guttering but hear water trickling or pouring out amongst the stems.

This weekend, when F dismantled the structure to clean it out before the autumn, he discovered, as well as apples, a bird’s nest. It was in good condition though a little damp. I think this is probably why the birdfeeder has been very popular this year.

The demise of the holly tree

We’ve lived in our current house for nearly twenty years and so it should have been no surprise that the holly tree, planted by the previous owners, has now reached to the top of the house. It is planted about four feet away from the side of our house and within a few inches of our neighbour’s garage.

A few weeks ago our neighbour pointed out to us that a crack was appearing in the side of our chimney and he thought that it might be because of the holly tree – he also hoped that it would not affect his garage wall.

Time for action? Taking a closer look at the tree it had reached the sort of proportions that make it much too large to be so close to a building, so F decided to cut down the tree and our neighbour offered to help.

Cutting the tree down was the easy part – the roots were another matter!

They had not dislodged the paving slabs and they were more or less parallel with the house and garage, so it should not have been that difficult, but it took a long crowbar, a large axe and lots of effort to make any impression on it.

We’ve ended up with a huge amount of wood and seemingly even more roots.

They have been cut into smaller pieces – the trunk and thick branches and thick roots will make useful firewood – the finer branches, roots and foliage are destined for the garden fire. That is the fun part of the task.

Cutting down the tree has created a space and F has put down a platform of slabs to be the new home for the four household bins - now we're neat and tidy!

The potato harvest

Last year - the first year of my retirement veg patch - I planted potatoes and was pleased with the results.
This year I spotted two small potato plants growing in the patch where the potatoes had been planted last season. Obviously, I'd failed to dig out two small potatoes whenI'd harvested.

I didn't bother to do anything with the veg patch until we got back to the UK from our American/Canadian adventure - the first week in June. By this time, the potato plants had grown sturdy and it seemed a shame to pull them out when they had made so much effort. I filled the space around them with pea plants because they don't need any special treatment.
Today, because the potato tops were dying down I decided to dig them up - from two small left-over potatoes I obtained 6lbs 3ozs of potatoes ..... large, unblemished ...... I hope they taste as good as they look.

The UK situation

The past few days have not done anything to enhance the reputation of the UK. You could almost believe that it’s not safe to venture out, but the major part of the country has been unscathed, not wishing to make light of the events - it must have been terrifying to have been caught up by the events.

This is an extract from an item in the current newsletter of ACT (Association of Christian teachers) that I want to share with you….

“Wayne Clarke
Baptist minister and broadcaster on BBC Radio Merseyside

To be people of peace is to be Jesus on our streets…… I’m amazed again at the relevance of God’s word. Here’s The Message* version of Proverbs 1

“Dear friend, if bad companions tempt you, don't go along with them. If they say—"Let's go out and raise some hell. Let's beat up some old man, mug some old woman. Let's pick them clean and get them ready for their funerals. We'll load up on top-quality loot. We'll haul it home by the truckload. Join us for the time of your life! With us, it's share and share alike!”

Oh, friend, don't give them a second look; don't listen to them for a minute. They're racing to a very bad end, hurrying to ruin everything they lay hands on.”

This week, we’ve been reminded that this is the world we live in. To turn to Christ, rejecting evil, being honest and caring, is the gift we can give to this sad world.”….

*The Message is a modern translation of the Bible and these particular words were written about 2500 years ago – so it seems as if such troubles have been part of the human condition for many centuries.

Befriending the enemy

Stargazer Lilies are one of my favourite garden flowers. They look spectacular with their vibrant pink and white blooms and their scent is heady, pervading the border where they are planted.

I once had a modest number of half a dozen plants but the display was still spectacular. (I used a photograph as wallpaper on the whiteboard in my classroom.)

Two years ago I spotted a beautiful bright red beetle on one of the leaves of the plant. I knew it was a lily beetle and though I knew it fed on the plant I thought I would share my garden with this creature – after all, the lilies were quite robust.

Last year the lilies were not quite up to their usual standard.

This year – oh dear!

I think I might have to resort to spray if I am to re-establish stargazer lilies in the borders.

A rescue story

A racing pigeon crossed our path when we were driving to an appointment. As we waited at a junction my daughter spotted a pigeon walking across the busy A34 and it was seemingly oblivious to the cars which were slowing down to avoid it. B, realising it was an exhausted racing pigeon, got out of the car and went into the road to try and pick up the bird which was still crossing the road. I put on the hazard lights so that he traffic behind knew I was not going to move my car and the cars on the main road slowed down almost to a stop while the pigeon was captured. B got into the car holding the pigeon on her lap while I continued along the road, turning the car round at the first opportunity.
We went back home and quickly found out the top part of a bird cage so that we were able to set up an emergency holding cage while we went to the appointment. The pigeon was very thin – he obviously had been flying for quite a distance and the last few days had been exceptionally hot for the UK. In a corner of the kitchen I laid down a thick pad of newspaper and put a dish of water and a dish of wild bird seed. When the cage was in place B opened the cage door and carefully placed the bird inside. Then I put a weighty box on the top of the cage in case the pigeon tried to escape. A hasty note was put on the kitchen table so that it would not be too much of a shock if F got home from work before we got back home.
Oblivious to the shock he might cause, the pigeon was feeding!
When we had attended the appointment and got back home F had returned before us and had decided to leave well enough alone. Now B could start the search for the bird’s owner – some racing birds are very expensive. ‘Sir Percy’, as we named him had a telephone number on his wing feathers, so first B phoned that number. Getting no reply she then took the information from the ring that was on the bird’s leg and phoned the information to the RPRA (The Royal Pigeon Racing Association). They were able to give further contact details. The mobile phone number achieved a result and the owner of the pigeon suggested that we feed the bird and release him but B would not agree to this. She explained that the bird was exhausted and needed to rest up for a few days.
The bird was from a Manchester loft and as this is much closer to the Wirral (where B works) than to our home, B told the owner she would take the pigeon to her workplace and that he could be collected from the RSPCA Animal Health Centre.


First thing next morning the owner went to the Animal Health Centre to collect his racing pigeon – he remembered to say thank you!!

When the nest is empty

Once upon a time we were a four car family and in order to accommodate the cars when we were all at home F and A put down some tracks of slabs so that the cars could be driven onto the front lawn without doing too much harm to the grass.

Over the years the offspring have left home and we are now a two car family so no longer need to use the extra parking spaces. We decided to take up the slabs and replace the turf.

F laboured all day, getting up slabs and stacking them neatly out of the way in the back garden.

We ruined the habitat for the local ant population!


F then had to spread some topsoil in the area so that the clods were level with the rest of the grass, cutting the turf to size and putting it in place, then bedding it down so it remained in place and could mesh into the rest of the lawn.


I got the easy job of watering the newly laid grass, a job that will need to be repeated daily while the weather is so warm and dry, if the grass is to survive.

We were left with about a third of the rolls of grass – the supplier was very generous in cutting the turves – they were almost double the stated size. What to do with them? Well, now the new grass is in place it shows up the rest of the front lawn which over the years has evolved into a mossy weedy patch! So today F is removing the worst of the remaining ‘grass’ and laying down the remainder.