Hopefully I will be able to complete both the grassing and bricking before the next season and then will know exactly how long the walk will be. It should be in the region of 900m.
There will be places that will need re grassing because a couple of areas for whatever reason, did not germinate well or died off after removing the shade cloth. I am not sure why but have my suspicions that maybe it was too hot, too dry or the containers I had to use after my other containers were stolen had not been cleaned too well inside and the herbicide which was left ,(even if only that which had penetrated the plastic) was enough to kill off the newly germinated seed.
I had to use empty containers from the farm which had herbicide inside that we used when planting our maize.
I also realised, after looking at the first blog, that I have only been working on the Lab since around September 2011. I had thought I had been working on it for two years already. I now dont feel too bad about the weeds and am quite pleased as to how far I have come in that time. Seeing as I usually spend approximately 6 or 7 hours per week working on it, this means only one hour per day. Imagine if I could spend 2 or 3 hours per day on it........................
Let the fun begin.
17/1/2013
Arrived at around 4.30 after an early start this morning due to the fact that I had bricks to offload as well this morning. I had been fighting a cold so was not really sure how much energy I would have.
There was approx 10mm in the gauge which was nice, seeing as we had had only 2 or 3mm here.
I had onion seedlings to plant and two buckets to hang. These were bigger buckets as I think the small buckets might be a little too small and might need watering more often than I can be there to do.
The one had Danya and the other Mint I think. It is a pleasure growing things there this way because I just grow them here and all I need do is hang them in Underberg.
As per last week I needed to do a lot of weeding but also needed to plant more grass seed.
So after off loading the bricks I dug the bed for the Onion seedlings as well as for the grass and did a little weeding in those areas as well.
I had brought along my trusty lawnmower as I wanted to see how hard it would be to cut the pathways. To cut a long story short I am glad I changed to Nui because it is much softer and easier to cut. Otherwise it is quite easy. Seeing as in some areas the grass was almost 300mm long.
Before getting on the road again I managed to complete all tasks and also did a little mowing on the top plot.
On returning I did some more weeding before watering what I had planted as well as watering the buckets. Sadly the Tomatoes in the buckets were not doing very well and I think this is due to lack of moisture. Otherwise everything else looks OK. The Bulbinella and Mint seem to enjoy the bucket system.
I took out the brush cutter and cut around the perimeter of the Lab. I did not have the energy to do more than one tank but at least it was a start. It was a real scorcher again and working during the hottest time of the day (12 to 2) is really energy sapping.
I pushed myself again and left at just before 3. No low BP today just low energy.
I did not take any photos due to the fact that by the time I arrive at taking photos time I am so shattered that I do not have the energy to take any. I think I must take them earlier before going to Maritzburg. it is also becoming more difficult to take photos because of the way everything is growing. The Catnip is over 1m tall as is the Cancerbush and one or two Lemon Verbenas. The penny Royal is also doing well as a ground cover so far but has competition from a "copy cat" weed.
Otherwise we are doing our best to cope..............................
I will catch up with things as soon as nature grows more slowly.
Still another rewarding effort and it is really nice having bricks available to plant again. I think it will take about 300 or 400 more to complete that task.
24/1/2013
Had a PmBurg trip today and arrived bright and early as usual. I tried taking a few orb pics before getting to work. There were not many friends around but one or two did say "Hi."
Not much other than pathways and weeding to do today. There were no bricks available so had none to off load.
One of the first things I noticed was that the rain gauge was almost full. This is 100mm so at first I thought somebody was playing tricks on me. I found out later that this was correct. This is in one week. We still have not had decent rain here since Xmas.
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| A few Friends |
I got into preparing the next bit of pathway which means weeding along the edges as well as in the path while I go. Tis slow going but has to be done this way. The grass which has germinated was doing well so I could lift more hessian. (a few of them are rotting now and returning to nature so need to buy some more.)
I planted and watered the new area and also had time to prepare and plant a short piece in no mans land. This is slower going because the weeds there are much worse. I have to pull them out by the roots so they do not grow again. In this area I am leaving them to rot in the area where planting of veg etc will be going on. The poor Bay Trees are almost invisible in places but are still doing well.
I did not get a chance to check out too much because before I knew it it was 7.30 and time to get on the road again.
