Pesky Jackdaws.

The sun has shone all day and the brisk wind made it a good drying day now that the washing machine has been connected. My back gave up in the afternoon and I knew that I would be suffering tomorrow if I carried on digging on my knees so instead I went and did some mowing. Romas did half the lawns earlier in the week but it took nearly a week of asking to get that done and already bits needed another cut. I've left the parts that need strimming for tomorrow, maybe if I'm lucky Romas will do it.The first of the drumstick primulas at the bottom of the rock slope.

Every job is made easier when you have the correct tools. These are the tools I'm currently using in the grass bed. When I first started gardening I didn't bother with gloves but now it's gloves and lashings of (any) handcream/moisturiser. The kneeling pads are invaluable especially when the ground is a bit wet. Then we have hand rake thingy, perfect for loosening stony soil which is then sieved in the blue tray. The 12" screwdriver is just the tool for prising out the thick roots of one of the grasses that has taken over the bed. Finally my latest acquisition, a good quality trowel. Normally I buy the cheapest tools because just like my sons I have a habit of leaving things around and loosing hand tools in the garden. I find that trowels tend to break at the handle so I invested in a more robust model which doesn't have the handle simply welded on.

The project is at the stage where I can start designing the actual planting. I tend to do this while sitting with a cup of coffee and surveying my work. The limits are 1- I don't want to spend any money, 2- the soil is only 4"- 8" deep and mostly sub-soil over solid clay and rocks in an exposed situation and 3- The end result should be tidy, beautiful and easy to maintain. Watch this space.

The jackdaws still keep hanging around each morning and Peter is convinced that they have already laid eggs in the chimney nest. His solution was to light a fire below them, that was my job first thing this morning.
I removed the flag, rug and boards that cover the kitchen fireplace (we haven't used this fireplace since our very first days here), to be confronted by a great mass of twigs that over the years had been dropped by nest building jackdaws. Once I'd cleared the twigs I started gently by burning a couple of big garden incense sticks. They didn't give out a lot of smoke so I cautiously, not wanting to start a chimney fire with all the rest of the twigs that are probably lodged in the chimney, lit a small fire with some of the twigs. The kitchen got very smokey, and the rest of the house, but eventually there was a steady plume of smoke coming from the chimney pot. Haven't seen the jackdaws again all day so maybe it worked.

Even after removing all the twigs I cleared 2 bucket loads of ash and mortar that had been dislodged by the birds. Plenty of cobwebs and dust too but it was a good opportunity to clean it up. The boards are now back but the kilim rug had an awful lot of clothes moth cases and some damage and the bottom edges need a gentle wash (cats!). I think this might be a case for some insect killer spray to zap the clothes moths before I hang it back up. We have a bit of a problem with clothes moths and I once had to throw away a totally shredded teddy bear that was mine when I was a baby.
Just taken a break to watch a tv programme about life in Lagos. There was no pathos and everyone was very upbeat and hard working but basically it was about people who live and work on the rubbish dumps. What sheltered, pampered lives we lead!