We’re beginning to see welcome signs of Spring after the usual long haul of winter rain, wind and snow. Storms brought down a big conifer growing alongside the lane before Christmas and, annoyingly, the tree caught on overhead internet cable and brought that down too. The rootball was shallow but wide and has revealed a storm drain complete with loud, rushing water. Hopefully, the water board will agree to fix it soon because the resultant hole that appeared once the stump was dragged out is big enough for a toddler to fall into and we now have a toddler on the premises – Hannah and George’s son, James, who was born almost two years ago.
The land drain is underneath the slab which was uprooted, along with the tree
We have snowdrops in abundance and a less welcome abundance of sticks, twigs and decaying leaves that we clear up frequently but which nevertheless seem to reappear minutes after we’ve finished clearing them. Being surrounded by trees is a generally good thing, but the joy isn’t unalloyed when you realise you’ve purchased your fifth litter picker (Annie has back problems) to collect sticks in as many years because overuse has worn them out!
A tiny fraction of the thousands of snowdrops which cover front and back lawns
George hired a digger earlier this month to dig out foundations for a new cattery reception and relocate some apple trees into the field because they were in the way. Ably assisted by his Mum, the multi-talented Rosie who is at home tarmacking a drive, plastering a ceiling or wallpapering a nursery amongst her many other accomplishments, the pair of them have worked hard to make the site ready to receive the concrete base when the weather improves. The car park is currently a sea of mud but once the new reception is built the journey from car park to cattery will be no more than a few steps which will be a big improvement for our customers as cats are surprisingly heavy to carry, particularly if they travel with toys, beds and cans of tuna. We provide everything our feline guests need but some indulgent cat parents feel happier bringing home comforts.
It transpired that the diminutive ““digger driver“ could reach both hand and foot controls, but not simultaneously
Our Christmas wreaths have gained in popularity each year with dozens of returning customers but our supply of Norwegian spruce is under threat due to the local plantation being dug up and smashed into the ground for some reason. We will have to spend more money this year getting our boughs delivered on pallets rather than collecting them ourselves. To ensure a good supply in the future we decided to plant 25 saplings ourselves and hope that they will grow well so that we can harvest them in a few years time.
Father and son preparing the field for the Norwegian spruce saplings
Another big project that’s still ongoing is the removal of our duck pond. I first blogged about it in August 2020 and held hopes that it would be dealt with in 2021. As we know, a lot of things happened during the pandemic years and somehow the pond project dropped off our radar. It’s now firmly back in our sights and both ponds have been broken up and the ground levelled and seeded. It’s not looking its best so far with the rain revealing muddy hollows in places where the grass seed has failed to grow but these will be filled in with top soil from the cattery reception foundation area once it’s dry enough to start work. The fencing will be re-instated, hopefully the flowers, hedging and trees we’ve planted will grow and the whole area will gain a second lease of life as a playground for James.
Some lovely soil here, made all the more fertile by several years of duck keeping
Finally, Annie has decided that she wants to try her hand at novel writing so this lovely little shed was put up at the end of last year and will become her ‘writer’s retreat’ once the tiny log burner has been safely installed. Tony’s already done a great job boarding out the interior and laying a laminate floor and Annie’s painted the exterior and made a rather ambitiously named sign in her pottery class.
Annie’s shed
Delusions of grandeur? It’s only a shed after all
Thanks for reading and I hope to update the Blog monthly so please check in for more news from Foxglove Farm.
Foxglove Farm 