The intention was to take some pics on returning however "nature" had other plans.
The trip was very peaceful and uneventful.
It turned out that today was probably the hottest day I have spent on the road. On returning I was looking for a consultant in Underberg to help me with planning a small cottage etc but only "found" a puncture. This is the first one I have had in all my trips. VERY LUCKY that it happened in Underberg and not on the road. There are one or two areas where the road is not conducive to stopping.
After changing the wheel (I had stopped to see a friend on the way through) I was WAAAY to hot to do any work at the Lab and did not do anything other than retrieve "implements" I had left there. Not even enough energy to take photos. I was going to take a chance on returning home (100km) without having the puncture repaired.
Well it was a lovely trip home from there as well with no other mishaps.
I now look forward to putting a couple of photos here because I am not sure myself as to how much things have changed.
At least things had not grown as much as the previous week.
All in all another lovely day on the way.
PS I have been informed that the cottage next to the top plot might be available if the price was right but am still waiting for news on that one. It would be nice to have the cottage next to the plot to stay in over weekends. Have a friend renting who I can stay with when necessary. That would really be great.
31/1/2013
Arrived at around 4am and the first thing I did was look at the rain gauge. Another 70mm in it. This is so amazing. We have had about 4mm here, at the MOST. I was told that Underberg received more rain than us, which I did not believe. Now I am a firm believer. However I dont think it as much as this generally.
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| The area now being grassed |
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| The Lean to compost bin with Bay Tree |
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| The Peach Trees |
I had bricks to offload this time and a new experiment using pig mesh for a compost bin. It is too long and a little flimsy but I think I can work around that. I need a lot more compost bins because on the areas I am now grassing the one path is entering new territory. Not no mans land yet but getting close. I need to brick more pathway so I know where to grass next.
Before getting on the road for Maritzburg I weeded and planted the one pathway to the end of its bricks and prepared a short piece on another path which goes back on itself eventually. This one is VERY weedy and I will be hard pressed with it. Still, we will get there.
I also did a little brush cutting on the top plot.
Everything has grown so well. The Peaches are over 3m high now. The Catnip and Cancerbush need trimming and even the "Pole" gardens are not looking too bad. A couple of the Strawberries have grown enough that I had to cut off the suckers. Even one little Tomato has Tomatoes on it. It is not too happy however. All of the catch buckets under the poles were full which goes to show how it has rained there.
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| Jasmine Mint Oreganum and Bulbinella |
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| Strawberries and Pepper |
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| Little Tomato with Strawberries |
By the time that was completed it was 3 o clock and I had to hit the road for home.
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| Spring Onions |
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| Tomatoes |
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| Top Plot |
7/2/2013
What a challenging day.
I arrived at Underberg at around 4 after a very challenging trip. There was mist with rain in the Kingscote area and due to the roadworks there are no lines on the road and most of the barriers have only one or two reflectors. At times I was not even sure whether I was on the road or not it was so bad.
Well we survived "Thank You" and everything went fine after that. There was a storm around but it did not reach Underberg. The rain gauge had approx 40mm in it so this week we have had about the same amount.
I had brought a few more compost bins and spent most of the time filling them with weeds. I also dug and planted seed in a short area. It is nice to get there now to see that what I have weeded the week before can be seen. Slowly slowly we will win.
I also had a couple of buckets to hang but otherwise very little planned other than weeding and brush cutting.
All too soon it was time to get on the road again. I had wanted to cut a little before getting on the road but time caught up with me.
On the way back half way up the Umkomaas Valley all the cars were stopped because of some big fire. I was too far back in the queue so could not see what it was. I waited a while but then decided to turn around and go back. As "Luck" would have it a black guy who obviously knew the area took a few cars (which I followed) on a back road which came out on the other road but above where the problem was. It was a few km longer but much better than going back again. I also got to see a little of the beautiful country down there.
On my return I went to see a consultant who draws plans but he had gone out so I decided to do some brush cutting at the Lab.
I had time to cut around the edge of the pathways and then went back to see whether the consultant was back again.
I spent some time with him discussing plans etc and then left for home.
A challengingly different and yet still rewarding day.
14/2/2013
A Valentines Day visit to Maritzburg today so arrived bright and early.
The trip was very pleasant with little or no mist on the way. I could tell it was going to be hot.
Not much to do other than weeding and took some compost bins a little water and equipment to cultivate pathways to plant more seed. (also the usual brush cutter).
There was another 25 or so mm in the rain gauge which is more or less what we have been getting here.
I got into the weeding straight away and am now making some kind of headway. The bins fill up so quickly but there are a LOT of weeds to pull out. The system works very well and investing in welded mesh now instead of pig mesh is already making things easier. They are much more rigid and do not fall over so easily.
Before getting on the road again I had a chance to plant more pathway but could not do any cutting. Time really flies when weeding.
On returning (I was right about it being hot) I just watered the plantings and did some cutting on the top plot.
All too soon it was 3 o clock and time to head for home.
No pics. The battery in the camera was flat.
15/2/2013
Two days in a row to Underberg. This is a first for me I think. I had decided to take Shorty and Suzi for a trip this day. After a little early battery trouble all went well and we arrived just after 4am.
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| Compost Bins filled up |
I also wanted to plant more grass seed in pathways so needed to cultivate where I was now pulling weeds out.
There was also some work to do for the big brush cutter with the metal blades along the fence line of the bottom plot where the weeds were very bad.
I am also experimenting with "sheets" around the poles in the hope that they will either eventually kill the grass and weeds underneath or at least set back their growth. Only time will tell.
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| The new experiment |
Also completed along the fence line as well as the compost heap area.
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| A Tall Boy compost container and a fallen Pig Mesh container. |
I still remember when I started digging the pathways I was stiff and sore for three days thereafter.
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| Fence line completed as well as the compost heap. |
Everything is growing well and there should be Tomatoes for home in a week or two.
Oh the weather was wonderful. Overcast and misty cool. Ideal working weather. The Kingscote area was very misty again but we survived. At least it was not raining as well like the last time.
Before lkeaving for home again I watered the plantings and had a look at and watered the pole gardens. They are doing surprisingly OK.
21/2/2013
Short and sweet this week.
Arrived in Underberg just after 4am with the intention of weeding (so what else is new) and brush cutting around the externals of the Lab. (there was 34mm in the gauge)
I was hoping to plant more grass but things had not grown enough yet. The last planting had germinated but was not long enough to take away the hessian yet.
I had a lovely trip with little or no mist and lovely cool weather (until I returned that is)
I did have some luck in that one of the compost bins came loose and ran against the back wheel next to the truck. I am not sure for how long but the wire was worn away in one area. It was tied down but I was rather blessed.
I offloaded the compost bins and got stuck into the weeds. It was time to do a little work on no mans land where the weeds are the worst. Luckily I forgot the ladies fork I took last week because it became very useful in digging and loosening roots. Some Khakibos was over 2m tall.
Once again I made nice inroads with the help of the compost bins. I had made a couple that are much bigger that I intend using as permanent containers. They hold a lot of weeds and hopefully it will come to pass that they will eventually be the only compost bins I will need.
Before getting on the road I had time to do one tank of brush cutting. One tank lasts over an hour.
On returning after an uneventful trip to Maritzburg I watered the pole garden pots and cut for another tank of fuel. I have now completed around the outside of the Lab plot.
I also had time to do a little more weeding but it was hot so my time was spent on brush cutting instead. However all the bins I took were almost full with weeds so I did manage to get quite a lot done.
The Tomatoes are looking good and a couple were almost ready. (the birds are going to have a field day). Hopefully next week we will have some. The plants are either full of flowers or baby Tomatoes.
The Chillies in the pole garden are getting little Chillies on them. The bigger containers however are working much better than the first smaller ones I tried but it is too early to say how much better.
I am in the throes of buying an edger for the pathways so I can remove the bricks eventually but am having a hard time choosing one. I think it will be essential when it comes to keeping the pathways tidy.
I was on the road for home again just after 2 30. No pics. I will take some next trip.
28/2/2013
Arrived at just after 4 after an uneventful trip. No mist and as usual very little traffic.
Like last week the target was weeding so I had a couple more bins to add to the collection already at the Lab.
I therefore attacked this task as soon as I had everything off loaded.(I was working where I left off last week).
Oh there was no water in the gauge to speak of. Maybe 0.5mm.
I filled the bins I had taken with weeds and then had time to brush cut some more of the top plot before getting on the road again.
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| No Mans land and bins |
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| Where I am working now. Tis like a forest. |
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| We grow wonderful weeds. |
By the time I eventually arrived back at the Lab it was almost 3pm so I just did a little weeding before getting on the road again.
The pole gardens were taking a little strain and were rather dry (especially the smaller pots).
Earlier on I had watered them and added compost tea to their catching containers.
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| Where I had removed shade cloth and hessian. |
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| The Penny Royal is covering nicely |
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| Another Catnip variety |
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| Spring Onions |
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| Tomato plant full of flowers and babies. |
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| Tomato plants |
I was on the road again just before 4 and went through some nice rain on the way home.
A lovely day.
7/3/2012
Another PMB trip and after arriving at around 4am I got straight into my usual chore of weeding.
A couple more bins to take off the truck and these were quickly filled.
The weather was nice but you could tell we were in for a hot day. It had rained the night before and there was approximately 80mm in the gauge. This is 20mm more than we have had here at home for the week.
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| Exposed Aloes |
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| Made a difference today |
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| The Olive I tried to pull out mistakenly |
The weeding went rather well and a huge dent was made in the area I was working. At one time I was struggling to pull out what I thought was a weed but eventually found it was one of the Olive Trees. I am very surprised to see how things are growing under these conditions. I even exposed some Aloes I had planted earlier in the season that were looking rather amazing. Maybe they thought they were back in the forest where I had originally found them. (well their parents anyway.)
Next visit should be a little easier because the weeds now become smaller. I cannot wait to have completed this task and then to start marking the pathways in that area.
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| Danya and groundcover |
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| Danya and Chillies |
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| Oreganum Mint and Jasmine |
There was a little time to dig and plant some grass in an area where the grass had grown nicely.
On returning I completed cutting the top plot as well as digging and planting more pathway. This quadrant is now almost completed.
I also watered the planted areas as well as the Pole Pots. It is most definite now that the bigger containers are working better than the small ones.
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| Todays grassed area |
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| Penny Royal has covered nicely |
All too soon it was 3o clock and time to leave. For a change I had excess energy today.
14/3/2013
Oh wot a lovely day.
Arrived at around 4 as usual and like the past couple of weeks had bins and water to offload. I also wanted to go along the pathways with my small brush cutter to open up the bricks.
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| Trimmed around the bricks |
Got into weeding straight away and today really felt as if I was getting ahead. Still, the compost bins I had brought had filled very quickly. However the worst weeds are now history.
The Aloes are now almost all visible and I am still surprised as to how well they have grown amongst the weeds.
Hopefully now it will be a little easier to maintain the weeds and get ahead with finishing the planting of the pathways and weeding in the beds where things are growing.
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| Todays weeding and Aloe Row |
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| The Aloes have grown extremely well |
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| Not too far to go now |
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| The Walnut Tree |
The rain gauge had over 70mm in it again. Once more this is 20mm more than we have had in the same time span. It seems to me now as if going onto tank water in Underberg will be even better than here. The smaller roof area on my proposed dwelling should still keep the tanks full.
Before getting on the road at 7.30 again I did manage to trim over the bricks. I do need to get an edger though which will be much quicker and neater.
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| Pole Chillie full of flowers |
On returning I managed to dig and plant more pathway with grass and watered it thoroughly.
I could not believe how well the Tomatoes had grown. They had literally hundreds of small Tomatoes on them. I picked what I could and asked friends I have met there to please help themselves.
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| The Tomatoes I picked |
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| SO many |
Then it was time to hit the road. I was on my way home at around 3.30pm. AAAND with energy to spare.
I only realised after getting home as to why it was such a nice day. The date....14th. My lucky number.
20/3/2013
Arrived just after 4 today due to the slow drive. Rather misty with drizzle especially at Kingscote.
I went today (Wednesday) due to the holiday on Thursday.
I had to be in Maritzburg before 9am as I had to be on the road by at least 6.45 so I only came prepared to do weeding because I knew I would not have had time to stop on the way back as it would have been too late.
This is how everything worked out. In the end I did manage to complete weeding where the Rhubarb was growing and filled another big compost bin. I did not get a chance to work further on in No Mans Land but the weeds there are slowly becoming smaller. However I did do a little digging and weeding in an area of pathway where I will be planting next. The weeds have become a "nuisance" there so I need to re dig the path. Not too hard because it has already been dug once.
I did hope my "digging" days were over but it seems as if I will have to persevere with that chore for a while until all pathways are planted. Then maintaining the beds will become priority.
There are now a couple of spare bins which I have not used yet. This does mean that we are slowly getting on top of things.
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| Todays dig. Bricks need to be replaced. |
27/3/2013
Arrived before 4 this morning. I did not sleep very well last night due to a cow at my gate (Wednesday) trying to get to her calf who we had removed from her that afternoon. I therefore decided to get up even earlier than usual and get to Underberg.
30mm in the gauge this morning which is about the same rain we have had here.
The weeding this morning was rather slow and tedious because they were in an area where pathways and beds meet with the one Pole Garden. Nevertheless I did manage to open up most of the remaining area of no mans land. Also had to pull some giant Kakhibos out of amongst the Cancerbush plants.
I only had a short while to do a little brush cutting on the top plot before getting on the road again. It was rather warm this morning and I was "glowing" nicely.
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| Mole hills with Penny Royal planted |
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| Planted mole hill bed |
On my return I did some more cutting of the top plot and put into practice an idea I was given in the morning.
It is my intention to plant as much Penny Royal in the top (as well as bottom) plots as possible for many reasons.
1 It is low growing so mowing is very easy.
2 It is easy to control and remove if need be.
3 It grows quickly.
4 and the most important point is that it can be used as a security measure. Because it has quite a strong smell, if it is planted around a house you should be able to smell any "visitors" before they get to the house. This should deter any possible "infiltrators" who might be interested in "borrowing" from you.
Anyway there are a lot of moles in the area so the idea came to me to use their hills as mini beds to plant the Penny Royal cuttings in. I spent most of my time in the afternoon cutting an area and then planting cuttings in the mole hills of that area.
So lets see what happens now. I hope it is not too late in the season for this experiment to work.
There were some Tomatoes to pick as well so I brought some home and gave some away.
Then it was time to get on the road for home again.
There was rain most of the way home which was nice. There had been some heavy showers in areas by the looks of the way some of the streams were running.
Another busy and interesting day.
30/3/2013
Went with family today to the plot. Left at usual time and arrived at around 4. Lovely trip with very little mist.
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| Weeded and planted |
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| A special Aloe |
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| Todays weeded area |
The plan was to do more weeding, plant more pathway, plant a few Broad Beans I did not have time to plant on Wednesday, do more cutting of the top plot and plant the new mole hills.
Weeding was slow and laborious again today because it is digging all the way. I realised that digging now is really going to help when it comes to planting season again because it will be easy to turn the earth.
I did manage to weed as far as the end of the row I was working on and did a patch here and there on other beds.
As I write this my hands are rather sore. They worked for 7 hours straight today without any breaks.
After weeding it was time to dig an area and plant the beans. I had made covers to keep the chickens away and hopefully to support the beans as well. Forgot to take photos.
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| The brush cut area and Mole City in the background |
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| Where I ran out of energy and petrol |
I had a little energy left after this to test out a new fork I had made to work in the rows of planted beds. Works like a charm.
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| An area I have been neglecting and where I tested out the new fork |
Note to myself. I have not seen Underberg so busy. Splashy Fen is this weekend and it seemed as if everybody who was going there had stopped off to buy groceries at SPAR.
Hard work today but OOH SOO REWARDING.
3/4/2013
Had a trip to PMB today so arrived early as usual. A lovely trip even though it was raining most of the way with heavy mist at Kingscote (as usual).
There was another 30 or so mm in the gauge and it was drizzling but not hard enough to put me off working.
Got into weeding straight away and once again it was tedious and slow going. I made a mistake a few weeks ago in that I brush cut the weeds to hopefully make the task easier. It worked against me because all it did was make the weeds root themselves even better. Lesson learnt.
I did manage to get as far as the last Olive tree and also opened up a few more Aloes. Just a couple more trips and the area should be completed. Then I MUST make time to maintain the areas. It will be easier once the pathways are in and grassed. The weeding should take half the time.
Before getting on the road I managed to dig and plant more pathway and planted Penny Royal in the new mole hills. Not too many new ones.
On my return I only managed to dig a bit of pathway and plant some more grass seed. It was raining much harder than in the morning and I got nicely soaked. I still had not dried properly from the morning so did not want to catch cold. Therefore I was on the road again by 2 o clock.
I had stopped off on the way to see the architect who is drawing the plans for the cottage. The good news is that he will not be charging me as much as he said in the beginning. Probably because of the simplicity of the plan.
I wish I was living there. The Lab would look much different.
Have energy in surplus today which is great.
It rained all the way home. A lovely day.
No pics due to the rain.
WEEEEEEEEEEEEELLL I have lost a couple of days............... Darn it.
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| An area I need to start working on. |
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| I am slowly getting this area under control |
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| A plan I am implementing. |
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| The plan to plant Penny Royal in all the mole hills that arise. The top plot plan is to plant Penny Royal as a grass instead of "grass." It is easy to maintain. Is low growing. easy to remove. AND the smell it gives off when you walk on it will let you know if you have "visitors even before they get to the house. |
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| Mole Hills freshly planted |
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| Some needs over sowing |
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| Still some weeding to do but planting continues |
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| Completed weeding. The Aloes are now all exposed. |
There are a couple of days I have been that have "disappeared."
They were much of a muchness being weeding and planting pathways so I will just put in the pics.
Today 15/4/2013 was another story.
Last week I completed the weeding of the quadrant I was working on so today I decided to take Shorty and Suzi for a drive. I had a few bucks left over so used it to put diesel in Suzi.
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| Started placing bricks again. |
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| Replanting |
The plan was to start bricking pathways and dig and plant as much new path as possible. I also had some weeding left to do in another area which needed to be sorted out.
While it was dark I did the weeding and got into digging and planting pathways when it was light enough to see.
Well I am rather pleased at what I achieved because I marked and placed ALL of the bricks I had stashed there (approx 200). This meant that another pathway is completed and has turned around to go back again. It is in a weeded area and will be planted as soon as the grass I planted earlier is growing well enough to remove the hessian and shade cloth.
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| Placed a lot of bricks today |
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| Grassing towards no mans land |
At around 10 I took a break and took some more money to the architect who is drawing the plans for the cottage. He was busy with it and I must admit that it grows on one. Well on me anyway. Oh to have money enough to build and retire.
Then I did a little brush cutting around the Lab where the weeds were in flower.
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| The Bay Trees are looking good |
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| The Tomatoes near the end of their time but still so many |
A VERY productive day.
PS No water in the gauge.
18/4/2013
It is becoming the norm now that when I have an opportunity to go to Underberg that I do not sleep well due to the ideas running around in my head. Now that I am getting close to completing bricking the pathways I just cannot wait to see whether I have done everything right. Doing the pathways in sections makes it all the more exciting when a new area matches up exactly with an old like the path on Monday.
I reckon 300 more bricks should complete the job.
Walking it for the first time is going to be amazing.
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| Weeded and planting into no mans land |
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| The rows joined perfectly. |
Firstly offloaded bricks and then dug more pathway and weeded an area alongside it.
Before getting on the road for Maritzburg I was able to place most of the bricks (I had taken 100) as well as planting and watering the planted area.
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| Now bricking into no mans land |
Before getting on the road again I also planted Penny Royal in the new mole hills. By that time it was 3 o clock so time to leave for home. There was rain around and I did not want to get caught in it.
Earlier in the morning I had taken my jacket off because it was too hot but on returning put it back on again. It had rained earlier on before I got there and the gauge had 3mm in it,.
Once again a really lovely trip.
25/4/2013
A "no nonsense" trip today.
I arrived at around four as usual.Very little mist at the usual places where dams are and Kingscote but nothing to really slow down for. It was a little cool and I actually thought about gloves for 5minutes or so. I did not give in and managed to work without. I found out after the sun had come up that there was snow on the Berg. That will explain the "chillyness."
There was approx 80mm in the gauge and the wheelbarrow I had forgotten last week was still where I had left it. I find this incredible. Here at home it would not have lasted until the weekend. It would have been "removed" a long time ago.
No bricks because I could not get any so I decided to do more weeding and of course quite a few of the areas I had planted before on the pathways, had germinated so I could remove the shade cloth and plant more. This meant a lot of digging but because I had dug the pathways complete last season it is not that big of a job. Its just removing the weeds as I go that takes a little time.
I managed to dig, plant and water all the areas that were available and actually just made the seed last until the final piece.
I also had time to weed a small area where I will be bricking next and had a couple of Gooseberries for breakfast. Delish. (the Gooseberry plant was growing in the area where I will be bricking next.)
I then hurt a back muscle by overdoing it so as I write this am in a little discomfort.
I had intended brush cutting around the Lab on my return but found that the only thing I had brought was the machine. No petrol, no harness, no nothing. It was for the best though because it would not have been wise to work a brush cutter with a sore back.
I then weeded in an area close to the entrance of the lab so the time was not wasted.
No pics today. They will not show much. Maybe next week if I can get some bricks.
Still it was a Lovely Day.
9 and 16/5/2013
I have included these two days because the 9th was NOT a good day. I had picked up a "bug" the day before and even though I did go to PMBurg was rather out of sorts.
I did manage to get some planting done early but on my return all I could manage was to stop at the plot and sleep a little in the truck to get some energy back.
The 16th was a much better day.
I was back to normal healthwise and really got things done.
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| Planting next to the Olive Trees |
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| The grass is germinating nicely |
Before getting on the road I had dug, planted, covered and watered all the areas that could be planted. Had finished one and a half ice cream containers of seed and was feeling rather pleased with my achievement.
This morning I arrived at my usual time and actually put gloves on when the frost started to settle. Not too cold yet though.
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| Trimmed the Instant Lawn experiment |
A really lovely day.
21 and 23/5/2013
Once again I am "amalgamating two days.
I had to go to PMBurg on Tuesday so arrived at my usual 4am time. I only had one target. To offload the 100 bricks I had brought and to place as many as possible. I managed to do it all before getting on the road again. The weather is great for working now. Still warmish with just light frost but excellent for working. I am really keen to get all the pathways bricked and grassed before the new season. Then it will be maintenance maintenance maintenance. Still so much to do though.
On my return this day I was too late to do any more work so decided to return on Thursday with Suzi and Shorty.
The 23rd was very much like Tuesday (21st) weather wise and my agenda was the same. The only difference being that today I had 200 bricks to offload and "plant." This is a big job because I can only load 20 at a time in my wheelbarrow. It is also quite a long way to where they are being placed now.
However by 10 o clock I had managed to plant all of the bricks that were there (a few left over from Tuesday as well.)
It is a slow process in the area I am now working because of the weeds that are growing again. I am digging the lines where the bricks are going and weeding these areas so that hopefully weeds do not grow under the bricks like they have done in one or two of the other areas.
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| From No Mans Land to where the biggest weeds were |
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| Turned the corner. Some of todays bricking. |
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| More of todays bricking towards No Mans Land. |
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| Turned the corner and heading back again. I reckon approximately 300 more bricks will complete the job. |
A lovely albeit hard working day.
30/5/2013
What a lovely day and I hopefully made the most of it.
Had a "trip" today but was a little later than usual due to oversleeping. Still I was only half an hour later. However I did miss the extra half hour and what I could have achieved in that time.
Todays target was to dig and plant grass in the new pathways. Bricks will not be available until mid June so this gives me a chance to plant as much as I can before then. I also get a chance to dig the line where I will be placing the bricks next.
Note to self. I wish I had thought of this in the beginning.............
Before getting on the road again I had dug, planted and watered all of the areas where the grass was growing through the hessian. I wish I had the money to buy more shade cloth and hessian. This would make the planting go a lot quicker. I might have to get one or two more strips of both of them. It would also mean having to take more water. I really want to complete planting before the new season begins. This will be an enormous help in controlling weeds.
On returning I dug a row where the next bricks will be going. The areas I am now working on are the most difficult because they are the last pathways so are on the outer edge where the weeds were worst of all. Still we are getting there.
No pics cos in the new areas it is hard to show the changes that are happening. I will only take after every two or so visits.
We WILL win...........................
6 and 7/6/2013
I am getting rather good at this "Amalgamating" thing. On the two days above I had the opportunity to go to Underberg. There is not much to say other than what work was done was DIGGING. And I thought I had finished. However the reason for this is to complete the bricking and grassing.
Due to the dry spell we are going through there is no grass germinating to the point where I can remove the shade cloth and hessian so I am preparing for such time as.............
The only thing worth mentioning is that it is now getting cold enough that my gloves/mittens are sticking to metal surfaces and working through the time when the frost settles is becoming more and more difficult. So far I have bitten the bullet and worked through but it is becoming harder and harder not going to sit in the truck to warm up.
I left half an hour later on the 6th but the time goes too quickly when working and I missed the extra time and what I could have achieved.
Still it was a "Get Ahead" period.
13/6/2013
More Get Ahead time.
Arrived about 4.30. Was not too cold and of course only digging to do because of the dry spell with nothing germinating. At least I can get ahead when things do moisten up a little. I am quite pleased as to how far I have come with the digging so when things get growing I will not be too strapped getting the digging done before planting more. I am also hoping for more bricks so I can get a head with that side of things.
On returning I went to see the Architect after doing weeding around the Pear Trees and Roses. Not my most enjoyable chore but needs to be done.
I have bought more shade cloth and hessian so I can plant longer strips. I am thinking of planting even without moisture (other than what I take in containers for planting) in the hope that everything will start growing when moisture arrives.
I must say that this digging is not too difficult because I have already dug there once. The weeding is harder because I am digging in virgin soil, other than areas I had dug to plant whatever is growing there. eg Pear Trees.
So we do what we can with the time allotted us. Forging ahead.......................
20/6/2013
Today I decided to take Friends and Family to Underberg cos it was a holiday so no work. Suzi had not been for a long trip for a while either.
I had the intention of digging as much as I could, hopefully as much as there were bricks to place. I had 200 left from the last trip so wanted to place them.
We arrived a little after 4am, taking a leisurely drive.
By 10 oclock I had dug and completed placing the bricks and before leaving did a heavy pruning on Little Oakie. He has now grown taller than myself. Nearly time to start training him to be a "spiritual" shade tree.
No planting as it still has not rained and no pics for the usual reason.
27/6/2013
DIG DIG DIG.
Yes I had a chance this week but could not stay too long as I was returning a trailer I had borrowed. It was a biggish one for transporting animals.
This morning I worked mainly in No Mans Land. This is where I will be spending a lot of time during the new season controlling weeds.
On returning I did a little more of the same.
Still no rain but there was a lot of mist around, almost the whole way to PMBurg.
Still getting ahead. Still no pics.
3/7/2013
Ok their is a little news today.
I had taken a weeks leave so decided to try and complete bricking the pathways. I had bought 200 bricks which I hoped would be enough.
arrived at around 4.30. It took almost 2 hours for the trip due to the mist being so bad. Still we arrived safely. Used Suzi again and brought Shorty.
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| To the centre |
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| Compost bins and completed areas |
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| Most of todays bricking |
The weather turned out to be perfect working weather. Not too cold but just right.
I off loaded as many bricks as I thought necessary and completed the rest of the placements quite quickly. Digging before hand really helped big time.
It was the first time that I had felt as if I had achieved something and it really is a relief to know that that part of the project is now completed.
There were also 60 bricks left over for another day.
I walked it quickly to see whether it was OK and very happy to note that it was fine. Not easy walking it due to parts that still need grassing and parts where the grass was too long. BUT that is the next piece of the project to carry on with.
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| Placing the last brick. |
Before getting on the road again I had time to work on the compost bins that had fallen over. My idea is to now slowly centralise the bins in where the old compost heap used to be.
I then went to see the guy who drew up the plans for the "Mansion" and dropped in at a friends business to get the name of a guy who flies a microlite in the area. I am hoping to get somebody who flies to take an aerial photo of the Lab now because you can no longer take decent pics at ground level. I would love to see what it looks like and how it will change from that view.
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| The Mansion |
This will be the last entry in this blog. The next one will be "Phase 4."
We got there..................................
PLEEEEZE STAY AWAY FROM GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS........................................
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